Sydney, AU

Hi and welcome to Sydney.   We arrived just at daybreak and this was our view from the bow.

One challenge to an experienced international cruiser is knowing the best sail-in view of the ports and choosing the best side of the ship to book your cabin on.  Noreen did a great job on our cabin and this was our sail-n view from our veranda on the Port side.

and our view after being docked as we sat on our veranda.

The harbor is a busy place with ferries moving people all around.  Here is a shot of the ferry terminal from our room.  You can see all the ferries still docked from overnight.  It was still very early.

We were in Sydney for a day and a half.  On the morning of day one I wandered off to the Sydney Tower.  You can see the tower in the middle of the picture below.

I did another Skywalk at the Tower 260 meters over the city.  This one was a little less challenging as it had side rails but the floor was glass.  That gave the illusion of standing on air.  Since it was much more secure I did a jump for the fun of it when they took a picture.   You can see how secure we were and the see-through floor.

The view looking down.

That afternoon we went for a walk around Sydney.  The rocks is a famous area and one of the first settled in the area.  It is now a renovated market area with all types of shopping and eating facilities.  It was custom made for Noreen and me.  Can you figure out who loves the shopping and who loves the eating?

Another way of getting around Sydney is by water taxi.  Here are a couple of examples.

And as with all taxis world-wide they make their own roads and cut in and out.

This is a great shot of Noreen, our ship and the Opera House.  You can see how close we were docked.

That night we had a full moon and I tired to get a good shot with some atmosphere.

On day two I headed for the Sydney Harbor Bridge.  In this picture you can see how close we docked to the other Sydney icon.

Since the bridge was there I had to climb it.  Here I am at the top of the bridge.  I’m right by the flags in the picture above.  It is 134 meters over the water.  I’m wearing earphones to hear the guide.  It is so windy that he communicates with us over a radio.  At the start of the climb the guide suggested we “Stop by the bubbler and have a squirt.”  Give up?  “Stop by the water fountain and have a drink.”  They claim its English but we have had our challenges.

That afternoon we went looking for some Opals.  Noreen found a store she thought would be a good place to look for quality jewelry.  As we walked in the manager of the ship’s jewelry store was walking out.   The owner of the shop was the same person who’s Opal collection was featured on the ship.  He was very happy to see her again and they hit it off right away.  So now Noreen has an Opal guy in Sydney.  Anyone need an Opal?

Here is an interesting shot of a “Push Me – Pull You Ferry.”  Note it has two front ends, a mirror in every detail even with the ship’s name.

Our time is Sydney was to short.  We’ll have to go back.  As we left the city we were given honors and escorted to the harbor entrance by a fireboat spraying water.  The small boat is security.

We were joined by a replica of an early Dutch sailing ship that brought the explorers to Australia.

Together they led us out.

However, even with full sail we soon passed the Dutch ship.  I did get a close-up for the sailors reading this.  Can you imagine crossing the Pacific in a ship like this?

Farewell to Sydney.  Noreen loves Sydney.  She couldn’t love Orlando or even Atlanta.  How am I supposed to arrange a romantic weekend in Sydney?

Now a two day sail to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef.