Still time to read...

The past few weeks have been about entertaining guests (with a breakfast for 24 still to come) but in between I've had time to read a few good books.

Woolly by Ben Mezrich is 'the true story of the quest to revive one of history's most iconic extinct creatures'. Given the amount of research I have done on the topic I was afraid I may not discover anything new - but this fabulous book provides even more information about the people I have already 'met' and their plans for the future. There's even talk of making it into a movie!

Dinosaurs: How they lived and evolved by Darren Naish & Paul M Barrett is a CSIRO publication but it is written for novices like myself and is packed full of interesting information and beautiful coloured drawings and photographs. What a treat!

And then I picked up a book that many people have already read, but I never had. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday is funny and entertaining and not at all what I thought it was going to be. I'm about halfway through and looking forward to what's coming.

I have just purchased a copy of National Geographic's The Photo Ark by Joel Sartore. I watched the television series as professional photographer Joel travelled the world photographing the animal kingdom, one by one; the endangered, the unusual and the downright cute. What a fabulous book.

And I plan to read the crime thriller The Crossing by Australian author B Michael Radburn. I read the second in his Taylor Bridges series, The Falls, set in the Victorian high country, and loved it. Then I found this one, the first in the series, which is set in the Tasmanian wilderness. I'm really looking forward to it!

The journey begins

Because of our rescheduled flights we have spent three days in Sydney and seen and done quite a lot in that short time. Again we are staying in the Haymarket district, close to Chinatown, Darling Harbour and Central Station and we began our adventure at the nearby Paddy's Market.

We followed this up with a long walk to the Australian Museum, the oldest in the country. Some of you may be aware that last year Penny researched and wrote articles on Ice Age Mammals and De-extinction. The Museum is currently hosting a special exhibition: Mammoths - Giants of the Ice Age, which we enjoyed immensely - particularly seeing Lyuba, the intact 42,000 year old baby mammoth discovered in the Siberian permafrost 11 years ago.

 

 

Lyuba

 

The oldest gallery at the Australian Museum,

housing 200 of their best exhibits over the years

That night we had a wonderful Chinese meal at the New Tail Yuen Restaurant in Chinatown, and wandered through the busy night markets.

The next day we walked to Circular Quay and beyond, via the magnificent Queen Victoria Building with its wonderful top floor Hobbyco shop where Jim purchased a tiny tin of paint for his model ships. We then walked underground through to the Pitt Street Mall, stopping for coffee and a brief foray into David Jones before continuing on.

In the Queen Victoria Building

That night we caught a shuttle to the famous SCG where we watched the North Melbourne Kangaroos narrowly beat the Sydney Swans in a fantastic AFL match. Naturally we were barracking for the Kangaroos and fortunately two other couples beside and behind us were as well, as the stands were literally a sea of red and white.

Our last day was spent around Darling Harbour where we happened upon the Sydney Korean Festival and watched a wonderful demonstration of Korean martial arts. Then we walked through the Harbourside complex and on to Cockle Bay Wharf, dining in style at Nick's Seafood Restaurant.

 

At the Sydney Korean Festival

 

Darling Harbour

Nick's Seafood Restaurant at Cockle Bay Wharf

Its been a pretty hectic three days and we have an early start tomorrow - and then 14.5 hours in the air!