Sydney - Day 245-249
Trip Start
Jan 31, 2008
1
178
251
Trip End
Ongoing
Sydney,
New South Wales,
Australia
Friday, October 24, 2008
Day 245 - 23/10/08
After 24,454km I've finally reached the bright lights of Sydney. It was a cold grey day and drizzling when I arrived. It was rather emotional dropping off the car at the Hertz depot in Sydney this afternoon. We've had a real adventure together. I feel like buying her from Hertz and shipping her back to the UK for a relaxed retirement in Cheshire. The guy from Hertz said he'd never received a car back with so many kilometres on the clock. He thinks it maybe a record! My journey around Australia is like driving from Lands End to John O'Grots eighteen and a half times or driving from Sydney to London one a half times as the crow flies. When you put in those terms, it's been one hell of a road trip!
For the next 5 nights I'm staying in a backpackers in central Sydney. I can relax and enjoy the delights of the city before flying to Auckland next week. Due to the bad weather today I didn't get any sightseeing done, I'm in no real rush anyway. I have plenty of time to explore Australia's largest city. I did have a bit of a wander in the evening before heading back to the dorm for a sleep in a warm comfortable BED!
Day 246 - 24/10/08
I got my first glimpse of the Harbour Bridge this morning as I reached the northern end of George street. As I turned the corner, the Opera House then came into view, all I can say is WOW! From a distance the Opera house is probably one of the greatest pieces of 20th century architecture I've ever seen. The white tiled sails reflect the light of a dozen suns, it's truly iconic. I didn't really expect the place to be so large and dominating over the harbour. OK, the harbour bridge is dominating but the Opera house is dominating in a different sort of way. When you get up close to the Opera house it appears a little less impressive, you can see that the structure was very experimental for it's time. It looks rather patchy in places, the materials being stuck together in a bit of a adhoc fashion, but as a singe piece of 20th century design I can't really think of any other structure in the world that comes close. It's pure genius!
It was getting rather warm by mid-day so I returned back to the hostel to change and headed back to the circular quay to enjoy Sydney's most iconic sights once again. Sydney is a great city, I didn't expect to like it as much as I actually do. Defiantly in my top 5 favourite cities I've visited. It's up there with Tokyo, NYC, San Francisco and Rome, no doubt.
Day 247 - 25/10/08
Caught the famous Manly ferry today from the Circular Quay. Such a great way to view the harbour from a different perspective and the cheapest option too, rather than taking one of the expensive harbour cruises. I could see myself living in Manly and travelling to work in the city on the ferry, not a bad way to get to work I reckon, certainly beats sitting in traffic in the morning. Maybe one day, who knows.
Once I arrived at the docks in Mainly I walked the short distance to the beach. It's Saturday today and a beautifully sunny day so it was pretty busy with sunbathers, surfers and tourists. Spend a few hours by the beach before catching the ferry back to the city.
Once back at the Circular Quay I had a stroll around the historical Rocks area which is the old core of the city. Then went to Darling Harbour for a wander. Saw the replica of the HMS Endeavour at the maritime museum. Would have been great to live in the times of Cook and been one of his officers on the Endeavour. You wouldn't want to be one of the deck hands though, I think over 40% of them died on the crossings due to disease or being killed by the natives. Would be so cool seeing and discovering things no other European had done before, being a true pioneer. Not sure if there's anything left on this planet to discovery anymore, apart from the deep ocean drenches and possibly the rainforests of the Amazon and Papua and they won't be around for much longer if we continue cutting them down at the current rate.
People have said to me that it must have been lonely driving around Australia on my lonesome but to be honest I feel more lonely in Sydney surrounded by 4 million people. For me, exploring beautiful landscapes is far from lonely. I actually feel more at peace in these remote environments and being in awe of mother nature. I do like cities too but they can feel lonely when you travel solo. A little strange I know, but I'm sure you understand what I mean.
Went out tonight in the city centre and watched a half decent band in a club on George street. Nice to hear some live music again. I think the last time I saw a live band was in the Gili islands months ago. Had an enjoyable evening before returning back to the hostel in the early hours after a good night out in town.
Day 248 - 26/10/08
Walked around the Kingcross district this morning which is suppose to be the seedy underbelly of Sydney. I thought it was quite a hip and trendy place and not as seedy as I expected. Maybe once the sunsets the prostitutes and drug pushers come out to play. I thought it was quite a nice place by day, sat in small park by a spherical fountain and enjoyed the increasingly warm morning sun.
On the way back to the CBD I visited the impressive St Mary's cathedral and then went to the Sydney tower for 360 degree views of this great city. The tower is highest point in the citu and on a clear day you're suppose to be able to see the Blue mountains. Unfortunately a line of yellow smog was obstructing the view today. As part of the tower ticket I also had admission to "OzTrek" which is multimedia experience of the cultural and natural delights of Australia. It was actually pretty cool to see a lot places I'd visited over the last couple of months on my drive around the continent.
Booked a ticket tonight for a showing of Vivaldi's "four seasons" in the main concert hall of the Opera house. Will be a nice way to spend my last night in Sydney tomorrow. Can't leave here without seeing a performance in this iconic structure. Spend this evening in the Opera house bar where I met some crazy drunken Ozzies and Irish folk who I ended up spending the evening with. Then back to Bondi for an after party.
Day 249 - 27/10/08
It was a late night last night, so I decided to have a rest day before I fly to Auckland early tomorrow morning. I did get all those mundane tasks done though, laundry, packing, online admin, etc, etc.
Booked another hire car for a week when I land on the North island before meeting up with a friend in Wellington. Will spend this week in a familiar fashion living like a hobo, sleeping in the car and enjoying the majestic landscapes of New Zealand.
Headed to the opera house early this evening to have a drink at the Opera bar before the showing of Europa Galante's rendition of Vivaldi's Four seasons. The concerto's are being played on traditional instruments from the 17th century, so the music is being played as Vivaldi intended. The Italian Fabio Biondi is the director and violin soloist, he's suppose to be a bit of superstar in these circles. As it was my last night in Sydney and I was in the famous Opera house I treated myself to a glass of Champagne in the foyer of main Concert hall before I took my seat in the second box from the stage. I had an amazing seat considering I only booked the ticket the day before. Performance's like this aren't normally my cup of tea to be honest, I'm more of an indie kid, but I really enjoyed the evening. The musicians were unbelievably talented and the acoustics of the concert hall, phenomenal. The Four Seasons concerto's were so recognisable, even for someone as clueless as me. Certainly a good way to spend my last night in Australia!
I walked back to the hostel and enjoyed the beautiful Sydney harbour cityscape at night for one last time. Well for this trip anyway.
I've really enjoyed my time in Australia after the initial shock of landing in Perth after over 6 months in Asia. I feel have done my best at exploring this wonderful continent with the time I had available. Looking back I don't think I wasted a single second, I was always on the go seeing things or travelling to places. I'm quite chuffed with the way everything has gone. I certainly need to return one day to explore Tasmania, Cape York, the Bungle Bungles and the Gibb river road through the Kimberly. I'm sure I'll have the opportunity to return one day, but so much more of the world to see first.
exploration of New Zealand begins tomorrow or should I say "Middle Earth".
