Sydney, population ~6m, is the capital of New South Wales. The largest and most expensive city in Australia. Here you can find Botany Bay. Historically famous for Captain Cook’s first landing and later for the establishment of a penal colony. Also, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, famous for being extremely big. And the Sydney Opera House, famous for looking a bit weird.
We arrived late afternoon and met up with our friends the lovely Sally and John. We first met this adventurous couple in Antarctica where they were some of the brave few people doing kayaking trips while the rest of us were safe in the Zodiac RHIBs. They graciously invited us to stay a few days and we were happy to escape the cosy confines of our little motorhome for a short break.
Our original plan had been to skip past Sydney. Tackling a large city without prior knowledge can be a bit daunting. We figured that we could drive over the bridge, photograph the opera and be done with it. John and Sally, long term Sydney residents, were dismissive of this notion and suggested a day trip to the city under Sally’s guidance would be more appropriate. They were, of course, completely correct. The next day, we set off, on foot, for the train station.
It was a leisurely ride into town on the train. The first thing I noticed on alighting was a car that had been smashed by a boulder. Apparently, the large rock was dropped intentionally, from a tall crane, some 22 years ago. I could see no go reason for this so I assumed, correctly, that it was art.
We wandered around the city centre for a while taking in some of the architecture and getting a feel for the place. The Sydney Central Business District (CBD) has more high-rise buildings that anywhere else in Australia. I was certainly impressed as to how much glass was on display.
We were struck by how clean the city was. Australia in general is an exceptionally clean place. Hardly any rubbish lying around. A stark contrast from many other countries and wonderful to see. Often a major city attracts litter and other garbage along with beggars and buildings in a state of disrepair. Sydney however feels cared for and that makes visiting comfortable and more enjoyable.
We boarded a local ferry to Manly. This took us right across the bay. A lovely, relaxed way to take in sights of the city. From the boat we could see all the major landmarks, large cruise ship, several other ferries, a few islands and open water beyond the bay. In Manly, we took a short walk to the beach and watched apprentice surfers for a while. Over coffee, Sally explained how she met John here. Then we wandered back to the ferry terminal and got a boat to the opera house. Along the way, I spotted an Australian Navy aircraft carrier.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is right next to the opera house. We could clearly see bridge walkers. People who have paid to put on harnesses and walk right over the top of the steel bridge arch. I image the views are great but it is quite a trip and takes over three hours.
We looked around the opera house. I was a little surprised to find that the roof looks quite different from close by. To be honest, I had never studied the roof before but I always had an impression of it being big and white. While it is certainly big, the tiles are off-white and quite intricately patterned. The remarkable design was from a Danish architect, Jørn Utzon. While he undoubtably came up with one of the most striking buildings in the world, the story of how it was built by 1973 is fascinating and not without problems. Ultimately, the project came in at ten years late and 1,400% over budget.
The Sydney Opera House opened the way for the immensely complex geometries of some modern architecture. The design was one of the first examples of the use of computer-aided design to design complex shapes. The design of the roof was tested on scale models in wind tunnels to establish the pressure distribution around the roof shape in high winds. The design is also one of the first in the world to use araldite to glue precast structural elements together. The air-conditioning plant, the largest in Australia at the time, uses the innovative idea of harnessing the harbour water to create a water-cooled heat pump system that is still in operation today.
There are a set of steps from the opera house down into the harbour. These are closed off by some steel railings but you will often see crowds of tourists packed around them. The reason is a wild long-nosed fur seal that often rests on the steps and has become quite famous. He is called Benny as in “Benny on the steps” – a pun on the title of an Elton John song and a fine example of Australian humour.
We did not get to see inside the opera house but I think, should we ever be back this way, that it would be great to attend a performance there.
We wandered off around the botanical gardens. The garden is quite remarkable. All the more so for being in a city centre. The weather had been steadily improving throughout the day. Earlier it was quite blustery and raining occasionally. As we pottered around the plants, the sun came out making it pleasantly warm.
In an older part of the city, we came across some older architecture housing the very expensive shops. We also found a statue of Queen Victoria looking thoroughly unamused.
Next day, we all drove out to Lake Macquarie. John and Sally have a very comfortable holiday home here. It makes a beautiful contrast to Sydney. Quiet, natural and peaceful. Lake Macquarie is not really a lake. It is Australia’s largest permanent saltwater coastal lagoon, located in the Hunter Region about 150 km north of Sydney. We spent most of the day walking around the lake.
The lake is popular for sailing, powerboating, water skiing, fishing and swimming. Fortunately, this does not seem to disturb the wildlife too much and there was an abundance of birds. We walked out to a spit of land where there was an Osprey nest. On the way we saw a black swan and some pelicans. There was also a few Noisy Miner Birds, a native Australian honeyeater. And a few small Little Pied Cormorants. The osprey nest appeared empty, initially. We waited a while and then saw a couple of small heads looking out. Then we spotted the parents. Possibly coming back from a fishing trip. All was well.
Elsewhere around the lake, we saw the inevitable Laughing Kookaburras, some Egrets and many Magpie Larks. There was also a few groups of Rainbow Lorikeet. These are the most fantastically brightly coloured parrots.
The Hunter valley is not just home to some remarkable countryside but it is also the location of many great vineyards. It would have been churlish to leave without exploring a few of these so this is what occupied us on our last day. Unfortunately, the weather came in cool and rainy again. Nonetheless, we dressed warmly – “rugged up” is the Australian expression. Has nothing to do with rugs. And we had a wonderful, relaxed time exploring the countryside and drinking wine. Two of my favourite things to do.
