Over the Skies of Sydney, Australia

The flight to Australia from the US is a long one so it was with much relief that I landed at the Sydney Airport.  However, as usual the Sydney Airport is only a bit better then what I experienced at LAX due to the incompetent immigration and customs agents that continuously screw up my visa status.  Nevertheless I was able to eventually clear customs with only mild aggravation and boarded my next flight to Melbourne. 

Once in the air and on our way to Melbourne the window seat I had rewarded me with some outstanding aerial views of quite possibly the world’s most beautiful harbor city:

I have sailed up and down Sydney Harbor before, but from the air you can really appreciate how big and how far inland Sydney Harbor really goes compared to being at sea level:

Besides some good views of the harbor, I also had some nice close up views of the famous Bondi Beach:

Here is another close up view of downtown Sydney:

Eventually the plane flew right over Botany Bay which was the location where Captain James Cook first landed on the continent of Australia:

It was through these heads on April 29, 1770 that Cook’s ship the HMS Endeavor sailed through to begin the British exploration of Australia:

As the plane continued to fly along the east of New South Wales, the sun began set over the beautiful coast line:

It was dark by the time I landed in Melbourne, but I was definitely glad to be back in Victoria.  As beautiful as Sydney maybe both from ground level and from the air, Melbourne is still my favorite large city in Australia and I was glad to be back.