Come to the Land Down Under

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I finally arrived in Sydney after 16 hours of flying, and 2 hours in San Francisco. But I slept through much of it. And then I arrived very early Sunday morning. It was too early to check into the hostel, so I left my bag in a locker and walked to the harbour. When I return, I hope you don't say "Not another photo of the Opera House!?" I can't stop photographing this amazing piece of architecture - it's fabulous.

Yesterday was my first day - Sunday. I saw a military parade, the Australian Natural History Museum and of course the gorgeous harbour. Today, I went to the zoo. It's quite large and across the harbour. On a hill on the north side of the harbour, so as you look down again more photos of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, this time with giraffes. Not very Australian, but that was the background for these animals. The native fauna prefered less scenic settings. But I did see kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, crocodiles, wombats and other Australian critters. Even saw a platypus - very weird.

How to describe Sydney? Is it more like Vancouver or more like London. It's got a bit of both to be uniquely Sydney. It's like London because they drive on the left, lots of English words, and a train system and Victorian station worthy of the best European tradition. But a little like Vancouver because of the harbour, the outdoors lifestyle with lots of joggers, and buildings no older than 120 years. A unique hybrid that can really only be considered neither Vancouver or London. Palm trees set among Victorian buildings and modern glass skyscrapers. It's the Land Down Under.

And it's winter here. It's almost cold, about 13 to 16 degrees Celcius. I can wear my jacket all day, even though the sun is shining. When we arrived at 6 am Sunday morning, the pilot of the airplane announced it was 8 degrees. And it's a little windy. But it's also winter because it gets so dark so early. Sun sets about 5 pm. By 7 pm the whole city seems to be hibernating. My geographic sensibilities are all out of whack - the sun is in the north, and the sunset went from 9pm in Vancouver to 5 pm here. Welcome to the Land Down Under.

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Comments

[Susan Walter]

Welcome to Oz!
I'm glad you finally made it to Australia! Sydney is indeed a lovely city, and I quite concur about your Opera House comments. Darling Harbour is nearby, which is roughly like Granville Island, so have a look around there a little. I visited the zoo when I was 18 years old, and all I remember is being far too hot for comfort. Jeff and I are thinking of you, Chris! -- Susan