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Distant Friends close to my heart: Sydney Australia
By Tina Torres
In this modern world of global travel and global travellers, I find myself with friends all over the world. Some I keep in touch with weekly, others just every few months, or less. But my love for them is equal regardless of the ‘contact time’. Living in London has meant I have met many people ‘travelling through’. A few of these have touched my heart and now some own property there. Property that remains for life!
One of these people is Mr Paul Haney.
On our way back to London from New Zealand we stopped to see him in Sydney and say ‘HI’.
And what a great taste of Australian hospitality he and his parents gave us. In just a few action packed days we were drenched in blue skies, good ozzie food, and great ozzie wine, superb ozzie company and encountered that unique evolutionary oddity, the ozzie Koala bear.
Did you know Australia is a continent of eight and a half million square miles, with 89%!o(MISSING)f its inhabitants living in urban areas? 22 million people with a life expectancy of
81 - the fifth highest in the world! Sounds pretty sophisticated….
The Sydney Museum is a great place to spend a few hours and re-discover all those strange animals you learnt about at primary school - unusual creatures that roamed around the Australian continent a few thousand years ago were quite extraordinary. Koala bears about the size of a grizzly bear and warm blooded animals that laid eggs.
There is also a comprehensive exhibition of Aboriginal art at the museum. We were lucky enough to be there when there was a live performance of a didgeridoo. A very unique wind instrument played by Aboriginals. The songs played are usually a story passing on legends that involves a lot of mimicking of the sounds heard in the environment. Sounds like the kookaburra or the cockatoo, the dingo and more recently noises like cars and trains.
Dinner with the Haney’s was a blue print for how every good meal should be. We sat in the dining room at a dining table with a spread fit for kings: Breads and salads, meats and wine. Turns out that the Haney’s are part of a local Ozzie wine group that are very
well educated in the wines and their finer attributes. (Now that is knowledge I am keen to soak up.) So after a few more bottles, some interesting conversation about the Australian spider population and some photo sharing, we far too quickly find ourselves at bed time.
Symbio is a mini zoo with indigenous Australian animals, and is a great way to get more of the ozzie flavour. Paul lives nearby so we were able to drive here on our very first day. There is a fair amount of space for the animals to roam around in, although I think the male emu was keen for a more space and time with the lady emu…. There are ginger dingoes and sleepy lizards, cute wallabies and sneaky Tasmanian devils. We had loads of laughs wandering around with the kangaroos looking at their massive… legs and spectacular jumping abilities. At set times there are Koala talks. At the end of which you can get up close and personal to these adorable creatures.
This cute wee bear that sleeps for 22 hours of the day has evolved its self into a perfect spot for extinction. It only eats a certain kind of
eucalyptus - which none of the animals eat due to its toxicity - which was a great idea a few thousand years ago, but now with the destruction of habitat and slow breading rates, they are inevitably declining in numbers. This does not even take into account the wide spread syphilis. For info on how you can help these guys check out: https://www.savethekoala.com/
Have you seen the Sydney Opera House? What a remarkable icon for an international metropolitan city. I was astounded however, that when I got up close to the building it is made from a staggering amount of small white tiles. The detail is simply startling and more impressive than I ever imagined. It is up there with The Eifel Tower and The statue of Liberty.
The whole harbour is stunning. We strolled peacefully along the path that weaved around the water’s edge. Wandering past gardens that surround the trees and footpaths, past grassy picnic areas: abundant and welcoming. Smiling in the summer sun and soaking up the joy of spending time with people I love.
Walking under the giant arches of The Sydney Harbour Bridge makes us humans seem like insignificant fragile organic ants,
next to this marvellous construction of steel. Crossing in the dusk light with a few beers in our bellies makes for a magical moment and some fantastic abstract photos.
Our trip to Sydney was not just a wicked cultural and environmental taste of Australia, but a friend showing us around the place he calls ‘home’. Knowing where Paul grew up, makes me feel like I know him a little better.
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Sarah
non-member comment
When were you there
Hey T When were u in Sydney.....? You haven't been home recently have you??? Miss you....would love to catch up sometime soon :-) Love Me