Australia 001 – Ahhh.. the hotel…(at least the stairs).
It was a 5 hour flight (and 5 hour layover) to LA, and a 15 hour flight to Sydney, “losing” a day of our lives forever (crossing the dateline, we completely skipped Saturday, September 8th). Arriving on the morning of the 9th, it was still too early to check into our hotel, the Star City Casino, but we did drop off our bags with the concierge. The stairs shown here lead up to the Casino level…we went out instead, forcing ourselves to stay awake all day to acclimate to the time change.
Australia 002 – First glance.
Sydney is known for two landmarks… the most recognizable is the opera house, but just behind in notoriety is the Sydney Harbor Bridge. This was our first glimpse of it, as we walked down to Darling Harbour from the hotel that first morning. Throughout our stay, we were fascinated by the bridge, since we were scheduled to climb it’s arches later in the week…
Australia 003 – Endeavour
Darling Harbor is one of many small coves & inlets that make up Sydney Harbor. The Star City Casino/Hotel is located very near to Darling Harbor, so we headed over there to catch the ferry “into” a more centralized area of Sydney. The ferries are often a much more efficient means of getting around the city, since land vehicles often have to detour a considerable distance around the coves. When we got to Darling Harbor, we were surprised to find several Square-rigger “tall ships”, getting ready to sail (!!!). This one is a replica of the Endeavor, which is the ship James Cook captained when he mapped the East coast of Australia for England.
Australia 005 – James Craig
This ship is the James Craig (originally launched in 1874 as the Clan MacLeod). This one is restored and NOT a replica. She was a freighter, mostly used to transport coal.
Australia 007 – Sleepy.
This is Susan and Sydney, both very sleepy on Sunday morning. We weren’t aware of it prior to our arrival, but the APEC conference was in it’s last day. Among others, “Dubya” was in attendance. Most streets were fenced off, concrete barriers were everywhere, harbor cruises were cancelled, and there were heavily armed police at every intersection. That doesn’t even address the “black helicopters” hovering overhead…if you look closely above the 2nd building from the left, you can see one of them.
Australia 008 – SHOPPING!!!
This is the Harborside shopping center, just a short distance from our hotel. Amazingly, though we did plenty of shopping, we never went in this upscale mall. We DID have our first breakfast in Australia near there though.. and it was another first as well; there is a VERY large Asian presence in Australia… perhaps upwards of 40% of the people we saw in Sydney were of the Asian Persuasion. So to better blend in, we decided to have a Japanese breakfast on our first day. Rice Congee (porridge), Stir-fied rice noodles with vegetables, and Udon Noodles in a fish broth. It was amazingly good, and throughout the remainder of our stay, we had those things for breakfast when we could…
Australia 009 – Old School.
This is Pyrmont Bridge, a swing bridge over Cockle Bay in Darling Harbour. The foundation stone was laid on 6 December 1899 was opened for traffic on 28 June 1902. It was one of the first to be powered by electricity. It was closed to vehicular traffic in the 1980’s was then re-opened as a pedestrian bridge as part of the re-development of Darling Harbour as a recreational pedestrian precinct. It now also carries an elevated monorail which travels between Darling Harbour and the Sydney central business district. Here’s the cool part – these supporting girders are constructed of 100% wood!!!
Australia 013 – Endeavour, underway.
Here’s Endeavour, heading for the main harbor. The replica has a diesel motor; the original had to make due with sail power or be towed by it’s longboat (being rowed by the crew).
Australia 014 – Sydney Harbour Bridge.
We caught the ferry from Pyrmont Bay in Darling Harbour to Circular Quay (which is more centralized). During that ride, we got some great views of the bridge. If you look on the right side of the far arch, you can see the people on that day’s bridge climb. The grid at the center of the span is an electric sign for the APEC conference.
Australia 015 – Sydney Opera House
As the ferry passed under the bridge, we got our first really good view of Sydney’s best known landmark.. the opera house… indeed; one of the best known buildings in the world. Interestingly, it was designed by a Danish architect.
Australia 016 – Amusement park…
This old-style amusement pier looked to be right out of the 1930’s… later in our trip we found that to be an accurate guess…
Australia 017 – Bridge towers
The Granite-faced towers at both ends of the bridge are purely cosmetic – the weight of the span is supported solely by the steel girders, which are anchored independently from the towers (but quite near them). If you examine this photo, you can see that the steel structure is not connected to the tower.
Australia 020 – Opera House… not yours.
Because of the APEC conference being held there, this was as close as we could get to the opera house that first day. (APEC stands for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation). This photo was taken from a much curtailed (again, thanks to APEC) harbor sightseeing cruise.
Australia 028 – See?
From this angle, you can clearly see that the steel arches are not connected to the towers. I thought it made the bridge look incomplete somehow. But since it’s been standing since 1932, I guess it’s ok. It is the widest long-span bridge in the world and is the highest steel arch bridge with the top of the bridge standing 134 metres (429.6 feet) above the harbour. If you look carefully about halfway up top of the left arch, you can see a group of bridge climbers.
Australia 030 – Tall ships under sail…
Once we got out into the harbor proper, we were surprised to see several square-riggers under full sail. Not something you see every day.
Australia 034 – Flotilla
These ships from the past routinely sail the harbor (James Craig sails every other week… for about $200AUS you can go along and help sail her!!!).
Australia 040 – Surf’s UP!
World Famous Bondi Beach (pronounced bond-eye). There are several fierce rip currents and a shark net here (!!!). There are some great shops & restaurants across the road from the beach.
Australia 043 – Festival of the Winds
While we were there, the Festival of the Winds was going on (we didn’t know it at the time – we just thought it was a shitload of people flying elaborite kites).
Australia 044 – G’day, mate!
Here I am in my new Kangaroo-leather acubra hat. Do I look like that Crocodile Dundee guy or what?
Australia 046 – From our window (part 1)
This was the view from the Star City Casino Hotel… after they upgraded us to a harbor-view room. Wheee! The Sydney skyline is pretty cool to look at. That’s Darling Harbour in the foreground.
Australia 047 – Also from our room…
We could see the Sydney Harbour bridge… sweet!
Australia 048 – Heading out to the Countryside…
If you’ve looked through our Scotland trip album, you know that Susan & I are big fans of getting out of the city and into the country. Our Australia trip was no different in that regard – so here we are, headed out to the Blue Mountains (so named because Eucalyptus trees give them a blue appearance). Passing under the Harbour Bridge.
Australia 051 – ROO!!!!!!
Our first stop in the blue mountains was at a wildlife park – where I got to see my first kangaroo! And she had a baby “joey” in her pouch… how cool is that?
Australia 054 – Wary…
A CASSOWARY, to be exact. This large, flightless bird is checking out Susan (who is returning the favor). The Cassowary has a large (5″) dagger-like middle claw, with which it can disembowel an enemy with a single kick! Now, that’s MY kinda bird. Pretty colors too… now if we could do something about that unsightly ridge of bone on it’s skull…
Australia 056 – Bridge
These are the little-known elite “Wallaby guards”. They guard this bridge until someone comes along wanting to cross it; then they hop away. Must be French Wallabies.
Australia 061 – Pelican
This fellow was looking for a handout, but he was pretty good-natured about it. Most of the pelicans I’ve seen are far more aggerssive than this one.
Australia 062 – Black Swan
Just like the one in the ballet… sort of.
Australia 067 – Zzzzzzzzz
My first Koala Bear, and he’s ASLEEP! Evidently, they spend about 20 hours of the day sleeping, so it wasn’t just me boring him.
Australia 070 – Dingo Pups
This trio of cute, cuddly dingo puppies looks like they’re just waiting for someone to take them home… Dingos have been used by aboriginal people as companion anhimals, to assist with hunting and for warmth on cold nights. (The terms “two-dog night” and “three-dog night” are believed to come from Aboriginal idiom, describing the overnight temperature.)
Australia 071 – Kookaburra
A large member of the Kingfisher family, the Kookaburra is best known for its unmistakable call, which is uncannily like loud, echoing human laughter. If you’ve ever seen a Tarzan movie, chances are, you’ve heard this bird’s call. Way cool.
Australia 073 – Tawny Frogmouth
These large, night hunters do it a bit differently than owls… they sit on a low branch and wait for their dinner (rats, mice, cicadas, beetles, frogs and other small prey) to come to them! Their camoflage plumage allows them to sit still and look like the bark of a tree.
Australia 074 – Kookaburra II
Here’s another Kookaburra. They were all over the wildlife park, and didn’t seem in the least interested in flying away.
Australia 075 – Tony & Fred
This is a photo of me with a Koala named Fred. In all candor, Fred was far more interested in munching the eucalyptus leaves then in socializing or posing for photos. Still, he has very soft fur, and was pretty cute.
Australia 078 – Full frontal…
Here’s Fred again, from an angle that lets you see his face a little better. Though Fred looks placid, he can tear you up with those razor-sharp claws of his. Nice Fred; sit; stay.
Australia 079 – Conversation with a Koala
Here I am discussing the Aborigine situation with Fred (from a safe distance). His only comment was “munch, munch, munch”. Brilliant, Fred; very insightful.
Australia 080 – Fred flirting with Susan
What a lothario! I had some strong words for old Fred after this, you can bet! To think that he thought she’d want to go to his place & look at his Eucalyptus etchings!!!
Australia 082 – Rough life…
Yeah, these roos have it pretty rough… Except for occasionally reaching down to scratch at their nether regions, these guys seemed to have nothing better to do than relax in the sun.
Australia 083 – Of course…
If they happen to think you have some food, they’ll get up & mosey on over…
Australia 084 – Roos on the move…
These guys are pretty fast when they want to be… the tendons in their legs act like powerful springs, so when they hop, it’s not muscle power propelling them; as a result, they can quickly cover long distances without getting tired. I kept thinking they should be making a “boing, boing, boing” sound when they hopped, but in fact, there’s not much sound.
Australia 088 – Get yer roo food here!
They sold ice-cream cones full of some green weeds that looked like parsely, and as you can see, the roos seem pretty partial to it.
Australia 093 – Conflict?
Does anyone think it’s immoral to be feeding a kangaroo while wearing a kangaroo-leather hat? I don’t. In fact, later that day I ate a kangaroo pie. ##### it, roos! I’m at the top of the food chain, and don’t you forget it!
Australia 097 – Emu
An emo Emu. He was thinking “if I had hands, I’d cut myself”. If I had a bad hair day like this, I would too.
Australia 103 – Who me???
This is a barking owl. When I read that, I (naturally) barked at him. Imagin how freaked out I was when he barked back! He really barked. Not “sort-of” barked. BARKED. Then, I set my camera to “video” mode, and of course he then clammed up, refusing to make a sound. Damned bird.
Australia 104 – No barking.
But he DID stare. How rude.
Australia 106 – Flying foxes.
These guys looked an awful lot like giant bats. They have a wingspan of over two feet, and are active both day and night. UGH; they gave me the creeps.
Australia 108 – Goanna
Aka: Monitor Lizard. These guys are carnivorous, but his movement was so slow I have to wonder what kind of animals he can catch…
Australia 119 – On the other hand…
I have no problem believing that this crocodile is a successful hunter. This one is 4 meters (13′) long… they can grow to 7 meters (almost 23′ !!!).
Australia 123 – Somewhat smaller, and less fearsome…
..is this frilled lizard. At about 18″, he hardly seemed threatening…until I started taunting him. Then…
Australia 128 – Meanwhile, back in the croc pit…
Big ugly must have gotten word of my taunting his little cousin, because when I next saw him, he had his mouth open to show off his shiny white teeth (and his yellow tongue).
Australia 131 – Unconcerned…
This falcon could care less about the croc. This particular fellow is a peregrine, the fastest creature in the world (diving speeds over 200 mph). License and registration, pal.
Australia 133 – Makes you wonder…
Some decades ago, a Japanese motorcycle company called Hodaka (now out of business) produced a model called the “Combat Wombat”. This is a picture of an actual wombat, a sedentary, unassuming, nocturnal critter. Is there any question why Hodaka is no longer in business?
Australia 140 – Cheeky Bugger!
This big red roo stood up to the fence and stretched out so we could scratch his neck for him. What nerve. (We scratched, of course).
Australia 142 – on the road again…
after leaving the wildlife park, we once again headed cross-country.
Australia 143 – The Blue Mountains.
The name derives from the blueish tinge the range takes on when viewed at a distance, which is caused by the release of volatile oils from eucalyptus forests. As you can see in the distance, they do indeed look blue. They are a range of sandstone geological structures that reach to at least 1,190 metres AHD (in the Lithgow area). The Blue Mountains are not as the name suggests a range of mountains but rather a series of cliffs surrounding a plateau with rugged eroded gorges of up to 760 metres depth. Aren’t you glad I told you? We got this view on an unscheduled side trip up a mountain on a dirt road. Way to go, Nigel, for freestyling!
Australia 145 – Watch that first step…
It’s a doozy! This is the view down from the outcropping shown in the previous photo. Did I say 800 feet? 1500 is more like it! Those are full sized trees at the bottom, themselves over a hundred feet in height. I think I’ll back up a bit now.
Australia 146 – Obligatory Butt picture.
When I Asked Susan to Please be careful climbing on the VERY high rocks, she responded by wiggling her arse at me. So here is the butt pic that has become a trademark of our trips… (nice #####, BTW)
Australia 147 – pretty scenery
That is, if you don’t have a fear of heights… Once more; it’s a really, REALLY long way down.
Australia 149 – Did I mention…
It’s a pretty serious drop…
Australia 153 – Escarpment
We were pretty taken by this kind of stuff, since we don’t get much of it back home in Florida (i.e. NONE at all).
Australia 154 – Cable car
Since the Aussies aren’t satisfied with scaring the bejeebers outta people using the natural cliff views, they have this cable car that goes across one of the deep gorges. Of course we had to take a ride on it in order to continue on our way…
Australia 155 – View down frmo the Cable car…
As we swung several hundred feet above the misty depths of this gorge, I was taken by the insane urge to lean out & snap this pic. What the HELL was I thinking???
Australia 156 – Almost there…
The far side (and safety!) appears tantalizingly close in this pic, but it was still several minutes away. There was a cool waterfall to look at in the meantime though.
Australia 157 – Wow.
The view, like so many in Australia, was nothing short of breathtaking. Like I said; wow.
Australia 158 – from whence we came…
That’s where the cable car ride began. There’s also an inclined railway that takes people down (at a 45 degree slope) into the gorge; you can see the lower station if you look closely.
Australia 159 – The three sisters
One of the Blue Mountains’ most famous sights is the rock formation known as the Three Sisters. They were formed by centuries of erosion. Aboriginal Dreamtime legend says that three sisters fell in love with three men from a neighbouring tribe, but marriage was forbidden by tribal law. Battle ensued, and the sisters were turned to stone by a witch doctor to protect them, but he was killed in the fighting and no one else could turn them back. More interesting explanation than “erosion”, huh? This view is from the cable car, mid-crossing.
Australia 160 – Remember that erosion thing?
Here it is at work. As we approached the far side of the gorge, we got a good look at this waterfall, which is in the process of eroding the sandstone.
Australia 161 – This must be what they had in mind…
When they coined the term “sheer cliffs”.
Australia 162 – Inclined railway
That railway that I mentioned in one of the earlier photos? At the very bottom (center) of this pic, you can see the lower station, and you can estimate the extreme angle of its tracks by comparing that to the upper station (at the steel framework, upper right).
Australia 171 – Cable car
This is the cable car, after we disembarked.
Australia 173 – Close-up
This is a close-up view of how the erosion shapes the sandstone. The patterns in this formation were intriguing… until we saw that they are pretty common. This one is on the walking trail from the cable car to Echo Point, in Jamison Valley. The red color is from iron oxide (rust) in the sandstone.
Australia 174 – ???
Susan was very insistant about me taking a picture of this cliff face. IMHO, it’s not particularly interesting, but I’ve learned that when Susan wants me to take a pic, I TAKE A PIC. Savvy?
Australia 175 – Jamison Valley Hiking trail.
From the cable car debarkation station, we took this hiking trail to Echo Point, near the Three Sisters. The trail was VERY muddy, and it was an energetic hike. On the positive side, all that mud did a good job of cleaning the kangaroo ##### off our boots.
Australia 176 – Watch your head…
The trail gave us some close-up views of the erosion patterns in the sandstone. This one was overhead.
Australia 177 – Perspective.
Again, those trees down there are full grown. They’re WAAAAAAYYY down there. I didn’t turst this rickety chain-link fence at all.
Australia 180 – Happy Susan
Seems like whenever we’re in the outdoors, Susan’s a happy camper. She doesn’t seem to mind climbing, hiking, or crawling, as long as it’s somewhere interesting. Woman wears me out, but I guess I’m pretty lucky.
Australia 185 – Obligatory touristy photo
Ok, so sue us! We got some other tourist-types to snap our pic. We don’t do it much, but this was too nice a photo op to pass by.
Australia 188 – Side trip.
Another nice thing about the small bus tours (less than 14 people) is that the driver/guides will often customize (freestyle) based on what the group wants to do. On our way back from the Blue Mountains, our driver, Nigel suggested we stop at the site of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. This is the Olympic Stadium, which hosted the opening & closing ceremonies, as well as most track & field events. At a development cost of over AU$600 million, Stadium Australia was purpose built to host the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. It was the largest, most technologically advanced Olympic Stadium ever built, seating over 110,000 people. Woof.
Australia 190 – Damned hippies.
Built as a “green” facility, the stadium used solar power for a lot of its energy needs. These are the solar cell towers. In addition, 25% of the seats are made of recycled plastic soda bottles.
Australia 191 – Walkabout
New day; new adventure. After a 90 minute train ride out of Sydney, we were met by our guide Evan (who is of Aboriginal descent, even though he looked pretty pale to us). Just before heading into the bush, this was what we faced.
Australia 195 – Joey & serpent
On the same boulder of the roo is this joey and a serpent. An early lesson – a joey (child) who strays from his mom may fall victim to a snake… in later tellings, as the tribe’s youngsters mature, the snake is the rainbow serpent, who controls water (the most precious resource to the tribe). So the story’s meaning changes as well.
Australia 200 – Funky sandstone.
As on our previous expedition, we found a lot of examples of erosion in the native sandstone.
Australia 201 – scale…
This is the same formatino as in the previous photo, but I had Susan enter the photo to show scale. Those formations are BIG.
Australia 204 – Overhangs
The erosion patterns are often caused by water (or the rainbow serpent) undercutting the rock. This creates a lot of overhanging rock formations, and even shallow caves, which the Aboriginals use for shelter.
Australia 205 – Bottom…
We hiked all the way down to the bottom of the gorge, where this stream (Rainbow serpent?) wound its way through. It was almost primordial at the bottom, and it was hard to believe there was anything of modern civilization anywhere. I couldn’t manage a pic, but we watched a Lyrebird doing his dance to attract a mate. Very cool.
Australia 206 – Closeup…
The stream had lots of little waterfalls, cascades and branches. Sometimes it seemed to almost disappear, and all that we could see was a damp area. Other times it opened up into large, still pools. At all times, it was shady, even though it eas a sunny day.
Australia 207 – Look out, below!
Here’s a photo that gives some sense of scale of the rock formations and enormity of how heavy the underbrush is..That’s Evan (the “aborigine” guide) on the right, Susan in the middle, and Adrienne (not OUR Adrienne – we met this one on the walkabout). Our other participant (Chelsea) was lagging behind, as usual – she took even more photos than me… Considerably more. Woof.
Australia 208 – Grotto
About halfway through the day, after many ups & downs through the mountains & valleys, Evan led us to what appeared to be 3/4 of a huge sinkhole…That is, it was a 3/4 circle of overhanging cliffs, with a waterfall at it’s center, and a collecting pool and sandy beach at the bottom. The gals all waded; Chelsea actually went Swimming. The water was COLD, and I’m not the wading type (just ask Susan – she takes off her shoes & hops in at every opportunity).
Australia 209 – Stalactites???
If you look at the underside of the overhang in the grotto, you can see stalagtites. Way cool. There was a stalagmite on the bottom that was almsot as tall as me.
Australia 210 – Getting wet.
Here’s Susan, wading under the waterfall. That’s Chelsea next to her, working up the nerve to dive in. She did, eventually. The water was, predictably, cold.
Australia 211 – Ocres.
No, not OGERs, OCHRES. Sheesh. at one of the larger overhang/cave formations, we stopped for lunch (2nd lunch for me). Evan may not have the skin tone you’d expect of an Aborigine, but he sure knew their dreamtime stories, and his bushcraft was superb. He knew every plant and animal, moved through the bush without making a sound or leaving a trail…eerie. Anyhow, at this cave Evan related how the Aborigines use natural pigments to paint their belongings (and even themselves) to tell a story. He let everyone try mixing the “ochres” (pigments) from the powders in these “bowls”. Cool stuff.
Australia 213 – Little bit of “up”…again.
It seemed as if every time we’d climb out of a valley to the top of a hill or ridgeline, we’d hike back down another. It was physically demanding (and I’m usually pretty capable in the hiking department). After one such climb, I decided to take a pic of the trail we came up, just for a certain co-worker who keeps implying I’m old. (##### it, Tadd; let’s see your ##### make this ascent)! HA. Look at the exact center of this pic at the notch next to the taller boulder… that’s how we came up… the slope was greater than a 60% grade for most of the climb.
Australia 215 – Aboriginal Dreamtime
Evan took us to a place of Corroborie (Ceremonial meeting places), where he drew this figure in the sand. It loosely represents the Aboriginal belief system, but I can’t remember what each component means. It was pretty cool though.
Australia 216 – Orchids
On one of the less extreme climbs up yet another mountain, we found these orchids growing wild.
Australia 217 – Kookaburra
Here’s one in its native environment, sitting in a tree. several times through the course of the day, we heard the distinctive call of the Kookaburra. It was like being in a jungle movie.
Australia 219 – Wised up.
The kangaroo leather acubra proved to be a smart buy – I’d originally thought I’d never wear the thing. But it was an excellent choice of headgear for this trip (and susbequent ones as well) . Another smart move was to find a good walking stick to help me along the tougher sections. Having a third point of support often made the difference between an easy climb/descent or slipping. I fashioned this stick relatively late in the day, but it was when I needed it most. The downside was, my arm got a little sore, and I developed some minor blisters on my hand.
Australia 220 – Susan, taking a break.
At the bottome of ANOTHER ravine (couldn’t we just stay on TOP and skip all the repetitive climbing?) I snapped this pic of Susan under another overhang. It was so dark at the bottom of the ravines that the camera’s flash fired; it seemed as if it was night, though the sun was bright and high in the sky.
Australia 221 – Across the ravine
This was how it looked across the bottom of the ravine – again, it was dark as night, because of the dense shade canopy of the thich forest overhead. Without a flash, this photo would be much darker.
Australia 222 – Narrow Trail
At some places, the trail got pretty narrow, with steep dropoffs on one side, and sheer cliffs on the other. This one also gives a good idea of how dark it was, midday. The reason the trail was so arduous was that we were following an Aborigine trail that’s been used for centuries. They must have kept in pretty good shape from waking this route on a regular basis. Even though it was very cool in the shade (around 50 degrees F.), we took off our sweaters & flannel shirts to keep from overheating.
Australia 223 – Evan
Here’s our guide, Evan. He claims Aboriginal ancestry, and told us that the bloodlines are very much diluted these days. As I said before, his bushcraft & knowledge of the aboriginal culture was excellent, and he had the mannerisms one would expect from that background; very calm & very softspoken.
Australia 224 – The intrepid adventurers.
From left to right: Chelsea, Adrienne, me, and Susan. All Yanks.
Australia 225 – from whence we came…Journey’s end…
That notch in the distan hills is the route we traversed to get to this point. We started some miles past that. Factor in the constant climbs and descents, and this was a tough 8 kM hike! Shortly after this photo, we were back on paved roads, and ended our walkabout at a pub, where we had a most excellent meal and several pints of VB… funny how food always tastes so good when you’ve worked up an appetite. After a nap on the train, we were back in Sydney. Yay.
Australia 226 – PLATYPUS!!!
Susan had to attend the IBM conference (which was the whole reason for our trip) on Wednesday, so I was left to my own amusement in Sydney. Since it was just across Darling Harbour, I headed for the aquarium. The first thing I saw was the Platypus tank. These little (about 20″ long) guys’ antics reminded me of North American fresh-water otters. They constantly were swimming, diving, and surfacing again. When they’d reach bottom, they’d root around in the sand with their flat bills, in a rapid side-to-side motion (see AVI file 247 in this album). I never knew this, but they keep their eyes shut (and protected) by an opaque membrane when they go under water. They find their way by feel, scent, and touch. Way cool.
Australia 233 – Crikey!
Look at those teeth! This is, of course, another crocodile. This one is dozing peacefully, and as you know, my policy is, “let sleeping crocs lie”.
Australia 266 – Petting zoo?
They had a neat hands-on exhibit that allows visitors to touch some of the sea critters These are (L to R) a sea-cucumber, a blue starfish, and several sea apples. THey all felt kinds disgusting, especially the cuke… it molded itself to my hand. Yucck. Check out AVI file 251 to see another critter in this tank, a Port Jackson shark, which, like our own Nurse Sharks, are pretty docile & tolerant (though they WILL bite if provoked).
Australia 270 – Finding Nemo
Yep – here’s a clownfish, and yes, they do swim around in the anemones without succumbing to their venom.
Australia 274 – Lionfish
This odd looking character hides deadly venom in the spines along his dorsal (back) fin. No touchee.
Australia 280 – Autrailian Maritime Museum
After the aquarion, I walked the footbridge back across Darling Harbour to visit the National Maritime Museum. Considering that Australia is surrounded by water, it’s not surprising that they have some interesting maritime history.
Australia 283 – Round the world, solo…
This sailboat was used byu the first woman to circumnavigate the globe on her own.
Australia 284 – Party boat?
Apparently, those crazy Aussies hold a “beer can regatta” every year; this was a winning entry. It has to be the most vreative use of VB cans in history.
Australia 287 – HMAS Vampire
One of the in-water displays is the HMAS Vampire, the last of three Daring-class destroyers, and she was first launched in 1956. She served in the Royal Australian Navy from 1959 to 1986, and during this 27 year period, steamed a total of 808,026 nautical miles. This is one of the Gun Turret ammo-feed mechanisms. Shells can be seen in ready-racks on the left.
Australia 292 – The business end.
These two turrets house 2/3 of the ships main armament (a total of six 4.5″ guns, mounted in three twin turrets.
Australia 293 – YIKES!!!
Interestingly, when I took this photo, Susan was attending a conference in the IBM building… where the Main Battery Aft Turret is aimed. Coincidence, or to they just hate IBM???
Australia 296 – HMAS Onslow
Another in-water display is the diesel-electric submarine Onslow. These are her forward torpedo tubes, loaded out with wire-guided torpedoes similar to the US Mk48’s. They will also accomodate Harpoon anti-ship missiles. Aren’t you glad I told you?
Australia 298 – Wow.
Here’s the “diesel” part of “diesel-electric”. TWO huge 16 cylinder diesel engines, Each of these engines produces 3800 HP, and they turn the generators. The main (electric) propulsion engines are on a lower deck, and they make 12,000 HP each. They will push this sub at 22 knots (submerged) or 12 knots (surfaced). While not as powerful as the nuclear powered subs, diesel-electrics are almost completely silent when running submerged, under battery-electric power (
Australia 300 – Lighthouse Lens.
Adjacent to the maritime museum is a lighthouse that was disassembled from it’s original location, transported to Darling Harbour, and reassembled. This is the multiple-fresnel lense that concentrates the light from the acetylene lamp.
Australia 301 – Lamp mechanism.
The coolest thing about this lighthouse is that the lens rootation is powered by counterweights… like a grandfather clock! The weights ran the height of the tower, and had to be cranked up daily by the lightkeeper in order to turn the lens. This is the geartrain for that purpose – it is silky smooth in operation (I turned it by hand) and doesn’t require much effort.
Australia 303 – Exterior view
This is the lighthouse, from its base. The structure is steel, with internal native hardwood support beams. It was ordered as a kit from England and built oat Cape Bowling Green in 1874.
Australia 305 – James Craig
This is the James Craig, originally commissioned “Glasglow”. She is a 19th century iron hulled bark that ran coal from the UK to Australia. She regularly carries members of the general public (tourists) to sea under sail.
Australia 311 – The Rocks, literally.
Mid week, we changed hotels from the Star City Casino to the Shangri-la, just to be closer to the historic “rocks” district of Sydney. These ruins are part of the original penal coloney that was the beginnings of Sydney, and it was literally right next to the hotel.
Australia 312 – Shangri-La Hotel
We got an 18th floor room here, mid week. There was nothing wrong with the previous accomodations, but this place was AMAZING (the outstanding breakfasts are just one reason).
Australia 314 – The Victoria Building
The Queen Victoria Building has been described by Pierre Cardin as “the most beautiful shopping centre in the world”. That’s right – it’s a mall! This outstanding example of Byzantine architecture, which occupies an entire city block, was built in 1898 to replace the original Sydney Markets.
Australia 316 – The whole city block.
The Victoria building is one BIG shopping center. 4 floors full of shops and restaurants
Australia 317 – Inside the mall…
No trip would be complete without shopping, and this is one place you can shop AND absorb some history. Those are the original floor tiles from 1898.
Australia 322 – Not your typical mall…
When was the last time you saw stained glass like this in a shopping mall??? Pretty outstanding.
Australia 343 – How RUDE!
Off with Nigel again, this time to the Hunter Valley wine country outside of Sydney. One of the wineries boasts an odd collection of offbeat art, including some bizarre garden sculptures. This grabby bugger got fresh & copped a feel on Susan. She’s shocked; SHOCKED, do you hear? Oh, and hey – nice hat!
Australia 345 – Tit for tat?
Since the “art” in the previous photo had its way with Susan, I thought I’d return the favor. OOOooooh, baby, who’s your daddy???
Australia 346 – This one is called…
Silly old moo and has a price of $2500 AUS. No comment.
Australia 347 – Ah. Vineyards.
Here are some of the vineyards. It’s early spring in these photos, so there’s not much to see growing yet. But trust me; this is where the grapes grow.
Australia 349 – Tourist in a wineshop.
This is one of the wineshops associatied with one of the wineries we visited. At each one, we had a wine-tasting, where we sampled anywhere up to 15 different varieties of wine. This was not as simple as you’d expect…while Susan and I agree on a few things, wine is not one of them. So when tasting, it was a good bet that if one of us was fond of a particular bottle, the other would consider it to be swill. So we had to do A LOT of tasting (hic) to select the 10 bottles we eventually brought home.
Australia 350 – Happy Susan.
Here’s my gal, (uncharacteristically) tasting a white. I liked it; she didn’t No sale. (Hiccup).
Australia 363 – Lucky?
As with all of our trips thus far, we had one or two days of “iffy” or inclement weather, and the rest was gorgeous. Like this day. Can you imagine a nicer day?
Australia 369 – a find!
The big local “secret” that we discovered on this trip was courtesy of a cab driver, who was born in Greece, but has lived in Sydney long enough to have no accent at all. The find was the Sydney Fish Market area (not far from our first hotel). The cab dropped us there, in the midst of some HUGE wholesale fish markets, liberally interspersed with retail shops, many of which offererd prepared seafood & fish meals (and some incrediblly “just-off-the-boat” Sushi (i.e. “bait”). Just as we arrived, an incredibly heavy thunderstorm struck the area, and we scurried into one of the shop/restaurants. There we had a lovely lunch. Susan ate 18 raw oysters, of three varieties. She made me try them; I liked the little ones (sort of), but the other two kinds were too fishy tasting for me. I was happy with the cooked John Dory fish and chips and a mixed seafood plattter. It was great, and very reasonable priced. IF I’d known what the john Dory looks like in life, I might not have eaten it… that’s one FUGLY fish! (google it and you’ll see what I mean) .
Australia 369 – Got crabs?
These colorful guys are aptly named “blue swimmer” crabs. I don’t know if they swim well, but they sure have the “blue” part of their name nailed.
Australia 369 – Seafood mall?
This is the inside mall retail area of the Fish market. One word – they close up the whole area at around 3 in the afternoon, so go there for Lunch, not dinner. Also, you’ll have to call for a cab to come get you, and it takes about 15-20 minutes for one to show up. But this place is well worth it if you like fish or seafood. Yummy.
Australia 369 – To market, to market, to buy a fat…fish?
This is just one of the retail outlets there at the fish market. Lots of variety, and all FRESH.
Australia 369 – Shrimp-lovers unite!
If you love shrimp (or prawns, as they’re called in the Eastern Hemisphere), this it the place to be! Just look at those beauties!
Australia 369 – WOW
That big one near the column is a swordfish. ready to be cut into (ever so delicious) steaks. Ok, now I’m really getting hungry.
Australia 369 – unimposing…
From its external appearance, the fish market it’s not much to write home about. Don’t let that fool you – go there & bring your appetite.
Australia 370 – Back to the wineries…
These next photos are a little out of sequence, and were taken on day of the winery tour. This winery (Drayden’s) actually showed us how & where they make the wine. These are aging some of their older barrels.
Australia 371 – Variety is the spice of life…
These barrels each contain a different kind of wine (as seen by the labels). An interesting detail our guide related was that they have to keep spills and drippage to a minimum, since they have cat in the warehouse who is an alcoholic. Yeah, RIGHT.
Australia 373 – Old School…
THat brown thingee in the rafters is the original grape crusher. It’s not in use any longer.
Australia 374 – Original equipment
These concrete vats are where the grape juice was allowed to ferment. Also not in use any more.
Australia 375 – New wave…
This device feeds the grapes into pipes that lead into the building where they are routed into the modern crushing machines.
Australia 376 – The CEP420
This is the modern grape crusher. The big perforated drum spins the grapes (Like your washer’s spin cycle) to compress and squeez all the juice from them. Better than a bunch of fat, stanky-footed Italian women doing it.
Australia 378 – More old vats.
Interestingly, these are still in use. The barrels on the left are also full of wine. Yay.
Australia 379 – Got wine?
Now THAT’s a lot of barrels. Drink up, Shriners!
Australia 380 – Holy #####!
It’s true – they DO have an alcoholic cat. This guy literally STAGGERED over to us, and then HICCUPPED loudly as I took this photo. He has a purple stain around his mouth, too. That’s pretty compelling evidence that they weren’t kidding about him.
Australia 383 – Bottling machine.
We learned that most wineries are switching from corking the bottles to scerw-top caps. Cork, though a renewable resource, doesn’t renew quite fast enough. That leads to some cork being taken from the heartwood of the cork tree, and that can promote bacteria growth in the wine bottle (if you’ve ever had a bottle of wine that was off, you know how nasty that can be. Also the modern screw caps have a better seal, and are resealable, so an open bottle stays fresher, longer.
Australia 384 – Special vintages…
These old bottles are kept from some especially good vintages. Check out the dust on the bottles.
Australia 385 – Old stuff.
The dust on these bottles indicates how long they’ve been sitting here.
Australia 386 – Tomb of the unknown bottle?
These bottles aer so old I doubt anyone even knows what’s in them. This winery was started by the Drayton family five generations ago in 1853.
Australia 387 – Happy (and posessive) Susan.
Here’s Susan, tightly clutching her wine choices from Drayton’s. Belive me; we had to sample many, MANY bottles before selecting the few we purchased. Oddly, the one we both liked best was one of the cheapest bottles! ($13.50 AUS). We bought two of those, lol.
Australia 389 – Back to Sydney, to the opera…
The familiar sight of the opera house greeted us upon our (slightly buzzed) return from Hunter Valley. We actually got to see an opera there (Puccini’s Il Trittico). Guess who was nodding out in the first act? (oops).
Australia 168 – Who’s your DADDY
This video shows a very rude interloper, slamming this cockatiel. The Cockatiel’s mate (off to the right) can only look on as the bigger Canure hits it with his old lady. Sounds like a good argument for some #9 shot, delivered from both barrels. But that’
Australia 170 – Cable crossing
This is the view from the cable car as we crossed over to the Echo Point trailhead.
Australia 247 – Platypus
Cute little guy foraging for some chow.
Australia 163 – Barking owl…
He was barking his fool head off, just before I filmed this. HONEST. Susan heard him!
Australia 251 – Port Jackson shark
This little guy was in the petting pool, and was about 18″ long. Felt like a shark to me.