We arrived in Sydney on Wednesday night at 10 PM. The cab driver charged us nine dollars (Australian $, from now on) to drive one kilometer to the Ibis Airport Hotel where we showered in an alien looking dome bathroom and slept for the night.

We’re staying in Kings Cross, which is the official party area of Sydney. We are within walking distance of public transportation and have all the conveniences nearby that one could ask for, including restaurants right next door and across the street.

Aside from the odd shopping mall here and there, yesterday was our first full day exploring the city. First, we hopped on a CityRail train to Circular Quay, the main tourist public transportation hub in Sydney. The doors of the train open to one of the most stunning views in the world, a panorama including the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge, with hundreds of ferries and sail boats cruising up and down the harbor.

Hayley posing in front of the Sydney Harbor Bridge

We walked around Circular Quay to the Opera House. It was pretty cool to see it in person; as it is one of the most recognizable buildings in the world. We took our share of photos at every possible angle, and walked around the building as far as was permitted. Directly opposite the Opera House is the Harbor Bridge, which is equally as spectacular. This is where they shoot off the New Years Eve fireworks.

The Sydney Opera House doing its best to look like a spaceship.

The Sydney Opera House from a commuter ferry.

After soaking in the view, we walked up the nearby steps to the Royal Botanical Gardens. The park combines the large grass parks similar to London, with the climate of San Diego.

Beautiful flowers await you in the botanical gardens.

The gardens are also home to some of the coolest birds that I’ve ever seen. Many different types of parrots are as common as pigeons in the United States. Bats hang from the trees! It’s pretty amazing, not what you’d expect from the surroundings.

A parrot in the park.

Ever seen a bat at noon? How about one looking directly at you?!?

Look closely and you’ll see over a hundred bats in this tree.

We walked back to Circular Quay and rode out to Watson’s Bay on a ferry. This trip is the most breathtaking commute you could imagine, with sail boats everywhere and beautiful homes packed into the surrounding coastline.

One of the marinas in Sydney Harbor.

A docked boat on the beach at Watson’s Bay.

After four quick stops we were in a park overlooking beautiful Watson’s Bay filled with marinas and crystal clear water. We walked up to the open ocean, only a short five minute walk from the bay and watched the waves crash against the huge stone cliffs, then we walked down to the gelato shop for tasty refreshments. The ride back was equally as breathtaking the second time around.

The cliffs opposite Watson’s Bay, and the ocean crashing into them.

Watson’s Bay and the Sydney Harbor. On the left are the cliffs overlooking the ocean.

After a quick dinner, we boarded the CityRail down to Ryan’s Bar to watch the South Africa vs. Australia rugby game. We picked Ryan’s after receiving an annonymous tip that it was the South African rugby safe-house. At the door we were each given a copy of Sabona magazine, “The mag for Southern Africans living in Oz.” We purchased some drinks, sat down with a group of South Africans and watched the match. Despite the outcome of the game (SA lost), the night was a blast.

Today we took a ride down to Bondi Beach and watched surfers tear up the waist-high waves. The sand in Bondi is like nothing I’ve ever seen, very fine and soft. Easy to sleep on.

Now we’re back in our apartment and I’ve finally finished uploading all our pictures from South Africa. If you’re bored or would like to view them, please click the Pictures link if you are reading this on my website, or go to my Flickr page at http://flickr.com/mswebersd.

Thanks for reading.

Tags: Australia, Bats, Harbor Bridge, Opera House, Parrots, Sydney, Travel, Watson's Bay

Stuart picked us up at Joburg International last Friday and we ate lunch with his family. Afterward, we passed the afternoon watching Doogie Howser’s independent film, “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.” If you like corny and inappropriate comedies, go and download it now.

On Saturday, I attended Warwic’s bachelor party (while Hayley went to Robyn’s bachelorette), which was held at his groomsman’s house. The backyard was built for parties with a huge outdoor patio overlooking a pool and braaii (BBQ) area. We talked, ate and drank while Warwic was forced to wear a Borat bathing suit.

We relaxed most of Sunday and Monday, walking around malls and eating with friends. On Tuesday through Friday, we stayed at a B&B called Amritz in Boshoek which is two hours outside of Johannesburg, near Sun City and the Pilansberg National Park. We had trouble finding the place due to road construction, but after finally arriving we couldn’t have been more pleased with our accommodation. Staying on an African farm was a unique experience, although the lodge had all the comforts of home and was very chill. The hospitality of the owners made staying there one of the highlights of our South Africa trip.

Wednesday, we drove through the Pilansberg National Park and spotted a cheetah! It was relaxing under a tree, watching a few zebra in the distance. We also spotted many rhino, and at the watering holes we saw groups of hippopotami sunbathing together. We ate lunch at the park café and watched warthogs, vervet monkeys and exotic birds relax at a nearby watering hole.

The next day we visited Sun City. We walked around, had lunch overlooking the lake and jumped on trampolines. Included in our admission were two free coupons for sixty Rand, fifty of which I played on one hand of blackjack. I was dealt a four, then luckily a seven came up next. The dealer showed a ten so I doubled down- always double down on eleven, baby. It paid off as the dealer flipped over a face card on my eleven! I picked up the chips and cashed out for 150 Rand.

Unfortunately, our luck ran out while driving back from Sun City. Our car bottomed out on an unfinished dirt road, cracking the protective plastic cover under the car. After dealing with the ridiculous, unnecessary bureaucracy of car insurance companies and local police stations, we finally registered our claim. Unfortunately, we will not be able to get the car fixed before we leave, but luckily we have friends that are helping us out. I suppose we were lucky that the damage was localized to protective shield, but we feel badly about damaging a car that isn’t ours.

We drove from Boshoek to Kyalami on Friday for Robyn and Warwic’s wedding. We stayed at another nice B&B called the Blue Gum Lodge. Our room was enormous, comparable to a princess suite in a Las Vegas hotel. Being a B&B, homemade breakfast was included. It was a steal at $100 per night.

The wedding was held at Her Majesty’s, a beautiful rural venue that has a true African bush feel. The ceremony site was a rustic looking chapel overlooking acres of golden grass fields. The wedding was definitely one of the most beautiful that I’ve attended. The food and cake were delicious. There was an open bar for drinks, and everybody I talked to was open and welcoming. We danced until midnight in good company then drove the short way back to our B&B.

After eating a hearty breakfast the next morning, we drove back to Joburg and ran a few errands before meeting up with the wedding party for the after wedding brunch. We ate at an elegant Greek restaurant and chatted with friends. After a few hours, we said our goodbyes.

I started writing this entry last night while watching Da Vinci Code. Unfortunately, the movie was much worse than the book. I switched the channel to the Bourne Ultimatum- what a relief! Today we saw District 9 and ate crépes and waffles at Milky Lane. Tomorrow we fly to Sydney.

Continued down under…

Tags: cheetah, kyalami, pilansberg, rhino, south africa, Travel

Three waking hours and a sleeping pill later, we arrived at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa. For two days we relaxed, met up with friends and got used to driving on the opposite side of the street. We shopped for groceries, setup temporary cell phones and set off the house alarm, sending ADT security out for a visit. On the third day, we packed the car and departed for Kruger National Park.

The drive was mostly fine, aside from an accidental two hour detour through who knows where. We took a wrong turn after stopping for gas and ended up driving through a “Hi-Jacking Hot Spot” and Belfast, an ultra sketchy town somewhere north of Pretoria. With the help of Stuart’s GPS and by following some guy in a BMW, we were able to navigate ourselves back to a main highway.

We arrived at the Orpen Gate around 4:30 PM. There were two checkin points: one at the park entrance and one at the Satara campsite. We were informed at the first point that the final checkin time for Satara, the second checkin, was 5:30 PM. The confirmation email recommended two hours for driving from the gate to the camp. We had just under an hour. Damnit.

Driving on the main paved road through Kruger, we nearly ran over two snakes crossing the road. We saw plenty of baboons, buck and giraffe. We noticed a gathering of cars at one point. Two guys tried to point out the cheetah to us, but we just didn’t have the quality binoculars to see it or the time to wait. Unfortunately, we didn’t see another cheetah the whole trip. We arrived at 5:28 PM and Hayley ran straight to reception to check us in.

Our unit number was F150, situated in a circle of fifteen or so thatched huts all surrounding a flat area of dirt and tall thorny trees. The rest of the night we relaxed, ate dinner, unpacked and read. Gates open at 6 AM around Satara, so we set our alarm for 5:30 AM and had an early night.

Up at the crack of dawn, we brushed our teeth, ate a small breakfast, and drove into the bush. Our first encounter was with five or so grazing Buffalo, one of the animals that comprise the “Big 5″ most dangerous animals to hunt (now known as poaching). The others include elephant, lion, rhino and leopard. To see all five in one day is very rare, but we were already off to a good start.

We passed many different types of buck: water buck, impala, kudu, nyala. We also saw plenty of exotic birds, giraffe and zebra grazing near the side of the road. About an hour into the drive, we spotted a rhino, our next “Big 5″ sighting. We sat for a little while and watched, but he wasn’t doing anything exciting so we moved on.

Another hour later and we had our first elephant encounter. We spotted a family off to the left side of the dirt road, grazing under a few trees. They were absolutely enormous, the male was probably triple the mass of our VW Polo. We waited for a little while until one of the younger (although still enormous) elephants walked our way. We cut the engine to avoid any trouble, watched it move within thirty feet of us then head up the road a little ways. It stopped to eat the bushes on the side of the street and we wanted a better look, so we started inching closer. The elephant was using its tusk and foot to break thorny branches and scoop them into its mouth. It was an absolutely incredible sight. We were probably within ten feet of the elephant driving slowly past when it waved its trunk and ears aggressively at us, blowing air through its trunk. We stopped, let it do its thing, then slowly inched past it. I kicked the accelerator a little hard at the end and I think I spooked him a bit, but we pulled away safely so all was good.

Adrenaline fading, we drove another few kilometers before noticing a few cars parked on the side of the street, implying something good to be seen. We pulled up to one car, and they pointed out the pack of lions relaxing under a distant tree. We stopped and took some photos and video. Relaxing in the shade to avoid the hot sun is typical of lions, but also fairly boring to watch from a distance. We watched for fifteen minutes or so before heading back to camp for lunch.

Our sunset drive started with possibly the best sight of the entire trip. Driving slowly on the paved road, Hayley alerted me to slow down as a Hyena was running our way. I stopped the car, and it was running urgently towards something we couldn’t see, passing two feet in front of our bumper. We watched it run away then made our way around the bend, revealing the Hyena’s destination. A dead giraffe carcass lay sprawled out under a tree off to right of the road and vultures were circling above. We parked and watched as another Hyena dug into the beast, ripping skin and meat from the giraffe. A whole flock of ten or so vultures slowly inched their way closer to the kill, but the Hyena regularly snapped at them, a warning to keep their distance. We watched for a while then drove off, leaving the other cars that had collected on the road.

On our way to the main water hole, we saw an Ostrich running off in the distance. We saw several buck, giraffe and zebra before finding a huge lot of cars parked a few kilos up from the dead giraffe. Off in the distance we spotted (actually, were shown by another game viewer) our final “Big 5″ animal, the elusive Leopard. Relaxing on the limb of a tree, the Leopard seemed pretty mellow, enjoying the shade that the tree had to offer. Its tail hung limply off the branch and its head was propped neatly against a smaller branch. We drove forward to as many vantage points as possible and then made our way to the watering hole.

While the main watering hole offered stunning views of the landscape, there wasn’t really much to see. We saw many birds, including two fish eagles communicating to each other across the river. Occasionally they circled the area, looking for prey, but would always return to the limb of a tree and keep watch over the valley.

A dirt road curves around the main watering hole in Satara, and we took it hoping to see animals that we couldn’t spot from the main road. While we didn’t see anything at the main watering hole, just off the dirt road is another manmade watering hole, and at the time eight or so elephant were drinking and splashing each other around it. We were stunned by the site, and even more stunned when we realized that there was another elephant hidden in the bushes on the other side of the street, grazing on some nearby bushes. We sat next to another car for a while, watching and taking in the surroundings. After ten minutes, a few elephants by the manmade watering hole starting making deafening noises, calling towards our left. In response, we heard similar noises off in the distance. After another few minutes, a new group of elephants arrived and joined their friends by the watering hole.

After the elephants passed, the car in front of us (our scape goat) moved on. The nearby elephant was still there, but he seemed pretty occupied, so we followed the other car. The road dead ended in a small cul-de-sac, offering an incredible view of the fifteen or so elephant playing around the water hole. The large animals were drenching themselves, spraying water and drinking, while the babies played near a smaller manmade water hole off to the side. We watched for a while after the other car drove off. It was truly an amazing sight.

We decided to pull out of the cul-de-sac, which is when the trouble started. A new, large SUV pulled up next to the nearby elephant in the bush. Seeing the threat, the largest elephant by the watering hole started running toward them, stopping half way with his ears propped out and his feet set apart. The car backed up a little bit but didn’t move. We were stuck in the cul-de-sac watching this happen, worried about what would happen when the whole herd saw us. The dominant male elephant trumpeted to the young adult in the nearby bushes. Five minutes passed (or at least it felt like it) before the nearby elephant walked across the street to join the group. We were relieved. We took off and didn’t look back.

On our way back to camp, we saw Giraffe drinking from the main watering hole with their front legs spread apart to help them reach the water. We also saw another giraffe family, one of which was covered with tick birds. We had a braai (bbq) then went to bed.

The next day started slowly. We saw plenty of buck and zebra, but few big game. We spotted one elephant walking in the road and another near a creek bed. Before grabbing lunch, we drove by the main watering hole. To our surprise we found countless elephant drinking and playing around the small reservoir. They were discretely divided into three groups, and we witnessed one quarrel when a large elephant tried to join another group. The males from the group ran over and stood their ground, protecting the baby in their group. It ended pretty quickly though, with no real confrontation.

We also saw herds of impala and zebra drinking from the watering hole. Occasionally they would jump backward while drinking, spooked by something in the water. Soon afterward we saw a crocodile walk up the bank and relax in the sun.

After lunch we went back to the watering hole and saw that the dirt mound in the middle of the reservoir was moving! The hippo had been very still for the entire day or longer, probably enjoying the deepest area of the reservoir. It raised its head occasionally to breathe but would always lazily let it fall back down underwater. We saw a family of mongoose, watched the fish eagles, witnessed a beautiful orange African sunset, then drove back to camp for dinner and an early night.

The last day we didn’t see much wildlife on our way out. We followed the GPS home, which took us through a few small towns and then on main national routes. It was a much more relaxed and pleasant drive than the first. We stopped at Spur, a popular american food chain in South Africa. This one was the “Big Bear Spur”. Hayley snapped a picture of me in front of the sign, then we made our way back to Johannesburg.

We spent two days relaxing and visiting with friends, including a delicious dinner at Robyn and Warwic’s, before flying down to Cape Town. I will describe this in another post. Plans include wine tasting, visiting the southern cape, and riding the tram up to table mountain. Also I will document driving our craptastic rental car down some of the sketchiest roads in the world.

Tags: buffalo, elephant, hippo, impala, kruger park, leopard, lion, rhino, south africa, Travel

We explored London last week. Stepping off the plane at Heathrow airport, we picked up our bags and departed with no trouble from customs. The half hour Tube ride from Heathrow to the Burns Hotel was relatively uneventful- we stood up the whole time, stretching our legs, listening to a conversation between two ghetto men on the tube. At one point they were talking about pick pocketing tourists. We were happy to arrive at Earl’s Court with all our bags. I thought I heard them laughing as we stepped off the train. Frightening tourists is probably a fun past time for them.

After checking in to our room, we left the hotel in search of a cheap dine-in restaurant. I don’t think such a place exists in London. Instead we picked up what was to be our standard lunch and dinner for the next week- cheap but tasty sandwiches in cardboard boxes from one of the many corner markets. We walked through the Earl’s Court area and up to Kensington Gardens where we saw Kensington Palace, a large brick mansion surrounded by gardens, lawns and pathways.

The beautiful brick Kensington Palace on the west border of Kensington Gardens park.

Afterward, we walked back through the Kensington Gardens park and met Nick Boucher for dinner. We ate at a contemporary, light Italian/Greek restaurant and caught up. The food and company were both excellent.

Jet lag caught up to us so we walked back to the hotel. It was at this point that I took my first Larium malaria tablet in preparation for our Kruger Park trip the following week (starting tomorrow). We got ready for bed and just before closing my eyes, the drugs kicked in. For the next two to three days I felt like I was on a caffeine high. It was not very pleasant; although, I think it helped me adjust to the new time zone since I had trouble falling asleep even when I was exhausted.

Drug reactions aside, the next day was very fun. We met with one of Hayley’s friends who works in the CNN building. After Hayley got a tour of the news room, we walked to Mexi-Cali, a Mexican restaurant nearby Carnaby Street that claims to have authentic Californian fresh-mex. They use the same Burrito assembly line technique of many Californian mexican restaurants: steam the tortilla, add the ingredients, and wrap it up. While you don’t get to choose your ingredients, I think it worked well and the burrito was big and delicious. And at five English pounds (price) it should be.

We said our goodbyes then Hayley and I made our way to the National Portrait Gallery for the afternoon. Both of us were very excited to see paintings in person that were featured in many of our school textbooks. The gallery features the portraits of many well known kings, queens and other popular historical figures from the early 1500s to the present, including Henry VIII and his wives, Queen Elizabeth I and Shakespear. After the eighteenth century we retired to the Earl’s Court area and fell asleep.

An electric guitar player musically panhandling in a Tube station.

We spent day three with Nick Boucher and his girlfriend, Mary. We met at the Photographer’s Gallery and saw the works of Simon Foxton, the blatant homosexual fashion genius, and André Kertész, a famous black and white (film) urban photographer. Afterward, we grabbed a quick sandwich at Pret-a-Manger and walked the shopping district again, although this time we were introduced to delicious French macaroons. We ordered them to go and then relaxed for a while in the courtyard of the Royal Academy of Art, people watching and enjoying the infrequent sunshine.

The crowded and unique courtyard at the Royal Academy of Art.

Once baked and satiated, we walked through Covent Gardens and Piccadilly Circus. We skipped over most of Covent Gardens, only stopping for seconds to see the street performances. We spent about fifteen minutes or so trying to get good pictures of us doing stupid things under the interactive poster at Piccadilly Circus. I think I scored the best picture of Hayley blowing out candles.

Hayley wishing for better weather.

The weather turned dark and rain started pouring, so we took cover in the Walkabout Pub to watch South Africa take on New Zealand in the Tri-Nations Rugby tournament. The pub was packed but we arrived early so we scored a nice table with a good view of the big screen. After drinking a pint and watching South Africa dominate New Zealand, we ended the evening with a delicious meal at a funky urban pizza place. Again we said our goodbyes and went back to our room for an early night.

The Tower Bridge next to the Tower of London.

Day four was the most scenic day of our trip, walking six and a half miles from the Tower of London west along the South Bank of the Thames to the London Eye and south to the Imperial War Museum. We passed the new London Bridge, which is actually the second London Bridge I’ve seen after seeing the original in. Along the way, we saw Tower Bridge, Southwark Cathedral, the new London Bridge, Millenium Bridge, St. Paul’s Cathedral during a service, a replica of Sir Francis Drake’s ship, the parliament with Big Ben, and many ridiculous street performers, including a fake midget rocking out to techno music with a keyboard. I must admit that I was very unimpressed by the London Bridge, especially since one year earlier I had visited the original bridge in Lake Havasu, Arizona.

The London Eye is incredibly large and is one of the city’s many well known icons.

The Imperial War Museum was interesting, but very depressing. We visited the Holocaust exhibit, which shows in graphic detail the war crimes from WWII. It was very difficult to see what happened to most of my ancestors through photographs, video and graphic descriptions. I was actually very happy to leave the museum.

On our final and fifth day we visited the Natural History Museum and relaxed in Kensington Gardens. I finished up the Lord of the Rings under a collasal and vibrant tree next to the Prince Albert and Victoria (?) Memorial. We went back to the hotel, picked up our bags, and nearly missed our flight as the tube is madness during rush hour. We missed two trains in a row because we couldn’t physically fit ourselves and our bags through the subway doors. Luckily we made it on time and flew the red eye to Johannesburg, South Africa, which is where we are now.

Coming up next, the Webers tour Kruger Park in search of wild lion and cheetah.

Tags: Interactive, London, London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, Tower Bridge, Travel, Tube

We said goodbye to the Bay Area today. As usual the week was over too soon. On Thursday, we met Tyler and Pete C. for lunch at Brenda’s in the City. I’d say it was in a shady part of San Francisco, but I always think that wherever I go in the city. It’s the only place I’ve been that has filthy dive bars immediately next to five star restaurants. Anyway, Brenda’s was good.

Tyler took us by the street in Full House. We saw five tour buses drive by in the ten minutes we were there. And one guy drove by with his window down and shouted, “Wassup Danny Tanner!!”

The view above the Full House house.

We drove to Fisherman’s Wharf afterward and walked around Cannery Row and Pier 39. Hayley has been pestering me since our last disaster* to visit the harbor area, so I finally gave in. It was fun walking around, although I wish we had eaten at a real restaurant instead of In and Out. Check out our pics, which are posted in a million different places, including http://mswebby.com/flickr/.

The next day my masculinity was put to the test at the Filoli Gardens in Woodside. It was pretty cool for an hour, then I lost it and ran straight to the deli to have a drink. It’s tough being a dude in that place. Ok, honestly it was fine.

One of Filoli’s many Secret Garden-eque pathways.

We spent the rest of the trip hanging out with my folks. Last night mom and dad took Hayley and I to the über fancy Le Papillon in San Jose to celebrate both our anniversaries. My meal consisted of a glass of very nice champagne, a generous helping of lobster bisque and a delicious Pinot Noir Braised Duck Breast with Sour Cherry, Green Peppercorn Gastrique and Black Forbidden Rice. It was pretty fricking sweet, especially since we will be eating much less extravagant meals for the next year and a half (starting July 29, I’m milking this country for all it’s worth, baby).

We flew out today. When we arrived at home in San Diego, we tried Skype video chat with my folks and it worked great.

* Description of the “Last Disaster” mentioned above: We were at the Golden Gate bridge lookout point a few years back and I went prancing down through the shrubbery to check out the famous surf spot at the base of the bridge. Halfway down I noticed that I was surrounded by many beautiful bushes with leaves of three, oily texture and red tips. Yes, Poison Oak, my worst enemy that used to attack me regularly in Junior High while Mountain Biking.

I sprinted back through those bastard plants, ran to the car, changed into my red “santa pants” as Hayley calls them and proceeded to flip out like a school girl. We drove a mile before stopping at the first house I could find. I jumped out of the car, stripped down to the bare essentials and drenched myself under their garden hose, all the while hoping they wouldn’t come out and ask me what I was doing in their lawn. Hayley had put the seat all the way back and was hiding, although I think she may have been laughing at me. She’s very good at that.

We drove another twenty minutes before parking illegally in front of the CVS on Van Ness and I ordered Hayley to get me (1) rubbing alcohol and (2) cotton balls. I scrubbed my legs, arms, face, stearing wheel, shoes, Hayley, etc… until I had finally convinced myself that the Poison Oak was sufficiently removed from my skin.

In the end I didn’t actually get Poison Oak. I guess that’s either because the hose and rubbing alcohol worked, or because it wasn’t actually Poison Oak.

Tags: bay area, breakfast, garden, photography, photos, san diego, san francisco, sunnyvale, Travel