A Taste of Sydney

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Day 6



Since it was Sunday, I decided to scout around for a decent place for brunch. After reviewing my (busy!) itinerary for the day,I decided to compromise and return to the outdoor boardwalk at the Opera Bar,where I could use the decent WiFi signal to work on my blog(and be near the ferry to Taronga Zoo).

While the meal selection wasn't anything grand(mostly pastries and such),the restaurant was still pretty crowded for 8:30 a.m. The sun was out again,and it was a scenic meal overlooking the harbour,if not filling😊. I was glad to be able to upload some pics and such!



Afterwards,I headed over to Circular Quay and hopped on the ferry for Taronga Zoo. In my research for places to see wildlife,most people recommended this zoo,saying it was one of the world's best. Now,I've been to what many Americans consider the best zoo (San Diego),so it would be interesting to compare.



The ferry ride was only about 20 minutes,and I was half regretting saving the zoo for today,since a LOT of families with small children had also decided that Sunday=Zoo Day. I had chosen a seat on the open deck,and was quickly crowded by a family with three or four kids,all who were climbing onto the railing during the trip. The scary thing was that despite there being three adults in the group,I was the only one holding my breath when the smallest girl launched herself onto the top railing.



It amazes me how cavalier some parents can be when traveling.



Anyway,we reached the dock,and there were signs presenting visitors with three options for reaching the zoo. 1.Take an overcrowded bus 2.Take the skyrail(which at the time I thought you had to pay extra for). Or 3.Walk up a hill about 5 minutes to the bottom entrance of the zoo.



Needless to say,I took #3. Since this contradicted the choice of most others,I was in the zoo less than 10 minutes from departing the boat.



Upon entering Taronga,there are multi colored "paths" on the pavement,directing you on different routes through the zoo.These paths were reinforced on the map and on several large directories throughout the zoo,so it would be quite hard to get yourself lost(although I do know people who could probably manage it,sad to say). I took the green walk,which was the main path throughout the center of the zoo,adding in a few "subpaths" to see various other animals that I was interested in.



The zoo is laid out very nicely,and the animals all had quite spacious indoor/outdoor territories. Most animals were pretty awake and roaming about,so there was no need to go on a scavenger hunt to find a glimpse. My personal favorite spots:

1.Tigers-They has some cubs that were palying and running around their enclosure

2.Seals-I caught them at feeding time.as they lept out of their turquoise pools to fetch their prey

3.Giraffes-Definitely repeating the crowd here,but they DO have the best spot.Besides being spacious,the back of their enclosure has a stunning view of the Sydney harbour bridge,harbour,and skyline,photgenically framed by the trees in their "yard."

4.Kangaroo walkabout-While you couldn't pet them,you could practically walk up to them whilst they sunned themselves on the desert landscaped enclosure.



I do have to give an honorable mention to the Tasmanian devils,who were aggressively feasting on the remains of...something.What was really eye-catching was the fact that the something was served in a horizontal statue of an animal with its stomach cut out,so that it appeared that the Tassies were dining on fresh roadkill.



All in all,it took me about 1.5-2 hrs to do the main walk,with some offshoot walks,and I did skip a few trails along the way. I also discovered that the skyrail was included in the admission,so I elected to take the gondola down to the bottom to meet the ferry. This also allowed for some nice overhead views of some animals,as well as the harbour,of course!



My timing was spot on,as the ferry just arrived after I exited the skyrail. A few minutes later, I was on what would be my last ride on the harbour😞



I had been debating whether or not to head to Paddy's Market before heading to Bondi,since it was going to be a tight day,but in the end,I decided to go for it. I stopped at the hotel on the way down,grabbed my beach gear,and made the 10 minute walk to the markets. As I was walking through Chinatown,I passed a Catholic church(yes,in Chinatown,go figure) just as Mass was underway. I figured it was a sign,so I stopped in and stayed for the remainder of the service. Once it was over,I found the Paddys was the next block down.



Upon entering the market building,I immediately began to feel a bit claustrophobic.There were probably a couple hundred people inside the building,filled with many long,narrow aisles of stalls,and NO air-conditioning(it was about 80 outside!) However,I came across many similar stalls selling any type of souvenir that you could think of,and it was far cheaper than in the little souvenr shops clustered around Circular Quay,Darling Harbour,etc. For example,t-sirts were about $6-8 starting,stuffed animals $5,shotglasses/magnets/etc $3...I managed to find 90% of my souvenirs here,all less than $100 total. Of course,I had to pass by a clapboard massage station,where I lingered a moment too long,and was drawn in for the $5 special,which quickly became $20...although NOT 20 minutes,so it would have been a ripoff if I had tipped.(Which I intended to do,but when i kept asking the guy if I added the tip to the bill before the card was swiped or after,he gave me multiple blank stares,so it was his loss).

Shortly after that, i exited that sardine can to find that it was about ten degrees warmer outside,and my poor skin was slowly roasting! I had plotted out the route to Central station,to catch the train to Bondi,but as I left the building,I saw the light rail passing outside. I approached the bus(train?),but the driver kept frantically pointing down the street.I searched for a visible bus stop sign,but seeing none,I gave up and headed for the train instead.

Central station was HUGE,and it took me several minutes to find the Bondi platform,but a train arrived just as I located it,and within 20 minutes,I reached the Bondi Junction stop. I followed the mass of surfer wannabes to the local bus,and ten minutes later,I was at Bondi!

Okay,size-wise Bondi is not terribly big-its a crescent shaped stretch of land surrounded by mansion speckled cliffs at either end-but it was THE most crowded beach I have ever seen. Behind the beach was the boardwalk,littered with cafes,souvenir and swimwear shops,bars and hostels. On the beach itself,masses were sprawled on the sand,sunning themselves,broken up by small clusters of surfing classes. A few guys weaved through the crowds selling water and snacks for those too lazy to drag themselves off of their blankets and head for the boardwalk. And of course,there were lifeguards,worthy of being cast on Baywatch or the like jogging the shoreline or riding their mini-Jeeps over the sand.Beyond all of this,the ocean beckoned,its turquoise waves rising high and hurling towards the beach,with PLENTY of surfers desperately trying to mount them.

I claimed a small piece of sand,sprawled out,and spent the next couple of hours soaking up the sun,trying to mentally block out my boyfriend's anti-sunlight lectures from my head.(It's hard to deprive yourself of sun when you are freshly transplanted from several months of cold,gray,snowy/rainy days). As I was settling in,I noticed that apparently it's also a clothing-optional beach...and also apparently it is IN to decorated your exposed body parts that are sunning themselves....

I did venture down to the water a few times and was amazed at the sheer force of those waves-understandable why Bondi is one of the prime surfing destinations in the world!

After a while, I decided to walk down the coastline a bit,but got sidetracked by the Icebergs restaurant,where I stopped for a snack.I sat on the balcony,overlooking the saltwater pools overlooking the ocean,and people watched for a bit.

While I still wanted to do the coastal walk,it was getting late,and I wanted to go out for a decent dinner on my final Sydney night.So,I headed back to my hotel,and got ready to go down to Darling Harbour.Anita had texted and said she was interested in meeting up for a night out,so I figured that we would be visiting a few bars or whatnot.

Since it was getting dark by the time I emerged from the hotel,and the monorail was literally across the street,I decided to try it out and took it to DH. I walked around for a bit,not sure what I was in the mood for,but settled on a Mod-Oz restaurant called the Blackbird. It was two stories,overlooking the boardwalk/harbor,and with the mild weather it was the perfect night for being outside. I was feeling a bit adventurous-or completely stupid-so I decided to go for it and try the kangaroo.

When the dinner arrived,it looked appetizing enough,just like medium-rare prime rib in appearance. I hesitantly took a bite-it was very sweet,almost citrusy tasting. I continued to convince myself it wasnt too horrible,until Anita arrived,saw the look on my face,and said,"You look like thats completely disgusting." I told her what it was,and offered her a bite. She took it,and immediately looked as though she were going to vomit.

Okay,now it was going to be more difficult to finish.

I tried one more bite,and she pleaded with me not to eat any more. This validated my supressed opinion of the dish,so I agreed. As the waiter came by,I asked for the bill,and he inquired as to why i had not eaten very much of the roo. I was honest,telling him that I tried to be adventurous,but it had failed. A few minutes later,a manager came over with the bill,explaining that they had taken off the $30 dish.

I was shocked! I thanked him,but insisted that there had been no wrongdoing on their part-I just made a bad choice.They insisted on tking it off of the bill. Needless to say, I did leave a VERY generous tip instead.

Once we were outside,I asked Anita where she wanted to go. She shrugged,so we browsed the menus of several bars on either side of the harbor. I was pretty flexible-I wasnt looking for a club or anything fancy,just a place to grab a drink or two,since this is what she indicated she wanted to do. However,she scrunched her face at the prices. I wasn't thrilled with them either,but after six days,the sticker shock of Australian food was starting to wear off on me.We ended up walking around for a bit,then decided to head back to my hotel's bar.

We reached my hotel in about ten minutes,and I saw that the bar attached to the hotel had some cheaper specials. Anita glanced in,saw that the place was practically empty,and decided to call it a night. So,we said our goodbyes,and I debated walking back there,but decided against it,instead figuring I probably should turn in early,since I had an 8am flight to Cairns in the morning.

I finished packing,and got a reminder text from Giles that it was the night of the springtime Daylight Savings change. with that in mind,I set my alarm to go off an hour earlier the next morning......

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