Today, Carroll took me on a drive down the coast south of Sydney. We travelled past Royal National Park to a place called Sublime Lookout, where I snapped this picture. These are lilies which were at the lookout. You can't really tell how huge they are from the picture, but the leaves of these plants are taller than me, and the spike with the flowers on it towers waaaaay over my head. I can't for the life of me remember what they're called - I've had so many names and facts crammed into my head these past couple of days that I think my brain might burst. Fortunately, Carroll lent me some of her nature books, so I can brush up on the native flora and fauna.
The built up area you can see in the background of the picture are the towns of Thurrol and Wollongong. We took a hairpin turn road down the side of the cliffs and into Thurrol for lunch, where we enjoyed our chicken wraps while sitting on the local beach and watching the surfers. After lunch, we drove back towards Sydney, passing right through the heart of Royal National Park and into an isolated town called Bundeena. We met up with Sue, another Guide leader, who took us on a walk down the beach. We scrambled over these awesome rock formations and I picked up a ton of shells. I can see that shell collecting is going to become and obsession of mine again... I came home with a bag full! I just hope I can get at least some of them back to Canada in one piece.
And that's pretty much all I did today! Much of the day's trip was spent driving, with me drinking in the scenery all along the way. The Pacific Ocean here is the most incredible blue - and I've been assured by my hosts that I will find it much the same all over Australia. Oh - and I discovered one of the reasons why I'm having such a hard time orienting myself here... the sun is literally in the wrong place in the sky! Carroll, one of my hosts here in Sydney, lived in Toronto for two years. She reminded me that since I'm in the southern hemisphere, the sun arcs to the north as it transits the sky, instead of arcing to the south like it does at home. No wonder I can't even figure out what direction we're travelling in most of the time!
