Sky was pretty cloudy this morning so we decided to do our last bits of souvenier shopping. We ended up wandering round for a bit and found ourselves down near the opera house, having completed our shopping for the day.
I swear the minute I turned my back Matt was doing a little rain dance, because all of a sudden the heavens opened and down it came! The lengths that lad will go to to avoid walking will never cease to amaze me :)
Been in the hotel this afternoon waiting for online checkin so I thought I'd catch up on the blog for a bit. Weather is still crap so think we will head home tomorrow :)
Sunday, April 22, 2007
A day of rest...
After a big night out at Home nightclub on Saturday night, ending up with a quick trip to Harry's Cafe de Wheels at around 3:50am for a Pie just before closing time, we decided that Sunday should be an easier day.
We had a trip up to Doyles with Ann and Rosh for a somewhat large lunch, and then caught the Ferry back down to Circular Quay. By this point last night was catching up with Matt so he grabbed a cab and went back to bed for a few hours. Ann had already gone off to do something exciting like her washing and ironing, so that left me and Rosh to entertain ourselves. We got a little carried away with the amount of wine we bought at the Hunter Valley last week, so this seemed like as good a chance as any to make use of some of it :). We had a nice chilled afternoon sat outside the hotel with a bottle of wine, waiting for Matt to come round again :).
It then started to rain.... now I'm not being funny but I can get rain at home. I was not happy :).
Matt put in an appearance then so we headed off to Cargo Bar for some tea, then on to shark hotel for some pool. By 11 we had all had it and headed for home!
We had a trip up to Doyles with Ann and Rosh for a somewhat large lunch, and then caught the Ferry back down to Circular Quay. By this point last night was catching up with Matt so he grabbed a cab and went back to bed for a few hours. Ann had already gone off to do something exciting like her washing and ironing, so that left me and Rosh to entertain ourselves. We got a little carried away with the amount of wine we bought at the Hunter Valley last week, so this seemed like as good a chance as any to make use of some of it :). We had a nice chilled afternoon sat outside the hotel with a bottle of wine, waiting for Matt to come round again :).
It then started to rain.... now I'm not being funny but I can get rain at home. I was not happy :).
Matt put in an appearance then so we headed off to Cargo Bar for some tea, then on to shark hotel for some pool. By 11 we had all had it and headed for home!
The Croc Farm.
Saturday was our last morning in Cairns so we decided to take a trip to the crocodile farm. There were a few different events taking place that morning so we decided to tag along and see what happened.
Firstly they take you through to the tanks which contain some of the younger crocodiles they were breeding. The majority of these were still only around 2 years old.
We couldn't actually see the rest that were younger than that as they are kept in warm dark encolsures until a certain age, which aparently they prefer. Can't say as I'm convinced but I guess I'm not the expert on the subject... Apparently they keep the crocs until they reach around 3 years old, at which point they are sold on for their leather and their meat. They fetch around $1000 each at that age. The guy reckoned that there was no wastage from any of the crocodiles either. Apparently they even send the feet off to taxidermists to be turned into back scratchers!
After that we jumped on a boat which takes you round the lakes where the 'display crocs' are. As the boat heads out the crocs clearly know whats happening as they all start to some into the water and swim towards the boat. The guy then sticks a chicken head on the end of a piece of string which is attached to a pole and dangles it over the side. It's amazing how high those crocs can jump just to get their mouths round a chicken head!
The third and final display piece we attended was the feeding of the rest of the crocs. Once again you can see they know whats happening as they all start heading over the where the keepers are when they see them. One keeper heads off down to the side of the pen and distracts some of the crocs while others are fed. It seems they can get a bit nasty at feeding time, so much so that one of the crocs had actually lost both front feet in a previous incident.
After the feeding had finished we decided we had had enough and it was time to make a move. It was about 30 degrees at the time and very humid, so the cars air conditioning was a welcome change.
We headed back down to Cairns to get some lunch and have a last wander round. It wasn't really much better by day than it was by night. Matt said there were lots of attractive young lady backpackers wearing very little around the pool area but I can't say as I noticed ;).
We grabbed some food and then decided the only thing that would help to deal with the heat was a nice James Boag's fresh from a bucket of Ice.... mmmmmmmmm :)
Firstly they take you through to the tanks which contain some of the younger crocodiles they were breeding. The majority of these were still only around 2 years old.
We couldn't actually see the rest that were younger than that as they are kept in warm dark encolsures until a certain age, which aparently they prefer. Can't say as I'm convinced but I guess I'm not the expert on the subject... Apparently they keep the crocs until they reach around 3 years old, at which point they are sold on for their leather and their meat. They fetch around $1000 each at that age. The guy reckoned that there was no wastage from any of the crocodiles either. Apparently they even send the feet off to taxidermists to be turned into back scratchers!
After that we jumped on a boat which takes you round the lakes where the 'display crocs' are. As the boat heads out the crocs clearly know whats happening as they all start to some into the water and swim towards the boat. The guy then sticks a chicken head on the end of a piece of string which is attached to a pole and dangles it over the side. It's amazing how high those crocs can jump just to get their mouths round a chicken head!
The third and final display piece we attended was the feeding of the rest of the crocs. Once again you can see they know whats happening as they all start heading over the where the keepers are when they see them. One keeper heads off down to the side of the pen and distracts some of the crocs while others are fed. It seems they can get a bit nasty at feeding time, so much so that one of the crocs had actually lost both front feet in a previous incident.
After the feeding had finished we decided we had had enough and it was time to make a move. It was about 30 degrees at the time and very humid, so the cars air conditioning was a welcome change.
We headed back down to Cairns to get some lunch and have a last wander round. It wasn't really much better by day than it was by night. Matt said there were lots of attractive young lady backpackers wearing very little around the pool area but I can't say as I noticed ;).
We grabbed some food and then decided the only thing that would help to deal with the heat was a nice James Boag's fresh from a bucket of Ice.... mmmmmmmmm :)
A trip out to Kuranda.
On Friday we took the Skyrail over to Kuranda. It's about a 7.5km ride in a cable car up to Kuranda village. There were a couple of stop offs on the way to Kuranda, including Red Peak station, where a ranger takes you on a short guided walk and points out various plant life and trees, then on to Barron Falls where you have some great views of the waterfalls just below the dam.
We also managed to spot a small lizard known as a skink, and a Golden Orb spider. This was the first time we had actually properly seen these creatures in the wild.
Finally we jumped back on the Skyrail into Kuranda village. Kuranda is a small village, with only around 600 inhabitants, but there are a fair number of aboriginals amongst them. We had a wander through the village and ended up going round a small display of some of Australias most deadly animals. Amongst them were the two deadliest snakes in the world, and I have to say it was a little disconcerting as they were nothing to look at and didn't particulary stand out, yet ranked number 1 and number 3 deadliest. Both can be found in Australia. Great!
After that we went and caught the bus to Rainforestation. It started out, as so many of these tours seem to, by letting you get upclose with a few animals. There were the usual Kangaroos, Koalas, wombats etc with a few differences. Firstly one of the Koalas had a baby in it's pouch :). Additionally there were various different types of crocodile, snakes, Lizards (including one the same as mine - although a bit bigger I accept. I also now know mine is female having seen a male and female together), as well as some Barramundi (very nice fish - to eat at least) and a Cassawary which apparently despite looking nice can be lethal.
The next stage was a ride through the rainforest in an old army duck (officially spelt dukw). An amphibious 6 wheeler which were used as a landing vehicle many years ago. They took us through the rainforest pointing out more plants and wildlife, then into the lake to see some more. We saw more Eastern Water Dragons (same as mine), some of the smallest ever Kangaroos, a turtle, Ulysses Butterflies and some kind of owl.
Following the trip in the ducks we moved on to watch some Aboriginal dancing which was quite interesting. They got 3 of the audience up having a go at the end which was really funny.
After that we had aboriginal demonstrations of spear and boomerang throwing, before finally heading off back down to the Skyrail for the trip back down.
In the evening be decided to go into Cairns for some tea and see what was there. Compared to Sydney you really could blink and miss the place. It seemed nice enough, but not really a lot going on. The beach was pretty crappy also, but to make up for it they have a large swimming pool down by the sea front, and they have also created a little beach around that as well as a park area. It seems to be a popular spot with all the backpackers at least. There were also free to use BBQ's all round the outside of it which must definately be a winner!
We also managed to spot a small lizard known as a skink, and a Golden Orb spider. This was the first time we had actually properly seen these creatures in the wild.
Finally we jumped back on the Skyrail into Kuranda village. Kuranda is a small village, with only around 600 inhabitants, but there are a fair number of aboriginals amongst them. We had a wander through the village and ended up going round a small display of some of Australias most deadly animals. Amongst them were the two deadliest snakes in the world, and I have to say it was a little disconcerting as they were nothing to look at and didn't particulary stand out, yet ranked number 1 and number 3 deadliest. Both can be found in Australia. Great!
After that we went and caught the bus to Rainforestation. It started out, as so many of these tours seem to, by letting you get upclose with a few animals. There were the usual Kangaroos, Koalas, wombats etc with a few differences. Firstly one of the Koalas had a baby in it's pouch :). Additionally there were various different types of crocodile, snakes, Lizards (including one the same as mine - although a bit bigger I accept. I also now know mine is female having seen a male and female together), as well as some Barramundi (very nice fish - to eat at least) and a Cassawary which apparently despite looking nice can be lethal.
The next stage was a ride through the rainforest in an old army duck (officially spelt dukw). An amphibious 6 wheeler which were used as a landing vehicle many years ago. They took us through the rainforest pointing out more plants and wildlife, then into the lake to see some more. We saw more Eastern Water Dragons (same as mine), some of the smallest ever Kangaroos, a turtle, Ulysses Butterflies and some kind of owl.
Following the trip in the ducks we moved on to watch some Aboriginal dancing which was quite interesting. They got 3 of the audience up having a go at the end which was really funny.
After that we had aboriginal demonstrations of spear and boomerang throwing, before finally heading off back down to the Skyrail for the trip back down.
In the evening be decided to go into Cairns for some tea and see what was there. Compared to Sydney you really could blink and miss the place. It seemed nice enough, but not really a lot going on. The beach was pretty crappy also, but to make up for it they have a large swimming pool down by the sea front, and they have also created a little beach around that as well as a park area. It seems to be a popular spot with all the backpackers at least. There were also free to use BBQ's all round the outside of it which must definately be a winner!
Friday, April 20, 2007
Scuba Diving... it's like learning to ride a bike... scary at first but alright when you get the hang of it... so i'm told
So today was the big day for the trip out to the Great Barrier Reef. The coach picked us up this morning and took us out to our QuickSilver Wave Piercer. An impressing looking vessel I have to admit. We all got aboard and made rapid process out to the outer reef at Agincourt where we would be spending our day.
We arrived around 11:45 and were assigned a scuba dive slot of 12:40. By the time we got onto the pontoon we had enough time to grab out suits, flippers and masks and head to where we were to meet ready for the dive. We got the briefing from the instructors on the trip out to the pontoon and there was plenty to remember.
Being honest both Matt and I were feeling more than a little nervous as we began to don our gear, with neither of us ever having done it before. Our instructor was really good and started by getting us used to breathing whilst sat on an underwater platform before heading out to the seabed. It took a bit of getting used to as I was finding I wasn't breathing out far enough initially which made things difficult. The instructor soon set me right on this and I felt a lot happier. We then had to go through some basic safety stuff, including how to clear water from your mask should any get in there, and how to change over to the backup regulator in the event the primary one failed. Not a thought I wanted I can assure you, but after a nervours start we both managed to do them both ok.
Then came time to lower ourselves down using the ropes provided. Every time you drop down a meter you have to hold your nose and blow out through it to pop your ears. This takes some getting used to when you have a regulator stuck in your mouth! By this point (and you will have to excuse my French but I need to tell it how it is) I was shitting myself!
We made it down to the bottom and it is far too easy to panic a bit while down there. Not a pleasant feeling. Thankfully our instructor was obviously used to this sort of thing so if she could see you were struggling, or you indicated to her that you weren't 100% through hand signals she was brilliant at relaxing you, or distracting you so you weren't thinking about things other than the fish, or corals that were around you. We saw all sorts of fish, and clams, including Crusher a Mauri Wrasse. Either way, this thing was bloody massive and very friendly. It was quite happy for you to stroke or pet it which was most odd for a fish.
Onwards we went to giant clams that closed up as you touched them, a sea cucumber that the instructor picked up and handed to each of us in turn, amongst countless types of fish and corals. Crusher made regular appearances too. He seems to like the divers, and the air bubbles they produced.
I can honestly say it was one of the longest and scariest, but at the same time amazing and enjoyable 40 minutes of my life. As we made it back to the boat we were asked if we wanted to go again a little later at half price. Matt and I looked at one another and agreed that we had had enough for one day, bet would definately try it again at another time. We settled for buying a copy of the DVD they make of you down there instead.
After the diving we went snorkelling which was great. Admittedly you didn't see anywhere near as much, but I felt far more comfortable. I suspect this was partially due to having got used to the mask and flippers during the dive, and partly because I could go to the surface whenever I wanted. Either way the time flew while we were snorkelling and it was soon time to head for home.
It was a great day out and a fantastic experience. Tomorrow we are headed for the Skyrail from Carvonica which takes you up into the mountains and rainforests, following a recommendation from Helen. Thanks Cous. Unfortunately the railway is closed currently for maintenance so we have to take the Skyrail in both directions. Oh well - I'm sure it will still be good :).
We arrived around 11:45 and were assigned a scuba dive slot of 12:40. By the time we got onto the pontoon we had enough time to grab out suits, flippers and masks and head to where we were to meet ready for the dive. We got the briefing from the instructors on the trip out to the pontoon and there was plenty to remember.
Being honest both Matt and I were feeling more than a little nervous as we began to don our gear, with neither of us ever having done it before. Our instructor was really good and started by getting us used to breathing whilst sat on an underwater platform before heading out to the seabed. It took a bit of getting used to as I was finding I wasn't breathing out far enough initially which made things difficult. The instructor soon set me right on this and I felt a lot happier. We then had to go through some basic safety stuff, including how to clear water from your mask should any get in there, and how to change over to the backup regulator in the event the primary one failed. Not a thought I wanted I can assure you, but after a nervours start we both managed to do them both ok.
Then came time to lower ourselves down using the ropes provided. Every time you drop down a meter you have to hold your nose and blow out through it to pop your ears. This takes some getting used to when you have a regulator stuck in your mouth! By this point (and you will have to excuse my French but I need to tell it how it is) I was shitting myself!
We made it down to the bottom and it is far too easy to panic a bit while down there. Not a pleasant feeling. Thankfully our instructor was obviously used to this sort of thing so if she could see you were struggling, or you indicated to her that you weren't 100% through hand signals she was brilliant at relaxing you, or distracting you so you weren't thinking about things other than the fish, or corals that were around you. We saw all sorts of fish, and clams, including Crusher a Mauri Wrasse. Either way, this thing was bloody massive and very friendly. It was quite happy for you to stroke or pet it which was most odd for a fish.
Onwards we went to giant clams that closed up as you touched them, a sea cucumber that the instructor picked up and handed to each of us in turn, amongst countless types of fish and corals. Crusher made regular appearances too. He seems to like the divers, and the air bubbles they produced.
I can honestly say it was one of the longest and scariest, but at the same time amazing and enjoyable 40 minutes of my life. As we made it back to the boat we were asked if we wanted to go again a little later at half price. Matt and I looked at one another and agreed that we had had enough for one day, bet would definately try it again at another time. We settled for buying a copy of the DVD they make of you down there instead.
After the diving we went snorkelling which was great. Admittedly you didn't see anywhere near as much, but I felt far more comfortable. I suspect this was partially due to having got used to the mask and flippers during the dive, and partly because I could go to the surface whenever I wanted. Either way the time flew while we were snorkelling and it was soon time to head for home.
It was a great day out and a fantastic experience. Tomorrow we are headed for the Skyrail from Carvonica which takes you up into the mountains and rainforests, following a recommendation from Helen. Thanks Cous. Unfortunately the railway is closed currently for maintenance so we have to take the Skyrail in both directions. Oh well - I'm sure it will still be good :).
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Arrival In Cairns...
First view? Well it's very different from Sydney. We arrived at around 10am on the Wednesday morning to find a fairly close 25 degree heat. It wasn't unpleasant but I definately wanted to get back into shorts and out of the combat pants I travelled in.
We went and picked up our rental car and headed out. The first thing you notice is how much more tropical Cairns feels than Sydney. So many more palm trees, and fields full of what we think is sugar cane plants. There are also signs up warning you off swimming in the river because there may be crocodiles... Nice!
We made our way up the apartment we are staying in which is reasonably pleasant. It's a place called Cairns Beach Resort, which is at Holloway Beach, around 8km North of Cairns. We arrived and had a look round the apartment, and then the surrounding area.
To put it frankly there isn't really a great deal here. A couple of restaurants, and off license, a beach, and a convenience store and that's about your lot.
We decided that as there wasn't a lot else we would have a ride North in the hire car up towards Port Douglas. It was a nice drive along the coast between here and Port Douglas so on the way we stopped in at Palm Cove and another beach a little further up. Both were either deserted, or had a couple of people on them.
One thing I have noticed here is that you tend to catch a glimpse of some form of creatures scurrying away when you walk places which is always a little disconcerting given you haven't a clue what they were.
When we got down onto the second beach we noticed lots of round holes in the beach where something had clearly dug itself a hole. Once again I find myself not sure I want to know what! :)
Had a wander over to some rock pools on the beach and found tiny baby crabs, little fish and even a couple of little lizards, all of which scarpered if you tried to get too close.
We eventually made it up to Port Douglas and found that although it was a bit bigger there wasn't much there either.
Ahh well. The weather was good and it was a nice change in pace from life in Sydney. After a couple of hours we headed back to the apartment and tried one of the local restaurants. The dining area was literally a few feet from the beach and was pretty nice. We had a reasonable meal, and just as we were about to leave one of the waitresses started doing a fire display down on the beach. Have to say she was very good so we hung around until that finished before calling it a night.
We went and picked up our rental car and headed out. The first thing you notice is how much more tropical Cairns feels than Sydney. So many more palm trees, and fields full of what we think is sugar cane plants. There are also signs up warning you off swimming in the river because there may be crocodiles... Nice!
We made our way up the apartment we are staying in which is reasonably pleasant. It's a place called Cairns Beach Resort, which is at Holloway Beach, around 8km North of Cairns. We arrived and had a look round the apartment, and then the surrounding area.
To put it frankly there isn't really a great deal here. A couple of restaurants, and off license, a beach, and a convenience store and that's about your lot.
We decided that as there wasn't a lot else we would have a ride North in the hire car up towards Port Douglas. It was a nice drive along the coast between here and Port Douglas so on the way we stopped in at Palm Cove and another beach a little further up. Both were either deserted, or had a couple of people on them.
One thing I have noticed here is that you tend to catch a glimpse of some form of creatures scurrying away when you walk places which is always a little disconcerting given you haven't a clue what they were.
When we got down onto the second beach we noticed lots of round holes in the beach where something had clearly dug itself a hole. Once again I find myself not sure I want to know what! :)
Had a wander over to some rock pools on the beach and found tiny baby crabs, little fish and even a couple of little lizards, all of which scarpered if you tried to get too close.
We eventually made it up to Port Douglas and found that although it was a bit bigger there wasn't much there either.
Ahh well. The weather was good and it was a nice change in pace from life in Sydney. After a couple of hours we headed back to the apartment and tried one of the local restaurants. The dining area was literally a few feet from the beach and was pretty nice. We had a reasonable meal, and just as we were about to leave one of the waitresses started doing a fire display down on the beach. Have to say she was very good so we hung around until that finished before calling it a night.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Blackmail on the bus to Bronte...
.... but before we get on to that a quick catch up on the past few days is in order.
Sunday we had a ride over to Gary's for a BBQ at lunch time. Gary is an ex pat, who has lived in Sydney for about 7 or 8 years now and work for Microsoft. My first visit to Sydney was to go on a sales mission with Gary and Steve so I've known him for a while now, and made a point of catching up with him last time I was in Sydney so though it would be good to do so again. Gary has moved house since last time I visited him and now lives North of Sydney up near Palm Beach. His new place is fantastic, and has a living room that opens up onto a balcony which has a fabulous view over the bay. Even his toilet has a one way door that lets you see out over the bay from inside, but is mirrored looking in from the outside. A little weird to get used to but fantastic all the same. After the BBQ me and Matt jumped back in the car and had a ride up to Palm beach, which apparently is where Home and Away was filmed. Unfortunately there are no piccies as neither of us took our cameras that day.
We had some great food and a good afternoon anyway and were unsurprised to find that Gary wasn't missing the London lifestyle in the least. Thanks again Gary!
Today Ann has taken us out for the day to show us some of the parts of Sydney tourists wouldn't necessarily see. We started out by going for Yum Cha in China town which was fantastic. You go and sit at your table and the staff wander round with trolleys full of food and you just point out the ones you fancy and away you go. Once you have finished you settle up and thats that. Very nice and very tasty. Had some of the foods I enjoyed more whilst in China which was great. No chickens feet or pigs feet here.... thnak god :).
Next we jumped on the bus to Bronte from where we were going to do a cliff top walk acorss the Bondi. The journey started out fairly quietly and all seemed well until about 10 minutes into the journey. At this point a woman got on and sat behined me and decided to make a phone call to her ex husband and tell him if she he didn't give here $7000 by Friday to buy a car with she was going to the police. This conversation went on for some time and became more and more elaborate as time went on. Seems the guy on the other end of the phone, Beppe, has been a bit of a naughty boy.... Seems his crimes range from Drug smuggling, tax evasion, oh and then failing to pay the correct amount of child support money. She has evidence of what he and his brother have been up to and if she doesn't ghet the $7000, no scratch that it's now gone up to $8000 by 10am Friday she is going to the police to tell her story, and then to the Italian Consolate.
Why she felt the need to have this conversation on a bus at the volume she did god only knows, but I certainly wouldn't want to be in poor old Beppe's shoes. This lady means business!
She got off th bus shortly afterwards and left us to finish our journey in peace. We made it to Bronte which was a very beautifull little seaside area which I suspect is not cheap to buy land in! We made it down to the cliff side walk and got some fantastic views as we headed over to Bondi. Along the walk we saw our first spiders in their natural habitat, along with a bloke I presume to be homeless camped out in the cliffs overlooking Bondi. Not a bad place to live I guess.
Bondi was very nice and we spent a bit of time on the beach and having a bit of a paddle in the water. Saw a couple of young lads trying to do some weird variation of surfing using what looked like McDonalds trays which gave us a good laugh.
After a bit of time on the beach we wandered up to the shops and bars and went for a couple of beers and games of pool while we waited for our 6pm dinner reservation at a Steak and Ribs place. We sat and had dinner, then finally made our way back up to the City.
One final drink at Opera bar was in order, and we found a massive cruise liner sat in the harbour ready to set out. God only knows how those things actually manage to keep afloat. It was so big I'm certain it wouldn't have been able to pass beneath the harbour bridge!
Well another day out done. Thanks to Ann for taking the day off work to take us out today. It was a good day out and nice to do something a bit different.
First thing tomorrow we head off for Cairns. Yay :). Looking forwards to that one! Will no doubt have more updates for you then!
Sunday we had a ride over to Gary's for a BBQ at lunch time. Gary is an ex pat, who has lived in Sydney for about 7 or 8 years now and work for Microsoft. My first visit to Sydney was to go on a sales mission with Gary and Steve so I've known him for a while now, and made a point of catching up with him last time I was in Sydney so though it would be good to do so again. Gary has moved house since last time I visited him and now lives North of Sydney up near Palm Beach. His new place is fantastic, and has a living room that opens up onto a balcony which has a fabulous view over the bay. Even his toilet has a one way door that lets you see out over the bay from inside, but is mirrored looking in from the outside. A little weird to get used to but fantastic all the same. After the BBQ me and Matt jumped back in the car and had a ride up to Palm beach, which apparently is where Home and Away was filmed. Unfortunately there are no piccies as neither of us took our cameras that day.
We had some great food and a good afternoon anyway and were unsurprised to find that Gary wasn't missing the London lifestyle in the least. Thanks again Gary!
Today Ann has taken us out for the day to show us some of the parts of Sydney tourists wouldn't necessarily see. We started out by going for Yum Cha in China town which was fantastic. You go and sit at your table and the staff wander round with trolleys full of food and you just point out the ones you fancy and away you go. Once you have finished you settle up and thats that. Very nice and very tasty. Had some of the foods I enjoyed more whilst in China which was great. No chickens feet or pigs feet here.... thnak god :).
Next we jumped on the bus to Bronte from where we were going to do a cliff top walk acorss the Bondi. The journey started out fairly quietly and all seemed well until about 10 minutes into the journey. At this point a woman got on and sat behined me and decided to make a phone call to her ex husband and tell him if she he didn't give here $7000 by Friday to buy a car with she was going to the police. This conversation went on for some time and became more and more elaborate as time went on. Seems the guy on the other end of the phone, Beppe, has been a bit of a naughty boy.... Seems his crimes range from Drug smuggling, tax evasion, oh and then failing to pay the correct amount of child support money. She has evidence of what he and his brother have been up to and if she doesn't ghet the $7000, no scratch that it's now gone up to $8000 by 10am Friday she is going to the police to tell her story, and then to the Italian Consolate.
Why she felt the need to have this conversation on a bus at the volume she did god only knows, but I certainly wouldn't want to be in poor old Beppe's shoes. This lady means business!
She got off th bus shortly afterwards and left us to finish our journey in peace. We made it to Bronte which was a very beautifull little seaside area which I suspect is not cheap to buy land in! We made it down to the cliff side walk and got some fantastic views as we headed over to Bondi. Along the walk we saw our first spiders in their natural habitat, along with a bloke I presume to be homeless camped out in the cliffs overlooking Bondi. Not a bad place to live I guess.
Bondi was very nice and we spent a bit of time on the beach and having a bit of a paddle in the water. Saw a couple of young lads trying to do some weird variation of surfing using what looked like McDonalds trays which gave us a good laugh.
After a bit of time on the beach we wandered up to the shops and bars and went for a couple of beers and games of pool while we waited for our 6pm dinner reservation at a Steak and Ribs place. We sat and had dinner, then finally made our way back up to the City.
One final drink at Opera bar was in order, and we found a massive cruise liner sat in the harbour ready to set out. God only knows how those things actually manage to keep afloat. It was so big I'm certain it wouldn't have been able to pass beneath the harbour bridge!
Well another day out done. Thanks to Ann for taking the day off work to take us out today. It was a good day out and nice to do something a bit different.
First thing tomorrow we head off for Cairns. Yay :). Looking forwards to that one! Will no doubt have more updates for you then!
Monday, April 16, 2007
To Hunter Valley...hic!
We spent the day yesterday in Hunter Valley on a tour of some of the wineries.
So after climbing aboard the minibus at 8am and a trip over the Harbour Bridge (nice not to be walking over it this time :) our first stop was at another wildlife park for a cup of coffee and a lamington, all the while there were kangaroos and wallabies having their breakfast.
Then it was back aboard the bus for a trip along the convict trail, which was a road built by convicts heading north of Sydney, until we stopped in Wooloomgi at a pub for a sample of Dr Jurds Jungle Juice. Apparently he used to go round the wineries collecting all the old wine, and wine that didn't work, and the stuff from the tasting spitoons and stick it all in a barrel in his back garden, add some secret ingredients and then bottle and sell it. He was doing a roaring trade until health and safety showed up and shut him down. Now the pub sells a fortified wine named after his creation, and it was quite nice!
Onwards, to our first winery and our first tasting. Which was at the Brokenwood vinyards, where we tasted a fine selection of whites and reds, something like 12 or 15 or so... There were some very nice wines there and we ended up buying one or two bottles ;)
By now the wine was having it's effect, and it was off for some dinner at the Blue Tongue brewery, along with 4 wines to taste with it. Once we had polished those off it was straight to the bar to sample the local beers, they had a really nice alcoholic ginger beer, oh and also sample a few more of the wines as well... it was getting harder to remember which were good by this time.
After lunch it was off to a chocolate shop, where we sampled some of their chocolates, they had a bar that was pure cocoa, which I liked but Dan wasn't keen on, judging by the face he pulled whilst eating it. But they also had chilli chocolate, which was fantastic. A bag of which accidentally fell into the basket and ended up being paid for.
Then finally it was on to our last wine tasting session at the Coopers winery, a really small place with only one vinyard growing Chardonnay grapes, they buy in all the other grapes they use to make their wines. We also got to try some nice local cheeses with the wines we tasted, and the host who was explaining the wines seemed to be pretty knowledgable. This place sold a sparkling shiraz, which after the few I have tried back home I had to get a bottle.
By then it was late afternoon and we started the return trip to the ciddy... a couple of hours later we were back in the hotel, getting ready to go out... to the Shark Hotel!
So after climbing aboard the minibus at 8am and a trip over the Harbour Bridge (nice not to be walking over it this time :) our first stop was at another wildlife park for a cup of coffee and a lamington, all the while there were kangaroos and wallabies having their breakfast.
Then it was back aboard the bus for a trip along the convict trail, which was a road built by convicts heading north of Sydney, until we stopped in Wooloomgi at a pub for a sample of Dr Jurds Jungle Juice. Apparently he used to go round the wineries collecting all the old wine, and wine that didn't work, and the stuff from the tasting spitoons and stick it all in a barrel in his back garden, add some secret ingredients and then bottle and sell it. He was doing a roaring trade until health and safety showed up and shut him down. Now the pub sells a fortified wine named after his creation, and it was quite nice!
Onwards, to our first winery and our first tasting. Which was at the Brokenwood vinyards, where we tasted a fine selection of whites and reds, something like 12 or 15 or so... There were some very nice wines there and we ended up buying one or two bottles ;)
By now the wine was having it's effect, and it was off for some dinner at the Blue Tongue brewery, along with 4 wines to taste with it. Once we had polished those off it was straight to the bar to sample the local beers, they had a really nice alcoholic ginger beer, oh and also sample a few more of the wines as well... it was getting harder to remember which were good by this time.
After lunch it was off to a chocolate shop, where we sampled some of their chocolates, they had a bar that was pure cocoa, which I liked but Dan wasn't keen on, judging by the face he pulled whilst eating it. But they also had chilli chocolate, which was fantastic. A bag of which accidentally fell into the basket and ended up being paid for.
Then finally it was on to our last wine tasting session at the Coopers winery, a really small place with only one vinyard growing Chardonnay grapes, they buy in all the other grapes they use to make their wines. We also got to try some nice local cheeses with the wines we tasted, and the host who was explaining the wines seemed to be pretty knowledgable. This place sold a sparkling shiraz, which after the few I have tried back home I had to get a bottle.
By then it was late afternoon and we started the return trip to the ciddy... a couple of hours later we were back in the hotel, getting ready to go out... to the Shark Hotel!
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Our decisions are like buses...
...we hadn't made any for ages then heaps come along at once!
We have our trip to Cairns booked, and we have now booked a Great Barrier Reef trip including scuba dive, and we also booked a trip to Hunter Valley, which we are doing today!
Woo hoo!
We have our trip to Cairns booked, and we have now booked a Great Barrier Reef trip including scuba dive, and we also booked a trip to Hunter Valley, which we are doing today!
Woo hoo!
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Did you know that a Koala had two thumbs, or that a wombats pooh was square....?
.... No? Neither did we until today! Yesterday we sat and had a look through the mountains of tourist information leaflets we seem to have acquired since being here in search of something to do today. We found a leaflet advertising trips to see dolphins in Jervis Bay with a company called Surf Kangaroo which
Sounded pretty interesting so we thought we would give that a go.
So we called and booked it yesterday and were told to be outside the central hostel at 7:30 am this morning.... Now I have to say the thought of being up at
Such a time on a Saturday did not fill me with pleasure, but never the less we made it in time for our guide for the day, Steve to pick us up in his bus.
From the very start I have to say that Steve was absolutely brilliant. He had us smiling and laughing the entire day and was an absolute mine of information that admittedly I will probably never need (unless I start taking part in Ozzie pub quizzes), although it was interesting all the same.
The day started out with a trip to Simbijo Wildlife Park, where we got to meet a Koala close up. The handler brought it out and let you stroke it and stand with it, although apparently it's illegal for you to hold one in NSW unless you have been on the course.... weird!
Next stop was Kiama to see the blowhole - basically a hole in the rock where the tide comes in that causes water to spurt into the air if the waves are big enough when they crash into the coast. It was a nice area and the blow hole was pretty cool too, but we soon had to move on.
Next was Berry, a historic town local to the area. Here you got the chance to have a wander round and do a bit of shopping if you wanted too. Had a look in the window of an estate agents to see how local prices compared with home, and although they were a bit higher than Belper costs in the main they weren't too unreasonable.
Back on the bus we went and on to Jervis Bay. Steve was telling us that when Captain Cook originally landed he had mistakenly marked Jervis Bay as a swamp land area. It was thanks to his mistake that Jervis Bay is still home to the local population of around 70 dolphins that live in the area. Apparently the area is very rich in a particular kind of sea weed which keeps the water very fresh, which allows certain kinds of bacteria to grow. This attracts larger creatures which eat these bacteria, which in turn attracts larger and larger predators until you reach the dolphins. Many of the other bays nearer Sydney no longer have this sea weed because of boats anchoring, and people fishing with nets, or dragging channels out the bays so that larger and larger ships can get in.
Eventually the Ozzie government came to realise the damage they were causing and how important Jervis Bay had now become and designated it as a protected area so that the naturally occurring sea weed won't be disturbed and therefore not upsetting the balance of the eco system.
We arrived in Jervis bay just in time for a picnic lunch and a quick wander down the white sandy beaches, before heading off on the boat. It was a very beautiful area I have to say.
We got on the boat out into Jervis bay and for the first hour things were looking pretty bleak in terms of seeing the dolphins. Eventually a group of 7 or 8 dolphins showed up around the boat including a mother and her young one. They were fantastic to watch, but I have to say that trying to get a good photo of a dolphin on a boat loaded with other people all trying to do the same thing is far from easy! Needless to say we failed miserably, and for this trip at least flipper and friends will have to remain the one that got away.
Back on the bus, this time heading for Kangaroo Valley to see if we could spot some other wildlife. One thing that really shocked me was just how green everything looks outside of the city. I remember being in Oz about 13 or 14 years ago and just how dry and brown everything was outside of the cities.
Apparently there have been a few good rain falls around Sydney this year which is the reason things are looking so nice.
We arrived in Kangaroo valley and managed to not only spot Kangaroos, but Wallabies, wombats, kookaburras’ and some other beautifully coloured birds all within the space of about 15 minutes.
Back to the bus we went again, for our final stop of the day Fitzroy falls. Unfortunately by the time we made it to the falls the light had almost gone (due to the boat being late back in and putting us behind schedule), but the last glimpses of the sun setting over the valley still looked pretty impressive as you can see.
Finally we made the trip back into the city, getting back for about 8pm. We must have driven around 400km in total that day, but I have to say that it didn't feel anything like that much due to the way the trip was arranged and in particular the quality of the guide. It makes a nice change to come across someone doing that sort of job that is so enthusiastic about what they do and that managed to make it such an enjoyable day all round. Would thoroughly recommend it to anyone!
I think on that note I've said quite enough so I shall leave it with our resident food and drink correspondent to fill you in on the evening activities.
Sounded pretty interesting so we thought we would give that a go.
So we called and booked it yesterday and were told to be outside the central hostel at 7:30 am this morning.... Now I have to say the thought of being up at
Such a time on a Saturday did not fill me with pleasure, but never the less we made it in time for our guide for the day, Steve to pick us up in his bus.
From the very start I have to say that Steve was absolutely brilliant. He had us smiling and laughing the entire day and was an absolute mine of information that admittedly I will probably never need (unless I start taking part in Ozzie pub quizzes), although it was interesting all the same.
The day started out with a trip to Simbijo Wildlife Park, where we got to meet a Koala close up. The handler brought it out and let you stroke it and stand with it, although apparently it's illegal for you to hold one in NSW unless you have been on the course.... weird!
Next stop was Kiama to see the blowhole - basically a hole in the rock where the tide comes in that causes water to spurt into the air if the waves are big enough when they crash into the coast. It was a nice area and the blow hole was pretty cool too, but we soon had to move on.
Next was Berry, a historic town local to the area. Here you got the chance to have a wander round and do a bit of shopping if you wanted too. Had a look in the window of an estate agents to see how local prices compared with home, and although they were a bit higher than Belper costs in the main they weren't too unreasonable.
Back on the bus we went and on to Jervis Bay. Steve was telling us that when Captain Cook originally landed he had mistakenly marked Jervis Bay as a swamp land area. It was thanks to his mistake that Jervis Bay is still home to the local population of around 70 dolphins that live in the area. Apparently the area is very rich in a particular kind of sea weed which keeps the water very fresh, which allows certain kinds of bacteria to grow. This attracts larger creatures which eat these bacteria, which in turn attracts larger and larger predators until you reach the dolphins. Many of the other bays nearer Sydney no longer have this sea weed because of boats anchoring, and people fishing with nets, or dragging channels out the bays so that larger and larger ships can get in.
Eventually the Ozzie government came to realise the damage they were causing and how important Jervis Bay had now become and designated it as a protected area so that the naturally occurring sea weed won't be disturbed and therefore not upsetting the balance of the eco system.
We arrived in Jervis bay just in time for a picnic lunch and a quick wander down the white sandy beaches, before heading off on the boat. It was a very beautiful area I have to say.
We got on the boat out into Jervis bay and for the first hour things were looking pretty bleak in terms of seeing the dolphins. Eventually a group of 7 or 8 dolphins showed up around the boat including a mother and her young one. They were fantastic to watch, but I have to say that trying to get a good photo of a dolphin on a boat loaded with other people all trying to do the same thing is far from easy! Needless to say we failed miserably, and for this trip at least flipper and friends will have to remain the one that got away.
Back on the bus, this time heading for Kangaroo Valley to see if we could spot some other wildlife. One thing that really shocked me was just how green everything looks outside of the city. I remember being in Oz about 13 or 14 years ago and just how dry and brown everything was outside of the cities.
Apparently there have been a few good rain falls around Sydney this year which is the reason things are looking so nice.
We arrived in Kangaroo valley and managed to not only spot Kangaroos, but Wallabies, wombats, kookaburras’ and some other beautifully coloured birds all within the space of about 15 minutes.
Back to the bus we went again, for our final stop of the day Fitzroy falls. Unfortunately by the time we made it to the falls the light had almost gone (due to the boat being late back in and putting us behind schedule), but the last glimpses of the sun setting over the valley still looked pretty impressive as you can see.
Finally we made the trip back into the city, getting back for about 8pm. We must have driven around 400km in total that day, but I have to say that it didn't feel anything like that much due to the way the trip was arranged and in particular the quality of the guide. It makes a nice change to come across someone doing that sort of job that is so enthusiastic about what they do and that managed to make it such an enjoyable day all round. Would thoroughly recommend it to anyone!
I think on that note I've said quite enough so I shall leave it with our resident food and drink correspondent to fill you in on the evening activities.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Breaking News:.... Dan and Matt actually make a decision :)
After much deliberation we have decided to head up to Cairns next week. We fly up early Wednesday morning and return on the Saturday evening in time to catch up with Saz for a few beers, many games of pool and no doubt visits to The Shark Bar, Jacksons, the 3 wise monkeys and Liverpool St Kebab House.
Awwww Yeahhhhhh :)
Awwww Yeahhhhhh :)
When I say "jump", you say "how high?"
So we're onto the walking now... Drill Sgt Sadler had me trying to keep up with him on our trek around Sydney. He set a steady pace and I was never out of breath... yeah right! :)
Although to be fair there were some amazing views and I got to use my new camera and lens, so it's all good.
Here's a couple of shots that I took:
There'll be heaps more on my flickr site, when I get to uploading them:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/im_djmatty
Right, we're off to do stuff now, expect more posts later!
Although to be fair there were some amazing views and I got to use my new camera and lens, so it's all good.
Here's a couple of shots that I took:
There'll be heaps more on my flickr site, when I get to uploading them:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/im_djmatty
Right, we're off to do stuff now, expect more posts later!
A steady day.... at least thats what I told Matt :)
So yesterday we decided to do a bit of shopping and have a bit easier day (also could be read as we couldn't decide what to do :) ). Having tried to take some pictures of the Sydney skyline while we were here I was finding that the lenses I had for my camera just weren't giving me a wide enough view to do what I wanted to do, so off to the camera shop(s) we went.... all 8 of them, until I was satisfied that we had found a good price (comes from having a father that likes a bargain I think). Are you proud of me Dad? ;)
At the first of the camera shops we went into I tested a couple of different lenses to see what the pictures were like and pretty much decided which one I wanted straight away. Having found the lens I liked and found a good price we decided it was worth going back to the hotel to check the Internet to make sure the lens was a good lens, and that we couldn't buy it cheaper at home or anywhere on the Internet.
Sorted all that out and back to the shops we went. I have to admit I am a terribly bad influence when it comes to spending money (get that one from my Mother :) ) and so poor old Matt (he is now :) ) ended up buying not only the same lens, but a nice new camera to go with it :). Who needs a car with an engine anyway ;) (For those who don't understand what I'm on about Matts engine in his Evo blew up a few weeks before we came away..... lets just say a new one isn't cheap!).
That pretty much took up most of the day so we decided to put the new equipment to the test that evening and get some night time pictures of the city. For those who haven't had the pleasure of visiting Sydney at night I can't begin to describe how amazing it looks. By day it's not bad, but as night falls it really does just become something else. It must have been an hour or so before dark, so a couple of beers were in order to pass the time. We had our first beer then nipped back to the hotel to sort out what we needed to take with us for the evening. It was at this point I realised my lens hood from another camera lens was missing.... Oh bugger. I mentioned it to Matt and he said he remembered the guy at the shop where we tried the lenses struggling to get a hood to fit a lens, then sticking it back in the box anyway. A quick march back to the shop and after a little suspicion from another shop attendant about the validity of my claim he checked the case and sure enough there it was.
Another swift beer required!
Darkness started to close on the city, so we headed off to the far side of the harbour bridge to take some pics. We must have spent about an hour over there before finally catching the ferry back to Darling Harbour. You can see some of the results of the efforts here:
Now your probably wondering why I rabbled on with so many details as I have. Two reasons really. Firstly we didn't actually do that much yesterday so there isn't all that much to talk about. Secondly would be the walking.... Any of you who have ever been out walking anywhere with me would know that I'm not bothered in the least by walking to places and I tend to do it at a fair old pace.... So yesterday we went round the shops, back to the hotel, back to the shops, back to the hotel, back to the shops, up and over the harbour bridge... I'm sure your getting the idea it wasn't a short walk :). Matt does NOT love walking and I'm sure you will hear some of his complaints to this effect in the very near future.... He did well though to be fair to him... I think it was the promise that we could go for a beer and a curry at the end that kept him going.
Shame that by the time we got to the curry house at 9:45 they had stopped serving... What sort of curry house stops serving at that time I ask you!
We are currently trying to decide what to do for the coming days and have a few ideas. We are considering the idea of seeing some sort of performance at the Opera House (yes I said Opera House - stop laughing!) and also a trip out Sea Fishing, and maybe a trip to Hunter Valley to try / buy some wine :).
There is also talk of leaving Sydney for a few days next week, maybe heading up to Cairns to go see the Barrier Reef and the whit sundays, or a few other bits, or possibly to Alice Springs to check that out. If any of the Ozzies reading this have any ideas of places that are worth a look then please shout up.
Right enough for me for one day. Hope everyone is well.
Oh... ps... did I mention it's still about 26 degrees? :D
At the first of the camera shops we went into I tested a couple of different lenses to see what the pictures were like and pretty much decided which one I wanted straight away. Having found the lens I liked and found a good price we decided it was worth going back to the hotel to check the Internet to make sure the lens was a good lens, and that we couldn't buy it cheaper at home or anywhere on the Internet.
Sorted all that out and back to the shops we went. I have to admit I am a terribly bad influence when it comes to spending money (get that one from my Mother :) ) and so poor old Matt (he is now :) ) ended up buying not only the same lens, but a nice new camera to go with it :). Who needs a car with an engine anyway ;) (For those who don't understand what I'm on about Matts engine in his Evo blew up a few weeks before we came away..... lets just say a new one isn't cheap!).
That pretty much took up most of the day so we decided to put the new equipment to the test that evening and get some night time pictures of the city. For those who haven't had the pleasure of visiting Sydney at night I can't begin to describe how amazing it looks. By day it's not bad, but as night falls it really does just become something else. It must have been an hour or so before dark, so a couple of beers were in order to pass the time. We had our first beer then nipped back to the hotel to sort out what we needed to take with us for the evening. It was at this point I realised my lens hood from another camera lens was missing.... Oh bugger. I mentioned it to Matt and he said he remembered the guy at the shop where we tried the lenses struggling to get a hood to fit a lens, then sticking it back in the box anyway. A quick march back to the shop and after a little suspicion from another shop attendant about the validity of my claim he checked the case and sure enough there it was.
Another swift beer required!
Darkness started to close on the city, so we headed off to the far side of the harbour bridge to take some pics. We must have spent about an hour over there before finally catching the ferry back to Darling Harbour. You can see some of the results of the efforts here:
Now your probably wondering why I rabbled on with so many details as I have. Two reasons really. Firstly we didn't actually do that much yesterday so there isn't all that much to talk about. Secondly would be the walking.... Any of you who have ever been out walking anywhere with me would know that I'm not bothered in the least by walking to places and I tend to do it at a fair old pace.... So yesterday we went round the shops, back to the hotel, back to the shops, back to the hotel, back to the shops, up and over the harbour bridge... I'm sure your getting the idea it wasn't a short walk :). Matt does NOT love walking and I'm sure you will hear some of his complaints to this effect in the very near future.... He did well though to be fair to him... I think it was the promise that we could go for a beer and a curry at the end that kept him going.
Shame that by the time we got to the curry house at 9:45 they had stopped serving... What sort of curry house stops serving at that time I ask you!
We are currently trying to decide what to do for the coming days and have a few ideas. We are considering the idea of seeing some sort of performance at the Opera House (yes I said Opera House - stop laughing!) and also a trip out Sea Fishing, and maybe a trip to Hunter Valley to try / buy some wine :).
There is also talk of leaving Sydney for a few days next week, maybe heading up to Cairns to go see the Barrier Reef and the whit sundays, or a few other bits, or possibly to Alice Springs to check that out. If any of the Ozzies reading this have any ideas of places that are worth a look then please shout up.
Right enough for me for one day. Hope everyone is well.
Oh... ps... did I mention it's still about 26 degrees? :D
What's that Skippy...
...someone's eating you? Strewth!
Well Skippy sure tasted great on a Pizza! Which is what I had for my tea on weds night after we had met up with Ann and Rosh for a few beers first.
This was at the cargo bar which is just across Darling Harbour from our hotel.
Hehe, I guess you can see a theme starting with my posts... they are fast becoming all related to food, no surprise there then!
Right, it's breakfast time, and it actually feels like it as well, 9am here and I think we're getting used to the timezones now. So off for raisin toast and coffee, unless we accidentally stumble into an 'all day breakfast' place... ;) Oh and there is a place here that does kebabs, at 9am... it's like a dream come true.
Well Skippy sure tasted great on a Pizza! Which is what I had for my tea on weds night after we had met up with Ann and Rosh for a few beers first.
This was at the cargo bar which is just across Darling Harbour from our hotel.
Hehe, I guess you can see a theme starting with my posts... they are fast becoming all related to food, no surprise there then!
Right, it's breakfast time, and it actually feels like it as well, 9am here and I think we're getting used to the timezones now. So off for raisin toast and coffee, unless we accidentally stumble into an 'all day breakfast' place... ;) Oh and there is a place here that does kebabs, at 9am... it's like a dream come true.
Doyles...
...what can I say other than fantastic. Just a short ferry journey from the ciddy to Watsons Bay, and Doyles is just on the beach next to the ferry wharf.
I took this on my phone (so the picture is a bit crap... compared to the others in the blog anyway!), while we were waiting for the return ferry.
We were sat in the sun at the edge of the restaurant, scoffing Yellowfin tuna steak and mash, cooked to perfection.
Hehe, I am going on about it, but people that have been will know what I'm on about.
It was a bit of a rush getting there as we caught the 2nd to last ferry, the last one being only an hour or so later, and when we got there we found out that the kitchen was closing in 10 mins or so, so we hastily ordered, but then everything slowed down a little and we enjoyed our dinner!
I took this on my phone (so the picture is a bit crap... compared to the others in the blog anyway!), while we were waiting for the return ferry.
We were sat in the sun at the edge of the restaurant, scoffing Yellowfin tuna steak and mash, cooked to perfection.
Hehe, I am going on about it, but people that have been will know what I'm on about.
It was a bit of a rush getting there as we caught the 2nd to last ferry, the last one being only an hour or so later, and when we got there we found out that the kitchen was closing in 10 mins or so, so we hastily ordered, but then everything slowed down a little and we enjoyed our dinner!
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
National Maritime Museum. Yes, I said museum...
...took the opportunity yesterday to visit the National Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour. They had a museumy bit which wasn't that great... although they had the fastest boat in the world which has the record of over 300mph. The video of it looked crazy, it didn't look like it was gonna stay on the water and it looked very unstable.
The good bit was that they had 2 naval boats, HMAS Vampire (a daring class destroyer) and HMAS Onslow (an oberon class submarine), which you could go on and have a look round.
The destroyers gun turrets are not secured to the ship and if it lists to one side over so many degrees they fall off! Apparently it's to ensure that the ship can right itself.
The submarine was impressive, it was tiny inside, amazing that 69 people would be on board at once.
One thing is for certain, me and Dan would not make good seamen (*cough*), i'm too wide and he's too tall.
Well it was interesting and gave us something to do to pass the time until the important stuff of the day... dinner... at Doyles!
The good bit was that they had 2 naval boats, HMAS Vampire (a daring class destroyer) and HMAS Onslow (an oberon class submarine), which you could go on and have a look round.
The destroyers gun turrets are not secured to the ship and if it lists to one side over so many degrees they fall off! Apparently it's to ensure that the ship can right itself.
The submarine was impressive, it was tiny inside, amazing that 69 people would be on board at once.
One thing is for certain, me and Dan would not make good seamen (*cough*), i'm too wide and he's too tall.
Well it was interesting and gave us something to do to pass the time until the important stuff of the day... dinner... at Doyles!
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
I hate winter....
So today was our first proper day in Sydney, and given it was the first day of our holidays we obviously took it easy and had nice lay in this morning..... Yeah right.... Like jetlag has ever been so kind. having both woken up by around 5:30am with little or no hope of returning to sleep, we decided to have a look what time sunrise was and have a wander out with our cameras and see what we could see. Sure enough we got some great views of early morning Sydney, and with any luck some pictures to go with it. Check these out:
We ended up walking across the harbour bridge, and into a rather nice area of Sydney which was clearly intended for those with lots of money..... I'm pretty sure a view of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge from your front room window doesn't come cheap!
About 10am we decided enough was enough and headed back to the hotel via ferry. We went and found some breakfast, then on to Taronga Zoo for the day. The Zoo was pretty good, and th one show of the day we did manage to catch - the Bird show was fantastic. Birds swooping down low over the audience then doing anything from flying out to a member of the crowd and snatching a 2 dollar coin from their hand, then returning it minutes later, right through to the bird that broke open an emu egg using a nearby rock. It was all very impressive.
We ended up walking across the harbour bridge, and into a rather nice area of Sydney which was clearly intended for those with lots of money..... I'm pretty sure a view of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge from your front room window doesn't come cheap!
About 10am we decided enough was enough and headed back to the hotel via ferry. We went and found some breakfast, then on to Taronga Zoo for the day. The Zoo was pretty good, and th one show of the day we did manage to catch - the Bird show was fantastic. Birds swooping down low over the audience then doing anything from flying out to a member of the crowd and snatching a 2 dollar coin from their hand, then returning it minutes later, right through to the bird that broke open an emu egg using a nearby rock. It was all very impressive.
By the time we had finished we were both shattered and just wanted to get some lunch / tea. We'd planned on going to Doyles in Watsons bay, but the Ferries let us down so ended up eating round Darling Harbour instead. It was very pleasant, but standing up after sitting down for a little over an hour was hard work given the day we just had. I just got out the bath and decided to add in the days events before heading out for the evening. Matt however is asleep so plans for going out this evening may well get aborted.... given how tired I feel currently I can't really say I'm bothered.
Finally on the subject of Winter.... Yesterday was 23 degrees C, today was 26 Degrees C, both having copious amounts of sunshine and generally great weather. I'm already catching the sun despite sun tan lotion, and will happily make you all sick with my tan on my return. If this is Winter then please let it be winter all year round!
Finally on the subject of Winter.... Yesterday was 23 degrees C, today was 26 Degrees C, both having copious amounts of sunshine and generally great weather. I'm already catching the sun despite sun tan lotion, and will happily make you all sick with my tan on my return. If this is Winter then please let it be winter all year round!
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