We left our hotel in Port Macquarie (I originally pronounced it Port Macarrie) to visit the Koala hospital. It was sad but they are so cute. I'm going to adopt one when I get home. Legend has it that many years ago here was a drought and all the animals had to share all the food and water. They doled out their portions daily. One little koala was very thirsty in the middle of the night and drank all the water that was left. He knew he had done wrong so he went up a tree so his friends couldn't hurt him for drinking all the water. That is how the koala got its name. Koala means no water.

All the bears in the hospital are there, obviously, because they are sick. Many can be released back into the wild but most cannot. They are a promiscuous animal and many go blind from clamidia. We saw several but most were blind. They are much smaller than I expected as well. We got our share of cuteness and moved on to Sydney, which is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. It is located on Australia's east coast and this metropolis surrounds the world's largest most natural harbour, and sprawls towards the Blue Mountains to the west. Residents of Sydney are known as "Sydneysiders".

Sydney is on Australia's eastern coastline within the state of New South Wales. It covers 3,700 square km in all, around what is considered one of the best harbours in the world. It is Australia's oldest and largest city, with over 4 million people, and is considered the media and financial center of Australia. 

Anthropologists believe that aboriginal peoples reached Sydney Harbour at least 50,000 years ago. The early colony's beginnings were rugged and hungry. Convicts were put to work establishing roads and constructing buildings out of mud, reeds, unseasoned wood and mortar made from crushed shells. Officers of the New South Wales Corps became farmers. Because the soldiers paid for work and goods in rum, they became known as the Rum Corps, in 1808 overthrowing General Bligh (of Mutiny on the Bounty fame) when he threatened their privileges. By the early 1800's farms were producing crops, with supplies arriving more regularly - as were convicts and settlers with more skills and trades. The governor of Sydney from 1810 to 1821, Lachlan Macquarie (heard this name anywhere before?) was one of the most significant figures in Sydney's history. He was sympathetic to the convicts and fed many women and men so they could help transform this "jail' town into a more civilized city with main roads, regular streets and an organized police system. He commissioned the erection of many fine buildings, including some designed by Francis Greenway, the convict forger architect. In fact, the only country in the world to pay tribute to a convicted forger is Australia. Some of the 40 buildings designed by Greenway include the Hyde Park Barracks, St. James Church, and the Old Supreme Court Building. In the 1850's, gold was discovered in New South Wales and Sydney came alive with gold seekers, and new settlers. It was the start of growth with compulsory education, art exhibitions and tall buildings. Pleasure gardens and regattas became popular. Federation took place on Jan 1, 1901. There was even more growth and Sydney became known as the "city of pleasure". 1932 saw the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and salvation from the great depression came in the form of rising wool prices and growth in manufacturing. The postwar baby boom accompanied mass immigration and the hippie movement of the 60's led to political unrest in the 70's, which was relieved for a moment by the opening, in 197,3 of the iconic Sydney Opera House. The 80's saw skyscrapers and redevelopments like Darling Harbour. In the 90's the city's potential was recognized with the announcement that Sydney would host the 2000 Olympics.

We arrived in the evening, got settled and went out for dinner in this bustling city. It was just Vic, me, Cait & Doug. I got somewhat dressed up and my country bumpkin, Cait, said I looked "citified". She wasn't keen on the new me. We walked to Darling Harbour, an area of the city with restaurants all around the harbour. We chose what looked like a nice one and had a delicious seafood dinner. Vic was excited because he thought he'd get a good martini finally, but it wasn't meant to be.   He did get a martini but it just wasn't up to standards. It started to rain so we had to go inside. It just wasn't the same so we called it a night and walked the 30 minutes back to the hotel to rest up for our next adventure.