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We were waiting for our ferry to take us back to the hotel after a day of touring.
I really wanted to see some koalas…and we were not disappointed. They mostly sleep and eat. Again they look cute, but we were warned that they aren’t always the friendliest.
We wanted to see a few more animals so we took a trip out to Wildlife World where they have animals in their natural habitat. here are some scary snakes safely ensconced behind some glass.
We got a kick out of the Surgery sign at Manley Beach right on the main drag. It appears that you can get your surgery done with bulk billing. Not sure if they offer bulk pricing if you get more than one procedure done at once (free hip surgery for every brain tumor removal?). The good news is that right after your surgery you can pick up your drugs at the chemist and find that perfect rug on sale – very efficient.
One of the main modes of public transportation is the ferry system. We took the ferry to Manley Beach and saw some active Sydneysiders sailing and windsurfing… in the winter. How can you not love this city?!
I finally figured out why Sydneysiders are always so happy….they don’t get any real-world news. One morning I tried to find some news and all I could hear was sports, sports and sports and weather. I guess it’s best to not worry yourself over a little world-wide recession. No worries!
We climbed the bridge, a 3.5 hour adventure…certainly another highlight of our trip. We climbed in the morning. It’s actually not hard at all. There are few sets of ladders that take you straight up. At one point you are going up right beside the trains, trucks and cars zipping by – that part was a bit unnerving. After that the climb was straightforward. You can imagine the liability associated with this… as such, they dress you up in a suit; attach cables (so you don’t fall off the bridge) and make sure that everything that could possibly fall off you is removed. We had unbelievable views of the city.
Our first impression of the Harbour Bridge….there is a banner on the left side of the bridge that references World Youth Day. Sydney hosted the 250,000 Catholics (including the Pope) the 5 days before we arrived.
From the Great Barrier Reef we left for Sydney. If Sydney weren’t halfway across the world, we’d move there in a heartbeat. We loved everything about Sydney. We toured the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, Manley Beach (where we saw surfers surfing in the winter) and Wildlife World.
We have about a hundred pictures of the Opera House and Bridge…this was our very first impression. It is an awe-inspiring sight both inside and out. The Opera House has an interesting history. The Australians commissioned a world-wide contest and a Danish architect submitted a conceptual drawing without much detail. The drawing was originally ignored until one of the judges came back just in time to see the geniusness of the design. The design was so original that the technology wasn’t available to create what he dreamed up. After years of disputes, cost over runs, the Australians fired the architect before the Opera House was finished. He returned to Denmark and to this day has never visited his final masterpiece. The Australians did have to eat crow and go back to his son (who is also an architect) and ask for help in modernizing the Opera House. This work is now going on. They also finally recognized the genius of the architect and dedicated a room in the Opera House in his name. His daughter, an artist, provided the artwork for the room; the work which was a depiction of the crucifixion - you draw your own conclusions.
A view from near the dining area.
A view from near our hotel room
