Tag: Sydney

Odd thoughts & pics of Sydney

View from our balcony as we boarded the Majestic Princess – one never gets tired of the Sydney Harbour Bridge area.

As we slowly moved from our berth – the fun fair can be seen through the bridge.

Luna Park is the name of the fair, which was opened on this site in October 1936 and is still going.
The bridge was opened in 1932 and once opened the land where Luna Park is located went to tender.
Herman Phillips, his brothers and A. A. Abrahams were looking for a sight to create a fun park, but they were having problems with the local councils and residents. Fortunately, they won the tender and Luna Park as we now know it was opened in 1936.

 The first Luna Park was opened at Coney Island, New York, in 1903.
The above two fun fairs are the only funfairs in the world that are protected by government legislation.

The Opera House, which used to be a tram terminus – the Opera House opened in October 1973.
The point of land is known as Bennelong Point.
In the early 1790s, an Aboriginal man named Bennelong, who was employed by the British as a ‘go between’ between the local Aboriginals and the British, persuaded Governor Philips to build a brick house for him on the point of land. Hence the name.

One of the cheapest way to experience the harbour is to use the local ferries. The cost from the Sydney ferry terminal at Circular Quay to Manly is about $8.80 ($5.50 USD or £4.40) and the time it takes is around 30 minutes.
Manly is on the north side of the harbour near the Gap, and Watson’s Bay is on the south side near the Gap.

Warson’s Bay, which is one of my favourite spots – beach, good restaurant and a pub that offers fish & chips at a reasonable price. 
To walk off lunch it is a short walk and climb to the top of South Head which is a great place to see the harbour and the ocean.

Point Piper

For those with spare cash the view from the above homes across the harbour might be eye watering. A recent sale for a house is thought to have been sold for $69 million ($44.55 million USD or about £35.6 million)- in 2002 the main street of Point Piper was the 9th most expensive street in the world. I don’t have any idea of the street’s ranking today.

The famous ‘heads’ and the ‘gap’ – North head on the left and South head on the right.

Ferry boat cutting across our bow – there wasn’t any danger I had the camera on ‘zoom’. North Head behind the ferryboat.

Approaching the Gap – the vessel on the left is the pilot boat getting ready to take the pilot back to Circular Quay. Not sure about the small vessel on the right.

Pilot boat coming alongside to collect the pilot.
As always it has been pilot’s advice Captain’s orders. The only place where the pilot takes full command of a vessel is during the transit of the Panama Canal.

South Head of Sydney Harbour, pilot has disembarked, full ahead and the cruise has begun.   

Andes

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We flew with KLM’s Boeing 777-300ER (ER = Extended range) from Buenos Aires to Santiago in Chile, so as to connect with the Qantas B 747 to Sydney.

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All went well until we reached the Andes when I realised that I’d left my camera in the overhead bag, and I was sitting in the centre seat of three in economy.
If I asked the passenger next to me to move, so as to allow me to find my camera we’d have missed the Andes and more than likely on landing approach to Santiago, so I used Maureen’s phone.

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I am unable to ID any of the mountains . . .

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I clicked away like mad, but many are uninteresting so I’ve just picked five.

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As a passenger looking out it was quite spectacular, as you can see we had a beautiful clear sky.

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Santiago, Chile, we were in transit at the airport for two and a half hours.

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The flight from Santiago was fourteen hours, and after crossing the dateline into the following, day we arrived home.
I never get tired of photographing the view of Sydney harbour.

 

Walk the walk that never bores.

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I consider myself to be very fortunate to be living in Australia and in particular in a leafy suburb which is a forty minute train ride from the city of Sydney.

For the past twenty odd years, I have walked every morning in my suburb around 6.00 To 6.30 am and I never get tired of the view even when the scenery changes with the seasons.
The change is mainly the light rather than the vegetation, because our local pine trees and gums trees don’t shed their leaves to the same extent as European trees, and in many cases the gum trees shed their bark, rather than their leaves.
At the moment it is still Spring (November) and most of the early flowers have bloomed and died off.
Our National flower the Golden wattle has bloomed and faded.

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I took the above picture just before dawn some weeks ago – the flowers are reflected in a ‘duck pond’, which is really a run off from the surrounding cliffs, but there is a small dam to hold back any rubbish from entering the river.
On leaving home I have a slight climb – my house is at the bottom of this hill.

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bb02Looking down the other side of the hill.

bb03The river below, which is tidal.

bb05I can see fishermen getting ready for an early morning outing.

bb06Bottom of the hill and this view always catches my eye.

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Further along the fishermen are making their ‘tinny’ read. (Tinny = aluminium small boat) A 3.7 mtr tinny boat and trailer can be had for around $950 (USD $720).

bb08Someone is making ready for a dawn kayak paddle.

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The children’s area of the park. A lonely trike forgotten from yesterday – there would have been tears in someone’s home last night.

bb10Part of the park with wood fired BBQ and picnic shelter.

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I prefer the picnic table to overlook the river – the sun is just coming up behind me.

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The notice on the shoal marker states that the speed limit is 8 knots, I doubt that our kayak friend will be breaking the speed limit.

bb14Drinking in the views

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I’ve reached the end of my walk and cannot go any further, so it is time to make tracks home for breakfast.

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My camera is only a point and click, but I tried to use the trees to protect the lens from direct sunlight. Taken as I turned to return home.

dsc07071Homeward bound, the river is now on my right.

dsc07072 Civilisation in the distance.

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This is the end of the road on which I live (it is a cul-de-sac, but quite a long road). The end of the road is behind me.
Further up on the left-hand side, near where the fishermen were putting their boat in the water, there is a bird nesting.

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It has been nesting for the past few weeks and managed to stay alive. Someone has painted a circle around the bird (several metres from the bird) and written that the bird is nesting to keep people away. I have seen foxes around the area, and I am surprised that the bird has not been disturbed.
In this area I have been dive bombed by magpies who are protecting their nest. In certain areas of Sydney children on the way to school wear their peaked hat on backwards to protect the back of their neck from nesting magpies. The attacks don’t go on for long just while they are nesting.

This area also has a number of kookaburras who are meat eater so I don’t hold out much hope for any chicks. The kookaburras around 5.30 am in the Spring are our local ‘dawn chorus’ – not unpleasant unless you’ve had a late night.

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Kookaburras are not frightened of us, so why would they fear a small bird nesting – this fellow joined us in our back garden for lunch.