Day 43: Almost Back in the USA!

Oh no!  In one week I will be back in the US!  I think I may just have to delay my schooling and just fly across Antarctica and explore Patagonia, Machu Pichu, and the rest of South America.  On the plus side, I will get to see my grandparents again!

Greg had meetings today, so Mary, Madi, and I were on our own today.  We had no idea what we wanted to do today, so we did some research over breakfast and decided to go to the Australian Museum, as today was to have the worst weather.  The museum was about a twenty minute walk from the hotel, so we got to see a bit of the city and stop in a few places along the way, like a tiny opal museum/store.  As we walked along, the weather was actually quite nice, so we were glad the walk took a while, and went through a nice little park.  The last street we walked along was lined with historic buildings, all in 19th century style.  We walked by the historic Sydney hospital, a grammar school, and the parliament building.  We stopped in the State Library of New South Wales, which was cool because it looks very stately, much like you might imagine a private library in someone’s manor.  We also stopped in the historic mint of Sydney, and thoroughly shopped in their store.

The inside of the library.

The park near the museum.

The museum itself was pretty neat.  It had a large collection on Aboriginals, but I found the animal exhibits most interesting, of which there were a variety.  All around, they had taxidermal stuffed animals, which represented many Australian animals and birds.  These looked just like their live counterparts, only they moved a bit less.  There was an entire collection of hundreds of birds, and most of the common Australian animals, as well as some extinct animals.  Next to the bird exhibit was that of the insects, where there were all sorts of giants bugs, and colourful butterflies.  I think the coolest part, beating even the dinosaurs, was the collection of modern animal skeletons.  They had all of the animals you know and love, in skeleton form.  They even had elaborate displays such as a guy sitting in a chair with his dog on a leash and a cat in the background.

Posing with a dead Koala.

Madi's favorite, a Wombat.

A man and his horse.

The dinosaurs!

Penguins!

When we finished up at the museum, we walked down the road and ate a late lunch before splitting up.  Mary wanted to go shop as she headed back towards the hotel, and I wasn’t all for that, so I decided to walk back via the Sydney Botanic Gardens.  Being the middle of the winter, there were few flowers, but it was still a nice, big park for a walk on a nice day.  I walked through the park towards the harbor, and then walked along the harbor, where I had great views of the Opera House and Harbor Bridge.  I walked all the way along until I reached the Opera House, and then I headed back to the hotel.

Open space in the gardens.

A lawn in the botanic gardens.

The Opera House and Harbor Bridge

Tomorrow, I am going to walk across the Harbor Bridge and find a nearby hike through the city and bush.