Finally back on the blog…have not been able to get to an internet connection.

Sunday Nov. 14…. Cairns is very hot and humid today and it looks like rain, but considering we are gong to be doing water activities it doesn’t matter! We spent the day at the Great Barrier Reef. We took a 1 ½ hr. cruise out to a platoon on the Coral Sea where we took a glass bottom boat to the Reef and saw more of the reef and fish from a semi-submersible. Hadi spent time snorkeling and at the end of the day we took a brief Helicopter ride over the Reef. Despite the gloomy day, the reef was spectacular…..the water was crystal clear. Had to pinch myself more than once to remind me where I was!!

Monday we flew to Sydney…raining again. Up to this point we have had great weather. We were quite disappointed, but by mid-morning on Tuesday the sun was out again! After arriving at the Hotel, we had a brief tour of the city by monorail stopping at the Harbor for a quick dinner and then walked back to the Hotel.

Tuesday morning we took a Motor Coach tour of the city and got our first sight of the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge…what a breathtaking sight to see!!! Although it was overcast, it was a fantastic sight. Once again I had to pinch myself!! We had a walking tour of the Opera House. One of the gentleman in our group enjoys singing, so we convinced him to sing a song in the Opera Hall…pretty special….the acoustics were amazing!! Took a water Taxi after dusk to view the Harbor at night! The Opera House was quite magnificent all lit up!!

On Wed. we enjoyed a narrated cruise on Sydney Harbor – can’t get enough of the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge!! We have done LOTS of walking in every city we have visited….makes for a good nights sleep!

Sad to say tonight is our last night as a group. We fly to Canberra in the morning to visit a childhood friend of Hadi’s for the next 8 days and the rest of the group flies back to the US. I am going to miss everyone. It was a great group and we had a fantastic trip of a life time!!
What better way to end a wonderful trip then to be sitting in the warm sun under a beautiful purple Jacaranda tree listening to music being played on a Didgeridoo with a view of the Opera House and Harbor Bridge in the forefront!! My last memories of Sydney!!

More later from Canberra……