On the departure day a year ago, my #Australia trip plans had already been thrown into chaos and brought back into order. As originally planned, I was going to connect via San Francisco for my first flight on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner for the flight to Sydney. Qantas notified me 24 hours before departure that flight was cancelled. I rebooked to go via Los Angeles for my first flight on an Airbus A380. Lucky to get window seats again. I still flew a 787 on the return. #aviation #travel #avgeek

A quirk of transpacific flights is crossing the Date Line, losing a calendar day westbound and repeating one eastbound. If my LAX-SYD flight a year ago hadn't been delayed 5 hours waiting for mechanics to replace an engine sensor, I wouldn't have seen any of January 22. The A380 was full to the last seat because it had absorbed the cancelled SFO-SYD flight's passengers, including me. We finally took off at 1AM PST, arrived 15 hours later in Sydney at 10:30AM AEDT. #aviation #travel #avgeek

A year ago (24 Jan 2025) on my Australia trip, I took a train from Sydney to Katoomba to visit Blue Mountains National Park's scenic overlooks there. Among the many sights was a rock formation called the Three Sisters. (It's still the 23rd here on the US West Coast. I'll post my year-ago photos on the day in Australian time.) Part of the point of this expedition was to explore more outside the big cities, which were all I saw on my 2007 visit. #Australia #travel #tourist

A year ago, as I explored Katoomba and its viewpoints for Australia's Blue Mountains, it was fairly common for fellow tourists to greet each other and talk about where we're from. I found out that was how far I had to go from home to find someone who hadn't heard of Oregon. 😀 (Oregon has landmarks called Three Sisters and Blue Mountains too.) #Australia #travel #tourist

A year ago on 24 Jan 2025, I came back to Sydney in the evening and explored Circular Quay (pronounced "key"), including pictures of the world-famous Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. I had been there before in 2007. But it's always a fun place to go to. It was busy during the Friday evening of Australia Day weekend, which would include a Sunday national-televised/streamed concert and fireworks show. #Australia #travel #tourist

Continuing recounting my #Australia trip a year ago... 25 Jan 2025 I met up with fellow avgeek / pilot @Leighton and he showed me more places around Sydney. He acted as my guide on the trip. I returned the favor when he visited America in June & July. So neither of us has to drive on the "wrong side of the road" from our perspectives. https://avgeek.social/@ikluft/113892907805875169 #travel #tourist

Pictures from exploring central Sydney a year ago, 25 Jan 2025. 😎 #Australia #travel #tourist

A year ago on my visit to #Australia... every year 26 January is #AustraliaDay. @Leighton was showing me around, though the Sydney Bridge Climb is something we had each done before. I think I can do the Bridge Climb every time I visit. Definitely worthwhile for the views of Sydney Harbour. #travel #tourism

Last year I got an education about #AustraliaDay. It has similar controversial history as Columbus Day in America. It sounds like it should be a celebration of Australia. But it was named by the British for the day their fleet landed at Sydney Cove. The indigenous people derided it as "Invasion Day". I admire how current-day Australia makes efforts to turn it into the celebration of Australia it sounds like, including indigenous people in events. #Australia #travel #tourism

A year ago at the national-televised #AustraliaDay celebration (concert+fireworks), @Leighton and I found a great spot to view the show where we could see the fireworks, projections on the Opera House, and behind us they were launching the television drones. As I took video of a #drone launch, a band started in perfect timing. So I panned the view around the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Opera House, water and crowds. Awesome to be there. https://avgeek.social/@ikluft/113893863478320347 #Australia #travel #tourism #avgeek

A year ago on my #Australia trip, 27 Jan 2025, while on the way out of Sydney, @Leighton and I stopped at a planespotting area by the Sydney Airport. AvGeeks gotta go see airplanes! #aviation #travel #avgeek

A year ago on my #Australia trip, @Leighton showed me around the Australian Capital in Canberra. These pics show the Parliament building. Not shown here, we also stopped by the #aviation regulatory agency CASA's building - he wanted photos for his university lecture slides. https://avgeek.social/@ikluft/113899635160280840 #travel #tourism

Remembering a year ago to my #Australia trip... When we got to Melbourne, it was the farthest I had been from home... again, since it was my 2nd visit to Melbourne. I had a few days exploring on my own while Leighton returned to his day job at the university. Even without him showing me around, having a local's suggestions helped find lots of new things to see. Sights included a high-rise observation deck and criss-crossing the central business district. https://avgeek.social/@ikluft/113920424195290839 #travel #tourism

A year ago on my #Australia trip, 1 Feb 2025, @Leighton showed me the Great Ocean Road. This is apparently something most Melbourne and southern Victoria residents are proud of because another friend there also offered to do that drive. While coastal roads often have nice views, The Great Ocean Road is worthy of its fame for the limestone cliffs and rock formations. https://avgeek.social/@ikluft/113925573852876062 #travel #tourism

A year ago on my #Australia trip, 1 Feb 2025, @Leighton drove and showed me the famous Great Ocean Road. The highlight of the day was at multiple stops along Port Campbell National Park with limestone formations called the Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge, London Bridge and the Bay of Islands. https://avgeek.social/@ikluft/113926738025078442 #travel #tourism

More pictures from a year ago, 1 Feb 2025, at Port Campbell National Park along the Great Ocean Road in southern Victoria state, #Australia. #travel #tourism

Also a year ago on the Great Ocean Road drive in #Australia, @Leighton spotted and pointed out a #Koala🐨 in a eucalyptus tree at the Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve. It's very rare to get to see them in the wild. This nature reserve is in the crater of a dormant volcano🌋, so additional interest for me. No volcanoes in Australia have erupted during written history. But Tower Hill erupted forming its maar crater since Aboriginal settlement. https://avgeek.social/@ikluft/113959252348698296 #travel #tourism