Chinese Garden of Friendship III

The Chinese Garden of Friendship was designed by Sydney's Chinese sister city, Guangzhou in China. Sydney's Chinatown complements the area's already rich Chinese heritage and culture. The gardens were officially opened in 1988 as part of Sydney's bicentennial celebrations and they were named the Garden of Friendship symbolising the bond established between China and Australia.

Bugs Bunny - they are clearly related! You can see that can't you?!

Arty stone or stone art?

Aw - it is just perfect. All you need is a beautiful princess and a couple of warriors...

A waterdragon-head? Reminds me of a horse-head of chest game...

Hahahahahaha - found them so cute sitting like that. Had to take a pic. ;)

Hmmm that stuff smells nice!

Chinese Garden of Friendship IV

The whole garden cannot be seen from any point within the garden. The garden has a number of features including the Dragon Wall sybolising the bond between New South Wales and Guangzhou, the Water Pavilion of Lotus Fragrance, the Twin Pavilion and The Tea House that offers traditional Chinese tea and other refreshments.

The Dragon Wall sybolising the bond between New South Wales and Guangzhou.

The golden daragon represents Guangzhou and the blue one Sydney. in the middel between them is the pearl of walth and prosper. Depending of the point of view it looks like Guangzhou is ready to snatch the pearl and to take off...

The Twin Pavilion.

Isn't this thing cool? It was suddently there - in the Garden in the bloody middle of Sydney.

Man - do not know what I thought to have this one taken.

No worries - I do smile from time to time! ;)

Blue Mountains I

Did an Eco Tour into the Blue Mountains. On our way we drove through the Olympic Village.

The Blue Mountains is a mountainous region in New South Wales, Australia, which borders Sydney's metropolitan area, beginning approximately 50 kilometres west of the city's centre.[1] The area is generally considered to begin on the west side of the Nepean River and to extend westward as far as Coxs River.[2] Consisting of a sandstone plateau, the area is dissected by gorges of up to 760 metres in depth, and has high points up to 1,190 metres above sea level. A large part of the Blue Mountains is incorporated in the Greater Blue Mountains Area World Heritage Site and its constituent seven national parks and a conservation reserve.

Blue Mountains II

Following European settlement of the Sydney area, the area was named the Carmarthen and Lansdowne Hills by Arthur Phillip in 1788. The Carmarthen Hills were in the north of the region and the Lansdowne Hills were in the south. The name Blue Mountains, however, was preferred and is derived from the blue tinge the range takes on when viewed from a distance. The tinge is caused by mie scattering which occurs when incoming ultraviolet radiation is scattered by particles within the atmosphere creating a blue-greyish colour to any distant objects, including mountains and clouds. It is widely, but incorrectly, believed that this is created by light reflecting off eucalypt leaves.

The Blue Mountains are a distinct physiographic section of the larger Hunter-Hawkesbury Sunkland province, which in turn is part of the larger East Australian Cordillera physiographic division.

The predominant natural vegetation of the higher ridges is eucalypt forest. Heath-like vegetation is present on plateau edges above cliffs. The sheltered gorges often have a temperate rainforest. There are also many hanging swamps with button grass reeds and thick, deep black soil. Wollemia nobilis, the "Wollemi pine", a relic of earlier vegetation of Gondwana, is found in remote and isolated valleys of the Wollemi National Park.

The Scenic Skyway: a glass-bottom aerial cable car that traverses an arm of the Jamison Valley.

Blue Mountains III

The the three sisters are a famous rock formation in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. They are close to the town of Katoomba and are one of the Blue Mountains' most famous sights, towering above the Jamison Valley. Their names are Meehni (922 m), Wimlah (918 m), and Gunnedoo (906 m).

Drei deutsche Studenten aus Leipzig.

The railway is the best in the world.The Scenic Railway is reputedly the steepest cable-driven funicular railway in the world, with an incline of 52 degrees, over a distance of 415 metres.

It was originally constructed for a coal and oil shale mining operation in the Jamison Valley in the 1880s, in order to haul shale from the valley floor up the cliff to the escarpment above. It was converted for use as a tourist attraction prior to World War II.

Built in 1958, the Scenic Skyway is another cable-driven conveyance at Scenic World. It travels across the gorge above the Katoomba Falls, 200 metres above the valley floor. The original Scenic Skyway was removed early in 2004 and replaced by a new cable car.