Finishing Australia

We finished up a great stay in Sydney and spent our last days walking as much as possible through this beautiful city. Lots of beautiful buildings, like St. Mary's Cathedral, above, left us in awe of this city which before now we'd known very little about.
Certainly the quality of food didn't hurt, either. Our favorite pub, Lord Nelson's, featured one of Australia's signature dishes, meat pie, and was adorned with smashed peas, mashed potatoes and a delicious gravy. This savory treat had us coming back time and time again, and was equally enhanced by the six different beers that were brewed on site. Ahhh, beer and meat pie; life doesn't get much better!
We spent the final leg of our Australia trip in Cairns, home to the Great Barrier Reef. The Reef is a UNESCO World Heritage site, is the world's biggest single structure composed of living organisms, and most importantly, was the site of Zach's first scuba dive ever.
Here is Tiffany with the Reef in the water behind her. Just days after our trip, we read about a couple that had been lost at sea for 19 hours after getting left behind on a scuba dive. Thank god I didn't read that before we went, or else I'd never have gone! The scuba diving experience was amazing, I have to say. It is such a strange sensation to be breathing 20-30 feet underwater with ocean life all around you. I only freaked out once, when I started thinking, "Wait a minute, I'm not supposed to be down here. I can't breathe underwater, what if my oxygen tank breaks?!" After a brief moment of terror and incontinence, I calmed down. Luckily, the beauty and breadth of underwater life at the Reef is such that I was quickly distracted from my fears. It was amazing to see the variety and combination of colors, which almost seemed impossible in their bright vivid streaks and gleaming florescence. The Great Barrier Reef was one, big underwater disco costume party, apparently.

We passed our last few days in Cairns relaxing at the beach, and enjoying nature at its finest. Our daily walks were definitely enhanced by the opportunity to witness some of Australia's unique wildlife! As we reluctantly leave our new favorite country, we are getting ready to re-enter China, the chaotic, exciting country we've called home for the past 3 years. With the unfortunate situations in Chengdu and Tibet, we're shifting our trip to Yunnan, the most southeastern province of China and home to Shangri-la. We're winging this part of the trip, so it will be interesting to see what kind of adventures (and in Tiffany's case, exotic animals) we can find! Stay tuned...