Brisbane and on to Sydney

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  Sydney, Australia
Saturday, February 17, 2007

We had a brief stay at Brisbane, mostly to give back "Sheila" the camper which had been home for the last few weeks. We managed to return it without damage which was more than could be said for some other unlucky tourers who had managed to rip an air conditioning unit off the roof on theirs - dread to think what that would have cost!

We got down to the centre of Brisbane and took a ferry ride on the river which was a good way to beat the heat. Recent days have been very hot and dry and in complete contrast to our previous days of torrential rain. The contrast between overflowing rivers and creeks in the north of Queensland and the drought in the south is immense - residents of Brisbane are being offered treated sewage for drinking water but don't seem very keen on the idea!

We got our flight to Sydney and arrived by early afternoon. A quick train trip took us close to the hotel and after checking in our bags we jumped back on the train down to the Circular Quay. The train emerges from a tunnel to arrive at the quay and it is definitely a jaw dropping moment to suddenly see the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera house right in front of you. We spent the evening just walking around - of course the rain followed us so it was a bit overcast and wet but still great to get here.

The next day we ventured more by foot and took in Darling Harbour, Chinatown, Hyde Park and central play areas for Josh. We took in an exhibition titled "Convicts: sites of punishment" at the Hyde Park Barracks Museum which gave a fascinating insight into how mostly petty criminals were sent from Britain to gaols in Australia and then given hard labour for many years. Over 80 years 160,000 people were transported to various parts of Oz to work in penal settlements. We learnt that Britain had an overcrowding problem in gaols and, following the American Civil War, could no longer send prisoners to America, so Australia offered an answer plus meant a plentiful supply of labour for colonialisation.

Day 3 saw us head off to Taronga Zoo which you reach by ferry from the Circular Quay. Apologies for more pictures of The Bridge and opera House!! The Zoo was excellent - always mixed feelings about whether they are the right place - but in many cases they appear to be aiding in protecting species. In particular the Asian elephants seemed to have an excellent space and appeared to be very happy on Valentines Day!

Day 4 we split up - only temporary! Ian did the Sydney Harbour Bridge walk - 1439 steps to the summit which is 134 mtrs high. The complete walk took three and a half hours to complete and was ultimately tiring but exhilarating. Liz and Josh rode on the trams down to Darling Harbour and went to the Sydney Aquarium which they said was great - the largest indoor tanks ever seen and underwater tunnels allow you amazing views of a huge collection of fish - over 11,000 all Australian aquatic creatures including sharks, seals, turtles, platypus' and penguins.

We ended the day at Luna Park - a 1930's style amusement park which was good fun for Josh though neither he nor Ian will want to go on a roller coaster again for a while! As we returned to The Circular Quay by ferry the cruise ship Amsterdam was leaving port - once again apologies for repetitious pictures of The Opera House and Harbour Bridge - we'll try to get the camera under control.

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