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Published: March 31st 2008
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After meeting friends from my South America trip in Christchurch for some last minute sightseeing it was time to leave the Land of the Long White Cloud. Two months had gone very quickly indeed. After initially feeling somewhat guilty because after South America New Zealand posed no challenge as a travel destination whatsoever and after initially resenting its normality I realised that travel doesn't always have to be tricky and normality can bring benefits, small things like drinking fresh milk, not having to worry about having currency in small notes or even just putting loo paper down the loo. Travel can also be about gazing at wonderful views which after all is always good for the soul. Plus with the laid back Kiwi style it was impossible not to be relaxed here. A bus driver had asked me if I had noticed that the South Island was so much more relaxed than the "go, go, go" of the North Island. I had to point out that I was amazed how relaxed the North was and couldn't believe it could get more relaxed in the South until I got there and realised it to be true. After all, if you compare it
to London... I had, however, expected to find outdoorsy people at every corner in New Zealand but a lot of the lovely people I met along the way seemed more equipped with hair straighteners than camping stoves or thought outdoorsy meant jumping out of a plane or off a bridge with an elastic rope attached rather than a 4 day tramp through the mountains. The outdoorsy folk, I'm sure they do exist, must all be in a tent somewhere beautiful. Having the luxury of spending two months in a relatively small country, so small it doesn't even have a national newspaper, and which is so diverse in its scenery has been a blessing. At some point I'll be back to the South Island with a camper van to visit some of the bits I missed and more, tramping boots at the ready.
To be honest I wasn't that fussed about going to Sydney. It was only when I realised that I had to pay tax to land there that I thought I might as well get out and see what all the fuss was about. The view from the plane indicated it would be worth it; the sparkling sea,
the little coves and beaches, the skyscrapers and of course that bridge and that opera house. After a rather stressful afternoon (I scrapped together 23.90 NZ dollars for the 25 NZ dollar departure tax I knew nothing about and they let me through anyway, the airhostess who wouldn't accept visa card for food because it wasn't an international flight despite going from NZ to Oz and Lloyds bank stopping my card for the second time in 6 weeks meaning I had no cash whatsoever!) seeing the harbour all lit up at night was magical. Sydney truly has a rather amazing setting.
Even the next day it seemed to have a very relaxed hustle and bustle as people walked suited and booted to work with their coffee to go in their hands. I crossed the bridge, walked around Circular Quay, walked around the outside of the opera house, took a tour of it as no cheap tickets were left for Carmen and sat in the Botanical Gardens where there were rather lovely signs saying "please sit on the grass, have a picnic on the grass, hug the trees and talk to the birds"! Amazing to think that the Danish architect
who designed the opera house has never seen the opera house complete. He left when the government stopped paying him as he was going over budget due to the complexities of the shape. Now aged 89 he has started assisting in some renovations and his son, also an architect, flies over to oversee the projects on his father's behalf. OK, so he will of course have seen pictures but it really isn't the same, as I now know.
The second day was dedicated to beaches. The ferry to Manly is meant to be a great way to see the harbour from the water rather than paying over the odds for a harbour cruise. Only problem was I ended up on a super dooper speedy Cat where they not only insist you sit down but sit down inside as well. Great for locals, not for tourists. I got chatting to a local guy in the queue. I complimented him on his city but he was quick to point out that Sydney, like all cities, has its grubby and grotty parts too. He said the gap between rich and poor was just getting bigger. Real estate in Sydney was now equivalent
in price to London. I asked him why he thought Aborigines were not as integrated in society as the Maori are in New Zealand. He believed that as the Maori were such a tight knit community in such a small country they easily united together when the Europeans arrived and fought against the settlers, ultimately resulting in the signing of the treaty. However in Australia the Aborigines were more divided within themselves and as the country was so huge they couldn't unite together and hence were not even recognised as a race by the Europeans. Amazingly the Aborigines did not have the right to vote until 1972, the same year as women in some Kantons in Switzerland.
Manly had a relaxed feel to it with lots of quirky cafes and shops on the way to the sea front where beautiful people posed on the beach and surfers walked around with their boards looking cool.
Bondi beach was much the same. More beautiful people looking beautiful on the beach, folk who had changed from suits to surf suits to hit the waves after a hard days work and the odd life guard with binoculars peering out to sea. On the way back to the city on the bus I saw one of the most amazing sunsets of my life.
Enjoying a couple of glasses of Australian Sauvignon Blanc at the outdoor opera house bar at a price that made London's South Bank seem as cheap as chips listening to a jazz band and chatting to a nice German guy was the perfect end to my all two short visit to Sydney.
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