Friends of the Chronicle Mary and Gary Baker recently took a trip to Australia. They tell of some of their many adventures.

Our grand adventure to Down Under began with a short road trip to Charlotte to catch a flight to New York.

An overnight there started us on a 10-hour flight to beautiful Honolulu.

Another 10-hour flight took us into Sydney, Australia.

The trip involves not only a 13 hour time difference, but somewhere over the Pacific Ocean our flight crossed the International Date Line.

Not only was this a complete flip flop in terms of day and night but a day was lost in the process; something to be regained on the return trip.

Sydney is a large metropolitan city of approximately 4.5 million. It sits on the Southeastern coast of Australia, the world’s largest island country slightly less than the size of the US.

Our stay began deep in the heart of the Chinatown section of Sydney, in a small room hardly larger than the bed and luggage.

The first morning, we ventured to a nearby park to catch a bus tour of the local area.

We noticed a monument of several extremely large artillery shells in front of the ANZAC museum. Curious, and with my interest in military, we proceeded to the ANZAC museum directly behind the monument.

ANZACs are the name given to the Australia New Zealand Army Command. They have a proud tradition of military service dating to World War I when the combined forces attacked Turkish troops at Gallipoli.

The museum is located in a large 3 story monument with a number of artifacts, statues, and memorials to fallen soldiers. In the gift shop, we picked up a couple of stars with names of the deceased veterans. These stars were released on the second floor overlooking a statue to fallen soldiers.

The bus tour took us around the city to Mrs. Macquarie’s Porch, a magnificent view of Sydney Harbor overlooking the iconic Sydney Opera House and bridge. The tour continued to the cliffs overlooking Sydney, the lighthouse, and to Bondi Beach, a favorite surfing and swimming area.

Day 2 found us on a bus trip to Canberra, the nation’s capital, about 175 miles away. Throughout our trip, we found the people of Australia and New Zealand to be very hospitable and friendly.

Halfway through the journey, we were delighted to stop at a pie shop. Pies of many sizes and flavors were there in abundance - quiche, fruit, beef, pork. You name it, you could find it. We found many such pie shops, bakeries, and fast food places offering these pies throughout the country.

The first stop was the Australian Parliament building, a modern edifice sitting on top of a hill, overlooking the old Parliament Building and directly across from the Australian War Memorial.

The War Memorial contains many artifacts and memorials to the ANZACs in every war of the 20th and 21st centuries.

I raced down the hill about a half mile to take photos of cavalry statues seen as we drove up to the War Memorial. As a former cavalry officer, 10th Cavalry Regiment, in Korea in 1966-1967, such a photo was mandatory.

Day 3 found us in St. Laurence church (Anglican) with beautiful stained glass windows. We listened to the boys choir and orchestra practicing for the Easter service.

Nearby was the Queen Victoria Building, a beautiful old structure now converted into a three story mall with a huge four-sided clock hangs in the central court.

We later joined a walking tour led by a young lady with wonderful knowledge of the history and sights of the city. Passing through Hyde Park, the military Barracks, hospital, and local Parliament Building, we ended on the waterfront close by the Sydney Opera House and bridge.

A local street market offered art, crafts, and food. It was here that we tasted emu, kangaroo, and crocodile skewers.

Our tour ended with us departing to embark on the Noordam, our home for the next 14 days to tour New Zealand.