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We're not doing too badly following an ...
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We're not doing too badly following an overnight 10 hour flight from Honolulu.
Sydney reminds me most of Vancouver, B.C. It is a very varied mix of smaller scale older buildings and a lot of architecturally interesting much taller new buildings. It also has a gorgeous setting on a large bay with a winding coastline. The weather is great. Today it was sunny and in the upper 70's. Something I hadn't heard about, but encountered here are the very friendly flies that just love to land on your face. My guess is that they are descendants of thirsty Outback flies.
In our brief time here we wandered about the primary tourist destination, the Circular Quay. This is where ferries come and go serving outlying areas. It is an historic area with many 19th century structures which now host restaurants and shops. Adjacent is the opera house and the extensive Royal Botanical Garden. Together they amply fill a tourist day. It's all very nicely done, not at all tacky.
The public transportaion system here is very impressive and apparently effective. The heavy rail system that whisked us from the airport to downtown in 10 minutes provides service widely in the city and out into the suburbs. The ride is quiet and comfortable and the stations are well maintained. Service seems to be about every 15 minutes on the main routes, frequent enough to use it spontaneously. There is also a bus and monorail system that we haven't had a chance to use. Traffic appeared to flow smoothly all day.
The scale and sophistication of backpacker accomodations here is staggering. We are spending the night in a Hostelling International affiliated place right in the center of town. It is a converted 500 unit hotel complete that includes a restaurant, cafe, quick grocery and travel agency. There are also a small top-floor pool and sauna and two large well equiped kitchens with 24 cooktop, sink work stations. Accomodations range from dorm rooms with six bunks to private rooms with bath. We opted for the latter. At about US $ 45 I think it a great value.
Following my last post we had another visit to Kileuea. This time we went at night. In the dark you can see the glow of the flow coming down the slope. Where the flows hit the water the steam plumes are brightly illumined by the magma hitting the sea. Ocassionally lava splatter that flies up when it hits the water can be seen. Under a moonless night sky we stumbled about looking for better vantage points to witness Hawaii in the making.
We have but one day in Sydney before flying tomorrow to Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane and several hours drive to Bundaberg. We will depart tomorrow night from Bundaberg on a 3 day liveaboard dive trip in the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef.
Where I stayed:
Hostelling International
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| 4. | We're not doing too badly following an ... - Sydney, Australia Nov 04, 2002 |
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