Advertisement
Published: March 17th 2007
Edit Blog Post
Sydney harbour
Quite rightfully billed as the most beautiful harbour in the world And I would drive 2890 miles
Some people might say naming a Toyota Hiace campervan Martha is a little unstable but after nearly 3,000 miles, 20 destinations and a time travelling cattle grid all under the same tiny roof, you become pretty attached to your mobile home. So much so that I was considering a whole blog dedicated to the memory of Martha who has now been handed back to her rightful owners.
But Carla insisted that this would be a little bit self indulgent and 'silly' (shes probably right) so instead I have decided to list our whole journey in the form of one long, unbroken sentence and ask that you all have a little thought for our good friend who has probably been handed to a couple of smelly hippies who will not treat her with anything like the same love and respect that we did - Martha we will miss you !! (Ok I admit, I am unstable)
CairnsToPortdouglasToCapetribulationToCairnsToInghamToTownsvilleToMagneticislandToAirliebeachToMackayTo
CapehillsboroughToBundabergToBargaraToHerveybayToFraserislandToTincanbayToRainbowbeachToNoosaToBrisbane
ToSurfersparadiseToByronbayToPortmarquarieToThehuntervalleyTo..... Sydney
Sydney is one of the dozen or so cities in the world that can claim to be a 'world famous destination'. These cities are the ones who's names can be found beneath
AAHH aint that nice....
the happy couple and some bridge the clocks in posh hotel lobbies (London, Paris, New York etc....) and have a certain imagery and romance attached to their name.
Of the cities on this list I have been lucky enough to visit, I have always arrived with high hopes but never been dissapointed and Sydney, especially its harbour certainly lives up to its billing.
We arrived on a sunny Saturday morning after a short train journey from the outskirts where we had dropped of Martha and piled our wordly belongings onto our backs for the first time in 5 weeks (cue me walking like a zombie again as we staggered to our hostel) It had also been so long since we had sat down in front of a TV that the small information emmiting box in our room confused us at first, but we soon reverted back to old ways and started watching the late afternoon trash designed only for students and the work shy!! One such programmes camp host invited people to e-mail in to join the studio audience, so on the 29th March when we return to Sydney from Melbourne we will be holding up either a red tomatoe or green pepper in the
Pat..Pat..Im up 'ere Pat
Frank Butcher looking down on Sydney from the top of the Harbour bridge audience of 'ready steady cook' (the prospect of this is exciting Carla a little too much!)
Our hostel had the word 'boutique' in its advert, which meant it had the whole look and feel of the Big Brother house and its well groomed residents were more likely seen in front of their lap tops than their lonely planets. This made the place a little un sociable but clean and quiet which after 5 weeks on SAGA sponsored campsites was just what we needed to ease us back into reality (not quite ready for a 'party' hostel just yet).
Saturday night we met up with yet another Milton Keynes resident (thats 5 and counting) in the form of Ben, my bros old house mate, for a few beers in Balmain and agreed to spend Sunday together on one of Sydneys many beaches.
The best way to reach Manly and Freshwater beach is by ferry from circular quay, which sits between the harbour bridge and the opera house making the sunday morning journey one of the most scenic of our trip - its not often that such a photographed destination like Sydney harbour can look better in the flesh, but
The MK massive suck it all in
L-R Matt, Ben, Carla on Fresh water beach, not a bad way to spend a sunday afternoon. on this sunny Sunday morning it certainly did and the whole day spent on beaches only 25minutes from Sydneys centre makes you realise why so many brits settle in this place.
The next few days are spent soaking up all the city has to offer mainly on foot and after running from the gallery through the botanic gardens, up the steps of the opera house and back, we (especially me) are knackered and the walk across the soon to be 75 year old bridge finishes us off, although the view from the top of one of its towers is worth the effort. This means we spend Thursday watching more trashy TV, doing a 'Big wash' (where the hostels dryer shrinks all our clothes, but all the walking and jogging pays dividends when they all still fit) and venturing no further than the train station to buy our tickets to Melbourne.
We have eaten out more than usual, mainly because our hostels 'boutique stainless steel food preperation area' is about the size of a kitchen in a 2 bed semi and attempting to cook in it is like culinery bumper cars, but Sydney with its thriving China town has
A world class skyline
as seen from the most scenic public transport journey of the trip so far! more cheap eateries than we expected and we even manage sushi and steak on our budget (first steak for 6 months, a little chewy but at four quid including a pint-sorry schooner- you cant complain).
I have gotten quite used to making eye contact and saying "G'Day, how are ya" to every stranger I pass on the street - but as we were warned by the folks up north (especially the Queenslanders) this isnt common practice in Sydney and the head down shuffle you see in most major cities returns. This may be because very few people you see in Sydney appear to be Australian ???? which adds to its Cosmoplitan feel but takes away a bit of its character and makes it feel like a whole different world to every other stop on our Australian trip so far.
In an attempt to find the grimier more alternative Sydney (its very clean, almost clinical) we headed to Kings Cross one night, but came straight back after one drink as its dirty kebab shops, theme pubs and strip joints make it the sort of place you go for a flat pint (sorry schooner) and a fight (the sort of
Happy birthday
Sydney habour bridge is 75 on the 19th March activities you dont need to travel half way round the world to partake in)
We didnt give up though and tried Newton, which turned out to be a real gem with some decent bars and more of a alternative sort of 'Camden' feel to it with decent cheaper shops where I even managed to pick up a pair of Levis for 8 quid!! There appears to be talk of developing Newton into a more 'upmarket' district, but that would be a shame as its the only part of Sydney we came across without the clinical or 'touristy' feel of the other areas we visited.
The weather remained kind to us for the whole week and on one of our final days we jumped on a bus to Bondi to see what the fuss was all about. I expected an over developed beach resort, but surprisingly its still quite small and even quaint, although it could do with some of the development that they are planning for Newton. The water was crystal clear, the sun strong and there was thankfully a much smaller speedo count than I had expected making it just another element of this fantastic City.
As
A different world
The views and atmosphere in Sydney aint like anywhere else we've been in Oz so far I write we are packed up and ready for our overnight train to Melbourne, but not before a sneaky schooner of the black stuff to toast Paddys day and our time in Sydney!!! cheers
Peace
MandC
Advertisement
Tot: 0.273s; Tpl: 0.015s; cc: 35; qc: 134; dbt: 0.1611s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.5mb
winn et mozza
non-member comment
Cheers to Martha
We did of course sing the first sentance of the blog to the Proclaimers and we would walk....it sort of set the scene for us!! just reading your itinary exhausted us, its incredible how much you have covered in 5 weeks, and you would never have done it without Martha (even we feel sad and we only know her via the blogs)!! Carla you look so brown never seen you so well and Matt where has your weight gone!! so lean(are you sure your eating) a thought from Mum.....Good to see Ben though did not recognise him he looks so grown up!! (another motherism)!! The photos are fab and the blogs so informative that again we feel as if we have seen it!! cannot wait to meet up, take care intrepid travellers by the way love the smoochy photo!!! look after each other love always, wants and needs seems to be nearly redundant now after all your life experiences which still have a long time to grow!! Love mum and mozza xxxxxxxxxx