We’ve secured our campervan, grabbed some supplies, and made it to our first campsite in Blue Mountains National Park near Sydney.
It’s best to grab a site with power the first night to fully charge up the house battery, and we opted for one with a private bathroom/shower. We’re here for 2 nights.

We explored Sydney today—day 80 of our trip. These last 3 weeks seem like its own little vacation. Tomorrow we pick up our campervan to explore a bit more of the country, heading towards Melbourne for 11 days. And then it’s on to French Polynesia for a week. Somehow, we still have 7 flights left!
Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef
Despite the terrible weather we had the entire time we were in Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday Islands, we did make it out to the Great Barrier Reef for a snorkel. (So yes, Scott finally used his snorkeling mask he has hauled all over the world!)
Although the weather made for cloudy and dark water, we still saw many amazing fish and different corals. Looking forward to coming back to the Whitsundays to see the beautiful beaches and seeing more amazing marine life. -J🇦🇺



































Visiting the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary near Brisbane
We had a long layover in Brisbane, so we booked a tour that included a river cruise from the central city to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary—apparently, the first (since 1927!) and still leading sanctuary for these endangered animals.
The cruise featured prerecorded interpretative commentary, which was more interesting than we had expected. While you’re not passing important attractions on the ride, you do learn about the river and city. Most of the scenery, at least after you get out of the central city, are the backyard docks of residences—some historic, some elegant, but most nice but ordinary.
But you’re not here to learn about the river cruise—you’re here for the koala photos. So let’s just get right to it. -S🇦🇺
Look, I’m calling this guy Einstein, I don’t care what the sanctuary says his name is.
I get it, Mr Koala, that’s how I feel trying to get up some days, too.
I really like this quick snapshot of a young worker transporting a koala from one area to another, using a bribe of eucalyptus. She seems young and idealistic, dreaming of working here because she cares about koalas and wants to see the species survive. But her downward glance gives away her feelings now…even with its important mission, it’s also essentially just a zoo, one with captive wildlife, paraded for tourists to enjoy.
Anyway, I don’t think that’s actually how she feels. But that’s sorta the feeling we had during our visit. We were excited to see some koalas, at what we’re told is a premier koala sanctuary, but arrived to find a tourist-focused zoo—complete with additional tickets you can buy to feed the various animals.
A koala rests while the joey looks for some mischief.
A more complete view of “Einstein,” from the first close-up.
Koalas have interesting “hands,” which include three fingers and two opposing “thumbs,” designed to better grasp tree branches (the substantial claws help too).
This odd beaked owl is not an owl at all, but something called a tawny frogmouth bird. It was uncaged and free roaming in the back “nocturnal” lot, so I’m not sure if it was part of the sanctuary or not.
The sanctuary had a number of other animals found in Australia (including the farm petting zoo variety), including a reptile and insect exhibit. This was one of my most favorite photos of the day.
I forgot the name of this lizard, but it was one of my favorites at the sanctuary.
These damn lizards were everywhere. In the more popular areas near the snack bar, you had to watch where you stepped to avoid them.
Joey hanging on tight as mom starts off for another branch.
It was fun watching this young one scramble around before eventually bailing for a snuggle with mom.
Uh oh…looks like someone has gotten into the stash of “medicinal plants…”
Yep, this one too. It’s sleepy time.
Oh dear, and this one, too.
This guy’s double toenail caught my eye when I saw him. Apparently koalas have a unique adaptation where their second and third toes are fused together and appear as a single digit, but each ends in two separate claws.
A Tasmanian devil.
This is a pademelon, and it’s a marsupial that’s related to kangaroos and wallabies, but is much smaller.
A wombat sleeping in a log. Did you know that wombat poop is a square cube? Apparently that’s so it doesn’t roll away, as they use it to mark their territory.
Supposedly, this is an authentic Australian dingo…but it sure looks like a regular ol’ dog to me. 🤷♂️
There were plenty more animal photos, but I think we’ll leave it there at 20.
Ancient City of Polonnaruwa - UNESCO World Heritage Site #3 on our Day Tour of North-Central Sri Lanka
The third and final UNESCO Heritage site we visited on our day trip to North-Central Sri Lanka was to the ancient city of Polonnaruwa, the second kingdom in, and capital of, Sri Lanka after the destruction of Anuradhapura in 993. Trade and agriculture were key here, leading to the building of an intricate irrigation system that still used today to supply the water necessary for the paddy cultivation in the eastern part of the country. This was probably our favorite part of the tour, especially since we love exploring ancient ruins. -J 🇱🇰There are many ruins scattered throughout the site. Here is a ladder leaned up against a ruin wall to show the scale of some of these ruins.
There are many statues scattered throughout the site, sometimes framed by things like doorways.
These two jokers….
…were guarding the stairways to see this guy.
Peek-a-Boo.
Nope, he was actually the centerpiece in this ruin.
The ruins have quite a bit of detail still visible.
Didn’t I already tell you there was no more monkeying around?!
There are many temples to see.
And Buddhas sitting, standing, and laying around.
A few shots from Gardens by the Bay in Singapore -S🇸🇬
Night scenes from Singapore -S🇸🇬
“This is my last day for these clothes.”
- what you say when you’re on a very long trip. -S🇸🇬
Sigiriya Ancient Rock Fortress - UNESCO World Heritage Site #2
The second UNESCO World Heritage Site we saw during our day trip from Colombo was the Sigiriya ancient rock fortress, dominated by the massive column of granite. In the 5th Century, King Kashyapa selected the rock and surrounding area for his new capital. On the top of the rock are archeological ruins, but we didn’t have time to climb up and explore. So we settled for a tuk tuk tour around the area checking out the surrounding ruins. -J 🇱🇰
Here is the Sigiriya rock:

No monkeying around - there are many ruins to see:
The Ruins:

Cairns in a circle:
Many ruins have this bright green moss on them:

I said quit monkeying around:
Oh, the weird Buddha with the Cobra behind him will definitely scare the monkeys away:
During the tuk tuk ride, we noticed many of the roads contain these fences - it’s to keep the wild elephants from getting to close to homes and tourists (just like deer fences in the US):
Dambulla Cave Temple - Sri Lanka UNESCO World Heritage Site #1
While in Sri Lanka, we did a day tour from Colombo to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the first of which was Dambulla Cave Temple - the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. The complex dates from the second and third centuries BC. The main site is spread over 5 caves and contains paintings and statues relating to Gautama Buddha, Sri Lankan kings, and gods and goddesses. -J 🇱🇰
Here is what the Temple looks like from the outside:
The cave ceilings are adorn with vivid paintings from centuries ago:
The caves themselves have many statutes of various numbers and sizes:



When your beer comes with…ice and a straw?? 🧐🤨
(it is an excellent cherry/raspberry/apricot smoothie sour from a Latvian brewery) -S🇸🇬

A random Singaporean street scene -S 🇸🇬
Sunset over Singapore, from our hotel’s rooftop pool. -S 🇸🇬
Other random shots from Singapore’s Chinatown. -J 🇸🇬










Street art scenes in Singapore’s Chinatown -S 🇸🇬
Random shots from our walk around Singapore. We specifically visited Merlion Park, home of Singapore’s iconic half-lion, half-fish statue/fountain. -J 🇸🇬









Reminder - Final Zoom Call of Our Adventure
Hey all - in case you missed the post here, we’re having our final Zoom call of our adventure on Friday night!
Friday, Jan. 31, 2025 at 6:00 pm Phoenix time (8:00 pm EST) (it will be 9 am on 2/1 for us!)
Bring your favorite weekend happy hour-ish beverages and jump on and say hi. We are missing everyone and would love to see your faces and hear your voices 😁
Tell us how you’re surviving these days!
Zoom call info
Here’s the link: https://zoom.us/j/93145557981
Hit an Irish Pub in our 19th country today -Singapore! (19/32) -J 🇸🇬



A bit more history on this place, the first Irish pub to open in Singapore (back in 1995):
A quintessential Irish pub Molly Malone’s was the first Irish pub to open in Singapore, way back in 1995. More than a quarter-century on, she still maintains that unrivalled jovial atmosphere intrinsic to any classic Irish Pub.
Molly Malone’s Irish Pub was actually born in Ireland and transported piece by piece to Singapore, where she was reconstructed in 1995 on the corner of Circular Road and Canton Street. There she remained for just over 9 years, before packing up house and moving across the street to the helm of Circular Road on Christmas Eve of 2004.
Colombo National Museum and Independence Square
Sri Lanka has a National Museum that was built and opened in 1877. It focuses on the various Sri Lankan Kingdoms that existed before the Dutch took over in 1658, and the subsequent British rule (1796-1948). Interestingly, the museum now holds 6 artifacts that the Dutch took in approximately 1765, that were only returned to Sri Lanka in 2023. -J 🇱🇰

Wow-look at those feet!








We also visited Independence Square, dedicated to the independence gained from the British in 1948 (the museum there was closed when we went).


More highlights from Yala National Park
If you haven’t seen our first post about our leopard sighting already, go check it out.

A langur monkey with baby
An Asian green bee-eater out for a stroll
These painted storks give off some flamingo vibes
“Which way did he go George, which way did he go?”
I could have posted an entire album of these two looking in various directions, both of their heads swiveling back and forth surveying the landscape. It was quite comical.
Asian elephants are different than African ones; here you can easily see how much smaller their ears are.
Man, I just really wanted to give this guy some lotion. Look at all those wrinkles!
When you just wait for lunch to magically arrive in your mouth
We haven’t seen nearly as many reptiles as I had expected on this trip, but we ran across a whole bunch of monitors here
These are spotted deer, and they seem like a perfect snack for a leopard, as we nearly witnessed.
Licking its chops, perhaps starting to get a bit hungry
Getting a bit more interested…
But it seemed like the leopard wasn’t willing to work too hard for dinner, at least this early in the evening.
This little guy seems like a crotchety old character
One thing I don’t get about peacocks is how colorful they are…but only from the waist up. It’s like they went over budget during development and had to skimp on the lower half.
How close does the wildlife get on a safari? Well, sometimes they have to walk around the vehicles.
Awww shit, that’s the end of the safari photos! (sorry, but we’ve had to see this far too often the last several weeks, so now you get to see it once, too 😝).

-S 🇱🇰