I still had a few things to cross off my list of things to do in Syndey; see kangaroos and cuddle a koala were two of those I accomplished. Feeling tired of sorting through bus time tables and maps, I decided to go with a prearranged day tour of the Blue Mountains to fill up my Tuesday. On the ride out with the bus driver's voice drilling through my skull and feeling a little claustrophobic with the tourists all around me, I remembered why I preferred to sort out my own sightseeing.

Our first stop was the wildlife reserve and my favorite of the day. There were all sorts of Australian animals in the cages like dingos and kookaburra birds but then there were a lot of kangaroos and their smaller relatives roaming around freely. One of them found my earrings particularly interesting and also nearly bit off my eyebrow piercing while I was trying to take a photo with him. Luckily I've got quick reflexives or that kangaroo would have a nice bit of bling in his teeth now.

I think these are the kind of chickens that my sister Holly should raise, they're so poofy!

Unfortunately the weather that was so beautiful yesterday had turned nasty again and the Blue Mountains were shrouded in fog. This was fine for lunch, a croissant and macchiato in a upper-class hippie cafe, but ScenicWorld was not the most scenic place. I got to ride on the steepest rail in the world though and walked briskly through the wet forest, safe in my North Face rain coat. I didn't really mind not being able to see much since I'm convinced that New Zealand will blow away the competition with beautiful natural landforms.

Lots of green at a canopy overlook

This was how foggy and un-scenic the Blue Mountains were

So then we just had a quick stop at the Olympic Stadium before our rainy ferry ride back to Circular Quay. I stayed outside the whole time even though my pants got quite soaked. I really enjoyed being on the water again, if just for a short time. The weather also reminded me of those fun rainy days working on the boat in Homer so I suppose it was a nice bit of reminiscing.

Me and the Sydney Harbor Bridge, both quite soaking wet