Beware of Flying Foxes

After 2 tours through Sydney on previous vacations, I wondered what was in store this time around with Martin.  Would it be the same old 3 hour obligatory tour, or would we discover some hidden gems and feel more like a local.  I am not sure about feeling like a local (the sunburned didn´t help there), but there were quite a few new places to see and things to do that never made it on my radar before.

As we were staying in Manly for the week, Martin was able to have the best introduction to the city possible - a view from the water on the Manly ferry.  And while the views checked both the Opera House and Harbor Bridge boxes, we decided for a more up close and personal look at the famed waving arches of the Opera House before embarking on new territory – the Botanical Gardens.

 The view from the Ferry!

 Martin taking it all in

The Botanical Gardens are a local highlight, with over 150 acres of gardens and pathways along the bay.  However, they are most famously known for their flying foxes... Still not positive what flying foxes were, we completed our walk from the Opera House, along the water´s edge and headed into the middle of the park.  There, we were greeted by a wall of noise, ranging from the innocent birds to the aggressive insects, all working in harmony to make us feel like we were in the middle of the bush and/or Congo.  And upon further inspection and glance to the sky we were alarmed to notice that the most aggressive noises were coming from a large colony of bats hanging in the trees and flying overhead. ..we had found the flying foxes.  A large species of the fruit bat, these guys can weigh up to 2 lbs and have a wing span of over 3 feet.  And they are in such abundance in the gardens that the city tried, unsuccessfully, to get rid of them back in 2011.

Slightly creepy, and incredibly large, these soaring mammals got a little too close for comfort, so we quickly wrapped up the tour of the gardens and made our way over to the more civilized Rocks for lunch before making the trek to Darling Harbor.  We of course managed to pass a park along the way with at least 50+ people working out on their lunch breaks, making us feel even more guilty about the meat pies we had just devoured.  Nothing like a cold beer on Darling Harbor to ease the pain J

Our tour of Sydney ended with a stroll through the retail district, stopping only to gaze at the pretty things in the windows of Prada, Gucci, and Tiffany.  Why this never made it to the previous sight-seeing list, I will never know.