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Published: October 6th 2010
G'day all!
Finished writing this in Melbourne but travel blog site was down so published a day later.
Well I arrived in Sydney around lunch time on Tuesday 21st September, sorted myself out a telephone sim card, Dee had given me an old one she had but it did not work, think too old. Then went to look at the accommodation board in the airport to find a hostel.
While I was looking a guy tapped me on the shoulder and said he had a hostel central in the city and he was here to pick up another customer and that he would take me into the city for free. So I went with him and booked in to the Oasis hostel for two nights.
The hostel was near Central train station and everyone there friendly..... but was a bit of a dump and needed much renovation, had free wifi though! Most people staying there were Koreans either going to nearbye english school or looking for work, so not gonna meet anyone to travel with here!
They liked practicing their english with me because I spoke British english! lol
Couple of facts
for you, Australian population is around 22 million, Sydney having 4.5 million and Canberra the capital.
Did my usual and went for a walk to get my bearings, headed down Liverpool street, stopping for the biggest burger Hungry Jacks (Burger King) had, then down to Darling Harbour for a walk around and go to the tourist information centre. As other Commonwealth countries the streets were mainly english names such as Hyde Park, Elizabeth street, George street etc
Sun was shining and in the twenties but got chillier when the clouds came out or at night, being in their spring. Popped into internet cafe on the way back to write up the Fiji blog, then back to the hostel for an early night, still tired from Fiji!
Following morning decided I needed to go on a mooch around to find a better hostel, plus visit the bus and train stations to see about how i was going to get around this massive continent. Did some research on the internet before I went though. Again coming back to a city always feel weird for me, the real world perhaps, people with their flash cars and lots
of people and buildings!
Lady in the train station explained the Austrail pass which was valid on all networks including the famous Ghan - Adelaide to Darwin (3 days), Indian Pacific line - Perth to Sydney (3 days) plus all the East coast lines up to Cairns, where i will be flying home from. Cost for the pass is 990 australian dollars about 600 poundsish which gave unlimited travel for 6 months.
Went to the bus station and you can get a km pass, but when i calculated my intended route of Sydney to melbourne, to Adelaide, to Alice Springs, to Darwin, down West coast to Perth, to Sydney then up East coast to Cairns it came to 17000km and 2000 bucks!
People had said internal flights quite reasonable but you need to book ahead so no changing plans and even then Sydney to Cairns is 213 dollars. Left the bus/rail travel offices and found myself outside one of the hostels I had circled, Sydney Central YHA, had a look around looked really nice more like a hotel and lots of travellers staying there. Bigger than some of the more homely ones i had
stayed before but way better than the craphole i was in!
I headed off to an Irish bar for a late breakfast and early Guiness to decide my plans! Straight after I went back to the YHA and booked two nights plus joined as a YHA member, then back to my current hostel to drop off all my rail and bus literature, time to go sightseeing!
Walked up Elizabeth Street, along Liverpool then down Pitt street towards Circular Quay where the Opera House and Harbour bridge were.
I dont really like cities (shities) but Sydney is quite nice, more so because of the Opera House, harbour bridge and darling harbour. I walked to the Opera House and booked a tour then walked around the outside of Opera House and the Botanical Gardens to fill in the hour before my tour.
The tour was really good and lasted an hour. The guide gave us all headphones so we could hear him clearly plus pick up the sound for the three short films we saw explaining the history of the Opera House. We were taken into one of the three smaller theatres/studios, the main Opera Hall
and the larger theatre.
You were not allowed to take pictures if anyone was working (inc engineers etc) on or around the stage, luckily for us the main opera hall was empty so got some pickies, the whole interior is made from wood. We also went up some steps to a balcony, just as we did a large cruise liner was coming out the harbour, our lucky day.
The history was quite interesting as the opera house design was put out as a competition for architects and the one chosen was actually originally discarded from the entrants and was also a really late entry with little detail (Jørn Utzon) . The project went way over budget and timescales and caused some issues politically because of these overspends and delays.
It took 16 years to complete opening in 1973 and the really scary thing is they had started to build and almost completed the base structure still not knowing how they were going to complete the sail roof! When I come back through Sydney I must come and see a performance there and also take some night time pictures.
After my tour I
headed back to the hostel and then went out with Matt who I met in Fiji, for some dinner and a few beers. We went to a roof top bar in The Rocks, with a great view of the Opera House by night, but I had left my camera at home doh! We had a few more beers somewhere else I cant remember then set off back to my hostel.
Yippee next day I was off to the YHA but had to wait until midday to check in. Met my new roomies Danny from Netherlands, Victoria fom England and Cecelia from Germany. Put some washing on as I had been bucket washing in Fiji, mind you think that worked better than the washing machine!
I went to the train station to buy my ticket having decided it was the best option then set off to do some shopping bits like a Lonely Planet book and some toiletries. Decided partly based on cost and flexibility, still long journeys like the bus but flexible and expecting some great views.
Did not feel hungry in the evening and stayed in the hostel to watch a movie in
the small cinema with free popcorn! Then off to bed for a reasonably early night as I had plans to visit things the next day. After a big breakfast in the morning I headed off back down to Circular Quay to catch a ferry to Manly, round the coast of Norhtern Sydney.
The ferry ride took just over half an hour with great views of the Opera House, Harbour Bridge and harbour, the sun was shining again.
My parents had spent two years in Sydney when my father was posted there by the Royal Navy around 1966, before the Opera House was finished and where my sister was born! They had lived in Manly and my dad had sent me the address, well he said it was 25a or 27a Fairlight Crescent.
So set up my iphone google maps and headed off along the beach and about 15 mins walk. When i got there it was difficult to see the houses as the house access was from the shore and garages were in the way, but it seemed that a house had been knocked down and some seemed newish.
I walked around
the front and asked the builders and sure enough 25a had been knocked down and 27 was new! Took some pictures and sent them to my dad. Felt quite weird being there even though i was not around until 3 years later! Bimbled around Manly for a bit then caught the ferry back.
Did a few more sightseeing bits like visiting The Rocks museum which covered past and recent history of Sydney, quite interestinf and free! Then walked to the Sydney Observatory where I saw a 3D movie about the universe, which even though probably knew some of the facts opens your mind again to the size of stars compared to Earth and the Sun plus a reminder of how scarily big the universe is.
We were also given a tour of the telescopes in the domes and were able to view Venus and the sun, cool.
Decided a deserved a few cold Guiness after all the walking I had done, then headed back tot he hostel and went out for all you can eat pizza at the bar next tot he hostel with Danny and Victiria, drunk too many beers and Jagermeister!
Following
morning I had to check out by ten but my train was not until 2040 tha5t night, so locked my bags in a locker and headed down to Darling harbour to visit the Maritime Museum. The museum was free and had lots to see but i paid extra so i could visit the floating vessels in the harbour. Sun shining again and in mid twenties.
They had an old destroyer (HMAS Vampire), an O class submarine (HMAS Onslow) plus a working replica of Captain Cook's Endeavour! My dad had taken me on submarines in HMS Dolphin (Gosport) when i was younger but was cool to see again, plus this is the same class submarine my dad served on for many years, a reminder of the conditions he worked in for as long as 6 to 9 months at a time.
Headed back to the hostel and started writing my blog before heading to the nearby train station to check my bag in and wait for the train. I had a window seat and a reclining chair, reasonably comfortable and managed to get quite a bit of sleep, arriving in Melbourne Southern Cross station around 0800 the
next morning, saw my first wild kangaroo in the morning from the train!
Anyway liking Australia so far, except keen to get out of the major cities and get to warmer parts! Decided to head to Alice Springs and Darwin in the Northern Territories for some warmer weather and also after October the wet season begins which means really hot and humid and risk of flooding which can cause the roads and national parks to close.
I will pass back through Sydney for my last stage to hit the east coast before flying home from Cairns so the things i did not manage to do such as Taronga zoo, Blue mountains and bridge walking could be done then, plus it willm be warmer then.
Anyway bye for now.
Larf
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lee gibbs
non-member comment
cheers for the birthday wishes, hope you had a great one too, did send you a little email dont know if you got or not. oz looks cool, how long are ya there and whatr are ya plans for when ya get back.