March 25 - Australia: Sydney, New South Wales 

We had a nice sleep-in this morning, but our main goal of the day was to wash and wax the truck.  There was no place to do this at the apartment, so we had to find another place either to do it ourselves or pay to have it done.  We drove around for a while and ended up with the latter.  The deal we opted for was the "Deluxe Car Wash" which is one step above the "Budget Car Wash", but included cleaning the inside.  We figure that they would do a better job than we when cleaning the inside of the truck.  And this is important if we want to get a good sale price.  So we dropped off the truck and went to do a bit of sight-seeing while we waited.

Australian Museum

We ended up at the Australian Museum, which is right next to Hyde Park.  We figured it would be something cool like a Natural History Museum.  That it was, but the first exhibit we walked into was a physiology exhibit for little kids.  Naturally, we were a bit concerned that this was a repeat of the Singapore Science Center (see Nov 16), where the entire museum was created for children.  But it was just that one exhibit that was for kids.  And, actually, it was a lot of fun!  There were a bunch of games to play relating to the human body.  I know that doesn't sound very interesting, but we had a great time with the "Sperm Racer" video game, where the goal was to navigate the maze of fallopian tubes and get to the egg.   (I'm not kidding.)  Educational and fun at the same time!

"Go Sperm Racer GO!!!"

There was even a section called "fun with fiber" which outlined the benefits of fiber on the human body.  The exhibit was accompanied by sound effects of farting, burping, and other bodily functions.  Such a riot.  You could even squeeze the appendices to see the difference between digestive system with fiber and one without.  I gotta tell you, I'm convinced.  Fiber will now be a religious part of my diet forever more.

The rest of the museum was more grown-up.  There was a very interesting exhibit dedicated to the struggles of Australia's indigenous cultures, e.g. the Aboriginies.  Very similar to the civil rights struggle of African-Americans.  Except, in the 1920s, thousands of children were taken from their parents to be raised in "proper white homes".  This generation of children is now called the "lost generation.  So part of the exhibit included one artist's interpretation of this generation.  The "lost generation" is the basis of the recent movie Rabbit Proof Fence, by the way.  I don't know if this movie is generating as much press in the US as it is here, but it's a movie I'd really like to see someday.

And, like all natural history museums, this one had the obligatory prehistoric/dinosaur/evolution exhibit.  We breezed through it until we got to the part about archeological research.  This section talked about Louis and Mary Leakey and the Olduvai Gorge, which we visited in Tanzania.  (See June 26).  So we found it pretty interesting.

Hyde Park

After the museum, we walked to St Mary's Cathedral and ate some chips on the steps of the cathedral.  After our little snack, we walked into the cathedral but mass was being held so we kept to the back.  It was a lovely cathedral, though.

St. Mary's Catholic Cathedral

By this time, our truck was ready so we walked back to the car park through Hyde Park.  The park is a major landmark in the middle of the city, and has some lovely memorials and fountains.

Captain Cook in front of the AMP Tower

Hyde Park Walkway

Afternoon Waxing Job

After picking up the truck, which was lovely and clean, we went back to the apartment to chill out for a bit.  Then we went down to the garage to wax the truck.  Usually, this is Jon's job because he does it just for fun.  But this time, I helped out because it was to make the truck look better.  My job was to first clean all the bug guts off the front of the truck - not an easy task.  But it definitely looked good when I was finished.  Then, I took a towel and buffed off the wax where Jon had waxed.

Two hours and one waxed car later, we were done.  We were also starving as it was close to dinnertime.  So we went upstairs, showered ,and made dinner.