 bottom
|
Holidays > 1997 > 12 November - 13 December: Around the World > Sydney, AustraliaContentsAustraliaSun 23/11/1997 Perth and Sydney Youth HostelcontentsA video about the immigration and quarantine procedures for Australia was shown about half an hour before descending into Perth. I decided to mention the "fossil" and mints I had in my luggage. This wasn’t necessary for Perth, as it was a connecting flight to Sydney. We had to wait an hour and a half for the connecting flight and some passengers took advantage of it by sleeping on the seats. The flight to Sydney took three hours and was pretty uneventful. We arrived at 17:00, having lost a further eight hours. I didn’t have any problem with passport control and the things I had declared. They weren’t bothered about the stone I had in my suitcase. I took Murray’s advice and looked for the Airporter or Airport Express. I asked the man at the Airport Express desk if the bus went to the Sydney Central Youth Hostel and he mentioned some gardens which sounded nowhere near where I needed to go. I therefore took the Airporter instead, which stops right outside and costs A$10 return. It turns out the gardens were just down the road from the Youth Hostel and the Airport Express costs A$9 return and runs much later at night. The Airporter turned out to be more convenient, as my bags were pretty heavy. The Sydney Central Youth Hostel on the corner of Pitt Street and Rawson Place is very impressive. There are television rooms on floors 3, 5, 7 and the 9th floor has an audio / visual room for video nights, traveller’s information evenings and other hostel functions. There is a kitchen and two restaurants on the first floor. The tenth floor even has an indoor swimming pool! I was very impressed, but didn’t have time to make use of the swimming pool. I booked in at 17:00 and went straight to my room, 713 on floor 7. All the rooms are unlocked by swipe card, which only works until 10:00 the next day. The first thing I did was have a shower and get all my information on Sydney together. I then drew up an itinerary for the next day, which consisted of catching the explorer bus and taking a harbour cruise. I hope to be able to do all three cruises, but don’t know if I will have the time. Mon 24/11/1997 Sydney Explorer Bus, Museum and Harbour CruisecontentsI woke up at 08:55, which was a shock, as I had hoped to be awake by 07:00. It doesn’t help when you go to bed at 00:00. I showered and, put my luggage in locker 53, which cost A$3 and finally managed to check out at 09:45. I didn’t think I would have enough money for everything, so cashed a £20 travellers cheque. I then bought a can of Coke for A$1.50. As soon as I opened it, I realised I should have bought a bottle. I caught the Explorer bus in front of Central Station which is definitely worth doing, as it is A$22 for a day. It stops at 22 attractions and you can get on and off and do the route as many times as you like. I didn’t alight until Circular Quay, so missed out of seeing the following in more detail:
It didn’t really matter, as these were very expensive and there was much more to see. I bought a bottle of Coke for more than I would have done in the first place and headed for the Morning Ferry Cruise kiosk. I was worried I would not make the cruise, as the line I was in was moving very slowly due to a trainee. I made it through with two minutes to spare! We were given a Guide to Sydney Harbour booklet, which gives additional information to that given over the loudspeaker system. The places which could be seen from the ferry were: Sydney Cove, Circular Quay, Government House, Sydney Opera House, Royal Botanical Gardens (Farm Cove), Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, Fort Denison, Garden Island, Clark Island, Watson’s Bay, Camp Cove, Clifton Gardens, Bradley’s Head, Athol Bight, Taronga Park Zoo, Neutral Bay, HMAS Platypus, Kirribilli House, Admiralty House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Lavender Bay, Blues Point, Balmain, Dawes Point and The Rocks. More information on all these places can be found in the Guide. I did the tourist thing and bought a T-shirt and postcards from a stall near the quay. I then bought a Crumbed Fish and Chips and walked along Scribes Walk to Sydney Opera House. The Opera House has some really strange angles and steps leading up the side. The steps continue all the way up, but are fenced off half way. The concrete slabs underfoot have a two centimetre gap in them, which is a bit disconcerting. They need to spend over A$4 million on renovations, as tiles are coming off and making it unsafe. It was really cool to be walking around it though. I then hurried off to the Botanical gardens to eat my lunch under a tree looking out over the Opera House and harbour. It was very relaxing, but I couldn’t stop for very long, as the day was a wastin’. I caught the Explorer Bus again in front of the Opera House, which took us around the Royal Botanical Gardens to Mrs Macquaries Chair on the other side of Farm Cove. I walked around here and took a photograph of the Sydney Opera House across the Cove and the Huge Crane at the Naval Dockyards across Woolloomooloo Bay. I didn’t sit on the chair, as it only mentioned a woman’s wish being granted if they sat on it. The next stop was the Art Gallery of New South Wales, where I saw an oil painting of a landscape, Ullswater from Rotterdale, 1820, by John Glover, which looked like a photograph. I took a photograph, but I am sure it won’t do it justice. [It didn’t, as I had it on the wrong magnification.] There was some very obscure "art" on display, like four corrugated iron roof sheets woven together by steel cable and painted cream. I could have stayed longer, but by this time it was 15:30 and I still had a lot more to see. I hopped on the next bus, and stayed on past the Hard Rock Cafe, Kings Cross, Macleay Street, Elizabeth Bay House, Potts Point, Woolloomooloo Bay, through the Sydney Harbour Tunnel, back again via Sydney Harbour Bridge, past Wynyard / Martin Place, Queen Victoria Building / AMP Tower / Planet Hollywood and finally alighted at the Australian Museum. The Museum closes at 17:00 and I arrived at 16:35, which was lucky, as it costs A$5 until 16:30. I walked though an exhibit on the Aborigine culture. There was a very moving section on the campaign to reunite Aborigine children with their families. From the early 1800s to 1964, Aborigine children were taken away from their families and put into adoptive white families to try convert them to a "Western" culture. I can’t believe this carried on until so recently! The last bus from the Museum was at 18:30, so I had time to explore Hyde Park. I sat down under a tree for a rest and watched the birds. There seemed to be an abundance of flies, so decided walking around might be a better idea. I saw a building with a pond in front lined with flags, so I walked back until I was happy with the shot and took a photograph. It turned out to be the Anzac War Memorial, which was inscribed in very faded writing on a dusty marble plaque. I explored the rest of the park and returned to bus stop. The next stop was Central Station, where I started from, so I made my way back to the Youth Hostel. More information on the places mentioned on the Bus Tour can be found in "The Explorer Guide". I collected my luggage from the locker and sneaked upstairs by lift, just out sight of the check-in desk. I phoned the Airporter Bus company to book my return trip to the Airport for 19:45. I then took a shower and made my way downstairs to the locker room, where I stayed for forty minutes while I waited for the bus. I spent the first twenty minutes repacking my suitcase and the rest of the time reading a book. I went outside five minutes before the bus arrived and thought it was going to stop on the other side of the road when it came up from the left. I started to run across the road, but the driver waved a "no" and promptly did a U-turn and stopped in front of the Youth Hostel. The drive back was hair-raising, as the driver only knew Stop and Race. My flight was only at 8:00 the next morning, so I could only check in at 6:00. I didn’t feel like carrying my luggage around with me, so thought it would be easier and safer in a locker. I stood in front of the lockers for about ten minutes making sure I would have everything I could possibly need during the night. You have to put another A$4 in each time you open the locker, so I had to be certain. I hadn’t eaten supper, so bought a small Filet o’ Fish meal from McDonald’s. When I say small, I mean it! I polished it off in a few mouthfuls and trundled off to find a place to sleep. Five minutes after making myself as comfortable as is possible in a space two seats wide, a restauranteur, who had just closed up, informed me there is a section near the glass elevators (between counters B and C), near an entrance, where everyone sleeps. He said he was saving me from being woken up at 23:00 by a security guard who rounds everyone up. I finally found where he was referring to and the seats here obviously cater for sleeping, as the arms are at five seat intervals. I listened to Sinead o’ Conner and half of the side with the Waterboys when my batteries ran out. I finished my book, "Prince of the Blood" (Royal Blood) at 00:05 and tried to get some sleep. << Part 1 - South
Africa |
 top
|
 |
Last modified: Mon, 22 Oct 2001 19:00:00 GMT Copyright © 1997-2025 Christopher Theunissen. All rights reserved. |
![[RSS]](http://theunissen.cc/christopher/images/rss.gif)
|