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Published: December 19th 2008
Mike in Sydney
Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House in the background.The flight into Sydney from Brisbane was wonderfully scenic. We flew over the city, which gave us a birds eye view of the beautiful harbour area including Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, before swinging back in to land. We have both long been looking forward to Sydney - Australia's famous 'world' city.
It is a place renowned for its awesome weather, sights and history. Our hotel was conveniently located just outside the CBD (Central Business District) area and 5 minutes from where our train from the airport stopped. The trains were double-decker semi-subterranean trains, which was instantly likable.
Our first day was committed to wandering the central area and taking in the main sights in the blissfully fine weather. How nice it was to go for a delightful amble in the city and not be drenched with sweat within eight steps. Still, on our first walk Sydney appeared to be a bustling, cosmopolitan and very attractive place indeed. The central city area is a busy hive of activity, yet outside this things are much more laid back - something which could largely be attributed to the weather and the stunning beaches in the vicinity. It's easy to
Sydney Harbour Bridge
View from the Pylon - look closely for the Bridge Walkers in their jumpsuits. see how European explorers decided to build their first settlements here and Botany Bay in the 19th century.
The city centre is a complete architectural style fusion of buildings which vary from enormous gothic structures, British colonial, brick industrial buildings and skyscrapers all mixed in amongst each other. The older buildings are gloriously well kept and look like they're sand-blasted each day. The elegant amalgam of old and new, with it all looking so gleaming and splendid make Sydney a very handsome place indeed, and we hadn't even seen the harbour yet. Some of the best buildings include the elaborate town hall building and the Queen Victoria Building, which has been wonderfully converted into a boutique shopping centre. The statue of the late Queen to the side of the building has her looking typically moody. Did that woman ever smile?
We first saw the bridge from ground level as we were walking on the western edge of town, both of us gasping at its enormity. It is a fantastically huge arc of twisted steel, intricately riveted together stretching across an incredibly picturesque harbour. The bridge was built in the 1930's, which makes it even more impressive. It came
View of Sydney
From the Harbour Bridge Pylon. at a perfect time because it kept thousands in work at a time of the great depression. Perhaps they should think about building another? That aside it is the type of structure that one can sit down and stare up at for lengthy periods admiring the grandness of the design and ponder the blood sweat and tears that must’ve been spent in building it in the days where the words "health" and "safety" were not adhered to.
It is actually possible to climb the bridge, walking from one side to the next in an odd looking grey jumpsuit. We declined this as it was a ludicrously expensive price to pay to be scared shitless for half an hour and would no doubt culminate in a change of underwear at the other end.
Instead we opted to climb one of the pylons for some brilliant views of the surrounding area. The pylons at either end are actually entirely decorative and provide no structural support at all. The British architect just thought the bridge would look nicer. And very right he was.
The views up top were excellent though, allowing us to take in the opera house and city
Sydney Opera House
From Circular Quay. skyline from a unique perspective. We were essentially sitting at the base of the arc of the bridge as it rose up and over before us. In the distance the harbour was bathed in brilliant sunshine, the waters looking very turquoise-green and incredibly inviting. Ferries and yachts left white vapor trails across the pristine water which looked serene in the sunshine. We continued our walk over the bridge to the other side of the harbour. Here we picked a bench and admired the views of both structures. Not forgetting to stand underneath the nearby famous open-mouthed entrance of Lunar Park.
The Opera House was our next port of call and is the most iconic sight in Sydney. We were quite surprised when we got up close to find out that it is actually three separate buildings above ground but connected beneath us. The large fin-like structures are set apart from each other and built with what looks curiously like bathroom tiles. The three buildings are each a different size with a large, medium and small. The Scandinavian designer (whom I imagine to look like one of those poster people designers in Ikea) based it on some kind of mathematical
formula of something or rather which he discovered when peeling an orange. Glad that makes sense then.
Following the pathway down from the Opera house is Circular Quay where cafe's and restaurants spill out onto the pavements and intertwine with Abo-entertainers on didgeridoo's to create an enjoyable atmosphere to watch the activity on the water.
There is much more to Sydney than these two peerless sights and next up we explored Bondi Beach. This beach is synonymous with Brit's as it is apparently where they all spend Christmas day. Turkey on the beach? No thanks. The beach is very nice indeed though and comes complete with our favorite squeaky sand. It is very busy with surfers and sunbathers alike, the latter being the group we joined for an hour. After this we decided to go for a stroll to a rocky outpost we saw from the beach itself. Here we enjoyed watching monstrous waves smash into large rocks repeatedly and in one particularly daring moment we ducked outside the safety wire and peered over the edge.
Whilst in Sydney we also explored Darling Harbour. This is an old docking area that has been converted into swanky shops,
restaurants and bars. It has retained its traditional nautical air, which is maintained with the help of some celebrated old frigates anchored here, belonging to the Naval Museum. The boats vary in age from relatively recent frigates to old wooden restored galleons. Both framed against the turquoise-green waters of the harbour and city skyline make for quite an ingratiating sight indeed.
Completing our Sydney visit was a tour of Kings Cross and Wooloomooloo, possibly my favorite Aussie place name. These areas lacked the gleam and shine of central and are much grittier with tacky souvenir shops nestled next to elegant boutique cafe's. This walk lead us into the naval area of Sydney where around five ships were anchored. Following the bay round we found ourselves in the Royal Botanical Gardens which affords great views of both the bridge and opera house.
Our plan next was to drive from Sydney to Melbourne, a coastal drive that follows the Pacific Ocean down and round the eastern coast. Finding our way out of Sydney was the initial challenge as we were bamboozled by strange signage and one-way systems. We finally found our exit, an eastern distributor tunnel that conveniently propelled us
to the outskirts of the city.
We began our drive through Royal National Park, which offers thick bush scenery and a Great Pacific Ocean Drive (not to be confused with the later Great Ocean Drive that we embark on later). This road meanders the rocky coastline with the endless blue of the Pacific slapping against the rocks below. One particularly amazing part of the drive is a bridge that has been built over the ocean that made us feel like we were soaring above the waves, if we didn't look at the road ahead. A very impressive piece of engineering indeed.
On the other side of the bridge we spotted our first whales. At this time of year Sperm whales are migrating south with their young to the warmer waters of Southern Australia. A local pointed them out blowing water into the sky and slapping the occasional tail fin on the surface. Sadly they were not in the mood for any other acrobatics that one might see at SeaWorld but seeing them in their natural environment was very pleasing nonetheless. We followed their ripples and blow-hole antics for a few miles down the coast, rushing eagerly ahead to
watch them pass.
The drive continued to impress with the coastal scenery and led us to a stop in Jervis Bay. This is a picturesque bay area that is famous for hosting whales and dolphins, although we didn't actually see any here. Still, it was a beautiful stop as the bay curved all round in a perfect crescent, like a sandy moon.
Further up the coast is the Kiama blow hole. Water rushes into a small cave with an opening in the ceiling and the resulting pressure that is built up to the rear of the cave blasts a stream of water high into the air through a rocky hole in the coast at great speed. The result is an impressive spectacle that we watched dissipate onto the surrounding rocks for a good while. The water is blown at least 40 foot into the air, which really made us admire and appreciate the power and force of nature.
We spent the night in a sleepy little town called Narooma in a motel with a sea view. If we walked around the corner onto the balcony and craned our necks anyway. The road from Narooma took us to
Sydney Opera House
A different perspective. a sun-kist bay called Mallacoota. Here we were presented with a pristine set of deserted sandy bays. We embarked on a drive through the thick bush land of a national park and past enormous termite mounds to a deserted beach called Shipwreck Bay. The drive was good fun and had us bumping around in our seats for 15km and kicking up a cloud of dust behind us. The bay was blissful but the shipwreck we were hoping for conspicuously absent. Still, the drive back was just as fun, especially as we had to stop to let some huge lizards cross the road.
On day 3 of our drive we followed the coast round to Lakes Entrance and 90-mile-beach on our way through Melbourne and onto one of the highlights of the trip - the Great Ocean Drive. We began the drive late on our 3rd day following the road from Torquay to Bells beach, which is famous for the surf. And for appearing in Point Break. Yes, that beach! We stopped for the evening in the town of Lorne which is situated on the Pacific Coast, our room affording awesome sea views without the neck ache this time.
Each of the motels we have stayed at all include some kind of kitchen facility - be that a stove, fridge, microwave or all of the above if we were lucky. This allowed us to keep costs down and self-cater in the evenings for most of the trip which resulted in us cooking a variety of tasty dishes. Although the McDonald's lunch was becoming an alarmingly daily occurrence!
On our next day we embarked on the rest of the Great Ocean Drive, which really is a marvellously engineered stretch of tarmac. Even more impressive was that it was built so long ago - 1930 something or rather where it was hacked and sculpted using much cruder instruments than are available today. It was built and dedicated to the men who lost their lives in World War I and to also rival the other great ocean drive in the world - that located on the Western Coast of the USA. Another famous drive on our itinerary.
We experienced the rest of this famous coastal drive not beneath the scorching skies of the previous few days but in unseasonable dank dull and stormy weather. It was a positively awful day
which gave the whole experience a different feel entirely. The rocky outcrops appeared more jagged and the ocean a dull lurching mass of grey-green, full of foreboding. The road we travelled on in some places clung precariously to the rocky coast, hovering dangerously above the ravenous crashing ocean below.
Some of the highlights of the drive include several rock formations that are accessible from viewpoints along the coast. These formations are a collection of large protrusions of red rock rising from the ocean. They have been created over many many years by the constant pound of the surf and gradual erosion of the land around it to create a really dramatic landscape. The best ones are the 12 Apostles (of which there are only 8 remaining), London Bridge (which we could see some resemblance) and the Grotto (nothing to do with Santa but a picturesque hole in the red rock where waves crash in creating a lovely pool).
We looped back around the Great Ocean Drive, taking the boring highway road back to Melbourne, our home for the next few days. Melbourne has the same balance of old and new architecture that Sydney does but feels more independent
and artistic. Wandering around the city centre and esplanade we were able to see a variety of artistic sculptures, some permanent - some temporary. These varied from a huge stack of plastic garden chairs to explicit wall murals.
The city centre is a straightforward grid with one of the worlds largest tram systems spreading its tentacles throughout the city and suburbs. As a result we were never far from an entanglement of power cables above our heads. The tram system also runs a free loop around the city centre on an old restored tram from the 50's. This gave us a chance to explore the grand gothic cathedrals, colonial style museum and court houses dotted around the centre before completing the loop at Federation Square.
Federation Square is the artistic hub of the city, sitting next to the elegant green and gold Flinders Street train station. The Square forms a collection of contemporary art displayed through weird and wonderful exhibits and angular building designs. Although this is concentrated in Federation Square, other parts of central Melbourne also feel as if an architect sat down with Damien Hirst and said "how can we make this one a little weird
then?". The result is functional buildings with an ensemble of colour with more angles than a protractor and a generous helping of glass and contorted steel.
The city has a compact high rise centre that sits next to the Yarra River. On the South Bank lies the enormous Crown Casino - the largest in the southern hemisphere. It is a huge complex with designer shops, restaurants, casinos, arcades, games, a theatre and cinema screens. It makes for a great evening out due to the myriad of options available. We were content with trying our luck (button bashing) at the pokies (fruit machines) plus a visit to the cinema to see the latest Bond film. In the casino we must have been the only patrons to leave with money by becoming Crown members, which entitled us to about $10 free money. Not very James Bond, but still better than inevitably losing money.
In Melbourne we also visited the two famous stadiums. The first was the MCG, famous for being the venue the English come for a good hiding in cricket. The other was the Telstra Dome, where England lifted the Rugby World Cup in 2003 and thus reaching the
top rung of the rugby union ladder. Before making their way back down again over the next few years. We also made our way up the observation deck of the Rialto Tower for views of the city and Port Phillip on one of our very brief sunny moments in Melbourne.
Oh the weather! It was truly atrocious most of the way through our Melbourne visit. We thought we were entering the Aussie summer! It actually hailed whilst we were there. The wind and rain was hurled down torrentially - forcing us to finally abandon our South East Asian attire and buy new clothing for the colder and wetter climate. Apparently it was pretty unseasonable weather but still, it certainly hampered our exploration of the city.
On our final day in Australia, in Sydney, the weather was thankfully fine. We flew back from Melbourne, covering in about 1.5 hours what took us 4 days to drive enjoying our final views of Sydney Harbour before jetting off to New Zealand.
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Mum Dad and boys
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Awesome Australia
Reading this through again and I am still struck by your photos. The Sydney Harbour bridge is a beautiful bridge and certainly is from a different era but they do say the old ones are the best. to be honest I would have declined walking across the bridge as well but I think you were both brave to climb the pylons. I will do most things but heights are not my forte in any circumstance. I loved that place name too!! How cute. Woolly cow toilet?