Wednesday, January 26, 2011

waltzing matilda

Today was our fourth Australia Day in Sydney, and it was apparently the hottest one in twenty years. Yikes. (I thought last year was hotter, but what do I know?) Anyway - we celebrated Australia's 110th birthday with lots of activities in the sunshine. Starting out just like last year, we got up in the very early darkness and headed to Parramatta for the dawn hot air balloon launch.


Unlike last year, the weather was gorgeous, without a single drop of rain. The wind was blowing in the wrong direction, however, so the balloons didn't actually launch. But we did manage to take some great photos. The colours of the balloons were beautiful against the brilliant blue summer sky. Note the balloon reminding you to 'Slip! Slop! Slap!' I am happy to announce that I did all three!

It's not easy for me to get out of bed at 4:30am with a smile on my face, but it was totally worth it. Not everyone thought the balloons were wonderful, however. This guy wasn't so sure.


As usual, I took more photos of people than of anything else. I love that my long lens allows me to take a close up of someone without them even knowing it. People watching is always a good time; so many quintessential Aussie moments to capture this morning.


Just like last year, I headed back to bed for awhile, before we headed down to the harbour to watch the boat races and air show. Strangely, a thick fog had rolled in off the coast, and so the tall ships looked almost ghostly, floating through the mist.


It's kind of a bummer to have a holiday smack in the middle of the week, but always nice to have a day off to spend together. Definitely another successful Australia Day. Happy Birthday Australia!

4 comments:

Cristin said...

Great photos - I love all the kids, especially.

We missed you yesterday!

Mimi and Joe said...

Agree - Awesome photos!

Dizz27 said...

123rd Australia Day. 110th birthday would have been Jan 1st Federation.

Valerie said...

Actually, if you went by the landing of the first fleet in 1788, then it would in fact be the 223rd Australia Day.
However, since the Admiralty didn't actually recognise the name "Australia" until 1824 (187 years ago) - I am not sure that you can count those first 36 years.
Let's just agree that it's been 110 years since Federation... and it was a great Australia Day. ;)