1 Northlander October 2012 - North Country Region

Sydney, Australia. It was unseasonably cold for a Sydneywinter! 50F and blustery. Especially windy on the ferry.WR Brice photo.The beach, lagoon, and fringe reef at the RarotonganHotel.Old Volcano – W.R. Brice photosWhy go to Rarotonga? The water is the clearest water I have everseen – clearer than Florida, the Caribbean, the Mediterraneanor even Australia. The lagoon adjacent to our hotel is a marinereserve and the snorkeling was like swimming in a rainbow offish! The blue fish in the water are Trevally about 1-1.5 feetlong.We would love to go back to Rarotonga someday!On to Australia!It was a 7 hour flight to Sydney. While in Australia we alsovisited the Whitsunday Islands (to see the Great Barrier Reef),the Sunshine Coast (to see cousins), and Tasmania (to see familyand scenery)As far as our favorite marque goes, I saw only two Porscheson the streets in Manly. Perhaps because it was winter. Butcame across a Lamborghini in one of the shopping arcades inSydney. It was there to advertise the new Batman movie. Seephoto at rightOn the way in we stayed at Manly Beach so we had to take theferry into downtown Sydney. The Manly ferry gives the bestviews of the Opera House and Bridge! You can climb to thetop of the bridge as my dad and son did.Tasmanian Devil at Taronga Zoo. No visit to Sydney withchildren is complete without a visit to the Taronga Zoo!Their Australian animal section is great! We saw devilsin Tasmania, too.On to Queensland and the Whitsunday Islands!October 201243 Northlander