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Published: August 31st 2007
We CAN'tBERR Another day here! 11 hours sounds like an awfully long time to spend on a bus. And it is. But this was our chosen steed for the journey from Melbourne to Canberra, and that's how long it takes. We could have taken the train which was more expensive and would have saved us just 15mins so we bit the bullet. By travelling overnight we saved a night's accommodation and as there tends not to be that much to see between Australian cities, we thought we could have a nice kip. That was the plan, but unfortunately the highways over here appear to be cobbled, while the coach appeared to be fitted with square wheels. Despite the resulting vibrations we managed to get a few intermittent hours of sleep before arriving in Canberra early in the morning.
Once we had worked out how to get a local bus to our hostel we grabbed some proper sleep, making up for late nights in Melbourne. We had an explore of Kingston, the suburb our hostel was in and then got an early night ready to explore the city next day.
In the morning we hired bikes and set off with
a plan to see the major sites of Canberra. After all, it's Australia's capital so we expected there'd be loads to see? But we were pretty much done by 2pm!! This place is very much like Milton Keynes - low rise grey 70's office buildings with mirrored windows which are instantly forgettable. Where were we again?
Admittedly the new Parliament building is pretty cool - it's built into a hillside and covered in grass so you can walk on the roof. But the place has no
soul. We popped into the House of Representatives and watched a couple of laws being made, hitherto therefore hereby thenceforewith etc etc which kept us busy for nearly 5 mins. We also saw the Cook Jet, which is a jet of water 147m high, erm, and that's about it. We remained uninspired and pleased to be leaving the next day.
At least we can say we visited the Capital city, unlike most people who don't bother. But we would say if you're thinking of visiting it, don't bother!
Click here for a video of our 9 mile route.
Sydney Thank God the bus ride to Sydney is less than 5 hours! Upon arrival we checked into the recently opened and
award-winning 'Wake Up!' hostel smack bang in the centre of Sydney's Central Business District next to the Central Station.
Our first afternoon was spent doing the Lonely Planet walking tour, which took in lots of the major sights. We walked through the beautiful Hyde Park, past Liverpool Street, Oxford Street and St James' and down to the Opera House. Then round Circular Quay, up through The Rocks area and across Sydney Harbour bridge for a pint in North Sydney. On the way back the sun was setting over the harbour and we took in the views from a rooftop bar.
We concluded the walk the following day, heading into the Paddington area of town. This included a visit to the Barracks museum, which had a special exhibition of 'Victorian Hulks' which Imogen was keen to visit, thinking it might be pictures of big strong Victorian men. A 'hulk' is actually an old boat which has been converted into a floating prison.
Besides the place names, Sydney feels very similar in many ways to London. The pace of life is much faster than Melbourne with everyone rushing around in suits on mobile phones and lots of cars beeping at each
Our hostel was a bit primitive...
(Actually taken in the Barracks museum)other. You could get around much faster if it wasn't for the pedestrian crossings. Jay-walking is illegal but you can stand for several minutes waiting to cross a piffling two-lane road. The result is a glut of pedestrians all of a sudden released like a flood as the green man appears. Then there is a clash worthy of the Spartans in the middle of the road as both sides of pedestrians meet. No wonder the rugby team are so good.
The weather for the first couple of days was sunny, right up until the moment Imogen purchased a new pair of sunglasses. We walked out of the shop and it was suddenly overcast, the sky remaining like that for several days after!
On Sunday we arranged to meet up with Sarah and Si (friends from England who live in Sydney) at a trendy bar called The Dolphin Hotel in the Surry Hills district of the city for lunch. We had our first roast dinner for 2½ months which was fantastic! A friend from Melbourne had also arrived in Sydney that afternoon so we caught up with him later in the evening and even managed to watch the Man
City vs Man Utd game live.
After a hazy Monday we went to the cinema in the evening with another friend from Melbourne who had just arrived and had a drink afterwards as the clock struck Midnight - it was Paul's birthday!
We've already written up birthday exploits -
follow this link if you haven't seen it yet.
Unsurprisingly the post-birthday morning involved a lie-in and a late breakfast. We went up the AMP Sydney Sky Tower which is the tallest building in Sydney (second tallest in Australia, with the Auckland Sky Tower being the tallest in the Southern Hemisphere - see we do listen!!). It also had an interactive 'infotainment' ride called OzTrek which we went on. The climax of this involved sitting on a hydraulic powered seat which vibrated as you watched flying sequences on a big screen. Trust us, this was the last thing you wanted after a birthday night out!
Next day we were up early for a tour of the Opera House. Our guide (who reminded us of The Doc in the Back To The Future films) talked us through the long and jaded history of the building's conception and construction - it was supposed to cost $7m AUD
to build but the final cost was over $100m AUD! We were not able to see the interior of the opera theatre as rehearsals were taking place, but we did go into the larger concert hall, which is almost as impressive and avant garde as the exterior. You can tell a lot of Scandinavians were involved in its construction by the use of pine and the fact it looks and sounds like something from Bang & Olufson.
Next up was the Bridge Museum, which has some fantastic photos of the bridge under construction. It is amazing when you think no computers or calculators were available to the (English) engineers who designed it, and that the men who built it had no safety lines but had to throw/catch white-hot rivets and carry paint cans around with them while up there. We were scared enough up there in full safety gear!
In the evening our friend Mark decided to introduce us to 'The Goon'. Goon is the local slang term for a winebox, although calling the contents 'wine' is insulting to grapes. You get 4 litres of evil brew for about $10 AUD, which is roughly 4 quid. When the goon is
half-full (or half-empty, depending on your personality type) you remove it from the box and 'slap the goon'. We all had a damn good slap and it did seem like great fun, even though no-one really knew why. Once the goon is finished, the idea is you can reinflate the bag and use it as a pillow to sleep where you fall.
Click here for more about The Goon. Obviously such high jinx required a kebab afterwards. They are so much nicer here, people even eat them for lunch when sober!
Despite a night on the goon we felt surprisingly OK the following day, which was fortunate as we had to be up at a reasonable time to move to a different dorm to extend our stay. People had recommended a trip to Manly so we took the ferry over there in the afternoon and had a wander. You get great views of Sydney from the water, and Manly itself is a beautiful sleepy beachside suburb a world away from the fast-paced city centre. In the evening we thought we'd take a walk around the King's Cross area. Much like the one in London, this is the dodgy bit of town, full of vice and sex shops etc. We were hoping to see some crack-whores and pimps but were surprised to find some trendy bars and the whole area a lot more upmarket than expected. There was the odd adult shop and massage parlour here and there, but I'm not sure it's the same as it once was.
And so our last day in Sydney rolled around. We wanted to see Bondi before we left and as our bus didn't leave until 9pm, we took a bus to Coogee beach with a plan to walk along the cliffs to Bondi and meet Sarah and Si for lunch. After walking for couple of miles we had got as far as Bronte and realised we were going to be late. So we grabbed a bus and then a taxi to get to the 'Bondi Social'. We had a great lunch and Si insisted we join him at their local for the afternoon which we did. With great regret we grabbed a taxi back to the city centre to pick up our bags and get on the bus to our next stop, Byron Bay - a 13 hour overnight epic journey up the East coast...
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