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Published: September 9th 2008
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Sydney Aquarium
Duck-billed platypus. I wanted to get a few things today, as it was the penultimate day of my holiday, so Bryan and Damon took me up to the shopping mall, where I got some shirts for myself, and also a couple more triple camera film packs which cost $11 (£4) each. I also bought a couple of videos which I had seen on sale: ‘The Odd Couple’ and ‘The Odd Couple 2’, which are two of my favourites. We went home for a short while after that, giving my wallet some time to recover from the shock.
Next stop was Darling Harbour, in Sydney, where we were going to visit the Sydney Aquarium. We parked in one of these large multi-storey car parks, and it was only a short walk on from there. They had remembered that I said to them at the start of my holiday, when they asked me what I would like to do, I said ‘to see some sharks’.
The aquarium is on the eastern side of the Pyrmont Bridge. The journey round the aquarium starts off with the freshwater fish from the Murray-Darling river basin. A short walk on and we entered the first of two
Sydney Aquarium
Barramundi is one of Australia’s primary fish. All Barramundi are born male, but at 4 years of age they start changing into females. This was in the ‘Rivers of the Far North’ area. underwater walkways, which showed off sharks and gigantic stingrays. It was so intimidating seeing these sharks so close-up. They were an awesome sight to see, and only a couple of inches of glass separated us from these ferocious fish. The stingrays cast shadows over the walkways. Another area included aquariums featuring exotic species from the Great Barrier Reef, including a mass of glowing, undulating Moon Jellyfish. The Great Barrier Reef Oceanarium finishes with a huge wall-to-ceiling tank where you can sit and be mesmerised while classical music plays. Alongside all the fish, there are also platypus, seals and fairy penguins. They tried to cover all the areas, such as ‘Sydney Harbour’, ‘Great Australian Bight’ and the ‘Northern Tropics’.
At the end of our trip round the Aquarium we came to the main souvenir shop, which I have to say contained mostly tourist rubbish, but if you had a proper look round there were some decent offerings. I bought a video, which detailed the exhibits we saw. This cost $19 (£6.50), and though it only lasted twenty minutes, was an ideal reminder. Also got an ‘Aquarium’ keyring for $6 (£2) and a $1 (30p) panoramic postcard.
Once we got
Sydney Aquarium
Plenty of life in the ‘Sydney Harbour Oceanarium’. back from here, we went for a spot of last minute shopping. I still hadn’t got a couple of presents; a hat with corks on for Adam, my brother, and some sort of clothing that wouldn’t be able to be bought over here. We went to ‘Manly Corso’, which is like a really long street with loads of tourist-type shops. Some of the stuff there was really tacky, but apparently it was possible to get a few bargains there.
I managed to find a shop which sold hats with hanging corks, so that was my brother’s present sorted out, and I also managed to get a polo shirt with a ‘Sydney’ emblem, which obviously couldn’t be bought over here, so I was pleased now. I didn’t want to come back with no presents for them. I also bought a ‘koala’ mug for myself, and an Australian edition of my beloved ‘FHM’ magazine, for the flight home tomorrow.
Then we went back to Bryan’s. Danni was back from the school trip, so I told her all about the tour. She admitted that she would love to go on something like that. Tonight, as it was my last night, we
Sydney Aquarium
Marine turtle, in the ‘Great Barrier Reef Oceanarium’. were all going for dinner at the Dee Why R.S.L. club on Pittwater Road, which was only about a ten-minute drive from Harbord, along Pittwater Road. I had a chicken dish and again, the food was really nice. The club was really busy again, as everyone seems to go to these places to socialise and have cheap food and drink. The food and drink was again really tasty. We got one of the waitresses to take a photo of us all, but it never came out all that good. Gwen gave me a few bits and pieces from her last few trips around Australia; a couple of ornaments; some postcards; a couple of books and a calendar. It was real nice of her, and I didn’t expect it.
I was always introduced when they saw some of their friends, as that they liked to show me off (not much to show off I know), but they wanted to show that they have family in other places.
As I had a lot of travelling tomorrow, they decided by about 9pm that it was time to go back, so I went back with Danni and Damon, as Bryan took the
Sydney Aquarium
A tank full of tiny jellyfish, in the ‘Rocky Shores’ area. others. They all came back to Bryan’s and had a little chat.
They then took a couple of photos of us all. I then said my farewells to Gwen and Lorna, and thanked them for everything.
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