The Kaleberg Journal - August 2025

08/27 - On To Australia - First Stop - Vancouver BC

We like to fly to Australia via Vancouver. The alternative is via Los Angeles, but that means flying down to LA and dealing with LAX in both directions. YVR in Vancouver is a much smaller, calmer airport, and, for us, it's easy to get to Vancouver.

We always spend an extra night so we get to eat dinner at Le Crocodile which was in top form as usual and to walk the loop along the shore in Stanley Park. One isn't really in Vancouver until one sees the bright yellow mound of sulfur across the water. It's one of the city landmarks. The featured bird on this walk was the heron. There were lots of them perched on rocks and enjoying the waterfront much as we were.


Flying in to Vancouver BC

We had no idea.

Nothing says welcome to Vancouver like its huge mound of sulfur.

One of many great blue herons

The Lion's Gate Bridge








Return to civilization

Keywords: australia, flying, vancouver

Keywords: australia, flying, vancouver

08/26 - Flying in to Sydney

It's a fifteen hour flight from Vancouver to Sydney. Australia is pretty far away. Mostly, we slept. The scenery over the Pacific is pretty dull especially at night. Dawn, however, was something else, and we did get a nice view of the city on our approach the airport. Excuse the poor image quality. Airplane windows are not as transparent as one might like.

Dawn light

Daylight

Sydney with the harbor bridge top right

Keywords: australia, flying, vancouver

Keywords: australia, flying, vancouver

08/25 - Sydney Taronga Zoo

One of the first things we do when we get to Australia these days is go to the Taronga Zoo. Our flight arrives early in the morning, so we have the whole day. We took a ferry from Circular Quay to the zoo and wandered about. It's a great way to get ready for spotting wildlife.

Downtown Sydney

The iconic Opera House

Platypus

View from the zoo

It rained a lot in Sydney.

Echidna

Some little guy











Someone in a log

This is an iPhone night vision picture.


Creepy creatures

Another platypus

Underwater

Keywords: australia

08/24 - Welcome to Sydney

Sydney is having a rainy winter, the rainiest since some time in the 1850s, so rain is going to show up a fair bit in this account of our journey. We were prepared for rain with rain coats and rain pants, but we had to scramble and buy a pair of rain hats because we had forgotten to pack ours. Coming from the Pacific Northwest, we're no strangers to rain. Rain gear is a local industry, so we weren't the only ones wearing familiar brand name garb.

We had a lovely dinner with barramundi, local oysters and bay bugs among other things. There was a woman eating a plate of spaghetti at the next table. She seemed more interested in recording things with her phone than her food. That was her loss and this gull's gain.

Enjoying the left overs

The harbor bridge in the rain

The Opera House and the Bounty replica, also in the rain

Keywords: australia

08/23 - A Rest Day in Sydney

The rain held off for much of the day, so we explored Sydney a little. Jet lag may have caught us, so we didn't really explore very much.

A view of our hotel

A local

The harbor

A store window

Evening

Keywords: australia

08/22 - Sick in Perth

We made it to Perth. That jet lag, that was an incipient cold, and it was a lulu. It was our first cold since the arrival of COVID-19 when we started wearing masks in public. We slept over 20 hours a day, felt awful, barely ate and generally crumped for days.

Keywords: australia

08/21 - Recovering in Perth

Things could have been worse. Our original plan was to head north to Ningaloo Reef and stay at an eco-resort where we would live in a tent with a limited water supply and perhaps a USB charging socket or two. We had to cancel that. Instead, we stayed at COMO The Treasury, a luxury hotel conveniently located in the heart of Perth.

By the third day, we were starting to feel slightly better. We made our way up to the medical center at the Perth train station. It was only two or three blocks from the hotel, but we were in no shape to walk there. We did manage a short walk around Stirling Gardens across from our hotel. We didn't go far, but it was a sign of recovery.


Around the Perth train station

A tree in Stirling Gardens

More greenery

We're not sure about this guy. Is he a sec-bot?

A path in Stirling Gardens

Keywords: australia

08/20 - Perth Kings Park

The next day, we were much better. We took a short walk through Kings Park and the botanical gardens. It focuses on Western Australian plants and attracts a variety of Western Australian birds. We made a big loop and took the skywalk. Last time, we were a bit too nervous to take the skywalk, but we are planning to take the skywalk through the tingle tree forest and decided that this would be good practice. We still need to get our strength up, but we're ready for the tingle trees now.

A beautiful day, a beautiful setting



A view of Perth











Keywords: australia

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