Royal National Park and Time in the Rocks

Last weekend, IES took us on a trip to the Royal National Park. Fun fact - it is the second oldest national park in the world, right after Yellowstone! AND it used to just be called National Park, but they added the Royal when Queen Elizabeth II drove through it in the 1950s. It was beautiful and so diverse! There was forest, there was beach, there was cliff, and more. I also met a couple people that go to UVA that are here studying at a different university. They were nice.

In the park, we went for a 5 mile hike that ended at Wattamolla Beach, where they had an authentic Australian BBQ prepared for us. We ate sausages, and instead of a bun, you use a piece of bread and also include a piece of cheese for a little extra flair. I also tried kangaroo meat - but I didn't really like it, which I'm kind of happy about. Not exactly something I want to develop a taste for.

That night was the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade. Mardi Gras is basically pride here. We couldn't see the parade very much at all, but it was fun to be in the crowd.

We COULD see rainbow fire!

All dolled up

The next day some of us went down to explore the Rocks Markets. The Rocks is the oldest neighborhood of Sydney, with gorgeous historic sandstone buildings. And on weekends, they have a cool market with food, crafty things, and clothes. It was fun to look around. Also, these Irish dancers had a performance outside of a pub!

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/063e13_2da79e58714547a0be19381d694053f4/720p/mp4/file.mp4

We had brunch at a restaurant called Pancakes on the Rocks, where I got a decadent peanut butter chocolate pancake stack. VERY sugary. I would definitely go back.

A few days later I found myself back in the Rocks for a free outdoor movie. They were showing Back to the Future and I managed to snag tickets. They had lawn chairs set up, it was the perfect temperature outside, and the occasional bird or bat flew overhead. Perfect way to end the day.

P.S. I went back and added a couple pictures to the surfing post if you want to see me in a wetsuit! None actually up on the board though :(