125) Seeing the Sights

I think one of the things that struck me about our holiday in Sydney was how true the saying is that “Travel broadens the mind”. We had lived in Africa so long that I was beginning to think that there was no where else in the world that was beautiful and our trip to Australia showed me just how wrong I was.

Jonathan had taken leave from work while we were visiting so we did quite a lot of sight seeing. They took us to Circular Quay and we saw the Opera house close up and the Harbour Bridge. The Australians have a wonderful habit of giving everything a nickname and so they call the Harbour Bridge “The Coat Hanger”. It was very interesting to walk along the quayside to see the boats and ferries and to watch the people from all over the world doing exactly the same thing. We saw tourists from England, France, Germany, The Netherlands, America and lots more from China, Korea and Japan. One thing that amused us was the buskers. We saw people playing instruments and singing but also people just dressed up. One young man, I think it was a young man, was dressed up to look like the Statue of Liberty, robed in a long silvery garment with a torch held high above his head one just felt that if he was that desperate for money you had to contribute something. Another was dressed like a donkey. Of course the children all liked this one and when they went and stood beside him he would nod his head and indicate the hat he had placed on the floor to collect your money, how could one resist when he had fascinated the children so much? On one corner I saw an elderly woman holding a portable tape recorder and she just turned on her machine and played a little music for the passers-by. There were groups of singers that were, to be perfectly honest, just terrible but people were taking pity on them and contributing to the small collection of coins in their hat. The Australian public seem to appreciate when someone is prepared to “have a go”

Another day we went to the Koala Park and were amazed to see these attractive cuddly animals sleeping in the trees. There were signs tied to a number of the trees that said “Koala in this tree” with an arrow pointing up and sure enough there in the upper branches was a sleeping marsupial. It really tickled me, I tried to imagine anyone putting a sign on a tree that said “Monkey in this tree” somewhere in Africa. Obviously Koalas are not at all like monkeys. We were told that as the Koalas eat gum leaves and only gum leaves. They have very little protein in their diet so they do not have a great deal of energy and are not in a hurry to go anywhere. Also, they are nocturnal and do move around a little more during the night. We also saw kangaroos, wallabies and possums at the Park and it was great for the children to go right up to the animals and pet them.

Gran and Granpa with some Australian Natives

Another outing was to a lovely old house called Elizabeth Bay House. It is an elegant colonial mansion that dates back to 1839. It has been skilfully restored and filled with furniture and treasures of that era. The Royal botanical Gardens were also very interesting and we had a wonderful day there. One day we went on a ferry ride through the Spit Bridge to the north shore suburbs of Mosman and Seaforth. While we were on the ferry we passed a large private cruiser with a helicopter parked on it, how’s that for wealth? We went to the fish market and to Parramatta. We went to Brooklyn, a small town on the mouth of the Hawkesbury River a little north of Cowan. We went to a town called Galston, which we reached by crossing the Hawkesbury River on a ferry at Berowra. The ferry is connected by cables that pull it continually back and for across the river. For some people this is an everyday trip to get them to and from work each day. We also went to meet some friends Reg and Helen Ellam, in Gosford who very kindly took us on a very pleasant ferry trip to a place called Bobbin Head.

One evening we drove into Sydney and bought fish and chips and sat on the grass almost under the huge pillars of the Harbour Bridge. With the children playing around us and people all round enjoying the lovely summers evening it was a great time and one I often think of fondly. While we were there a wedding party arrived to have their photos taken against the backdrop of the bridge and the harbour. The couple were Korean, I think and the bride looked very lovely in her long white gown. She wore pink flowers in her hair that matched her pretty bouquet, a perfect picture until she went up a small flight of steps to stand with the water behind her. She daintily lifted her long gown and revealed that she was wearing rather heavy black shoes under her dress. It did look odd and Siân and I had a good laugh at it.

Jonathan and Siân took us out to eat quite a few times and that was good. One thing that Sian pointed out to us was that all the restaurants displayed their menu and price list outside. Very convenient for people who are on a budget holiday, I thought it was a very good idea.

We were amazed at the shops. We thought that the shops in South Africa were full but they were nothing like the Australian shops. We visited a number of shopping malls, the like of which I had never seen before. All the shops seemed to be overflowing with wonderful things to buy. Australians call their land “The Lucky Country” and it certainly looked as if everyone was rich and Australia had no problems. We were having a wonderful time.

Lauren and the hat Christmas 1998

Claudia Circular Quay 1998