Day 15: Final Day - Church and the Great Outdoors (Aug 25)

On our final day in Sydney, we started off with attending church service at Community Life Church, Cherrybrook with Desmond, Eudora and Yannis.

Lunch was special - outdoors at Fagan Park!

My young friend (and budding actor)... Yannis 

The kids took time to film the sequel to The Seventh Hearts which is Secrets of Yesterday...

As for me, I prefer to take it easy....

Finally, time to say goodbye at the airport....may we have an opportunity to meet again!

Epilogue : This was what we had for lunch and dinner when we touched down back home! We missed Australia's weather but desirably missed the food!

 

Day 14: Casual Day to Central Coast (Aug 24)

After a hectic "tourist-type" day yesterday, today is a refreshing change as we take personal time off for casual fellowship with Desmond, Eudora and Yannis. We headed towards Central Coast - about 90 minutes away from Cherrybrook. Here we are setting up our "camp" at Avoca Beach. The weather was much warmer than we thought!

Where there is water, there is fun (for the kids....)

My latte partner in Sydney....

After spending some time cleaning up after the wet stint on Avoca Beach, we headed off to The Entrance where the highlight was the daily 3.00pm feeding of the pelicans - it is amazing to see them gathering waiting for their feed. Guess, we might as well eat while waiting...

 

Although the pelicans are huge, watch the graceful landing ...

Though nearing the end of the day, the kids still have bounding energy!

Day 13: Off to the Blue Mountains (Aug 23)

 Early morning train ride from Paramatta to Katoomba for our day excursion to the Blue Mountains. We had to factor in about close to two hours of travelling time from where we stay in Cherrybrook. So having meals to go help to save time - it is a good thing that they allow passengers to eat and drink on the trains.

Our first ride was on a "glass" cable car which had a transparent portion to its floor so that we can test our reaction to heights as we hover closer to the mountain ranges.

Here's the ride down the STEEPEST rail track in the world - once used to transport coal miners. We chose the 64 degree inclined "cliff-hanger" version of the seating arrangement! Yeah!

A chalk-board for visitors' scribblings while waiting for the train.

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Here's how the ride used to look like many years ago!

Here are two modern day coal miners still doing their work.....

The tree in the background is affectionately known as the "Kissing Trees" for obvious reasons!

What we like about the cable car scenic ride is the "transparent nature" where we can see all around us.

 It was good that Wai Bing packed up lunch the day before. Since we were on a tight time schedule, having a pre-packed lunch really save some time and also money.

Eunice has a natural attraction to soft toys or animals wherever she goes!

What brought us around the Blue Mountains area was the "Explorer Hop-On & Hop-Off". After lunch, it was time to head off for the highlight scenic view - The Three Sisters.

So, here are The Three Sisters! 15 years ago, Wai Bing and myself miss out on this clear view due to a foggy day - so, this photo is 15 years late (and two daughters, later!).

Next Stop - The Toy Museum, a mansion that used to belong to a prominent politician (who still have much of the child in him, I guess).

The toys are grouped according to themes - the one below is the Popeye theme. Notice the Game & Watch game in the corner - that certainly brought back a flood of memories for me!

Here's the "beary" welcome chair which greeted us at the entrance!

It was such an irony - the Jews in Germany were well known toy makers and they actually built a lot of the German military toys - not knowing that later on, they became victims of the military campaign. Such irony.

Beyond the toy museum mansion, there was a beautiful garden.

Final stop, before heading back to Katoomba - tea time at The Treasured Teaport Museum

The long train home takes its toll........

Day 12: The View, The Gardens & The Fossils (Aug 22)

It is back to the city today to cover the rest of the attractions we did not cover the first time round. First stop : the Royal Botanic Gardens. Before that, I had the chance to reconnect with two of my friends from NTU - Yeh Seng and Robin Tang whom I have not made for over 20 years! We especially enjoyed this holiday trip because of these fellowship-connecting moments.

 

 Walking from Circular Quay to Royal Botanic Gardens. Pleasant weather for today - we made it in time for the 1.00pm for the free tour guide - led by a retired agricultural scientist.

 

 When I asked the question about the assumption of million of years that transpired in the formation of fern fossils - asking, "Couldn't it be due to rapid burial?" - he said that this could be possible and that he was not sure about what transpired in the past. So here you go - the concept of "millions of years" is an assumption and not a solid observational science data.

 

The leaves from this tree is actually coarse and used by as sandpaper by the native dwellers here. It is amazing how creative people were in the past - making use of what God has designed. Certainly, the plant kingdom is intricately designed by the Lord of heaven and earth!

This particular native plant actually requires fire and heat to release its seeds. So the regular bush fires in Australia is actually a welcomed event for this plant! Wonder if it pops like popcorn...

Rows of tulips greeting us at the end of the one-hour tour.

 

 

Reached MacQuarie's Point, located on the beyond Royal Botanic Gardens - the best spot to capture both the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge a the same time, side-by-side. Despite the windy conditions, we are still grateful for the view and the pictures above.

Seated on Mrs.MacQuarie chair - etched by convicts for her to enjoy the harbor view.

While walking towards the Australia Museum, we were distracted by the beautiful gardens along the way.

  

 

Eunice in front of the New South Wales Art Gallery.

A pool-walk with St.Mary Cathedral in the background before reaching Australia Museum.

Disappointment : Reached the museum at 4.30pm - and it closes at 5.00pm!

God's Appointment : The lady at the counter allowed us to go into the Dinosaur Exhibit for free! (which is the main exhibit which we wanted to see in the first place). Praise the Lord!

 

 Job 40:18 - "His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron".

Job 40:17 - "He moves his tail like a cedar...."

It is amazing how the "dino-to-bird" evolution is presented as fact! The feathers on this dinosaur is an extension of an assumption of the past but it is presented in such an objective way that the unsuspecting mind would take it as observational science when it is actually a part of historical science - full of man's interpretation of the past without a Biblical worldview. Click here for more on what the dino-to-bird" evolution is all about and the fallacy of the assumptions.

Don't be swallowed up by the world's interpretation of the fossil record!

It is tremendous to see the dinosaur fossils up close and we are glad for the ministry of Answers in Genesis who has given us such a clear Biblical worldview to discern the many fallible assumptions of the so-called prehistoric past which is anti-God, and anti-Creation.

Along the way, we were distracted by more natural scenery .... this is the walk across Hyde Park before reaching St.James subway station for our ride home to Pennant Hills train station.

 

 

 

 

This is the second time, we find Eliza's name on a billboard! Hmm... is this a sign?