Sydney Day 3 Jan 31st

Our last day in Sydney, and a real change from the last few ‘culture vulture’ days. We took a ferry to Manly in the morning to enjoy the harbour views from the water and to see another side of Sydney. It was a lovely day again so we took swimming things and decided to stay there a while. It was a lovely sail and Manly docks and the headland walk were beautiful. We found a nice quiet cove and went for a couple of swims and a sunbathe in between, but really it was too hot by then to be out in and we hid in the shade quite a bit. Rich had a hankering for fish and chips for lunch, which was great. I had a mixed plate of fish, calamari and prawns..yummy!

We got back and did the packing then off to the Opera Bar by the river for a drink, (great idea Iona, thanks) and to soak up the atmosphere before going in to see Sting. Our last minute seats were a bit to one side of the stage, but really close and there was a great atmosphere. It was very special to also have the Sydney Symphony orchestra playing with him. He sang a lovely selection including nearly all my favourite songs and a few early Police songs rearranged, with some very talented musicians accompanying him. He did 4 encores after rapturous applause and we didn’t get home until nearly midnight! A truly wonderful evening.
Photos here.

Sydney Day 2, (and end of Day 1) 30th Jan

We set off with plenty of time on our hands to see “Soap” at the Sydney Opera House. This extra time meant we could take plenty of shots around Circular Quay at night. While I was focusing on “Luna Park” on the other side of the harbour, Ann noticed a ferry going past with purple illuminations and entitled “Eve”. So that photo is for you Evie, hope you like it. The Opera Bar was bustling with pre-event revellers and a party of 4 girls were caught taking pictures of each other under the lamplight.

The Soap performance was truly stunning.  A cross between athleticism, comedy, musical and dance routines. There were 4 women and 4 men and 6 baths of all sizes and shapes, upon which (or in which) a variety of gymnastic writhing, juggling, balancing acts and interactions took place. The music was great and towards the end, the dry stage became very wet as one guy performed brilliantly with a full bath splashing all over the stage. The rest of the troupe then came on and did their best to get the first couple of rows of audience seriously damp. Fortunately we were in row J.

This morning (30^th) we caught the free city shuttle bus (green No 555) again up to Circular Quay. This time our aim was to see the Botanical Gardens, which border the Opera House. After some time we caught the little train, with the temperature rising fast as we could see that we would not be able to do the whole gardens justice if we only walked around. Some stunning views of the harbour can be seen from all around these gardens. When we were at the Rose Garden I noticed that someone had been flying in circles above the bridge. On the road this would be called doughnuts….. any suggestions for a sky version?   I finally managed to get some shots of the fruit bats, roosting in the trees. These were a sandy colour as opposed to the very black ones further up country. Still big bats and proving to be bit of a tree killer as their claws strip the bark when roosting.  We also managed to find the name of the birds that we first noticed when we arrived here. They are Sacred Ibis and made their way into the city a couple of years ago when their normal inland habitat suffered from a drought.  They found water here in abundance in all the fountains and are now here to stay.

From the gardens it was a short walk to the “Art Gallery of NSW” where there was currently an exhibition of the Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shihuang. Needless to say photos were not allowed in this gallery, but we saw eight of the soldiers and two horses along with an enormous amount of other artefacts. The soldiers and horses were full size and weigh between 250 and 350 Kgs. How they were fired way back then, and in such numbers, beggars belief. So far there is an estimate of 7,500 of these terracotta figures buried in the ground and only just over 2000 unearthed so far. Qin the First Emperor of the Qin dynasty pronounced “Chin”, is widely regarded as the origin of the English word “China”. As we left I managed to get a couple of shots of a half size chariot.

We also managed to fit in a visit to the Australian Museum for a special showing of “Wildlife Photographer of the Year” exhibition. Some stunning work on display here and all shot with stunning equipment. Many photographers had gone to great lengths to get great shots. One guy strapped his 4000 GBP Canon and lens to a log in the jungle along with a laptop to set the camera off every 10 minutes.  Then left it for a couple of days. The result was a stunning shot of a croc sunbathing! I think the camera lived to see another day. This is just one example of techniques used. Another included leaving a camera on the ice for a polar bear to play with, a remote trigger was then used from a safe shed.

On our way back to our 555 bus we spotted these girls playing in the fountain. Yes it is hot here!
Photos here.

Tomorrow we catch the ferry to Manly in the morning………. because everyone says it has to be done. The best harbour cruise and a half day at the beach seems very attractive. Also in the evening we are down to see Sting at the Opera House so will not post again until we reach NZ.  See you there.

Sydney Day 1 Jan 29th

Today dawned a bit cloudy but with sun promised later, so we decided to head for Circular quay and to see the bridge and Opera house from the outside and visit an art gallery, also showing a big Annie Leibovitz photography exhibition. We had a fantastic time! We got completely carried away with the Opera house and went in for a tour. It is an amazing place, with stunning details throughout the interior, like the toilets with a wave like structure for booths and washbasins, and water that flows away to nowhere. Sorry about the reflection, didn’t notice it till we were reviewing the photos. The tour is excellent and well worth the money, giving you all the history of its construction as well as showing you all the different performing spaces and all the detailing. I had no idea it was so old, always imagining it to be a similar age to the Guggenheim in Bilbao.

In fact we got so carried away that we booked to go to see a show tonight, that came from the Edinburgh fringe festival, ‘Soap’, a gymnastics show set in and around a stage set of lots of baths, would you believe! And to top it all, we are going to see Sting on Monday night. Thanks for that kids, that’s what we are using my birthday money on.

We had a lovely picnic lunch on the edge of the Botanic gardens gazing out at the harbour, the bridge and the Opera house. Then off to the Museum of Contemporary Art to see the Annie Leibovitz photography exhibition. That too was brilliant, giving you a good overview of her life and work in a video, then a huge selection of her most famous photos. I have always admired her work, and it was great to see it A1 size or bigger, instead of the little illustrations you usually see.

Back then to the hotel to sort and publish all this, eat and get ready to go back out to the Opera house. Wow what a cultural day….and we had forgotten about all the street theatre that goes on around big cities, the unicyclist juggling a knife, club and flaming torch on his 10 foot high unicycle got our vote!   Photos here.

Licuala Lodge to Townsville to Sydney 27th & 28th Jan

Last night after Paronella Park we arrived at Licuala Lodge,  just 4km south of Mission Beach, at about 6.30pm. A really spectacular B&B place. It had a great garden area in the middle of the rainforest complete with Jungle Swimming pool. The noise of the jungle all the time helped the general ambience and many birds were seen and heard. Monkeys were also heard but not seen. As everything closes really early here, we soon dropped our bags and sped off to the local Pizza place, placed our order and then went through the drive-in liquor store to pick up a couple of wines. This is a strange idea to us…… just like a drive thru Burger King, except that you park up inside the store, choose your wines, pay and then drive out. Back at the lodge we helped our selves to beers out of the fridge and had our pizzas. Then processed the photos for the Reef and PP over a glass of wine or two. In the morning I took a few photos of this place. Over a fantastic breakfast Mick and Sue told us a bit about the history of the place and how over the past 8 years they had had guests from all over the world. Several maps in the lounge covered with pins to show that and now including a Menorca Pin. Whereas most Aussies don’t have any idea where we come from Mick and Sue also related a story about when they had been on holiday to Menorca and knew about the trotting races and the market squares of both Mahon and Ciutadella. We then spent some time relaxing by the pool, had a swim and got ready for our drive south to Townsville. On the way to the car I noticed a huge spider hanging on a web under the stairs. This spider if placed on a postcard would hang over the edge….  At least 7 inches across, and a body of over an inch long.

The Bruce Highway is a smallish main road and considering it serves the East Coast completely, is relatively underused.  There were times when we were the only vehicle on the road. The massive road trains…. Articulated lorries with huge trailers, came thundering through going north and obviously “kings of the road”. We took a detour to Forest Beach for our lunch stop, expecting to find white sands and blue sea, so we could have a dip. However the sea was muddy with all the rains and subsequent pollution washed down and there were so many lethal stingers in the area that swimming was banned everywhere except in a special area surrounded by a boom with hanging net and only then if you wore a stinger suit. We declined to swim, or even lie on the beach as crocs had been recent visitors. The drive was mainly through wetlands, rain forest and acres of sugar cane. We passed over hundreds of creeks as they made there way to the sea, all muddy and one in particular accurately named “Blue water creek”.

 We arrived at the hotel in time for yesterdays blog posting. This Self catering apartment (Oakes M on Palmer St.) was very well equipped and we managed to do a good wash and tumbledry of lots of stuff. We could have ironed it as well, but decided not to, and went out for dinner instead. On the way back to our room we passed a tree and to our surprise a fruit bat launched itself off into the night sky only feet from us. These are big bats. The wingspan is reportedly up to a metre wide and up to that point I had not believed it, but with a couple of swishes of its wings, which we felt, it was up and away in seconds. I have tried to take photos of these in Cairns, but either did not have the camera with me or they had flown into town and roosted before I was ready.  They are very much nocturnal animals. If you imagine a raven sized body with wings either side the length of your arms, that is about the size they are, and were seen all along this coast at dusk.  Maybe I will get another chance down in Sydney.  If not, you may get an image off the internet.

This morning we were up and off early to return the car and catch our flight to Sidney. Looking forward to some big city culture for a complete change. On our descent we noticed a patch of water where the clear sea and muddy silt had been disturbed by a boat going through. Very surreal. Later we flew over the famous bridge and Opera house before landing.  After finding our hotel and getting settled in we went to explore the streets around us. We found ourselves at Darling quay, a very nice waterside venue with lots of eating places and entertainment possibilities. Lovely water features and flower beds. Plus there are some strange water birds here in Sydney… any suggestions? For a quick supper we discovered a “Pie Face” shop just over the road from here. Steak Pie with Mash and gravy….. lovely!  We wonder if this is where Debbie’s nephew got his name?                Photos here.

Frankland Island & Paronella Park Jan 26th (Australia Day)

We had to get up early today to get to the jetty for 8am. We were lucky it was Australia Day, so there were far fewer Aussies interested in the trip and we were only 32 instead of the normal 100. We set off on the boat down the river looking out for crocodiles, which frequent these waters, but didn’t see any, which was reassuring. When we arrived we were put into ‘stinger suits’ like rash vests but whole body suits, against their jellyfish, the stings of which can be lethal!! Then we got flippers snorkels and masks and were ferried to the most idyllic tropical island, just us, no-one else allowed. We had a fantastic hour in the water above the barrier reef, fish and reef watching. Quite tiring but an amazing experience, all the shapes, colours and sizes imaginable: never to be forgotten. Next we walked around the island with our guide explaining about the seeds, trees and plants we saw, and looking into rock pools to see what was there, mostly crabs. Then back to base, where shade had been erected and lunch of salad, chicken, prawns, ham and cheese was set out. A little rest after lunch then lots got back in the water to snorkel or just swim for a bit, keeping cool and enjoying being in that very special place. On the way out they served us tea or coffee and biscuits and tea and cake on the way back…great service! I had to be woken up as I was out for the count.

Paronella Park

Rich had read about this amazing place between Cairns and Townsville built by a Spaniard Jose Paronella in the early 20^th century. The story is all there on the internet, but really nothing prepares you for the place. We were a bit late getting there and debated going in, but they don’t close as they also have night tours so we had plenty of time to explore. There was a very knowledgeable young guide who took us around, then left us to explore on our own. The pictures of the waterfall, used to provide hydro electricity in the days when there was none anywhere else, can’t quite do it justice, and to imagine what it is like in flood is impossible, even when you see how far up the steps it got to.

It really is a wonderful creation, largely constructed by Jose, 800 balustrade columns, 500 concrete plant pots, not to mention all the ornate buildings, lily ponds, tennis courts and paths all around the property. Feeding the huge number of fish, eels and turtles in the river has become another visitor attraction. The present owners are very enthusiastic and intend to renovate to get rid of the concrete cancer which is everywhere, while still retaining Jose’s designs throughout.  Photos ..... here.

We then drove on down to our overnight stop at Lacula Lodge, more of which later.

Skyrail and Kuranda Scenic Railway 25th Jan

We collected the car from Avis early and headed off to the Skyrail terminal just north of Cairns. The cable car was not to Ann’s liking (I was scared to death!) but she got used to it eventually. The views out of the gondola were truly fantastic, looking down onto the canopy and out over the city behind. We could see a long way in all directions. The trip is split into three sections and at the end of section one we got out, much to Ann’s relief and joined a guided tour of the rain forest around that station. The eco system was well explained and we saw ferns of all varieties as well as a stick insect and spiders. The trees here are massive and several hundred years old. Lots of vines, aerial roots and strange shapes, which on closer inspection turned out to be massive versions of what we know as house plants in Europe. We were shown a small snake, sunbathing in the undergrowth, but it disappeared before I could focus the camera. At the second station we were shown the magnificent Barron Falls and had several opportunities to view this real torrent. It had rained heavily over the past week in Queensland and this was the spectacular side of the rains. We could also see the KSR on the other side of the gorge where it had stopped so the passengers could view the falls from that side. At this station the guy helping us onto the gondolas pointed out a spider that had caught a large moth. About 4 month’s worth of food he reckoned. The spider itself was about 4 inches long. The last station was Kuranda itself and by now Ann was quite used to the gondola’s habit of almost slowing to a stop and then building up speed again…. Very un-nerving at first. Here we grabbed a beer and settled ourselves, before setting off into the village. The first stop was a small art gallery which was full of didgeridoos, boomerangs and glass art work. If you are reading this Nigel Mason, you will have to come here. The proprietor was working on his computer while awaiting sales and I asked him to Google “Nigel Mason + Glass” which brought up your work.  He was very interested. He even suggested that you would make a fortune if you could make a glass Didge.

We then went on up to the butterfly park where I tried in vain to get a shot of the lovely large Blue ones…. about 5 inches wingspan, but they never settle with their wings open. So only a blur of that I’m afraid. Plenty of others though, and plenty more on the way, as they have a breeding station full to the brim next door. After an ice cream stop we spent the rest of our time in Kuranda perusing the very expensive markets, which sold everything from A1 photos of Ayres Rock for 4,300 Aus $ to uncut but polished stones of random shapes for 2$ each. Also Aboriginal art work and clothing of all sorts. Here I spotted the tee-shirt with the “Today is a gift” logo. We then made out way to the KSR station where we had a cup of tea…. In true Yarrow style, and then started the descent back to Cairns along the historic railtrack passing again Barron Falls and many other waterfalls on the way.  The views from here were equally magnificent though often very brief, as we passed between cuttings and tunnels. There was a very informative commentary throughout, about the terrible conditions and difficulties faced in its construction. At Freshwater station we were taken by coach back to the Skyrail terminus to collect our car. All in all a very memorable day. Photos here.

Ayres Rock to Cairns, Jan 24th

We had to check out before 10am and spent some time before our airport transfer (12.45) looking at some of the other hotel complexes. The “Sails in the Desert” had a very nice art gallery as well as nice architectural details. The weather forecast for the day showed just what we have been having these past few days…… 43 degrees and 10% humidity. A very dry heat that gets you in the throat, like a sauna before you throw water on the coals.

At the airport I took some photos of some pictures of the Rock’s first airport. A bit too close to the rock itself for my liking. One last shot of the Olgas as we took off and then a few more as we descended into Cairns. The sea had a muddy look about it as the rivers had washed so much silt down these past few days. It is not raining now, and tomorrow is said to be OK for our Skyrail trip up into the rain forest. Photos here
Absolute rubbish Internet here in Cairns........ will get back when I can.