Loving being a tourist in Sydney, Australia

With QuickStar moored at Pittwater, we are an easy 45 minute bus ride to downtown Sydney.  We’ve enjoyed being tourists, getting to know Sydney.  It reminds us so much of Vancouver (although much larger). 

The obligatory Sydney Harbour shots of the bridge and Opera House

 

Lovely converted old buildings and warehouses surround Darling Harbour

The delicious Aussie pies...I think I've gained 10 pounds because of them!

 

We’ve gotten a kick out of the many different signs and sayings there are here.  The half man walking sign is a crosswalk sign…but we can’t figure out what this one means.  Any ideas?

What is somewhat funny is when I spent my week at Coff’s Harbour, I went on all the walks that I could fit in, but one eluded me.  It was called Refuge Island and I saw lots and lots of signs to access it, but I could never find it.  Once we started on our road trip, I noticed many cities had Refuge Islands, but none of them were on the ocean.  I couldn’t help but laugh when it clicked that Refuge Island is what the Aussies call the meridian in the middle of a road where pedestrians can safely stand before crossing over to the other side.  

Sydney at sunset 

 

We love so many of their sayings.  When we went to a museum and bought entry tickets the lady asked if we had any concessions.  We thought she meant popcorn and drinks, as we call concessions at movie theaters.  In Australia, it means are you a student, disabled or senior.   Peter was meeting up with a local here and Rod said “okay savo”.  After getting the translation we learned that means see you this afternoon.  Peter is also starting to say “shift” in place of “move”.

The largest pelicans I've ever seen 

 

One thing that we can’t understand is the grocery carts that are in Australia (as well as in all the other South Pacific islands we’ve been to).  The carts have all four wheels turning instead of just the front ones that we have in North America.  This means that their carts cannot go in a straight line, so you are constantly pushing them sideways. Just don’t get it!

 

The museum that Peter really wanted to see was the Maritime Museum (how do you say “booooooring”?).  I, of course, have to walk the talk and stick to my frugal financial principals.  As always we use a discount coupon and it was still a $28.00 entry fee…so I decided to take one for the team and pass on going…instead I went to Margarita Ville where Happy Hour was in full swing.  Wine for only $5.00 a glass – so instead of spending $28.00, I only spent $10.00 and had WAY more fun. 

It was great timing to be in Pittwater for the final race of the America’s Cup.  The American’s won against the New Zealanders (although there were only 2 American’s onboard – the rest were Kiwi’s and Aussies).  The Captain is an Australian named James Spithill who is a member of the Royal Alfred Yacht Club right here. 
(He was also the skipper in 2010).  Lots of excitement!  

 

They do lots of racing from this club and they are just starting a disabled association, which I was very interested in as I am a volunteer for the disabled ski association at Silver Star.

 

The Gold winning disabled boat in the London 2012 Olympics that sparked 

the yacht club to create a disabled component to their club.  They had a

big fund raiser while we were there to purchase more boats to modify.

  The mooring area, marinas, and yacht clubs in Pittwater are lovely.  The area is surrounded by parks on one side and nice houses on the other.  

Great dog-friendly parks and beaches 

 

 We explored in Newport, which is close-by and has a beautiful beach.

 

 

Another highlight was going to the local pub to watch the final match in the Aussie Rules Football League.  It was packed because there was a power outage in the area, so the pub was running the game with their generator. We have been following it everywhere we went in Australia, because the locals just love this game.

View from the Newport Arms sports bar 

 

We bought a 7-day public transit pass which includes all buses, trains and ferries – all of which we have used extensively.   On the first day we went in to Sydney on the bus, the bus driver had to slam on his breaks suddenly – this was a two-car bus which was packed with many standing in the aisle.  A little girl was thrown into the front of the bus and had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance.  No one else was injured.  It was just a reminder that some of our family members are worried about us when we are out at sea, but it is usually the everyday things that cause most accidents.

We went to see the movie Gravity on what is billed as the largest IMAX theatre in the world.  Terrible movie, but great to see the 3D effects.

The other “good timing” event was the 100^th year celebration of Australia’s Navy.  This was a massive event with up to 16 tall ships, 40 warships and 8,000 naval personnel from more than 20 nations – plus Prince Harry as the honoured guest.  We went in over a 3 day period and took in the events from different vantage points.  The first day it was pouring rain, but the next two days were good. 

On the second day they closed off much of the park at Bradley Point because the Governor General was onsite to do the official Fleet Review.  Most of us climbed up to sit on the rocks in the bush so we had a great view, until the Ranger came and told us all to get down.   The Australians held their ground though and said there were no signs saying we couldn’t be there and also, in the program it said the park was a prime viewing location.  Many of them got quite vocal about it, with the Rangers calling for “back-up” by the police.  Some of the people were old, but steadfast.  The police ended up making an arrest of one man, who for sure is going to be taking his case to the Minister.  This all made for great entertainment.

The Governor General's car with gold license plate emblem

 

The first day of the event was the arrival of the tall ships in to the harbour.  
Pleasure craft were invited to accompany them. 

 

After all the tall ships had arrived, and we were thouroughly 

drenched we took the ferry from the zoo right to downtown. 

 Enroute we saw lots of the tall ships and tons of activity on the water.

Note the sailors aloft in the rigging.

 The second day was the arrival of the War Ships.  Here are some photos, although if you are interested you could see great photos on the official Fleet Review website.

 
Until next time….Congratulations to our daughter Kylie for getting the Teacher-On-Call position in her school district.  Lucky, lucky kids.

Aussie Road Trip - Part Two

After leaving Rob and Kirstey’s sheep farm we spent two days on the road exploring little towns along the way.  There was a very funky German town called Hahndorf that was great to poke around in.  The highlight for me was going to Cleland Wildlife Park.  Here you can wander through the park, along with kangaroos, wallabies, bandicoots and lots of birds.  It was wonderful to be able to see them up close and personal. 

Some species such as the Tasmanian Devil and the Wombat were not 
left to wander at will, for obvious reasons.

Wombat....couldn't get a shot of the Tasmanian Devil

 

The Koala’s were also kept in an enclosure, where we could 

watch them climb and play.  

  

Of course, I had to do the tourist thing and get my photo taken holding a Koala.  I also did this because our daughter Kylie was here almost 10 years ago and she had her picture taken here, so I thought it was a cute idea.  What’s nice is that you can also have pictures taken with your own camera, so that’s what these shots are.

Next stop was to visit David and Jane.  David is the professor who sailed from New Cal to Coff’s Harbour with Peter & Barbara.  We met them for dinner in a great restaurant in their local Sterling Hotel.  David insisted on shouting (meaning paying for it) as well as keeping my wine glass always half full!

 

We returned to their home in the woods up in the Adelaide Hills.  They are living in a shed, while they are building their David-designed (David is an architect) home on the property.  David has been single for many years prior to Jane, so he lived happily in this minimalist shed for 15 years.  I fell in love with it.  It is basically one room with a kitchen, living room and bed.  He definitely had his priorities right because much of the limited space was taken up by his grand piano and wall to ceiling book shelves. There is an outdoor washroom, open to the elements.  My kind of place.

 

We set up our car tent in the garage.  While Peter was up getting the tent organized, I opened the trunk and managed to slam it shut on my thumb.  Anyway, I had to call to Peter to come and open it.  My thumb is still swollen and bruised, but no serious damage done.  Peter won’t let anyone give me sympathy, because it was such a dumb thing to do.  He says “who slams a door on their own finger?” Remember about the wine at dinner?  

 The house that they are building is amazing and I can’t believe I forgot to take my camera on the grand tour.  It is still under construction, but is nearing completion for October occupancy.  It has been designed to merge with nature with opening floor to ceiling windows throughout that overlook the infinity pool and gorgeous forest views.  It’s like living outside, while being inside.  We can’t wait to see the photos once it is finished.

We left early in morning and were rewarded by a Koala sitting up in the tree right on their property.  What a great treat.  Guess we didn’t need to spend the big bucks at the zoo the day before!

We all went out to a local bakery/coffee shop for breakfast.  The one thing that we “rant” about in Australia is the cost of a cup of coffee.  Generally speaking for a regular size black coffee it costs $4.50.  This is even the price in McDonalds.  The reason being is that they make each cup of coffee, which also means waiting for it.  Personally we didn’t like the coffee at all – very strong – so we figured out to order coffee half strength (which theoretically should’ve been less money, but no such thing here).   To keep things in perspective, you can buy a beer for $3.00 and can also choose from a selection of good wine bottles for less than $5.00.  Mmmmm…..an overpriced, terrible cup of coffee or a bottle of wine?  No wonder there is a bit of a drinking problem in Australia.

We arrived in the picturesque area of Clare Valley, which is renowned for its’ wine.  We could’ve spent a week here, as there are many walking and biking paths throughout the area that have convenient stops along the way at various wineries.  We went to Clare to see James and Alice, as this is where they live.  James took us to the vineyard that he manages and then we went out to their house for dinner.

They bought their property two years ago, and all that was there was a shed.  While they rented a house close-by, James and Alice slowly built this into their dream house, which is the perfect size for them and designed so they can add on to it when they have children.  For those of you who know me well, you’ll understand that this is the way I think many young people can achieve their goals.  Start with something you can afford and then either work up to another home, or fix and reno the one you have.  Bravo James & Alice.  The pictures here speak for themselves.

 

For our final weekend of the road trip we headed to Adelaide, which is where one of the houses that Peter & Phillipa live in, along with their son Sam, who is just about finished university this semester.  Peter & Phillipa’s family home is in the heart of the Barossa Valley (which is where we visited them 25 years ago). 

  

Living very close by is their daughter Alicia, husband Ashley

 and their two adorable kids – Molly and Harry. 

This is a photo of Peter & Alicia and of the kids at the racetrack.

 

 

Peter & Peter rode motorcycles to and from the weekend motorcycle race.  From all accounts, Peter might be getting some speeding tickets in the mail, as the two “boys” registered over 200 kilometres an hour.  Phillipa and I had lots (but not enough) of girl time to catch up – it was as if we had just seen each other.  

We enjoyed a beautiful Sunday at the racetrack, especially since the whole gang was there.  James did really well, getting another personal best.   

  

Phillipa rarely goes, as I know it is really hard as a Mom to watch your son speeding around the track.  Reminds me of watching Danny ride bucking broncos!

In this photo there is Phillipa, Leanne (front left – Sam’s girlfriend), Molly, Alice’s mother (and good friend of Phillipa’s), Alicia, Alice (only the foot showing) and two friends of Alice’s from Clare. (Harry is playing on the bleachers and ended up falling and cutting his lip with his tooth...normal boy stuff)

 The boys – from the left – Peter, Scott (friend of Sam’s), Sam and Peter

 

It was so great to see them all again.  It was also hard to say goodbye to all of them, but like all good friendships, our paths will cross again soon.

 We took two nights to drive home the 1,300 kilometres.  The 1^st night we camped and the final night, Peter said we should treat ourselves and stay in a caravan park. (He’s getting really soft!).

By the time we got back to Sydney, with 4,000 kilometres under our belt, our little car was splattered with bugs, but we got off easy not hitting a kangaroo.  

 

 

 

We have booked our flights and will be leaving October 8^th to get home in time to spend a family Thanksgiving weekend, along with other friends at Danny and Ashley’s ranch.  Next week will be the last QuickStar blog of this fantastic cruising season.
 

Until then…..Okay, so even Peter figured that I wouldn’t manage another sunrise shot, but we had this incredible sunrise on the final day of our trip. 

 

This picture is blurry as I took it out of the speeding car.  Peter said “I stopped once for you – it’s only a sunrise”.  My poor, jaded husband…."don’t spit the dummy”.