Sydney & Wagga Wagga

Wow. What an amazing trip. Of all the places I’ve been so far, this has gone straight to number one on the list of where I’d love to bring Anna and the boys. This trip wasn’t as much of a cultural shock as Nicaragua or India (although putting beetroot on a burger was certainly different), but it was a rich experience all the same. Sydney pretty much ticks all the boxes in terms of a great city – architecture, bars and restaurants, beaches, shopping. I’m going to stop there as I’m starting to sound like a travel agent.

We arrived in Sydney two weeks ago at around 7am Saturday morning and feeling like 4pm the day before! So, the best way to fight jet-lag is to go for a long walk. Here’s what we saw…

The William Bligh (of Bounty fame) monument.

I love a good people photograph and this guy sitting outside the Irish pub was irresistible.

We jumped on a ferry to Manly (great name for a town) and got this shot of the Opera House. It truly is an amazing building.

Manly is a pleasant beach town about 30 mins across the harbour from Sydney. I foolishly started the day in jeans and boots thinking that it’s autumn so it’ll be cold outside. A quick visit to a surfer dude shop in Manly and I was all set for the beach.

The following weekend we had pretty much a full day at Bondi Beach, which is more of a bohemian surf community than just a beach. The beach itself is gorgeous – a long crescent with cliffs at both ends and fine, golden sand. The highlight for me was the waves – they were between 6 and 8 feet high and I learned how to body surf by watching the locals: swim as fast as possible when a big one approaches and it just picks you up for a ride if you time it right. What a blast. It did flip me over a couple of times, but it’s a fairly soft landing!

Here’s a picture of Flat Stanley hanging out with the very friendly ladies from Bondi Surf Rescue.

Last Sunday morning I walked alone through ‘The Rocks’, an area of rugged cliffs now turned into a marketplace which leads to the Harbour Bridge. After some boomerang hunting (looking for boomerangs for the boys, not hunting kangaroos or anything), I went to the Museum of Contemporary Art and was unexpectedly blown away, especially by the aboriginal art. At first it looks like thousands of randomly placed dots, but a friendly art gallery assistant later explained that each painting has a story behind it, normally related to the Dreaming – the indigenous Australians belief system. Fascinating stuff.

Other memorable moments of this trip…

• Going to see the Sydney Symphony Orchestra last weekend – I couldn’t quite believe that I was sitting inside the Sydney Opera House. What a treat.
• Bumping into a Rubik’s cube pub crawl in Wagga – some newly-graduated local students were out on the town in various items of clothing in primary colours and the idea is that they swapped clothes throughout the evening and had to end the night all in one colour. Sounds like a fun night out to me!
• Wandering around Paddington – an eclectic area of Victorian terraces and offbeat shops.
• Playing rhythm sticks along with the didgeridoo guy on Darling Harbour.

As beautiful as Australia is, it wouldn’t be the same with the Aussies – laid-back, warm, and fun-loving people. They like a beer, they like their sport, and they can give and take the stick as well as anyone I’ve met. A fun couple of weeks – I hope I’ll be back.

I’ll finish with my favourite photograph of Wagga (taken about five minutes after chasing Kangaroos in a 4x4)…

Stanley in Sydney

I'll write more about wonderful Sydney in another post - I just wanted to get these photographs up to show what fun Stanley has had so far...

We took a boat-trip to nearby Manly, and probably the best shots of the Opera House and the bridge are from the water.

Sydney Harbour Bridge, also taken from the boat, is pretty impressive. Built by a company from Middlesbrough, England, who also built the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle.

There's an option to take a 3-hour climb up to the top, but Stanley doesn't have a head for heights (and, more importantly, a spare $150!).

Here's Stan scaling the side of the Opera House. The fact that he's a little bit hard to see has given me an idea for future photographs...'Spot Stanley' (a la Where's Wally). What do you think?

The outside of the Opera House looks a little like snakeskin from a distance, but actually it's covered in over a million glossy and matte tiles, imported from Sweden.

Stanley enjoying the view from the Sydney Tower, the tallest structure in Sydney. If you look carefully, you should be able to see the top of the Opera House by the water.