Thursday, April 26, 2007
NEW ZEALAND
Sydney to Auckland
Days One and Two at Sea
We boarded ship mid day on Tuesday, April 17 and spent some time getting settled in, finally unpacking and discovering things we had forgotten about, checking out all the ship has to offer and meeting other passengers.
We sailed away from Sydney at 8 p.m. and enjoyed the scenery of the harbour at night and taking even more pictures of the bridge and Opera House. We finally left harbour and enjoyed the quiet of the open sea and the starry sky from our balcony.
The next two days consisted of eating way too much, meeting more people and enjoying all the ship has to offer in the way of lectures, pools, eating drinking and drinking and eating. We keep saying that we have to cut back on our food intake but the temptations are hard to resist.
Fiord Lands National Park
On the third day out we approached the southwestern end of New Zealand and specifically Fiord Lands National Park. As the name suggests this is a rugged, mountainous area with many deep, steep sided inlets or fiords that are navigable by ship given their deep waters. The scenery is very much like that of coastal B.C. although the mountains aren’t quite as high.
We entered Milford Sound in rare good weather. Although it was a cool fall day at 13 degrees, the clouds had not yet descended onto the mountaintops and the views were spectacular. Our huge ship was within 75 yards of the shoreline on some occasions which afforded great views of the many waterfalls spraying down from the heights. We turned in the widest portion of the sound about 7 km in and headed back out to sea. This allowed us to see the other side of the fiord from our balcony as we had just got up at 7:15 a.m. when we entered the fiord and were having our breakfast in our cabin.
Later in the day we motored through two more fiords which despite the descending clouds and misty rain were beautiful as well. It was easy to see why scenes from the Lord of the Rings were filmed here.
Dunedin
Dunedin is a college town of about 135,000 with typically friendly and accommodating New Zealanders. We set out on an all day tour into the countryside to explore with a local tour company. The owner accompanied us and he was a delight. Brian and Stu had a lot in common in terms of their respective businesses and love of the outdoors and nature.
The landscape consisted of rolling hills and sheep everywhere. Their white dots could be seen far up the highest hills. The scenery of hills, forests and ocean was superb, right out of Hobbit land. We headed south along coastal roads beside the extensive beaches with no one on them. Granted, the Easter school holidays had just finished and it was only about 16 degrees but the lack of population in the area was very evident. Brian tells us that even in the summer there are open beaches for miles. We stopped at a friend of Brian’s, Kathy, an active sexagenarian who owns a beautiful home, gardens and two rental units on a bluff overlooking the ocean and beach (currently on the market for about $500,000 CA - heart be still!). Kathy was in the tidal pools below and waved us down. She is a nature lover as well and takes it upon herself to nurse wounded birds and seals back to health. She was administering ‘physiotherapy’ to a recent patient, a yellow-eyed penguin who had its flipper injured by a barracuda. She is trying to get this rarest of penguin species to use the flipper so she can release it back to the wild. This close encounter with nature was a highlight of our tour (pictures below).
The highlights continued as we continued on to Cannibal Bay, another scenic beach surrounded by hills. Here we encountered the rarest of the sea lion species, the Hooker Sea Lion. Two beaches and two of the rarest species of their type in the world! This big boy was a seven-foot long 600 kg mass of potential danger so we gave him a safe distance. He seemed content to allow our examination though as long as we stayed our distance and didn’t cut off his potential escape to the water.
We also hiked a ways into a rainforest that could have been in the tropics with large trees, tree ferns, and moss hanging from the very different tree species. Further along we encountered a beautiful waterfall.
Before we returned to the ship, we toured the Scottish influenced city of Dunedin and of course had to do some shopping (Stu for NZ wine and Wendy for possum fur & merino wool gloves, supposedly the warmest available).
Christchurch
Where Dunedin is very Scottish, Christchurch is very English. We stayed in town and wandered amongst the beautiful botanical gardens and visited a weekend crafts show of beautiful art and handicrafts. The weather was the coldest yet at 13 degrees and cloudy so we were enticed back to the warm and luxurious comforts of the ship in the mid afternoon.
Wellington
We left the South Island behind as we encountered Wellington on the southern tip of the north island. Wellington is the capital of NZ and is built on the hills surrounding a large sheltered harbour. Once again though, we forsook the attractions of the city and headed out into the surrounding countryside.
Our van climbed the surrounding low mountains to a pass and then descended into a flat area of cattle and sheep farms and vineyards - Wairapapa (sp?). We drove along the shores of a large lake on the plain with not one discernible building, although we did see an area in the trees where a site plan for a proposed housing development was posted. Once again we were impressed with the accessibility to cheap waterfront in beautiful countryside. Apparently Shania Twain and other of the jet set crowd are buying up land in NZ so it is not long before it appreciates considerably more than it already has.
We drove further to the ocean coast and wound along narrow twisty roads clinging to sides of steep drops. We passed a fishing village that has no pier or docks for its boats on the open ocean coast but instead launches its large boats daily using bulldozers as trucks would only be swept away. The sight of long stretches of fishing boats on trailers hooked up to their own bulldozers was a unique one. Further along a herd of sheep being driven along by a rancher on an ATV and his three sheep dogs filled the road ahead of us. The dogs soon swept them through the nearby gate and we continued along. Eventually we came to the end of the road at a rocky point with a lighthouse perched on the hills above the sea. Here a colony of fur seals greeted us as they lolled in the grass directly beside the road. Further along we saw the babies playing in the surf while the adults watched closely from the surrounding rocks. Another close encounter with nature in beautiful surroundings added to our enjoyment of a pleasant 18 degree, sunny day.
We headed inland to a local beef and cattle station (ranch) where we enjoyed a homemade lunch in the sun amongst the colourful fall leaves. Down the road we came across the small town of Martinsborough surrounded on all sides by vineyards and wineries. We sampled some at a local winery and added to our shipboard wine cellar that we hope will get us through the hot dry tropics yet to come.
Of course one cannot visit NZ without seeing some of the sites where the Lord of the Rings was filmed. The riverside, forested setting for Rivendell made for a scenic stop in the late afternoon sun. All of the film sets throughout NZ have been removed and the landscapes returned to their natural form since the end of film making so one had to use their imaginations and a spotty memory to reconstruct the setting. No matter though as the natural beauty of the sites was more than enough reason to visit alone.
Auckland
Auckland is somewhat like a mini Sydney in that it has a series of large harbours, a harbour bridge and an outdoors loving population. We docked right in the downtown core so were able to roam easily the harbour area and the shopping areas.
We took a ferry across the harbour to an older residential area of Auckland at Devenport. Early 1900 frame homes surround a central hill, the remnants of an extinct volcano. It was Anzac day when we visited (Aussie and NZ Remebrance Day) so a holiday and families were strolling the sea walk or picnicking in the seaside park. The latter reminded us that NZ is like Canada was 30 or more years ago in a very laid back, pleasant sort of way. We spent time at a sidewalk café, eating guava fruit from a hospitable local’s street side bush, chatting with local kids selling their treasures at a driveway sale, and generally enjoying this quiet, quaint neighbourhood of Auckland.
We are now leaving NZ behind (regrettably) and heading on a two day sea leg to Fiji. More to come from the South Pacific in the days to come …..
Days One and Two at Sea
We boarded ship mid day on Tuesday, April 17 and spent some time getting settled in, finally unpacking and discovering things we had forgotten about, checking out all the ship has to offer and meeting other passengers.
We sailed away from Sydney at 8 p.m. and enjoyed the scenery of the harbour at night and taking even more pictures of the bridge and Opera House. We finally left harbour and enjoyed the quiet of the open sea and the starry sky from our balcony.
The next two days consisted of eating way too much, meeting more people and enjoying all the ship has to offer in the way of lectures, pools, eating drinking and drinking and eating. We keep saying that we have to cut back on our food intake but the temptations are hard to resist.
Fiord Lands National Park
On the third day out we approached the southwestern end of New Zealand and specifically Fiord Lands National Park. As the name suggests this is a rugged, mountainous area with many deep, steep sided inlets or fiords that are navigable by ship given their deep waters. The scenery is very much like that of coastal B.C. although the mountains aren’t quite as high.
We entered Milford Sound in rare good weather. Although it was a cool fall day at 13 degrees, the clouds had not yet descended onto the mountaintops and the views were spectacular. Our huge ship was within 75 yards of the shoreline on some occasions which afforded great views of the many waterfalls spraying down from the heights. We turned in the widest portion of the sound about 7 km in and headed back out to sea. This allowed us to see the other side of the fiord from our balcony as we had just got up at 7:15 a.m. when we entered the fiord and were having our breakfast in our cabin.
Later in the day we motored through two more fiords which despite the descending clouds and misty rain were beautiful as well. It was easy to see why scenes from the Lord of the Rings were filmed here.
Dunedin
Dunedin is a college town of about 135,000 with typically friendly and accommodating New Zealanders. We set out on an all day tour into the countryside to explore with a local tour company. The owner accompanied us and he was a delight. Brian and Stu had a lot in common in terms of their respective businesses and love of the outdoors and nature.
The landscape consisted of rolling hills and sheep everywhere. Their white dots could be seen far up the highest hills. The scenery of hills, forests and ocean was superb, right out of Hobbit land. We headed south along coastal roads beside the extensive beaches with no one on them. Granted, the Easter school holidays had just finished and it was only about 16 degrees but the lack of population in the area was very evident. Brian tells us that even in the summer there are open beaches for miles. We stopped at a friend of Brian’s, Kathy, an active sexagenarian who owns a beautiful home, gardens and two rental units on a bluff overlooking the ocean and beach (currently on the market for about $500,000 CA - heart be still!). Kathy was in the tidal pools below and waved us down. She is a nature lover as well and takes it upon herself to nurse wounded birds and seals back to health. She was administering ‘physiotherapy’ to a recent patient, a yellow-eyed penguin who had its flipper injured by a barracuda. She is trying to get this rarest of penguin species to use the flipper so she can release it back to the wild. This close encounter with nature was a highlight of our tour (pictures below).
The highlights continued as we continued on to Cannibal Bay, another scenic beach surrounded by hills. Here we encountered the rarest of the sea lion species, the Hooker Sea Lion. Two beaches and two of the rarest species of their type in the world! This big boy was a seven-foot long 600 kg mass of potential danger so we gave him a safe distance. He seemed content to allow our examination though as long as we stayed our distance and didn’t cut off his potential escape to the water.
We also hiked a ways into a rainforest that could have been in the tropics with large trees, tree ferns, and moss hanging from the very different tree species. Further along we encountered a beautiful waterfall.
Before we returned to the ship, we toured the Scottish influenced city of Dunedin and of course had to do some shopping (Stu for NZ wine and Wendy for possum fur & merino wool gloves, supposedly the warmest available).
Christchurch
Where Dunedin is very Scottish, Christchurch is very English. We stayed in town and wandered amongst the beautiful botanical gardens and visited a weekend crafts show of beautiful art and handicrafts. The weather was the coldest yet at 13 degrees and cloudy so we were enticed back to the warm and luxurious comforts of the ship in the mid afternoon.
Wellington
We left the South Island behind as we encountered Wellington on the southern tip of the north island. Wellington is the capital of NZ and is built on the hills surrounding a large sheltered harbour. Once again though, we forsook the attractions of the city and headed out into the surrounding countryside.
Our van climbed the surrounding low mountains to a pass and then descended into a flat area of cattle and sheep farms and vineyards - Wairapapa (sp?). We drove along the shores of a large lake on the plain with not one discernible building, although we did see an area in the trees where a site plan for a proposed housing development was posted. Once again we were impressed with the accessibility to cheap waterfront in beautiful countryside. Apparently Shania Twain and other of the jet set crowd are buying up land in NZ so it is not long before it appreciates considerably more than it already has.
We drove further to the ocean coast and wound along narrow twisty roads clinging to sides of steep drops. We passed a fishing village that has no pier or docks for its boats on the open ocean coast but instead launches its large boats daily using bulldozers as trucks would only be swept away. The sight of long stretches of fishing boats on trailers hooked up to their own bulldozers was a unique one. Further along a herd of sheep being driven along by a rancher on an ATV and his three sheep dogs filled the road ahead of us. The dogs soon swept them through the nearby gate and we continued along. Eventually we came to the end of the road at a rocky point with a lighthouse perched on the hills above the sea. Here a colony of fur seals greeted us as they lolled in the grass directly beside the road. Further along we saw the babies playing in the surf while the adults watched closely from the surrounding rocks. Another close encounter with nature in beautiful surroundings added to our enjoyment of a pleasant 18 degree, sunny day.
We headed inland to a local beef and cattle station (ranch) where we enjoyed a homemade lunch in the sun amongst the colourful fall leaves. Down the road we came across the small town of Martinsborough surrounded on all sides by vineyards and wineries. We sampled some at a local winery and added to our shipboard wine cellar that we hope will get us through the hot dry tropics yet to come.
Of course one cannot visit NZ without seeing some of the sites where the Lord of the Rings was filmed. The riverside, forested setting for Rivendell made for a scenic stop in the late afternoon sun. All of the film sets throughout NZ have been removed and the landscapes returned to their natural form since the end of film making so one had to use their imaginations and a spotty memory to reconstruct the setting. No matter though as the natural beauty of the sites was more than enough reason to visit alone.
Auckland
Auckland is somewhat like a mini Sydney in that it has a series of large harbours, a harbour bridge and an outdoors loving population. We docked right in the downtown core so were able to roam easily the harbour area and the shopping areas.
We took a ferry across the harbour to an older residential area of Auckland at Devenport. Early 1900 frame homes surround a central hill, the remnants of an extinct volcano. It was Anzac day when we visited (Aussie and NZ Remebrance Day) so a holiday and families were strolling the sea walk or picnicking in the seaside park. The latter reminded us that NZ is like Canada was 30 or more years ago in a very laid back, pleasant sort of way. We spent time at a sidewalk café, eating guava fruit from a hospitable local’s street side bush, chatting with local kids selling their treasures at a driveway sale, and generally enjoying this quiet, quaint neighbourhood of Auckland.
We are now leaving NZ behind (regrettably) and heading on a two day sea leg to Fiji. More to come from the South Pacific in the days to come …..
Monday, April 16, 2007
SYDNEY
Days One/ Two/Three
In Transit
We left our house on Monday at 5:45 a.m. and finally arrived at our hotel in Sydney at 5:00 p.m. Wednesday (1 a.m. Ottawa time). Fog in Auckland, New Zealand forced us to land in Fiji where we sat on the runway for three hours waiting for the fog to lift in Auckland. Unfortunately, we had to stay on the plane but our onboard entertainment system with numerous movies and albums available for viewing and listening as well as a hot breakfast made it more bearable. We watched the sunrise over the mountains in the interior and then finally took off for Auckland. The arrival into Auckland was beautiful with countless inlets, islands, sand beaches, lush green forests and fields keeping us glued to the window. The down side was that our flight to Sydney had already left so we were rebooked onto another flight leaving four hours later.
We arrived in Sydney in the late afternoon sun. The pilot took a broad turn into the airport right over the city so were able to see the iconic sights of Sydney including the Opera House, the bridge, the beaches and the harbour. We were here! Upon arrival at our hotel, within a five-minute walk to the Opera House, we called our friends the Roberts who had arrived earlier in the morning. They invited us over to their hotel for a snack, and some wonderful Aussie beer and wine. A scenic walk home along the waterfront to our hotel in the mild evening breezes and then a grateful collapse into our beds ended the long journey to Oz. And then a long sleep!!
Days Four and Five
Sydney
Refreshed and ready to explore Sydney, we headed to Darling Harbour, a refurbished part of the massive Sydney harbour area. It’s an area of shops, parks, yachts and outdoor terraces. A very pleasant area to spend some time wandering, catching some sun, having a brew or two and enjoying a splendid day of blue sky and temperatures in the mid 20’s. Nearby is Paddy’s market a giant flea market on the edge of China Town, kind of like a Stittsville flea market on steroids. The stalls were devoted mainly to products directly imported from China and no doubt pirated copies and knock-offs. Genuine Australian Uggs for half the price of the real deal, Asian food stalls and so on. We then wandered through the shopping and business district near our hotel. Lots of pedestrian malls, pubs and shopping. We were a bit taken aback by the high prices. Granted we were in the equivalent of the Bloor and Yonge area of T.O. but even so, the prices were out of sight, e.g. an 80-gig iPod that goes for $390 in Canada going for $500 in Australia and their dollar is at par. On the way back to the hotel we discovered a great patio at the base of three business towers catering to the business crowd. We found a seat in the sun, sampled the great Aussie beers
and enjoyed the music as the worker bees exited the hives in swarms drawn to the same sweet pleasures. The place was rocking and still going strong as we toddled off to see the harbour at night. The Opera House was magnificently lighted, as was the Sydney Bridge. We passed a local ‘bottle shop” and picked up some more beer which we enjoyed on a deserted jetty next to the Opera House. Not quite up to the standards of the surroundings but damn fine for us.
Day Six
The famous Sydney Harbour Bridge offers a climbing tour to its top. No surprise that Stu decided to take this three and a half hour tour. It consisted of a briefing session where the staff went over the safety issues and suited us up in jump suits and a safety harness. Once we were prepped we set out to the base of the bridge. Through a series of ladders and suspended catwalks we eventually emerged between the eight lanes of morning rush hour traffic and continued up to the arch. The climb up the arch to the summit of the bridge was exhilarating and the views of the harbour, the nearby Opera House, the downtown and waterfront neighbourhoods of the wealthy Sydney-Siders were spectacular. We lingered at the top where our guide pointed out the residences of the P.M. and Governor General, Nicole Kidman and current hubby Keith Urban and Russell Crowe’s humble little waterside retreat. I was lucky enough to climb beside a retired naval commander who was taking his son-in-law on the climb. His 40 years in the British and Australian navies, world-wide experiences in virtually every port imaginable and first hand Sydney knowledge made the climb that much more enjoyable.
In the afternoon we set out for a wander through the business and shopping districts to Darling Harbour for a tour of the world famous Sydney Aquarium. The displays gave us an overview of the aquatic life in the rivers and surrounding oceans of Australia. The highlight was the shark tank, as the following pictures will demonstrate.
Day Seven
Today we decided to explore the outer reaches of Sydney by way of a ferry pass. Sydney harbour is immense and many of its suburbs stretch along the lengthy and serpentine shores of this beautiful focal point of the city. We set out first to the community of Manley Beach which is located at the northeastern extremity of the harbour. The ferry docked on the sheltered harbour side of Manley. We disembarked and walked down the main pedestrian mall of this beach community three blocks to the Pacific Ocean side of the town. A beautiful beach covered with sunbathers and surfers stretched out for a couple of kilometers. Bordered by a park and wide pedestrian walkway it was hopping with the Saturday crowd of Sydney-Sider families and surfers. It’s fall here and so it was bit jarring to be sitting on the beach in 26-degree weather while dried up leaves from the nearby trees rustled by in the breeze. We may not come back!
Our next ferry ride took us along the south side of the harbour stopping in at four different communities and ultimately to Watson’s Bay at the southeastern end of the harbour. We strolled up a short way to the ocean side cliffs overlooking the crashing waves of the open Pacific far below. As we turned back to town we were awed by the scene that unfolded below. A park stretched down to the waterfront and in the background the spectacular view of the harbour and Sydney skyline stopped us in our tracks. We were put back into motion by the beckoning of a waterside pub. We relocated onto its raised terrace where we sampled a few of Australia’s finest brews while viewing the sailboats skimming across the harbour in front of the setting sun. We are not leaving!
Day Eight
We decided to explore the countryside outside of Sydney and so took a tour of the nearby Blue Mountains. They are really a series of wide canyons eroded into an uplifted plateau. The views were magnificent and the descent into the canyon on a 52-degree slope, incline train was heart stopping. We wandered in the rainforest on the canyon floor and viewed the historic coal mining relics that accounted for the original incline train. A large cable car with a plexiglas floor took us back up to the lip of the canyon. We explored the lovely, small towns scattered here. The scarlet and orange leaves of the maples imported here by the original settlers reminded us of similar towns in the Gatineaus and Laurentians. Our tour ended with a view of the Olympic facilities and then a boat ride down river to the western extremity of the harbour. Our voyage was backlit by a passing thunderstorm with lightening and rainbows outlining the huge waterfront homes, Harbour Bridge, Sydney skyline and Opera House. The rain let up and so we toddled down to the harbour side for a feast of fresh seafood on an outdoor terrace between the lighted backdrop of the bridge and Opera House. Did we mention that we are thinking of staying?
In Transit
We left our house on Monday at 5:45 a.m. and finally arrived at our hotel in Sydney at 5:00 p.m. Wednesday (1 a.m. Ottawa time). Fog in Auckland, New Zealand forced us to land in Fiji where we sat on the runway for three hours waiting for the fog to lift in Auckland. Unfortunately, we had to stay on the plane but our onboard entertainment system with numerous movies and albums available for viewing and listening as well as a hot breakfast made it more bearable. We watched the sunrise over the mountains in the interior and then finally took off for Auckland. The arrival into Auckland was beautiful with countless inlets, islands, sand beaches, lush green forests and fields keeping us glued to the window. The down side was that our flight to Sydney had already left so we were rebooked onto another flight leaving four hours later.
We arrived in Sydney in the late afternoon sun. The pilot took a broad turn into the airport right over the city so were able to see the iconic sights of Sydney including the Opera House, the bridge, the beaches and the harbour. We were here! Upon arrival at our hotel, within a five-minute walk to the Opera House, we called our friends the Roberts who had arrived earlier in the morning. They invited us over to their hotel for a snack, and some wonderful Aussie beer and wine. A scenic walk home along the waterfront to our hotel in the mild evening breezes and then a grateful collapse into our beds ended the long journey to Oz. And then a long sleep!!
Days Four and Five
Sydney
Refreshed and ready to explore Sydney, we headed to Darling Harbour, a refurbished part of the massive Sydney harbour area. It’s an area of shops, parks, yachts and outdoor terraces. A very pleasant area to spend some time wandering, catching some sun, having a brew or two and enjoying a splendid day of blue sky and temperatures in the mid 20’s. Nearby is Paddy’s market a giant flea market on the edge of China Town, kind of like a Stittsville flea market on steroids. The stalls were devoted mainly to products directly imported from China and no doubt pirated copies and knock-offs. Genuine Australian Uggs for half the price of the real deal, Asian food stalls and so on. We then wandered through the shopping and business district near our hotel. Lots of pedestrian malls, pubs and shopping. We were a bit taken aback by the high prices. Granted we were in the equivalent of the Bloor and Yonge area of T.O. but even so, the prices were out of sight, e.g. an 80-gig iPod that goes for $390 in Canada going for $500 in Australia and their dollar is at par. On the way back to the hotel we discovered a great patio at the base of three business towers catering to the business crowd. We found a seat in the sun, sampled the great Aussie beers
and enjoyed the music as the worker bees exited the hives in swarms drawn to the same sweet pleasures. The place was rocking and still going strong as we toddled off to see the harbour at night. The Opera House was magnificently lighted, as was the Sydney Bridge. We passed a local ‘bottle shop” and picked up some more beer which we enjoyed on a deserted jetty next to the Opera House. Not quite up to the standards of the surroundings but damn fine for us.
Day Six
The famous Sydney Harbour Bridge offers a climbing tour to its top. No surprise that Stu decided to take this three and a half hour tour. It consisted of a briefing session where the staff went over the safety issues and suited us up in jump suits and a safety harness. Once we were prepped we set out to the base of the bridge. Through a series of ladders and suspended catwalks we eventually emerged between the eight lanes of morning rush hour traffic and continued up to the arch. The climb up the arch to the summit of the bridge was exhilarating and the views of the harbour, the nearby Opera House, the downtown and waterfront neighbourhoods of the wealthy Sydney-Siders were spectacular. We lingered at the top where our guide pointed out the residences of the P.M. and Governor General, Nicole Kidman and current hubby Keith Urban and Russell Crowe’s humble little waterside retreat. I was lucky enough to climb beside a retired naval commander who was taking his son-in-law on the climb. His 40 years in the British and Australian navies, world-wide experiences in virtually every port imaginable and first hand Sydney knowledge made the climb that much more enjoyable.
In the afternoon we set out for a wander through the business and shopping districts to Darling Harbour for a tour of the world famous Sydney Aquarium. The displays gave us an overview of the aquatic life in the rivers and surrounding oceans of Australia. The highlight was the shark tank, as the following pictures will demonstrate.
Day Seven
Today we decided to explore the outer reaches of Sydney by way of a ferry pass. Sydney harbour is immense and many of its suburbs stretch along the lengthy and serpentine shores of this beautiful focal point of the city. We set out first to the community of Manley Beach which is located at the northeastern extremity of the harbour. The ferry docked on the sheltered harbour side of Manley. We disembarked and walked down the main pedestrian mall of this beach community three blocks to the Pacific Ocean side of the town. A beautiful beach covered with sunbathers and surfers stretched out for a couple of kilometers. Bordered by a park and wide pedestrian walkway it was hopping with the Saturday crowd of Sydney-Sider families and surfers. It’s fall here and so it was bit jarring to be sitting on the beach in 26-degree weather while dried up leaves from the nearby trees rustled by in the breeze. We may not come back!
Our next ferry ride took us along the south side of the harbour stopping in at four different communities and ultimately to Watson’s Bay at the southeastern end of the harbour. We strolled up a short way to the ocean side cliffs overlooking the crashing waves of the open Pacific far below. As we turned back to town we were awed by the scene that unfolded below. A park stretched down to the waterfront and in the background the spectacular view of the harbour and Sydney skyline stopped us in our tracks. We were put back into motion by the beckoning of a waterside pub. We relocated onto its raised terrace where we sampled a few of Australia’s finest brews while viewing the sailboats skimming across the harbour in front of the setting sun. We are not leaving!
Day Eight
We decided to explore the countryside outside of Sydney and so took a tour of the nearby Blue Mountains. They are really a series of wide canyons eroded into an uplifted plateau. The views were magnificent and the descent into the canyon on a 52-degree slope, incline train was heart stopping. We wandered in the rainforest on the canyon floor and viewed the historic coal mining relics that accounted for the original incline train. A large cable car with a plexiglas floor took us back up to the lip of the canyon. We explored the lovely, small towns scattered here. The scarlet and orange leaves of the maples imported here by the original settlers reminded us of similar towns in the Gatineaus and Laurentians. Our tour ended with a view of the Olympic facilities and then a boat ride down river to the western extremity of the harbour. Our voyage was backlit by a passing thunderstorm with lightening and rainbows outlining the huge waterfront homes, Harbour Bridge, Sydney skyline and Opera House. The rain let up and so we toddled down to the harbour side for a feast of fresh seafood on an outdoor terrace between the lighted backdrop of the bridge and Opera House. Did we mention that we are thinking of staying?
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