Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Sydney

Everyone takes a photo of the Opera House...This is ours


Arrived here the morning of March 10 after the long overnight flight from LAX. Afraid United was a disappointment after all those years flying on SingAir, but at least the seats were lie-flat so we could get some sleep.

Only stayed here a couple of nights - mainly to get a little acclimated to the time
change before we head out for Tasmania on Wednesday the 12th. The weather was glorious so we jumped on one of the Harbor Ferries and spent the day walking around Rose Bay, Watson's Bay, and the South Head area near the entrance to the harbor. There's a famous seafood restaurant out there (Doyle's) and the area is just very pretty to walk around. There's even Sydney Harbor National Park that provides a bit of bush walking within the city limits. Walked our legs off before stopping for lunch and catching the ferry back to Circular Quay. Here are some photos:


One of the pretty views looking back up the harbor from Rose Bay. You can see the Sydney Harbor Bridge & the Opera House off in the distance.


A photo op along the trail


And another - really a pretty part of a very pretty city



The end of our walk was this nice little bay on the harbor side of South Head. The monument marks the spot where Capt Arthur Philip of the First Fleet stepped ashore after the 8 month voyage from England back in 1788, and thus founded the colony that became Australia. They had originally pulled into Botany Bay, just south of Sydney Harbor (where the Int'l Airport is today), based upon a recommendation by Capt Cook in 1770 that it be the place to base a colony, but found it too marshy and lacking a reliable water supply. So, they went exploring
for a better place and thus sailed into one of the great harbors of the world - and one that Cook never saw.
We really love Sydney. It's long been our favorite city on earth - thanks mainly to the gorgeous harbor that touches every part of it. We'll be back here at the end of the trip in June, but now it's time to fly to Launceston, pick up the rental car, and head into the Tasmanian bush.

3 comments:

mullinsclan said...

Just curious, how often does the opera house do concerts/operas/shows? I was wondering how much the tickets go for and what it looks like on the inside...Mike

Bob & Rita Mullins said...

It's seasonal - most shows start up in the Spring, continue thru summer and wrap up in Autumn. The Opera House has its own website which we've used before to order tickets. When we're back here in June it'll be pretty quiet unfortunately, but we've had a chance to see several shows on previous visits - always a treat.

John said...

Enjoyed reading your adventures. I have a lot of fond memories from Tasmania, thanks for rekindling them. Continue to have fun, but watch out for snakes, spiders, jellyfish and all other dangerous critters - its a jungle out there!

Cheers, John