Christmas in Sydney

People were still shopping late yesterday evening.We flew in from Launceston to Sydney around noon.Lepas solat terus to the Rocks.Weii..I didn't get here in my rushed trip to Sydney in the 80s.If you are ever in Sydney, after seeing the Opera House/Royal Botanical Garden,go shop at the Rocks.Byk Australian handcrafts and nice clothes and silk scarves.Pas tu naik train pi Woolworths at Town Hall (you don't even need to get out of the station).Beli chocs byk2 kat situ.George St. is the main street.It's happening but on Xmas eve byk kedai dah tutup so rule no. 1 whn you want to go on a holiday to shop, jgn pi a day before Xmas.But if you want some quiet,this is the perfect time.

I wish we could stay to see the new year fireworks but I can't take leave.It's final year exam time.Yup...we don't hv this mindset in which end of the year means holidays for the body,mind and soul.Tulah ramai yg mati muda.

Launceston, Tasmania

I love this place too.Countrysidenya sgt2 cantik..bukit ladangnya beralun2..kuda, biri2,lembu...not a boring sight.Setiap tempat ada characternya tersendiri.And it's so quiet!

We stayed by the Tamar River and people travel here to visit Cataract Gorge..lovely lovely place.Sesuai utk pelancung yg ada masalah lutut.We went up on world's longest chairlift.Then walked along the river...the closest we could get to nature.I wanna stay here!

It got better - ada lavender fields.They call it lavender farm..largest privately owned in the world.Suka!

Then more Xmas shopping sampai bag over excess.

 Bridestowe Lavender Farm

 Chairlift at Cataract Gorge

 Beautiful summer for the kids

 They were about to jump and swim in the

river

 easy strolling along the gorge on 

footpath

 Tamar River

 on the way to Bridestowe from Launceston

 not a good time to quarrel 

 Ini ladang, Abdul Wahub yang punya

Hobart, Tasmania

It's really a heaven on earth!
I love this place we are at.Taroona Beach.The beach is your laman.People scuba drive, snorkel, sail and swim here.Air macam air batu.It never gets warmer, kata Dr. Pam Allen who teaches at Uni of Tasmania.We had coffee at her fav cafe and spoke of possible research together.

Neal kita punya apt owner baik betul.Untung dia tinggal tepi laut mcm every day is a vacation.I'd like to return.Z and I akhirnya mandi juga dlm laut air sejuk tu.It's directly facing south of the antartica.

We also went on Hobart cruise.Tak byk to be excited about.I came to feed the dolphins or sea lions.Sekor pun takda.

We went to Port Arthur.Kesian manusia ketika itu..curi coat pun kena buang negeri dari England ke Tasmania (byk juga kes bunuh).Ada yg lari dari majikan.Tupun kena penjara.

We also went berry fruit picking.Strawberries,raspberries and berries yg tak sedap je ada.Buah2 lain baru nak berputik.Australia ni serba serbi mahal.And it's not just about our Ringgit value yg merudum jatuh tersembam.Mmg org Australia pun complain negara mrk mahal.The econ crisis has hit them hard.Byk assets dah dijual tinggal industry arang batu dan agriculture je.But one thing I notice: org2 dia baik2.Maybe sbb kita tourists.

laman adalah laut (swoon)

Lukisan belum siap, oil pastels

There's also a nice park at Taroona Beach where we were

(trail no. 9)

Dr Pam Allen of Uni of Tasmania

Neal pagi2 dah pi snorkeling!

(I had to berbungkus still- first day in Tasmania)

across our apt was this pantai facing 

south of Antartica

50-something on a bench

50-something is the new 30s. Ahaks.

 first time berry fruit picking

 some of the hasil memetik

i love going through this laut mcm Laut Merah terbelah

see what I mean?

kenangan pahit: pernah luka kena duri memetik 

raspberries di NZ