Auckland from the bay and above

This morning the sun was doing and in a country where you are never more than 80 miles from the sea it was easy to decide on a day on the water with a cruise the nearest islands within the Bay. As we left
Auckland Harbour we cruised up river to the harbour bridge (not a patch on 'the bridge' in Sydney).

Gutsy punters can bungee from Auckland's bridge and we stopped off briefly to cheer on a nervy jumper that was in need of some encouragement. Then it was onto the West Haven harbour, the biggest
harbour in NZ. She had 1854 berths with a 5 year waiting list to acquire a berth!

With a hours cruising under our belts we stopped off at the Rangitoto Island, a 600 year old now dormant volcano.  Rangitoto forms part of the Hauraki Marine Park a significant Auckland landmark. Not so well known on the island are the three small cottage like buildings known as Bach settlements. Built back in the 20 and 30s they have now been lovingly restored and the next stage was going to be to rent them out as holiday lets. The interiors were just great. The finish detail was just excellent.

Across the bay is Devonport which boasts pretty Victorian villas, sandy beaches and strong cafe culture. We easily killed a few hours wandering around here. NZ so far is really impressing us.

High above Devonport cafes is Mount Victoria. 283 ft above sea level its Devonports highest volcanic cone of which you can walk right in to. From the top it gave some great views back city and other surrounding islands. The mount was last fortified by the infamous 'disappearing gun' basically a 8 ton gun that used to rise and then fall to be reloaded once fired. Prior to this 4 x muzzle guns from HMS Nelson did the job. Long before the arrival of the Europeans though the Maori also used to man this point high above the Victoria Harbour.

As it was our last evening in town just couldn't resist a quick trip up Aucklands 'Sky Tower'. The tallest man-made structure in NZ standing at 1076 feet. That's taller than the Eiffel Tower. To walk up it takes just under half an hour but a quick 40 seconds ride in the glass bottomed lift and your up top at the Sky viewing

deck perched at 722 ft. As noted in our hotel guide, NZ is known for it's earthquakes and the tower has been built with this in mind. The tower should be able to with stand a 8.0 on the Richter scale. In high winds up to 125 mph she sways around a metre at the revolving restaurant level! Hmmm. From the best vantage point in the city it gives some great of the surrounding volcanic mountain cones stretching right out into the

Hauraki Gulf. Normally it's possible to see for 50 odd miles in any direction. Tonight though there were a few storm clouds hanging around but these gave some great photo shots.

Know your waka from your haka's

The islands of the long white cloud. Our first stop, Auckland, north island, the city of sails - New Zealand's largest city situated on a active field of 48 volcanoes with a land mass twice the size of London.

After our short flight across the Tasman sea which ended in a tussle at custom desk number 4 a more of an easy couple of days exploring the city are looking favorite. We are excited to see how NZ differs to
Oz, or even if it does at all ?

From downtown Auckland you can walk to Auckland's museum, a very grand looking building sat up high within the Auckland's Domain park. Here they hold Maori culture performances so fancying a bit of haka
action to kick start our visit we headed over without delay.

Once inside we were called into the main show by a Bu, a shell type trumpet. Fe all very excited at the thought of all those oversized thighs and that chest slapping. There was a definite buzz among these
museum folk knowing that a performance of the famous high-energy haka was just around the corner. These lads certainly didn't disappoint either.

Brief Maori history: Between 3 and 4 thousand years ago the ancestors of the Polynesians entered the pacific from the west. These lot were masters of sailing and navigating open seas and were the first persons

to discover and settle in the islands of the pacific. Language, food plants, domestic animals and decorated 'lapita' (pottery) all indicate a southeast Asian origin for these remote ancestors of the Maori

people. The term Maori belongs to the widespread Australasian family of languages which originated in Southeast Asia 5 to 6 thousand years ago.

The Maoris are great wood carvers, each tribe having its own different style. In the 19th century great changes confronted Maori people with the signing of the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi which opened the doors to European settlement and by 1860 Maori were outnumbered within their own land.

Kia Ora Aoteara (Hello New Zealand)

With the kid duties successfully completed it was time we crossed the ditch to the 'youngest country on earth' - New Zealand.  Roughly the size of the UK but with only 10% of it's population!

Once in the air we turned left on the east coast at Bundeena, our spot for a picnic only a week earlier. A great view of the Hacking River inlet, still stocked with day-trip boating types. As you can guess it

was a clear night for flying and Dave had the seat at the window. After 3 great months in Oz it was onwards for us around the globe to Auckland, 2161km from Sydney and yet another timezone.

Another country brings another odd start and our arrival in NZ didn't fail on the oddness front. No passport lossage this time, oh no, but they were kind of in the mix!

On arriving at NZ immigration the not so smiley operative behind the desk seemed to be hell bent in making our entry into the country as awkward as possible. Not only were our trusty passports required this operative wanted a blow by blow itinerary of why we had turned up in NZ and what we were planning to do whilst we were here. We rattled off a few buzz words of key destinations with a view to keeping things
simple but oh no this Shelia wanted way more. In her words 'it was her given right as an officer of customs to ask such questions to travellers entering the country'.

With this said a reply went back over the desk of 'seeing we are travellers we plan to 'travel' throughout the whole country', you know to see all your best bits on offer. You'd think in us ticking the temporary visitor 'travellers' box on the obligatory customs entry forms, which for sometime now were sat firmly in the hired help operatives little palms, oh the bundle of joy she was. But alas no it didn't so it was out with the trusty but so what used looking homemade 'rough guide' to highlight our plans more indepthly. Once viewed and
still not seeming suitably convinced our visa applications were stamped cancelled and we were directed off to 'window 4' ! A clear case of computer says no! NEXT.....

Here the process seemed to hit a more clued up type as within a series of more softly delivered questions lasting all of a minute, tops, we were wished Kia Ora and we were through. Hooray. Operative on desk 4
we salute you.

Suitably rattled and fairly whacked, it was around 2am now, we duly boarded the wrong bus which completed a tour of two airport hotels neither of which we were staying at as we'd booked a place in the guts of town. So without another thought we stayed on the bus, the wrong, free bus thankfully, back to the airport to catch the correct bus that would take us into town. On alighting the bus we both thanked drive
for the tour of the surrounding area and toddled off back into the bus stop that we originally started from some 20 mins earlier. It's now around 2:30ish.

At last we were on the correct bus which seemed to have a Frank Spencer figure at the wheel who only seemed happy to stop at each bus stop if you rang the bell prior to arriving at the bus stop. Sure
thing that's how buses work but how are tourists fresh out the airport going to know which pesky stops are which having just stepped off the plane from many far flung destinations. The whole bus was in hysterics
as Frank would always stop at every stop regardless if anyone had rung the bell or not! We would all just sit there with the doors wide open no one moving a muscle.

If all this wasn't funny enough on checking into our new digs our card was refused at the desk, thankfully all our time spent hanging around bus stops someone had a spare thought to withdraw some kiwi dollars.
You beauty as the clock radio displays a zero three forty, goodnight irene!

Goodbye Sydney

We spent 17 days in Sydney, our longest pit stop in 5 months.  Of course this was helped with the fact we had a 4 storey house in Balmain for freeeeeeee to stay in.  Very generous neighbours of Chip and Lucy said we could have their house whilst they were in Brisbane for Christmas.  What a Christmas present that was!

It was great to see the Chipperfields and even better to have a 'home' to stay in.  Our last 24 hours was spent babysitting the 3 chippettes whilst mum and dad buggered off diving for a few days.  Were we ready for this 24 hour childathon?  We were certainly pleased to hand over the baton to a friend and jump on our flight to New Zealand.

So our will miss/won't miss, there are a few as we've been here a while:

Miss

D- The wildlife, the friendly non-bogan folk, cheap international cricket, old school Holdens, number 19 OG, barefoot bowls, brutal honesty, local radio.

F- Snorkeling over reefs, roos (not the squashed roadside ones) the lifeguards ;) and that rabbit pie in Melbourne, mmmm

Won't miss

D- The preposterously outsized nature of the island, west coast flies, unsealed roads, slow net connections charged out at $6 an hour, the gov's approach to Aboriginal issues, Rips.
F - The pesky flies. The fear of being eaten alive by something, taking days to get from a to b, the eardrum shattering grasshoppers (or whatever else makes the noise).

Oz, we out of there....

Cockatoo Island

After a rather alcoholic new year's day which was finished off with a cheat-tastic game of monopoly we all struggled to get out of the house and on the 9.30 am ferry but we did it somehow, all 7 of us. 

The ferry from Balmain took us all to this tiny island.  Cockatoo has a rich and varied past from convict prison, reform and industrial schools to shipbuilding site and naval dockyards employing thousands.

Pre 1788 the island was heavily timbered with red gums and frequented by sulphur crested cockatoos.  Aboriginal people of Sydney almost certainly fished here.  In 1839 a prison was established to house convicts with drawn from Norfolk island and repeat offenders.  In 1940 the Fitzroy Dock and a workshop were built by prisoners to service the Royal Navy.  In 1870 the prisoners were relocated and it was used for an Industrial School for girls.  In 1880 its shipbuilding history begins but also resorted back to a prison due to overcrowding elsewhere.  In the 1900s the island becomes the Commonwealth Naval Dockyard and in 1913 Australia builds its first steel warship on the island.  In 1930 the island becomes the major shipbuilding and dockyard facility for the South West Pacific in WWII following the fall of Singapore.  Additional buildings were constructed in 1945 and the refit of the T-Class submarines occurs and the navy destroyers, Voyager and Vampire were built.

Running up to 1992 more refits and production were undertaken until the dockyard closed in 1992 with machinery sold off and some 40 buildings demolished.

Today the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust assumes control and are embarking in major restorations works.  You can camp on the island in the hundreds of  pre-erected tents.

Welcome the new decade

*** HAPPY NEW YEAR ***

Like every new year we were still undecided on what to do come the morning of the last day of the year. I'd even spent some time perusing EBay and Gumtree looking for any cheap tickets going but this resulted in nothing more than a couple of very odd email exchanges, most ending in a question close to 'requests for bank account and pin numbers' all in broken English of course. So we decided to just cut loose and just get right in the guts of it and take our chances on what came up as there seemed plenty on offer within the harbourside.

We managed to find a small Italian restaurant within the Rocks. A great meal was had and we even spent out on a decent bottle of red, a rare occasion for us in these parts, before setting off out to find a good vantage spot to watch the infamous fireworks. 

As we worked our way round the quays to the Opera House, working through pretty feral crowds, we then banged into a couple heading in the opposite direction to ourselves. With the delivery of a little pomie charm they were suitably tickled up, a non monetary exchange took place, and the deal was complete. So with their tickets now in our palms we pushed on for that prime spot. They got us past many security checks right up to 'the most wanted' zone. Dead opposite 'the bridge' next to the 'O House'.

For this 12 odd minute spectacle generous Sydney tax payers fork out a cool $780,000 on these bad boys, no midnight count down, but neither the less, the year did bow out with an almighty bang.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48ulv6KnRts


Apologies in advance for the music that has been selected on this link. An eclectic mix of songs to say the least! The amount of smoke around at the 11 minute mark was of bridge disguising proportions!! All pretty immeasurable on the eye at the time and even now via the web.

2010 had certainly been a blast for us, and it seems 2011 is going to be pretty fun too!

Captain Cook landed here, or was it here?

Our last day in 2010 was also our last day in the hire car so we kept exploring the area.  Wanda and Elouera beaches all form part of Cronulla bay.  Most if not all of the beaches along this stretch looked pretty good longboard material.

The aboriginal people lived undisturbed around Botany Bay for thousands of years until English explorer, James Cook, sailed into BB on the 'Endeavour' in April 1770 after his extensive navigation of  New Zealand.  BB was later chosen as an ideal place to set up a penal colony and the first fleet of 11 vessels carrying 759 convicts arrived in 1788.

Voodoo point seemed a very baron spot seeing it formed part of Captain Cooks heritage landing site.  At Kurnell Captain Cooks obelisk marks the spot where Cookie actually first landed on these shores. 

On entering Kurnell village the welcome signs didn't seem to celebrate being the starting point of modern Australia.  The whole village looked like it was a little unloved as the surrounding area is now heavily industrialised.  On one side of this historic site there's the port then on the other a refinery and then overhead into Kingsford Smith an airport.  Not really the surroundings you would expect around the point of such historic significance!

For the first time in 24 years............

 

Happy Bondi

Bondi is a city  beach with a lovely ocean pool positioned right on the point.  It has a real strong European feel, almost like a beach of Olympians.  All dressed in boardies/bikinis and santa hats.  No thoughts of peeling sprouts or stuffing the bird here. oh no.  The mood was definitely one of 'lets relish a hotter christmas'.

We dropped off the rollerboot/hire car and got the train back into the city which gave us great views over Circular Quays and 'the bridge'.  It's said that when in downtown Sydney the bridge seems to be peering between the buildings almost keeping a watchful eye on all below.

On-route home we popped into a couple of downtown shops, you know for those last minute bits an bobs, and you couldn't help but feel that even Sydney, on this sun drenched afternoon, was starting to panic given that the big day was almost upon us.

Back in chilled Balmain we stopped off for a well enjoyed drink.  Actually out, you know a drink in a bar!!  Oh that first sip tasted good.  As the sun dipped over the queenlander terrace we toasted the last 5 months as 'the bridge' peered through the Balmain skyline.

900 tonnes on the barbie

We paid a visit to Sydney's busy fish market.  This place is busy at the best of days but being in the guts of the city and with only a few days till Christmas it was erupting!

It was prawn city, we had never seen so many.  Seafood being the preferred Christmas lunch staple item (no turkeys here).  The market was doing a 36 hour non stop trading marathon to ease the Christmas rush.  The market was open again the day after Boxing day, which is a bit of luck as you wouldn't want to run out of the little fellas would you.  Not at Christmas! 

The local radio station later informed us that 900 tonnes of shell fish were shifted during this time!!  And we wonder why our oceans are slowing becoming empty of marine life.

Blue (sky) Mountains

We hired another little Japanese rollerboot and headed West for our ascent way up into the Blue Mountains, apparently, back in the day, Fe's Gran's favourite spot when in Oz!  It didn't take long to see why...

.... it's ten times older than the Grand Caynon and a world heritage area offering over 300 walking tracks. The Blue Mountains are not, as the name suggests, mountains, but in fact are dissected sandstone platueaux sheltering a rich diversity of plant and animal life.  The landscape is dominated by the Jamison Valley, Mount Solitary and the 3 Sisters.

The route took us inland to Katoomba located within the heart of the Blue Mountains National Park.  We had a quick pit stop in Penrith which funnily enough had road names like Kendall Street!  Mount Gibraltar, known as "the Gib",  at 863m it is the highest point in the southern highlands. The nearby town of Bowral derives it's name from the aboriginal name for the mountain.

At Echo Point the eroded ridge formation of the 3 sisters is part of the 7 sisters which had a profound spiritual significance of aboriginal people.  The giant stairway, 209 metres down to the valley floor was our workout for the day. Advice given prior to descent to the Dardanellas Pass... "warning contains many steps".  Call me old fashioned but come-on!   No idea how many steps it was but the old thighs were burning.  At the bottom the Dardanellas Pass weaves through the, thankfully, shaded Leura forest.

Not wanting to climb back up at Katoomba falls we hopped, some what angular, onto the funicular railway for a lift back up. This being the steepest funicular railway in the world!  She was a 1 in 1.28,  52 degrees, 128%  -  nose bleed material some may say, with a total length of incline topping out at a 450m with a vertical drop of 250m.

Once at the top all that stood between us our very small Japanese car and a cuppa back at the hostel was a gorge, or a very long walk round, so we opted for the short ride on the glass bottom cable car. With a drop of 230 metres that apparently would take 6 seconds to free fall (not sure how they know that stat but am hoping maths are involved assuming average body mass).

Govetts Leap in the Blackheath area, is home to Bridal Veil falls the highest in the blue mountains.

Mount Victoria was a very sleepy little spot but the highest settlement in the mountains. Great little train station connecting locals with the outside world with a picturesque train ride east getting to the bustle of Sydney's CBD in just 2 hours.

The sights of Sydney

Admittedly we've been off the treadmill for a while but getting off the bus at dowtown Sydney was quite a shock to the system.  As busy as Oxford Street and as frantic as a supermarket pre-bank holiday, this place was stacked with the air of don't panic but oh man let's panic.

We hit the sights straight away heading for the biggy, Sydney Opera House.  We walked through the botanical gardens and up the steps to the house.  It is thought that 2 out of every 3 people in the world are able to recognise the iconic opera house structure.

The story goes...... in 1956 the NSW Government called an open-ended international design competition and appointed an independent jury. The competition brief provided broad specifications to attract the best design talent in the world; it did not specify design parameters or set a cost limit. The main requirement of the competition brief was a design for two performance halls, one for opera and one for symphony concerts. Reputedly rescued from a pile of discarded submissions, young architect, Denmark’s Jørn Utzon’s winning entry created great community interest and the NSW Government’s decision to commission Utzon as the sole architect was unexpected, bold and visionary.

Utzon understood and recognised the potential provided by the site against the stunning backdrop of Sydney Harbour giving Australia a challenging, graceful piece of urban sculpture. His design shook Sydney's post war folk to the core with the residents opposite worrying the structure would devalue their homes!

It was originally estimated the project would take 3 years to build on a budget of $7 million. It actually took 16 years and a cost of $102 millions! Time and cost over runs contributed to populist criticism and a change of government resulted in 1966 to Utzon’s resignation, street demonstrations and professional controversy. Jorn Utzon died in Copenhagen in November 2008 aged 90 and he never saw the final product but he did believe he'd created a masterpiece. The building is constantly reviewed for further enhancements and his son and daughter are now heavily involved with all new projects.

Sydney Opera House is a masterpiece of late modern architecture. It is admired internationally and proudly treasured by the people of Australia. Opened in 1973 by the Queen it is now inscribed in the World Heritage List in June 2007. In 2003 Utzon received the Pritzker Prize, international architecture's highest honour. Over 110 million visitors to date have visited the icon.

The amount of steel used in it’s construction is four times the length of the amount of steel used to construct ‘the bridge’.   The external roof  is covered by 17 different tiles with a total of 1.56 million tiles!

Inside is just as great, with 2 main halls and a small studio (where Coldplay recorded their 5th album). Crazy purple carpet flows in places and tennis star Lleyton Hewitt had his wedding here.  If you are late for a performance here  there is a lock out and you have to wait for a convenient point in the show to then be ushered inside.

Luckily for us whilst we looked around one of the concert halls the Sydney Symphony Orchestra were practicing, wow what a noise!  The hall is made from white beach timber which is great for acoustics.  The hall is totally in dependant from the main structure.  the main hall has a mechanical track organ that took 10 years to build and 2 years to tune and is thought to be the biggest in the world!

With our architectural fix done we went across to the Australian Museum.  Every January in the UK we head to the Bristol Museum to see the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition and to our delight the exhibition was on show here.  It didn't fail to disappoint, some great shots.