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Published: January 1st 2009
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Chinese Garden
An oasis in the heart of the city Dazzling Darling Harbour and Mrs Macquarie Monday 29th December 2008
We’ve had another busy sightseeing day here in Sydney. There is so much to see in this city and now that it is the summer holidays and the kids are off school for six weeks, everyone is out and about and enjoying the sights. We took the bus down to Darling Harbour and Cockle Bay. It was buzzing with tourists and locals, street performers, vendors, full ferries criss-crossing the harbour, the monorail overhead full to capacity, shoppers, skateboarders and children walking in the fountains; lively is an inadequate word to describe it all. Its full-on fun and we loved it. Amidst all of this crazy hedonistic extravagance in the sunshine we found gentle tranquillity in the Chinese Garden of Friendship. Initiated by the local Chinese community in Sydney, the garden was built in1979 and designed by Chinese landscape architects to reflect traditional Chinese gardens, principled by Ying-Yang and symbolically incorporating the five elements, earth, fire, water, metal and wood. It is delightful, charming and a peaceful oasis in the heart of the city.
A short ferry ride to Circular Key, a pub lunch and we were ready to walk
Koi Carp
In the Chinese Garden around the Opera House and then explore the beautiful Botanical Gardens and the Domain. We walked out to Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, to the tip of the peninsula, where preparations are in hand ready for New Years Eve. Rows and rows of porter-loos are lined up like fat blue Tardis police boxes, ready to aid the relief of partygoers on Wednesday night. Hotdog stands, beer stalls, barricades are all being set up for the 22,000 people who will view the fireworks from Mrs Mac’s Point. It is a good location with a clear view of the bridge and we might head there rather than The Rocks, where a similar number are expected. Choosing where to go for New Years Eve is all-important. Millions of people will flock to the harbour, spread themselves around about a dozen different key viewing venues and once a spot is chosen it will be impossible to change it. We have tomorrow to discuss and decide! Leaving Mrs Macquarie’s, we walked up and over the Domain and down to George Street to catch our bus back to the hotel. It was a long walk, so tonight, its feet up and watching the telly. Tomorrow we are going
to have a beach day.
Tuesday 30th December 2008
Today was a beautiful day. We took the bus to Palm Beach, about 30 kilometres north of Manly. This peninsula is quite stunning, on the east coast, Manly to Palm Beach is a delightfully scenic route, beaches, coves and rocky outcrops. It is a narrow peninsula so the bus weaves from one side to the other, enabling the traveller to also see the smaller beaches and marinas on the western side. Palm Beach itself is very attractive, with its red sand and lush vegetation; it is more colourful than Coogee or Bondi. The four of us came back to Circular Key for a pub dinner then set off back to our hotels, having planned our strategy for getting a good spot to see the fireworks tomorrow, New Years Eve.
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