Here are some shots of Sydney, flying back in from Melbourne…

South of Sydney: Stanwell, Sea Cliff Bridge, Scarborough Hotel, etc…

Art pix from a loo, and Robert & Monique Nancarrow’s home…

Robert’s 65th birthday party on Valentine’s Day (a week early)…

Last walkabout in Sydney – the main drag in Newtown, getting there, and some interesting shop displays…

More of Newtown…

Last shot of Sydney from the airport…

Let’s conclude with some video clips!

During first visit in Sydney, happened upon a demonstration about Iran. “SOS for Iran” is, I believe, in solidarity with the protests happening there at the time…

The ferry from Ettalong to Palm Beach took is some classic Australian bush…

Sing-along fun at the Murmur Piano Bar in Melbourne…

Grooving at the Victoria Pride street party: “Midsumma” in Melbourne…

And finally, a time lapse on the coast road south of Sydney, including the Sea Cliff Bridge…

Th, Th, That’s all folks…!

Had to go to Melbourne, Sydney’s rival, and a place we missed in 2016 – and it was all that, and all of this post – which is a doozy!

Some plane shots, arrival on bus, tram, and foot to the Vibe Hotel – and from the rooftop there…

First walkabout in Melbourne. Lots of great architecture, food, and street art! On the first night, went to the Murmur, a piano bar with a fun crowd and a sing-along scene (the tall bald dude in the blue shirt was hilarious!)…

Next day, toured the CBD (central business district) via their free trams! Then went to the Melbourne Museum, a vast, eclectic collection of items featuring Australia’s culture, history and natural history. Beautiful curation…

More of the Melbourne Museum, the natural history stuff…

Yet more of the Melbourne Museum. This batch has more on culture and history…

Next, a trip up funky Brunswick Street...

More of Brunswick Street...

As it happened, there was an event that day: “Midsumma” – Victoria’s Pride street party. Had to a little dancing…!

Long walk back, and a little pizza along the Yarro River before hitting the sack…

Next day, stopped into an Opal Museum, actually a shop (not this place), but informative & cool…

Next up, Melbourne’s Chinatown, down to the Arts district, and the Australian Music Vault…

Here’s another big one: The National Gallery of Victoria. A vast collection, I started at the top with the more modern stuff and worked my way down…

More of The National Gallery of Victoria…

More of The National Gallery of Victoria…

Back on the street, there were some demonstrations about Israel & Palestine having to do with a visit by the Israeli President Herzog to Australian regarding the Bondi Beach Massacre.

On the last day, since I’m a huge fan (17 tours so far!), I had to do to the offices of Intrepid. Sure enough, I ran into Kat whom I’d met on my first tour in Southern Africa with Dr. Burr in 2024. Great to catch up, see their opulent offices on the 7th floor of an awesome building, and get some swag…

Next, went to the Immigration Museum, which has both some important Australian history and some poignant exhibits about identity, race, and related cultural issues…!

Finally, before heading to the airport to go back to Sydney and points north, a visit to the Skydeck atop Eureka Tower for some majestic views of greater Melbourne…

Wow, did you make it this far? That was just three days in Melbourne. Thanks for coming with…

A trip to Newcastle on a cloudy day, first to Fort Scratchley and a long walk out to the end of the breakwater…

Majestic architecture, and views from the Memorial Walk, including some unafraid of sharks…!

More around Newcastle, including an Art Gallery, etc…

Caught up with Tim & Casey, two friends from my trip to “the Stans” in 2023. They’ve just moved from Melbourne to a lovely home in Warner Bay, and threw down a delicious dinner! (Timmy shared a shot of his once splendid moustache.)

A nice restaurant in Gosford, then a ferry ride (with some bus rides) out to Palm Beach…

More Palm Beach and a nice lunch at the Newport Arms…

The last pic above shows a map of Avoca Beach, and the batch below shows more images around the charming lil’ town…

I went to an Australian naturopath, who, among other things, does iridology. Here are two pix of my irises, the first showing my eyes’ response to my shoulder injury. The other dark bits are apparently represent other things I have going wrong in my mortal coil. Not widely respected, iridology may just be a rearview mirror into ones ailments, if not a window to your soul…?

Another trip to Bondi Beach – again packed with sun worshippers – before heading out to my next destination – Melbourne…

Stay tuned for Part 4…

Last supper in Nimbin.

Next day, drove to Gosford for one night before going to Sydney for Australia Day. There, visited the RSL Club, thus the military displays below. Tucked in a couple shots of the Nimbin Rocks at the end of this batch.

Sites around Sydney, including a visit to Bondi Beach to find signs of the Bondi Shooting. Back to business one reckons…?

Met up with my niece Laleyna (Ron & Heather’s daughter – the first of her generation) at the Coogee Pavillion – had a great chat.

View from hotel, then a walk downtown. Caught a protest march about Iran outside the cathedral. More Sydney sites on the way to the Opera House.

Lucked into watching the entire dress rehearsal of the Australia Day show on the evening before the main event! The stage at the bse of the Opera House steps was projected on big screens around Circular Quay and floating in the middle. A choir of young people adjacent on the steps did more dancing than singing, but was part of the show, as were various boats in the harbor…

Went back to the Opera House the next day to watch all the activities in Sydney Harbour for Australia Day, including a fighter jet, helicoptors, speed boats, tug boats, a ferry race, a regatta of myriad boats, and some cannon fire.

Took a nap in the afternoon, then went back for the main event, this time on the other side of Circular Quay, at The Rocks. After scoping out some restaurants and pubs, settled on watching it from the edge of the wharf…

This batch starts with the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, includes a tall ship, synchronized yachts, and the sensational light and fireworks show that accompanied all the musical acts in the Australia Day Show. Like “Vivid Sydney” that I’d seen 10 years ago, a variety of images were projected on the Opera House…

After the main event – maybe the most spectacular fireworks show I’ve ever seen – went to the oldest pub in Sydney, Fortune of War. In addition to an interesting photo of vape storage, some images on the walk back to the hotel…

Next day, drove around different eastern suburb neighborhoods in Sydney. Then, met up with Red, a fellow traveler on an Intrepid trip in the Balkans last year. Nice lunch at the Alexandria Grounds…

A random batch from driving out of Sydney, bats & spiders in Wamberal, a “Thermomix,” and some professional photography by Ken Duncan. (Can we assess the art without judging the artist?)…

I could add more to this post, but I prefer important stuff at the beginning (the inverted pyramid of journalism?)

Will start again soon…