Sydney & Surrounds {Road Trip Day 5}

Monday morning we piled into cars, and set off to old Sydney town. Caught a bus and a train and a ferry...

Ticket machines in Sydney have more buttons than I have ever seen...

Two days before, Bea had said to me, please pray for Lisa in New Zealand, she really needs the Lord.

Now, two days later, she bumps into a person on the street, and squeals, "Lisa, what are you doing here? We were just praying for you!"

God is so wonderful, arranging things just to ensure we'd meet Lisa, at Circular Quay, amidst hundreds of people, of all places.

"When lives of black and white entwine"

Government House...

Lunch and decisions and different directions and a ferry caught across the bay...

To arrive at Tooronga Zoo!

The  baby elephant was so cute :)

Australian Wedge Tail Eagle:

Then we caught the ferry back across Port Jackson and wandered down the streets of Sydney, stopped for coffee in a cute little cafe, and enjoyed seeing more than just the main tourist areas of Sydney. Beautiful, grand old city :)

Dodging rain drops...

The pastor and his family came to visit that night. We have a lovely evening of singing and fellowship. 

Bec and her mother told me stories of her childhood, stories that made her the sweet and vibrant person she is today. 

Bec and her lovely, wonderfully hospitable family. Thank you for being so sweet :)

(Note: I'm in Queensland at the moment, which is experiencing devastating floods. I was flooded in, but am able to get out how. Just letting you know I'm safe. Internet access is intermittent, so not sure when I'll be able to post about the rest of my trip, or the flood. Please pray for those affected by the flood waters, especially those who have lost homes and family)

Woollongong to Sydney {Road Trip Day 4}

Sunday was a lovely quiet day. We got to hang out with these awesome people!

From there, we went in to the city for a hot chocolate. Bea is a great one to catch up with for coffee and hot chocolate :)

It was raining, so we didn't do any more sight seeing, but drove up towards Sydney. We stayed with a wonderful Italian family, and met up with some more Melbourne friends for a wonderful Italian meal!

Max the dog was sooo cute and exuberant, and just as sweet and friendly as can be. 

Bateman's Bay to Woollongong {Road Trip Day 3}

After saying goodbye to my family in Bateman's Bay, we continued north. We drove through a few small country towns before stopping in the cutest little town ever...

Berry

I bought a smoothy at this sweet cafe, because I wanted to support the three little sponsor children. How can you not love a store that uses it's profits to support the underprivileged?

A shop with swiss clocks and grandfather clocks and all sorts of things swiss and outdoor cafes and homeware stores and gift shops and so much cuteness! I could have spent all day here, if it wasn't so hot!

From here we headed inland to Kangaroo Valley, and saw the very cool bridge built by convicts. It is possible my ancestors worked on this bridge, decades and centuries before I was born.

This was some of the most beautiful road I had ever seen. Like a long windy shady country lane, it had the feeling of leading home.

It was hot. Very very hot. The tarmac was melted in some areas.

It was so very worth it. Fitzroy Falls were spectacular. The cliffs were spectacular. The whole landscape was spectacular.

The beauty of the Australian landscape makes my heart go pitter patter. Honestly it does, I love it so much. It's so vast, so rugged, yet so refined and beautiful.

So beautiful it makes me sad. I can't enjoy it enough. I can't take enough photos. There is no way to share its rugged beauty with everyone. The SLR just can't do it justice.

What is it? The longing to hold on to. To not let go. For perfection. To be, fully and completely, able to fully enjoy this wondrous creation.

This sadness, I realise, is not so much longing for Australia and wilderness and country and mountains and trees and waterfalls.

It is the longing for a place much greater. A place that won't need photos to capture and hold and remember the beauty. A place in which we shall be, eternally, to fully enjoy. A land that isn't lit with glaring sunlight and burnt by suns rays, but the Lamb is the Light thereof, and it is His beauty that we shall gaze on.

I'm homesick for that Country that is perfection.

Turning back towards the coast, we passed through Lake District, England. Without even leaving Australia. Oh, it's beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. 

Our GPS decided it didn't want to work, so Sarah graciously met us and ferried us back to her home. We enjoyed a wonderful family meal of Aussie-Mexican and then joined together for a game of Bible Trivia. It was a great night.

Would it be prideful to admit that Bea & I won? :)