Sydney 27-29 March 2008 - Part 3

A shepard dog rounding up three geese to make them run straight in a line, amongst the crowd. Sheng said he bet the geese don't even know they're dressed up so retardedly. haha. DUH!

Sheng in front of a hat shop "The good, the bad and the ugly". He said he had to take a photo with the shop as that's the name of his grandfather's favourite movie.

We then walked into the sheep shearing shed.
Oooh, there were piles of wool lying on tables and Sheng immediately rushed over to touch the wool...and got stopped by some of the officials. haha! The piles of wool were part if this week-long sheep shearing competition. They were due for inspection and grading for the prize presentation the next day. Anyway, the wool was very soft, but quite dirty.
On the stage were 2 guys shearing a sheep, in front of a camera man. Think they were filming some sort of documentary. anyway, it looked really scary for the sheep. At first, it's head was between the man's legs, so it can't see what's being done to its body. Then when the man started shearing it's wool, it began struggling and kicking and stomping its feet, that's why the second man had to come and anchor it steady. Maybe it was hurting, coz we saw some raw flesh/blood. After a while, the sheep (head no longer btw the guy's legs) just leaned its head against the guy's legs and slumped there looking sedated and retarded watching the guy shear its ass and legs. haha.
Some of the experts grading the wool. Think they assess the quality of the wool and how it's sheared? Dunno.
Milking Barn. haha. These cows have just given birth, and they are used for milking demostrations to kids. Their kids are in a small compound nearby.

We then walked out and saw a Cattle Yearling competition. It was really weird coz ppl were just sitting there quietly looking at cattle...which were just standing there quietly.

This is the Angus (Black cows) 3 years and under category. Their trainers/breeders are standing next to them with a long stick with a small metal hook at the end, which they use to scratch the cow's bellies. Apparantly that keeps the cattle docile.
They're judged on like how well its bred--bone structure, fur, colour, grooming, etc. Just like dog shows. haha. There were many different categories.

This is a demonstration of how milking is done in milk production farms. It was too squeezy we couldn't get in to watch.

We walked over to the NAB Arena and there was a horse breeding competition going on. Later in the day there was supposed to be an equestrian competition as well.
Sheng in front of the NAB Arena.

Vintage car exhibition. Nearby we also saw an antique machinery exhibition, where they had different really old motor parts (from like early 1900s).

We entered a tent which said "Save the Bilbys" Bilbys are uniquely Australian creatures which look like rabbits. But they're endangered because of the introduction of...can't remember what animal..which can eat numerous bilbys at one go...in the tent was also a cute sleeping koala!

The lazy koala! like that also can sleep...

Next we rushed over to the carnival rides section of the Easter Show. OOOHHH!! a theme park! haha the rides looked exhilarating man! haha.

After buying some shiny ride coupons, Sheng dashed straight to this octopus tentacle like ride which spins u in all directions--the 3 large arms spin round like a fan and also tilts in different directions. And the individual clusters spin forward, backward.
There it is. We went on and it feels really scary coz the seat is not really a seat, it's just a bum rest so you're kinda standing and ur legs are totally dangling straight off. It was mega scary!! I screamed the ENTIRE ride and I was so scared!! Especially when it spins forward. I keep thinking if this chest bar comes off, I'll just fall off and die. I was clinging on so tightly to it and screaming my head off. just as I was thinking "omg, i want to get off", it started spinning faster!! haha. Sheng was screaming for the fun of it. i swear my screams overshadowed and drowned out all other screams and shouts. haha.

Anyway after that i was quite shaken. Gawd, I've become a coward. I was really surprised at how scared I was! I was reminded of how when we were 10, we sat the Wipeout at Dream World in Gold Coast, and we weren't even scared at all! haha. The older I get, the more timid I get as well.

Next, we went to sit this free-falling thing. man, i was actually worried abt riding it. But i counted based on the round before ours, that the free falling was only for 5s. Only 5s of trauma--manageable.

We got on, it went up and i wasn't so scared yet, coz it'd stay up there for a while. Up there, the view was quite good and i was chatting with Sheng. But i was also v scared coz i knew anytime, it was gonna fall and i'd feel like dying! as the seconds ticked by i got more anxious. and suddenly, it dropped!! I screamed the whole 5s, but then it was over. Phew! I'm still alive. haha.

Later Sheng said during the first ride, he thought I was screaming for fun, but i wasn't! I was seriously quite freaked out. haha. Anyway, Sheng was looking temptingly at this horrendous ride, which was kinda like a longer higher version of the first octopus ride, tho it didn't really seem as scary coz the ppl weren't screaming much. But thank goodness it cost 15 dollars each, so we skipped it and opted for the "Spaceship" instead.

Spaceship is kinda like Gravatron. it spins around so fast that you stick to the wall. Sheng was very amused by it. During the ride, waa, it was crazy, we couldn't move our necks at all, and it was difficult to breathe. Also, I feel like my cheeks are sagging now, coz it pulled my cheek against the wall. haha.

After that, we went to eat a snack and watch some wood chopping competition. First competition was axe throwing finals. There were participants representing the different Australian states, and even overseas, from New Zealand, Canada and USA.

Axe throwing is crazy! You fling a heavy axe onto a large wooden bull's eye. There was a female in the competition, representing USA. We were surprised when they announced for "Nancy". when she walked out, we could understand why...she was twice the size of the guy in the photo above...haha. in the end, the event was almost swept by an entire family. Dad--4th, sons 1st and 3rd. haha.

Then it was the 450mm chainsaw competition. Who saws 3 slices the fastest wins.
2 participants compete at a time, sawing a long secured horizontally. cool man!

These events were really weird. They're kinda ancient and primitive.

Something like Chingay parade...there was music, floats, groups...

OOOh we were looking for gelato to cool down in the heat when we saw the Woolworths (Safeway supermarket) exhibition!

Food dome. We rushed in and ooo...they were giving out lots of free food samples! We took so much Uncle Toby's fat free yoghurt, chai latte, nudie fruit juice...haha. We also saw solid soaps made to look like cakes...Sheng was in love with them and said he wanted to eat them. haha.

And then we also saw an oyster exhibition, whereby they show the different stages of growing and harvesting oysters.

After that, we left and headed to the famous Sydney Fish Market!

Me on the jetty.

Sheng in front of the wholesale centre.

There were seafood eateries along the harbour. Beautiful except there were many seagulls hovering around the food!

Inside the wholesale centre were some stalls selling FRESH seafood. All types!


I bet Dad and Mum must be drooling now...there were HUGE FRESH LOBSTERS too...

Then we bought a seafood basket for 2...there!

Delicious...the prawns and octopus and fish were succulent...melt in your mouth! except too oily, too much fried stuff! haha. The Fish Market closed at around 5 so we walked to to city.


Prymont Bridge in the day

Me outside Queen Victoria Building. I love the architecture!
Queen Victoria statue.

We hopped into the supermarket and I managed to find Apricot Yoghurt Balls!! was searching high and low for them last year to bring home, but it could not be found in Melb! I'll be sure to bring some home the next time I'm back...in approximately 2.5 months!

Finally, we took a train to the airport.
Me and Sheng in the train. Time to go back to Melb. What a fun-filled activity packed 3 days in Sydney! Thanks Sheng for planning the trip and taking me around! It was really really fun! =) Sydney's so bustling and pretty and big...great for a holiday but i think i still prefer living in Melbourne...haha.