Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
After the sun and heat in Fji, touching down in Sydney to drizzle and low 20's temp. (their worst summer in a decade) came as a real shock. Thank goodness we kept some jumpers with us! We'd pre-booked a hostel and headed to Potts Point on the double-decker underground. Within an hour we were on a bus to Coogee beach to meet up with Mandie and Mark. It was great to see them and we caught up over a scooner or four, some Thai dinner and a good old-fashioned session on the pool table.
Mandie and Mark moved up from Coogee to Potts Point the next day and we made our way to meet them at the Opera House via Woolamaloo and the pretty botanical gardens. With the sun shining the four of us set off on some vigorous sightseeing with Mandie and Mark as our personal tour guides having been there for two weeks already. Mark was looking a little peaky from the beers the night before and scuttled off to hide in the toilet on the ferry on our way to Darling Harbour as the rest of us enjoyed views of the harbour bridge. We took a troll through the harbour area and headed for the huge fish market for a slap up late lunch. We toyed with the idea of a splurge at the casino but as we were all wearing things that soon scuppered that idea. We headed back towards Potts Point, strolling through such originally named places as Oxford Street and Hyde Park. All tired from all the walking and the late night the previous evening we stayed in Potts Point for a bargain tasty dinner at Famous Roys!
A brief dash around the local deli's, a visit to Woollys then we all trooped off to the Botanical Gardens. Bat country! The Botanical Gardens are home to a gotham of flying foxes (giant bats), thousands could be seen hanging from the tree branches fanning themselves in the midday sun. A strange sight considering we were in the middle of a city. After dodging massive spider webs and equally intimidating owners we settled down on the lawns for our picnic. The leftovers didn't go to waste as we first fed the enormous ugly looking eels in the pond (as well as the jumping duck) and the cute and friendly cockatoos, not afraid to climb on your shoulder for a bit of bread (although Mark was keeping a safe distance from them!). Lunchtime joggers ran past and office workers came and went with their lunches and coffees, a popular and relaxing place to send a sunny afternoon. Later on we wandered in search of some culture and ended up outside the impressive icon of Sydney, the Opera House. We tried to book tickets for the opera that evening to be told our options were either $260 seats (maybe not) or $40 restricted view tickets. When quizzed "How restricted a view" the ticket teller replied, "Well, you can hear it." We made do with using the toilets, pretty good acoustics in there!
Pre dinner dinks on Mandie and Marks balcony and as the sunset we could see thousands of bats flying past. They had left their daytime perches and were heading for the Blue Mountains to feed, eerie! We headed into the neon lit streets of Kings Cross, frequented by travellers, ladies of the night and Sydney's revellers to find some nosh. $10 steaks all round, surprisingly good and a right bargain for a Sydney dinner. We headed off to check out a couple of other bars and failing to get into a few, that thong thing again, we ended up in a dodgy little place with some interesting clientele, such as the singing rock and toll midget, the 7ft tall cross dresser and the scummy looking woman thrown out for dancing (on her knees it must be said, too pissed to stand). The joys of open mic night in Kings Cross!
Another glorious day and we all headed down to the harbour to catch the ferry to Manly to meet up with Rich, James and their friends. After a lovely cruise past Sydney's bays and between sailing boats of every size we docked at Manly and hot footed it to the beach. Only to find the beach was closed due to massive waves with only Sydney's hard core surfers braving the swell. We hit the shops for a few hours, met up with Rich and James and went to Shelly Beach, a secluded bay further round the headland. We spent the afternoon sunbathing, swimming, snorkelling and playing the now legendary palmock, hand minton, or palmcock - call it what you will! Mark and Jona set a new record of 57!
A food and booze run was made in preparation for a BBQ and beers on the beach, how much more Australian can you get?! Unfortunately we weren't organized enough to start cooking before sunset, so we had to cook by the magic of digital photography and mobile phone light. Richard's friends Kim and Graham met us after their surf, "throw another shrimp on the Barbie!"After chasing cute little possums around the beach, and a lengthy debate about who would win in a fight between a rabbit and a possum (rabbit got the nod) we'd exhausted all the food and beer and said our goodbyes. The four of us took the coastal track, dodging waves breaking over the path, and nude bathers in natural swimming pools, to get the ferry back to Sydney. We were denied a drink in a bar while waiting for the ferry (no ID!) so we settle for some beer from Liquor Land, which was promptly confiscated by burly looking port security. With Mark doing his Rose from Titanic impression, we cruised towards Sydney's impressive night skyline.
It was Mandie and Marks last day in Sydney and we headed to Circular Quay to see the much talked about Queen Victoria. Massive. If it had been stood on its end it would have been taller than most of the city's skyscrapers; it literally dwarfed everything around it, including the harbour bridge. This was the Queen Victoria's maiden voyage, soon to replace the QEII which was also due to dock in Sydney the next day, the first and last time they will ever dock together. Thousands had descended onto Circular Quay and we headed to the Rocks' renovated docks to mooch around boutique shops and markets.
After lunch and a puppet show (as you do) we took a walk across Sydney's Harbour Bridge for stunning views over the city. Mandie and Emma headed to Bondi for more shopping and a spot of fishing (Mark claims he caught a fish but there was no evidence!).
We rendezvoused on Mandie and Marks balcony for drinks and more bat watching before going out for dinner in Kings Cross. A few farewell drinks that evening (the next time we see Mandie and Mark will be at their wedding!) and Mark decided to stay out and party until the early hours. The boys threw some serious shapes on the dance floor, all the moves came out, the sprinkler, the ticket inspctor, the gun slinger, you name it they danced it!
With Mandie and Mark gone we decided to go over to Manly to escape the thousands of tourists and locals alike who came to the city to see the Queen Victoria and the QEII in port together. Having fought through the crowds and made it to Manly Rich, James and Kim picked us up. We had to bump start Kim's (immobilised - d'oh!) car but were soon on our way to Dee Why and away from the masses. A typical suburb of Manly we did what was only proper and hit the beach for a bit of swimming and surfing (or watching in Jona, Emma and Rich's case). Kim and Graham kindly invited us back to their flat for dinner and we enjoyed our first home cooked meal in 9 months.
After our final picnic lunch in the Botanical Gardens with Rich and James the next day we headed to the Rocks for our bridge climb. After being decked out in jump suits and harnesses and proved that we could climb a ladder and walk across a gantry in their training area, we donned radios and headed for the real thing. Luckily our group was small just us, a couple of local ladies and our excellent guide and we later found out that our timing was spot on. The QEII was leaving that evening and ours was the last group that didn't have to pay double for the privilege of seeing it leave from the top of the bridge. We started out under the road then began the ascent up the south arch of the bridge. The tugs began to assemble far below us and as we reached the summit half a dozen news helicopters circled close to our heads, added to the drama, it was all a bit King Kong and we were sure to be on Channel 7 news that evening. We began our walk from one arc of the bridge to the other, 30m above four lanes of traffic, two train lines, a cycle path and pedestrian path. Pausing in the middle for the souvenir photo opportunity Jona couldn't resist the urge to hock a lugee.We watched the tugs guide the QEII out of Circular Quay from our vantage point above the city before making our descent. Climbing down the ladders one by one we had cars and trains whizzing past our heads missing by literally inches. A brilliant experience made all the better by the fanfare of the QEII.
After a quick celebratory beer the four of us met Kim and Graham at the Summit restaurant 42 floors above Sydney. The revolving restaurant is the classier brother to Sydney's dishevelled sky tower. Whilst we dined on oysters and fillet steak, Sydney's glittering lights spun beneath us. A classy way to end our week in Sydney.
- comments