Australian Adventure 2013 - 10

The weekend was quiet, just pottering about and miscellaneous shopping.  By Saturday evening I had published the blog and at least sorted all the Hamilton Island/Reef pictures so that when we went to the Goodyear’s for dinner, almost exclusively cooked by Peter, I was able to take my PC and display the pictures on their big TV screen.  I managed to get the rest of the pictures published between getting back home & going to bed.  Sunday we made a quick trip to the market accelerated by Nick’s need to get back and not miss any of the 7 or 8 hours of televised car racing!  It was a 1000 Km Australian race followed by a Formula 1 race.

Monday was equally quiet.  Pam and I did the morning walk thing.  They both had things to do in the morning, Nick consulting to a fellow architect and Pam going to Wynnum to commit to a seriously high end sewing machine to make her quilting & related handicrafts a lot easier.  In the afternoon we did some running around during which the Brons bought a new camera, essentially for Pam, as her old one produces every picture looking as though there were water droplets on the lens and in this day and age “fix” is the poorer choice over “replace”!

Despite living in each other’s pockets for almost a month I find it amazing how much we still have to talk about to each other, either one-on-one or as a threesome.  Tomorrow, very early, we depart for Sydney.

Tuesday (October 22^nd) started early with a 5:00 AM alarm, followed by rising, completing packing, a light breakfast and then Peter ran us to Brisbane airport before heading off to work.  Aside from a slight delay the flight south was uneventful, followed by the usual airport routine and then a taxi ride driven by an Iraqi speaking Arabic into his cell phone almost the whole ride to downtown Sydney.  We checked into the Meritor Towers serviced apartments, but were far too early to take possession so we left all our luggage in the lock-up.

It was quite cool, but not unpleasantly cold, and since from the Meritor to Circular Quay was essentially all downhill we elected to pass on the shuttle bus and walk, not quite in a straight line.  Nick was finding merit in every building but to me the buildings were merely big and tall or they were true skyscrapers.  At street level were an impressive number of shops of all sizes and kinds.  The Quay is the main terminal for the harbor ferries so we bought tickets for one going way across towards the main entrance to the harbor from the Pacific Ocean, to Watsons Bay just on the inside which is Australia’s oldest fishing village having been founded in 1788.  Pam & Nick, used to the traditional & slow ferryboats were astonished at how quickly we got there on one of the newer catamaran ferryboats.  Needless to say, despite only having my regular lens with me for the camera, I took several shots of both the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, although I hope to get some better ones tomorrow or the day after.

Apparently any Australian worth his salt who has visited Sydney has to admit to having had Fish & Chips at Doyles, founded in 1885.  The original beachside establishment still is going strong even though the company now also has several increasingly upscale fish restaurants a hundred yards or so inland.  We opted for the beachside “carry out” one, although it does provide lots of indoor tables and chairs at which to eat if one wishes.  We wished.

Afterwards we got our exercise for the day climbing slowly up to the cliffs in the company of a great many pesky flies which we had not anticipated.  We went upwards and to the right, or south, until we were high enough to simultaneously see both the North Head and the South Head which delineate the true Oceanside entrance to Sydney Harbour.  We backtracked and Nick peeled off in order to avoid the risk of overexposure since none of us had hats with us.  Pam & I headed up to the South Head, but were frustrated by the path being closed for major repairs/improvements just before the top and hence a clear view.  We came back down, and down again to join Nick and in due course to board the ferry again as soon as one arrived.

Back at Circular Quay we boarded the free shuttle bus that runs up into town and has a stop less than 200 yards from our building.  We checked with the desk to get our keys (and elevator pass key), retrieve our luggage, and headed up to the 67^th floor!  We are in suite 6701 with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a large living and dining area and an amazing view.  Although we are blocked by parts of the building from seeing the Opera House or the Bridge we can see everything from Finger Wharf in Woolloomooloo Bay out to The Heads and the Pacific Ocean and all of the city to our east.  The view really is spectacular.

After a cuppa tea and a decent rest period we went down, walked about 50 yards and headed underground to a huge shopping plaza and Coles (Pam’s usual supermarket in Wynnum, although this one was a lot bigger and more crowded).  We bought breakfast supplies for the next few days and easy-fix meals to have tonight, although we will probably eat out hereafter.  I can’t wait until tomorrow.

Between Mother Nature (me) and forgetting to turn off her alarm clock from yesterday (Pam) we were up very early by Brisbane time but almost normal here as New South Wales is on Summer Time and Queensland is not.  At least I got to see the sun rising up out of the Pacific from our lovely high vantage spot.  We have realized we are not quite as high as it seems since the street-level lobby is the 10^th floor, although what is below we don’t know.  But we are high.

Once again we took the long and healthy walk, mostly going against the flow, down to Circular Quay.  I am struck by how little obesity one sees in big cities where everybody has to walk a lot despite buses, trains, subways & ferries.  We bought our tickets for the morning “Coffee Cruise” on the Captain Cook cruise line, and since we had some time to kill did a bit more walking around The Rocks neighborhood, blessedly preserved from high-rises.  We saw a couple of Capt. Cook catamarans take off, one going whale-watching and one a step-on/step off sort of ferry and assumed we were in for the same, but when our ship pulled in it was a 4-decker, three enclosed and one open.  As it turned out the highest enclosed deck was in fact closed so we alternated between the inside, where they served the coffee after a while along with a goodie box of several Aussie cakes & cookies, and out in the sunshine & breeze up on top.  The 2-hour narrated cruise was gentle and all around the entire “harbor” even going under the Bridge towards the end.  Interestingly, despite its long history and superb protection the actual Sydney Harbour is no longer used for commercial shipping (which now goes to Botany Bay) other than cruise ships, some of them seriously large although none were in port today.

After disembarking we walked all around Circular Quay and out to the Opera House for an up-close-and-personal look at it, even slipping into one lobby which was open as there was to be a performance in the afternoon.  I had not realized that the entire outer surface of all those “sails” was tiled, and really glisten in the sunshine.  We then retraced our steps (plenty of exercise today) all around and back to The Rocks (I suppose somewhat akin to The Lanes in Brighton) where we found a nice little place to get a pie, salad & home-made apple juice which we ate in a shady old courtyard behind the tiny storefront.

We slowly meandered our way back to the head of the terminal (and edge of “downtown”) where Nick sat in the shade and Pam & I cruised a large “tourist shop” with fairly decent success.  I now feel I don’t have to keep looking for stuff to bring home and can merely buy whimsically, or not.  We then boarded the free shuttle bus, which since there had obviously been a delay somewhere started full and at each stop became more and more packed.

Several times on this trip my watch strap has popped out but so far I have always caught it and been able to fix it right away.  This time it popped off as I was trying to change the hour as we approached Sydney airport so I had to put it in my pocket.  However, it was many hours before we were in the apartment and I could try & fix it again & somehow the little “pin” thing had got lost.  Since I can’t live without a watch before coming in to our building we descended to the subterranean mall on the corner & found the equivalent of Dollar Tree so I am now the proud owner of an all-plastic (apart from battery & chip) $20AU wrist watch!  Finally we came in for cups of tea and a bit of a rest after our exertions.

Once we were rested and the sun was beginning to sink we headed out, again on foot, and made the shorter journey to Darling Harbour and its attractive approaches before wandering down one side & finding a nice restaurant with outdoor seating who were still serving “early” specials.  We each chose something different for the main course but all had the banana crème brulet for dessert.  All of our meals were delicious.  We left just as we were beginning to feel chilly, now that the sun had well and truly set and meandered our way back, via a shop or two, to the apartment.

Wednesday, although we didn’t realize it at first, was another day when we were blessed with good luck, or at least good timing.  We moved respectably quickly in the morning, Pam & I went to a nearby (underground) supermarket to get supplies for a picnic lunch, and well before 8:30 AM we had rented a car and were on our way to the Blue Mountains.  The Blue Mountains are so-called for the same reason that the Great Smoky Mountains at home get their name.  The prevalence of gum trees causes the air to make everything distant become a fuzzy blue shade.

We made good progress (and were glad we were outbound from Sydney rather than inbound like the commuters) and we arrived at Katoomba & found a British-style “pay and display” parking lot.  Rather like the western US beauty spots we found the Japanese much like one of the Plagues of Egypt.  There were hordes of them, all pushing and shoving and acting like the rest of the world’s population didn’t exist as they each took endless pictures of every other one of them while blocking most of the good viewing spots.  We managed to work around them, but fewer would have been much nicer!

The day, up there, was incredibly windy, so much so that Nick put his hand in the small of my back in order for me to hold steady while taking photographs some of the time.  However, while cooler than Sydney it was not by any means cold.  We wandered around a bit taking “views” of the area in general and across the steep valley in particular.  We took a trail down a bit for a closer view of one of the features but I wisely declined to join P & N in their descent down “steps” (later described by Pam as more like a ladder) which had a warning sign saying only fit and strong hikers should attempt it.  As we subsequently returned up the more gently sloped trail it was clear that my breathing rate was a lot less labored than theirs!

After sitting and having some lemonade we then made our way across the valley and parked at the “Scenic World” attraction.  Inside we bought tickets for the complete circuit.  It starts atop one of the cliffs and first one takes the cable railway (which slopes at 52 degrees & claims to be the steepest such in the world) sitting on tilted benches in a nice enclosed string of cars.  Then we could wander, at our own speed, along a well-maintained boardwalk down in the valley amongst the trees with many good information signs and some re-creations.  A very long time ago there was a coal mine near the bottom and that was the origin of the narrow-gauge railway tracks used for hauling the coal up in skips.

It was beautifully peaceful down there and very dramatic and (apart from a large herd going in the opposite direction) delightfully Japanese free.  When we felt we had wandered sufficiently we turned off to the cable car “station” and in due course were gently whisked back up to the top.  After wandering through the inevitable gift shop & snack bar area we then took a very much more dramatic cable car ride, straight across the valley.  This time we got the full effect of the howling winds and it was probably good that there was not enough time for seasickness by those with that tendency.  We did not disembark but rode back again, this time taking pictures from the other side mostly of Katoomba Falls, which must be amazing after a rare rain but were merely pretty in this drought.

We departed in the car and found a nice overlook at which to park and have our sandwiches and fruit, but all in the car as it was blowing very nastily indeed outside, raising dust and shifting everything about.  So much did it blow, quite obviously bringing down small, and not-so-small branches that we elected to leave for home as we had really seen all the major things & views there were to be seen.  After we had been on the road for a little while we started seeing lots of emergency fire marshal vehicles and soon afterwards fire engines some passing us from behind and many more on the other side of the road heading up.  We began to see distant (and not so distant) smoke & suspected something was seriously wrong.

We continued smoothly to Sydney, and right on through, heading for the famous Bondi Beach resort/town and, of course, beach and surfing breakers as the bay inside which it sits faces directly on to the Pacific.  We parked for a few minutes (pay & display again) bought ourselves a cup of ice cream each and took in the view.  I then headed up the hill to one side in order to get pictures of the whole thing without too much wasted foreground.  Unfortunately we did not get close enough to the beach itself in order to admire the sun-bronzed surfer dudes and their equally sun-bronzed bikini-clad admirers!

We headed back into town, and with some difficulty eventually managed to find where, six floors underground, to park the rental and then took an elevator up to ground level to turn in the key before the really unpleasant guy working the counter shut up shop for the night.  A short walk, a 57 story elevator ride, and we were back in the flat and able to have a cuppa tea.  A rather broken up call from Peter Goodyear while we at Bondi Beach alerted us to turn on the TV and learn that there were no less than 7 out-of-control wildfires up in the Blue Mountains and some of the towns were already being evacuated, making us very glad we had opted for an early return ahead of the excitement and subsequent chaos.  Then we began to notice the pall of brown smoke covering the city and how the beautiful blue of the Harbour waters now appeared a murky brown color.  What a contrast to yesterday!

Friday morning we initially took very gently but by 10:30 AM were fully packed and ready to check out, leaving all our bags in the concierge’s lock-up.  We set off on foot and retraced our steps of two evenings ago, paid our small “concession” entry fee and went into the Chinese Gardens of Friendship – originally a gift to Sydney from their Chinese sister city.  Much like a Japanese garden it is an oasis of peace and calm and beauty, of rocks, water & waterfalls, and plants, even including a display of the Chinese version, again similar but differing in detail, of Bonsai.  We wandered all through it at some length.

Our next move was to walk a few city streets again until we came to Sydney’s Hyde Park with its War Memorial, pool, fountains, grass and trees much of which had been visible from the windows of our apartment.  After ambling through it we crossed a few streets and entered the Botanical Gardens although we stayed to one side most of which was planted in roses – nice.  A little more walking, down a flight of century-old steps, and we were again at Circular Quay.  We bought sandwiches and drinks and ate them slowly while we people-watched.  To end our activities we again took the free shuttle-bus back to the Meritor World Tower, retrieved our luggage and hopped into a taxi.

Here our incredible luck with the timing, weather, and choices we made finally ran out.  We had to kill a good half-hour before we were allowed to check our bags.  All was well through security and along the concourse, with a little shopping (I finally found something to hang on my Christmas tree) and to the gate.  However after we had waited a while they announced that due to very bad weather (storms) in Brisbane the Traffic Control had insisted that our departure from Sydney be delayed an extra hour.  The only upside was that the delay meant Peter would be able to pick us up at the airport, rather than fighting for a taxi.  In due course we got home, unpacked, Nick shot off for some Coast Guard duty, Pam & I ate and we resumed our electronic connectivity with the rest of the world.  All in all it was a simply splendid week.