Photos from Royal National Park

An hour's train ride south of Sydney
Hiked 10 km on the famous Coast Track
Probably one of the most beautiful parks I've ever visited











I believe those flowers are Heath Banksia (Banksia ericifolia), though I could definitely be wrong.

Anyways, it was just a fantastic walk. Coming to visit this park again may have actually become the #1 reason I would want to come back to Australia, overshadowing anything in Sydney or tropical north Queensland. Actually, the Great Barrier Reef comes close as well, but who knows how long that'll be around. But yeah, my walk covered only the tiniest sliver of the park's territory, and there's some really different habitats in the other corners that I'd love to see someday. Just a great park in general, it gets my highest recommendation.

As for Sydney, I browsed through a Sydney Food Guide in the bookstore, and have now singled out some completely clutch hole-in-the-wall restaurants in the labyrinth commonly known as Sydney Chinatown. For dinner today, I walked into what looked like one of those apartment/business building complexes that nobody actually uses, went up one floor, and suddenly found the best Japanese ramen noodles I've ever had, for five dollars total. Swish.

But I'm also leaving for home on Sunday. Honestly, my fond memories of the program are much less intense these days, so it feels like the right time to head home. I had a great time on this mini-vacation, but it's definitely time for me to dive back into the real world. See you there!