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Day 1: Sydney

 After a long day of travel (5 hours to Hawaii plus 10 hours to Sydney) I finally arrived in Australia! My flights on Hawaiian Air were as pleasant as 15 hours on a plane can be and it was a really nice plus that they provided meals. On my first flight we got a ham/bacon and cheese bread roll and on the second flight we got chicken, veggies, and rice and then 2 half-sandwiches. They also provided snacks of cookies, trail mix, and crackers. 




Upon landing in Sydney, we had to sit on the plane for an extra 20 minutes or so for their quarantine procedures, but then it was time to finally get up, stretch my legs, and make my way through customs & immigration. The immigration process was fairly quick and painless thanks to the addition of their e-passport kiosks where you can scan your own passport, answer a few questions and you are issued a ticket. You then take the ticket to a gate much like the entry points to BART/subway train stations where you have your picture taken. After that, if you have no biological/agricultural goods to declare, you can pick up your checked baggage and be on your way. I did not check any bags, so I exited to the taxi line and got a ride to my airport. 

After checking in to the hotel, I settled in for some much needed rest. I had a great room with a view of Darling Harbour and the Maritime Museum. 





In the morning, I walked down to the harbour and walked around a little bit before going inside the SEA LIFE Aquarium. The aquarium was different than those I’ve been to in California in that you are walking through the space on a 1-directional path. You can go at your own pace, but cannot wander backwards. As it was a Saturday morning, the aquarium was very busy with young families and there was a constant stream of people behind you. My favorite part was the underwater tunnels where I got to see a dugong (very closely related to manatees), several giant rays, and sharks all very close and often swimming over your head!








After the aquarium I walked down the pier to get some lunch and then it was back to the hotel to pick up my bags and head to the train station. I rode the train from Sydney to Bulli, where I met up with the SMC travel group. I arrived in Bulli just before sunset and got a wonderful view of the ocean waves right outside our cabins. 



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