Sydney- people, sites and giant bats

Stepping off the plane at Sydney International airport I was struck by three things. One the suffocating humidity, two total exhaustion from 15 hours in airplanes and three utter disbelief that I actually pulled this off. Six weeks ago I stumbled across The World By Road website and made a bold decision to drop all aspects of my life- my job, my car, my friends- and join this expedition.

Three days later I am certain I made the right decision.

Sydney is a wonderful city. I have spent the last three days meandered through a sea of tall, leggy, fair-haired and friendly people. It’s a very clean city full of young professionals in starched shirts and ties hurrying off to work and shows very little signs of poverty in the city center.

Overall it’s a very modern looking city with many tall, sleek buildings but it will occasionally surprise you as you turn a corner and are confronted by a beautiful old stone cathedral or a breath taking view of one of the many surrounding harbors.

Visiting the famous Opera House was definitely one of the highlights of my sightseeing. It is truly amazing and no matter what angle I photographed it from, and I tried many, I don’t feel like I could capture how stunning this piece of architecture is.

However, I think my favorite experience thus far was losing myself in the lush rainforest trails of the city’s Botanical Gardens. We stumbled upon hundreds of Red Flying-Fox bats hanging from the trees- dripping from the highest branches like giant ebony raindrops. The large wild fruit bats were pretty active for the middle of the day and were creating this wonderful, deafening screech that will be hard to forget.

The only down side so far is that three days of gray skies has this sun-worshiper and photographer a little frustrated and desperate for some golden light and long, deep shadows.

Regardless of what the weather will be I can’t begin to explain the sense of excitement and optimism I feel about this expedition. I have joined this incredible, dynamic group full of people who have so much to offer and learn from. It’s so wonderful sharing in the responsibilities of the trip. Instead of little ol’ me by myself, scratching my head by trying to decipher the train schedule there is this wonderful team I’ve become a part of who share my love and respect for other cultures.

It’s going to be one hell of a ride.

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