A Drive Around Sydney

So fortunately, my backup plan tour company, went off without a hitch.  In fact my tour guide, Daniel, was spectacular so THANK YOU VERY MUCH Daily Sydney Tours for stepping us so quickly to not only find a guide for me, but for delivering a fabulous product!

Anyway, Daniel met me at 9:00 sharp and we set off for a nearby area known as the Rocks.  Now the Rocks was the first area of Sydney settled by the convicts in 1788.  Today, the neighborhood is filled with historic buildings, alleyways, old pubs, upscale restaurants and sits in the shadow of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Daniel drove me past old warehouse buildings that are beautifully restored and used today for apartments and upscale shops.  I loved the feel of the area and the historic old buildings.  In fact, I had been in this area on my way to the bridge climb last night, but did not pay any attention as I was trying to find the bridge climb offices.

So after a drive around the area, Daniel dropped me off at the underside of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and I was able to get an up close and personal look at the bridge from an entirely different perspective.  I wandered along near the harbour and past some gorgeous historic pictures of the old warehouse area as well as the bridge under construction.  Daniel told me that contractors are doing this more and more to tell a story about the city.  Pretty cool.

Now the views at this point were magnificent, and I took full advantage snapping pictures left and right.  And once back in the car, Daniel suggested that I walk the bridge (takes about 20 minutes) and he would meet me on the other side for a drive through Kirribilli, an upscale area of Sydney that looks back towards the CBD and Sydney Opera House.

So despite the fact I was a tad sore from the bridge climb, I readily agreed that a walk across the bridge would be fun so I took the elevator up two levels and spent the next 20 minutes walking across the bridge, looking at the amazing views and looking up at the staircase I had mastered the night before.

Along the way, I passed joggers (or they passed me) and other walkers.  I was even stopped by two young Chinese guys who were looking up.   I asked if they were going to climb the bridge, but they apparently did not understand what I asked, although one of the guys said I was very pretty.  Uh thanks dude … I just turned 65.

Anyway, once I crossed the bridge, I spotted a gorgeous old church, snapped a picture and then proceeded down the elevator to meet up with Daniel for our drive through the Kirribilli burb.  Now,, this area was absolutely filled with upscale homes.  And when I say this area was filled with upscale homes, I mean UPSCALE homes, many with gorgeous Sydney Harbour views.  In fact, the Prime Minister of Australia and the Governor General of Australia even have homes here.  And as we passed the Prime Minister’s Sydney residence, there was massive security around the home meaning he was in residence.  (Turned out he was hosting some charity cricket event, which I was able to capture a little time later from Mrs. Macquarie’s Point.)

Anyway, we made one stop in Kirribilli to take in the views of the Sydney Harbour before driving across the Sydney Harbour Bridge (all I need to do now is take the train across and I will have hit every method of crossing the bridge), through the CBD to North Sydney, where we passed gorgeous old buildings that had been converted into hospitals and libraries and offices.  We even passed the old St. Thomas church which was completed in 1886.

From here, we made our way to Mrs. Macquarie Point, which sits within the confines of the Domain aka Sydney Botanical Gardens.  Now the point was named in 1810 after the wife of the fifth governor of New South Wales.  (Governor Macquarie is believed to have been instrumental in converting Australia from a penal colony to a free country.)

Anyway, Daniel and I walked around and admired the amazing views, where I was not only able to snap great pictures of the Sydney Harbour, but I even captured the cricket event going on at the Prime Minister’s house across the bay and people climbing up the Sydney Harbor Bridge where I had been only about 14 hours before.

Now one amazing factoid about the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge is that the architect of the Opera House placed the building in such a spot that the construction of two of the outer roof lines matched up perfectly with the bridge lines.   It was bloody amazing to see.

So after taking in the Sydney Harbour views, we walked around the bend and up a small hill to a location known as Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair.  It was here that a homesick Mrs. Macquarie (they were from London) would come and stare out at the harbour.  Eventually, Governor Macquarie ordered the nearby road to be named after his wife and that a seat be chiseled into the rock so that Mrs. Macquarie had a more comfortable spot to sit and look out at the harbour.  The seat, to this day remains.

Now, as we walked, we could hear birds everywhere, but because of the white sky today, it was really hard to see the birds in the trees.  However, as we walked away from the area, we ran into an ibis clopping along the grounds.  Now I was rather excited to see the bird so close to me, but Daniel kiboshed my excitement by telling me that the bird is quite common and is known as the “bin chicken” because they are notorious for feeding out of trash cans.  I still thought it was cute.

Anyway, from here we moved through the suburb of Woolloomooloo (not much to see here, but I just liked the name) and then up to Wolseley Road, perhaps the most expensive area of Sydney.  The homes located in this area were absolutely massive, expensive mansions sitting on a long bluff overlooking the Sydney Harbour.  And when I say expensive, I mean ungodly, ridiculous prices.  In fact, we passed one home with a Rolls Royce sitting outside on the street and a see through garage with amazing harbour views … price tag for the home … $100,000,000.  Uh you read that right.  When Daniel told me, all I could do was laugh for a good solid minute.  Unfreakingbelievable.

And from here, we drove through yet another uber wealthy area known as Parsley Bay.  Here, Daniel let me out and I walked down the hill and across a lovely bridge to catch a glimpse of the beautiful beach, views and of course the homes.  Absolutely magnificent.

And the bridge walk was really fabulous.  In fact, as I was walking up the hill after crossing the bridge, I met Daniel and he wanted me to hurry because he had spotted a beautiful rainbow lorikeet in a nearby tree, but just as I was taking a picture the bird moved and was gone.

Now as luck would have it, as we walked to the car, Daniel spotted yet another type of bird, a gorgeous kookaburra, which actually waited for me to take a picture before flying off.  Thanks beautiful bird!

By now, it was after 12:00 so Daniel suggested we stop at Watson’s Bay Boutique Hotel for lunch.  I ended up ordering the lobster rolls with salmon roe and they were absolutely delicious.  I could have gone for 2 more, but decided it was better not to stuff myself.

After lunch, we walked along the Watson’s Bay and as Daniel was fetching the car, I could hear a rainbow lorikeet (based on the squawking I had heard earlier).  Sure enough, I saw the bird up in a tree, but before I could snag a picture, the damn bird flew off.  But … this was short lived frustration as the bird flew back and sat on the top of a dead palm tree that is scheduled for removal.  Eventually, the bird hopped down the trunk a bit and I was finally able to snap a lovely picture.  What a gorgeous bird.

Anyway, from here, we drove to an area known as the Gap, which is actually a viewpoint that overlooks the gap or entryway to the Sydney Harbor.  The area has absolutely magnificent views with waves crashing against the rock walls below the viewpoints.  And the pathway to the viewpoint took us through a lovely garden filled with banksia trees.  The garden was dedicated to the memory of Don Ritchie, who for over 40 years, walked the pathways in the Gap intervening to save the lives of at least 180 people who wanted to jump off the bluffs.  Today there is fencing, cameras and phones with hot line numbers scattered throughout the area in a form of tribute to Mr. Ritchie to prevent further suicides.

So after the walk around the various viewpoints, we walked back up the hill and drove past the Macquarie lighthouse, the oldest lighthouse in Australia constructed in 1818, before reaching Bondi Beach, perhaps the most well know beach in Sydney with its gorgeous expanse of sand and trendy upscale shops and restaurants across the street.  The area kind of reminded me of Copacabana in Rio.

Anyway, Daniel found a place to park (easy today because it was overcast and not a lot of people sunbathing and swimming at Bondi).  We then walked along the oceanfront, taking in the views of the beach, the surfers fighting the waves, and of course, the famous Bondi Icebergs pool, which sits right on the ocean and is filled with ocean water when the waves lap up over the pool.  Now despite the slightly windy conditions, we did not see any waves high enough to jump over the side of the pool.  Nevertheless, it was a pretty cool sight.

Daniel and I wandered over to the pool for a closer look before walking towards the Bondi to Coogee beach walk, an approximately 2 ½ miles long beach path that is popular with tourists and locals.  I was going to walk about a quarter of the path to a beach called Tamarama Beach.  The trip took me up a series of staircases right above the water and then along a path paralleling the water’s edge.

The cliff views were fantastic and I could hear the ocean crashing below.  As I walked, I spotted all sorts of birds in the water and a number of surfers who are apparently protected by shark netting.  (No thanks to the surfing in these waters … too many great white stories.)

I eventually reached the turnoff to Tamarama Beach and started to walk up the hill when I met up with Daniel. We walked the last bit of the hill together before getting back in the car and driving through Bondi Junction, a less expensive area of Bondi, filled with lots of high

rise apartments and a massive shopping mall.

Our last visit of the day was through the Paddington area of Sydney, known for its majestic old homes with wrought iron fencing.  The area actually reminded me of New Orleans with the old colonial style homes and wrought iron.

So by just after 3:00, I was back at my hotel grateful to Daniel for showing me many of the top sights and areas of Sydney.  (And for those wondering why we did not visit the Sydney Opera House, I have a tour scheduled there for Friday so no need to stop there today.)

Tomorrow, I have a food and wine tour of the Hunter Valley.  The weather is supposed to be spectacular so it should be an enjoyable trip.

And of course, an update on Cora Boo.  There was further improvement today so she is heading in the right direction.  Still a long, long way to go, but today was another positive day for our girl.  Please continue to send her good vibes, thoughts, prayers or whatever good karma you believe in.  She is the most darling girl and we need her.