21 – Sydney

We arrived at Sydney airport and made our way by train to King’s Cross station.  We had booked accommodation in Potts Point which is adjacent to Kings Cross which is also known as the Red Light district. We found the hotel easily enough, it was about a five minute walk from the station.

We had been a bit concerned when we realised where it was but it was far enough away from the centre of Kings Cross so that it wasn’t disturbed by the noisy clubs.

Getting around Sydney was really easy.  We bought passes which allowed access to all the buses, trains and ferries. 

It meant we could explore all the areas we wanted to see, including what went on in the red light district.  We’d gone to a bar where they have topless waitresses. A group of lads from Dublin were there for a 21^st birthday. The birthday boy decided that it shouldn’t only be the stripper who removed her clothes. He proceeded to remove all his too. What a sight!

The beaches around Sydney are beautiful.  We went to both Manly and Bondi.  Manly was hosting an International Surfing competition. 

It was interesting to go and watch but could be quite boring waiting for the surfers to catch a wave.  Bondi was our favourite beach. 

The sand was white and felt like flour under your feet. The beach is in a horseshoe shaped bay. It is used by both swimmers and surfers. We went to Bondi a couple of times and lay in the sand topping up our tans and watching the people learning to surf. 

It was really interesting.  They had about a ten minute lesson on the beach before being led into the water and shown how to catch a wave and stand up on the board. At the edge of the bay there is a rocky area where the waves from the Pacific Ocean crashed into the rocks. The first time we were there it was quite windy and the waves were pounding the rocks. 

We walked over the rocks and rock pools to get to the edge. The noise and power of the waves crashing onto the shore was spectacular.

One day we took a ferry along the river to Parramatta.  It is a small city located about an hour’s ferry trip along the Parramatta river.  It’s the furthest you can travel by ferry and well worth the trip.  Along the way you pass the site of the Olympic stadium and other Olympic arenas.  The towns and villages along the river are very pretty.

Many of the houses on the waterfront had their own jetty with a boat or two docked at the end of their garden.  Parramatta was hot compared to Sydney.  There was no offshore breeze to cool the air.  The river west of the Ferry landing is very shallow but nice to walk along. 

 It led to a lovely park which then led onto the horse racing track and other sports grounds.  Many of the shops in Parramatta were having a sale.  It appeared that many were closing down. If that is true it could soon be a ghost town.

Sydney itself was a disappointment to begin with.  We had really enjoyed Melbourne, and Sydney appeared to be grubby and uninviting at first.  We have found that it takes a wee while to get used to each new place we visit.  Sydney seemed to take a bit longer than others.  Once we got used to it, we ended up really enjoying it.  There are many harbours throughout Sydney and most of the sights are located along the waterfront.

 Darling harbour is where the Maritime Museum, Aquarium, IMAX Theatre and some other attractions as well as shopping is located.  There are a number of restaurants and bars all around so it is always busy.  During the month of February they have a firework display every Saturday night.

  They set them off from three small barges in the harbour.  It was really quite magnificent.

We had decided before we arrived that we wanted to climb the Sydney Harbour bridge. 

 It’s one of those things you want to do but are also terrified of doing at the same time. The weather had been a bit mixed so we watched the weather forecast and picked a day when it was supposed to be dry. We arrived at the bridge climb location and checked in. They take you up in groups of 14. We were all allocated jumpsuits and safety equipment. After filling in various forms and completing a test climb we set of along the underside of the bridge. That was actually the worst bit of the whole climb. The walkway under the start of the bridge is quite narrow and the floor is only a couple of wooden planks. We then reached the stairs which we had to climb to enable us to get to the outer arch that we were going to climb. The climb up the arch was relatively easy. It was a gentle slope up.  The weather was better than expected. 

The sun shone the whole time and the breeze was not too strong.  The views were spectacular. We could see all the way to the Blue Mountains in the West and Bondi and further out to sea in the east. The harbour views were great.  It was something we couldn’t have missed. It was amazing how quiet it seemed at the top. You didn’t really hear the traffic below. It wasn’t until you were coming down towards the end of the arch that you heard the cars and trains speeding under you. The whole experience had taken four hours but it just seemed to have flown by.

When we had been in Bali we met two Australian girls, Lorena and Becks.  We had kept in touch with them and hoped to catch up with them while we were in Australia.  Unfortunately Becks had got a better offer and was off to Brazil for three months, but Lorena who lives in Canberra was coming through to Sydney to visit the Picasso exhibition. That gave us the opportunity to meet her. 

We arranged to meet on the steps of the Opera house and then we went for some drinks and lunch.  It was really great to see her again and catch up.  We spent a few hours together and hope we may meet again someday.

We decided we had to go and see something at the Opera House, so we booked tickets for a cabaret show “La Soiree”. It was brilliant a good mix of adult entertainment. We were sore from laughing.  After the show we took a ferry ride to see the Sydney skyline at night.  The ferry took us past the Opera House and bridge and through to Darling harbour and back again.  As we were coming back under the bridge there was a firework display over the Opera House. 

We had a fantastic view. It was almost as good as Syd’s Halloween firework display ha ha.

We spent our last day in Australia taking a walk through the Botanic Gardens. It is a large area that is edged by three harbour inlets.

They have lots of different types of garden areas, succulents, endangered species, tropical, herbs, roses and many others. One area is home to Flying Fox Bats.

 There were many of them hanging about high up in the trees.  We had seen them flying over the Kings Cross area in the evenings and wondered where they came from. We were there for hours and probably only saw about half of the gardens, but what we saw was impressive. 

We had intended to go to an outdoor film festival that evening, but Sydney was hit by a really bad storm. Many roads were flooded and those who had gone to the festival had reals problems getting home. 

Syd was disappointed that we didn’t go. Nicole Kidman was one of the judges.

Our time in Australia has finally come to an end.  We have met many great people, had some great times and some times we could have done without. The weather this summer has been the worst for over sixty years, but we can honestly say that whatever the weather we have seen lots of amazing sights and have many happy memories of our time down under.

20. – Melbourne

We were fed up of the constant rain, so we flew south to Melbourne.  We did wander if we’d done the right thing because it was quite cool, windy and cloudy when we arrived. The transfer from the airport to our hotel was really easy.  We caught the Skybus outside the terminal.  The bus took us directly to their bus station in Melbourne then their minibus took us to our hotel. 

We had chosen the Travelodge Southbank which is just at the edge of the city centre. We couldn’t have picked a better location. It was really easy to spot the hotel,

 just lookout for the gold bees next door.

From the hotel we were within walking distance of most of the museums, galleries and other attractions.  We viewed quite a few of them while we were there.  The central hub in Melbourne is Federation Square. 

 It is a large pedestrianized area surrounded by modern museums and street cafes and restaurants.  Many open air events take place in the square.  While we were there they had a Turkish cultural event, a wine tasting evening and the University of Victoria had some hands on events. 

In the square they have deck chairs and cushions for the steps where you can sit and soak up the sun or watch the big screen which shows some of the events which have taken place there and adverts for future events.

There are many pedestrian and cycle only paths throughout the waterfront area. 

We hired a couple of bikes and took off along the paths.  We headed out to the Melbourne cricket ground then across to the Rod Laver Arena where the Australian Open Tennis championship had taken place the week before.

We then passed the Olympic village before heading out along the riverbank.  We cycled under the motorway where someone had erected climbing walls. 

We stopped and watched for a while before continuing along the river.  We eventually crossed the river and made our way back towards the town centre. 

Several boat clubs have boat houses near the centre. 

We watched some rowers practising before we dropped the bikes off at the cycle station.

St Kilda is a beach suburb.  We took the tram there a couple of times.

It is like a small town stuck in the 60’s or 70’s.  Lots of individual shops selling all sorts of clothing, jewellery and gifts. 

Practically every second shop in the main street is a cake shop.  They all have tables and chairs outside where you can sit with your cake and coffee and watch the world go by.  There is an old fashioned type of funfair called Luna Park. 

 The majority of the rides and side stalls are one’s we would have seen a few decades ago. They had a wooden rollercoaster where the brakeman stands in the middle between the two cars and pulls the brake to slow the car at the necessary points.  It was quite nostalgic. The beach at St Kilda is not very deep, but they make good use of what they have.  There was a national Beach Volleyball event on while we were there.

We sat on beanbags on the beach for ages watching the games.

Well I was watching the game. Syd might have been watching the girls in their miniscule bikini’s.

Melbourne is a beautiful city. Their war memorial building is a work of art. 

It is shaped a bit like a pyramid. 

The roof inside the monument follows the pyramid theme with a glass window at the top. In the middle of the floor of the main room there is a stone which represents the graves of all the soldiers who perished in the first world war. There is a hole in the building which lets a beam of sun light into the room. On the eleventh of November the sun is in a position where the light comes through the building at 11am and the beam hits the corner of the stone.  The light then takes 11 minutes to cross the whole length of the stone. Quite an achievement. The crypt in the building houses a visitors centre telling stories of some of the soldiers who didn’t come home and showing the medals earned by some of the men.  The outside of the memorial is just as impressive. 

The gardens are beautiful.  Various monuments have been erected to commemorate the soldiers lost in wars that have taken place since 1918.

There is a tall skyscraper called the Eureka Tower which has a viewing floor 88 stories up. 

It takes 38 seconds to get to the 88^th floor.  On exiting the lift you can see all over Melbourne and the surrounding area. 

The walls throughout the floor are glass, so you get a 360 degree view.  They have an added extra. A glass cube which protrudes out of the side of the building. The floor is glass but is opaque when you enter.  They then press a button and the floor clears leaving you with a view directly to the street beneath you.  In typical Australian humour they then play the sound of glass cracking. I’m afraid to say I didn’t witness it in person.

The city has something for everyone. 

Lots of beautiful buildings both old and new.

The city has lots of small lanes which date back to when the city was first built. 

Many of the lanes have been turned into arcades where you find lots of street cafes,

You sure you haven't been to Melbourne Chris??

some others have been turned into canvases for street art. There are many green areas throughout the city where you can wander through the gardens or sit and watch the world go by.

  The docklands area is undergoing renovations but they have a lovely marina. There was a boat show taking place while we were there.

No we didn’t buy one, not even a small one.

Melbourne was a city we didn’t really think we’d have time to see, but due to the floods in Queensland we took the opportunity to fly south and we’re both glad we did.

Even if we did walk our legs off!