Sydney, Just Like I Pictured It

Can you guess what city we’re in? The Sydney Opera House along with the Harbour Bridge pretty much defines the Sydney skyline.

We picked up a mooring at Davis Marina for a week. It is located in North Harbour, next to Manly. It’s a fairly easy ferry ride from Manly to Circular Key in downtown Sydney, or a few bus transfers to get in.

We motored down the coast from Pittwater to Sydney drifting in and out of fog on a fairly warm day. This is the fog bank flowing off the Sydney Heads at the entrance to Sydney Harbour.

This is Georgia’s home for the week surrounded by million dollar well kept houses.

There are a lot of salt water pools along the walks around the bays. They make it less likely that the swimmers will feed the sharks.

On our first ferry trip into Sydney we passsed the US Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star. I think they were in town for a New Year’s break. She’s a 399ft long ice breaker built and homeported in Seattle.

Real estate in the greater Sydney area is crazy expensive. You might even say it’s in a bubble, although the median price has dropped 11% in 2018. We can’t afford a place anywhere near here but were hoping we might get a cot in the old Sailors Home building above at the Circular Key.

We headed off to do some serious tourist sightseeing. Here’s Chris in front of an extinct giant wombat like marsupial at the Australian Museum.

In a cute, playful diorama in the museum they have a deadly Sydney Funnel Web spider coming out of a child’s boot on the back porch of a suburban home. The Aussies really come across as proud of their various deadly and maiming critters

This is the skeleton known as the Bone Ranger. It is actually the remains of Sir Hercules, an 1870’s sire of the thorough bred race horse line in Australia. He was Papa to 18 big-race winners including winners of the Melbourne Cup and Sydney Cup. He was more of a lover than a racer, and never actually raced himself. The skeleton rider is apparently of no positive repute.

Taking a break from being a hard pressing tourist we stopped at the oldest pub in Sydney for some cider and pub food (pretty much all pub food is brown).  Its the Fortune of War built in 1828. There are a couple more pubs that claim to be the oldest lurking around ‘the Sydney waterfront, but right now Fortune of War has the claim.

We grabbed a ferry over to the Maritime Museum. Nice set of displays and most of it is free. There was a large section that appeared to be dedicated to shaming Chinese visitors into not buying shark fins or shark fin soup.

The Australian Magnificent Bower Bird.

We couldn’t leave out the Taronga Zoo from our touring itinerary. This owl was pretty cool in flight, although being non-deadly to humans I’m not sure it excited the Aussie visitors.

Walking around we saw this wedding going on at the cathedral. Or as it is properly named “The Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Mother of God, Help of Christians to give St Mary’s its full title is the Cathedral church of the Archdiocese of Sydney and the seat of the Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher OP.”
It was built on land donated by Gov Macquarie in the 1820’s, but not completed for another century. Pretty much everything in New South Wales is either named Macquarie or Lachlan (his first name) or was from land controlled by Macquarie. Scottish Major General Macquarie was appointed governor of New South Wales 1810 to 1821. He was the architect of transitioning the New South Wales from a penal colony to a free settlement.
Outside the wedding were two old, gold Bentley cars waiting for the bridal party.

One more guess as to what city we are in?
Paul

The Blue Mountains

Since the weather was not cooperating for getting down to Sydney from Pittwater and we had a good deal on the mooring at Lovett Bay Boatshed we decided to take a train trip out to the Blue Mountains for New Years. Sharing New Years with 1 million other revelers in Sydney Harbour just seemed a bit too claustrophobic. We took the train to Katoomba, an easy few hours. Katoomba is in NW part of New South Wales. It is an old coal mining area that is now park land and tourist stops. They say the area is known as the Blue Mountains because when you look at it from a distance there is a blue haze. They tell the tourists that the blue haze is due to all the gum tress (eucalyptus) spouting oil mist into the air. I’m not sure I’m buying that one.

Except for being a little greener the landscape could be the US south west, lots of carved red sandstone.

We stayed at the Mountain Heritage Hotel in Katoomba. With its classic dining room and staff it could have easily been Faulty Towers, complete with John Cleese.

Strange smoking laws in NSW. This sign is on the entry to a nice outdoor cafe.

We took a gondola ride over the canyon canopy after carefully checking out the maintenance of the machinery.

It gives you a good view of the Three Sisters

A little closer view of the sisters. Not really all that impressive compared all the rest of the flora and fauna around.

We also took the rebuilt old coal train tracks up the side of the mountain. The tracks are way steep at a 52% incline.

This one is for Quinn. Gamma scaring the dinosaurs away.

We splurged for a fancy, and delicious, dinner at the Palette in Katoomba, including some complicated gin drinks.

We rode the train and then bus to get back up to Pittwater. Gotta love a bus that has a dedicated seating area for surfboards.
Paul

Lovett Bay Boatshed

We had a nice week long stay in Port Macquarie waiting for the south winds to abate. Christmas eve we had some boaties over for drinks and miscellaneous food and drink stuffs. Then we took advantage of the light northerly wind that set in and headed out off the bar a few hours before high tide on Christmas morning. Lots of incoming current, not much in the way of waves. As soon as we got to the deeper water (300ft+) we picked up the East Australian Current again and were making quick time south (often at 10kts+).  After a long day we headed back in toward shore for an anchorage in Broughton Island. As we approached we had some very playful dolphin elves come by the boat to wish us a merry Christmas.
We picked up a mooring ball just before dark. I think it must have been reserved for us as it said Private Keep Off on it. The picture above is sunrise from Emerald Cove, Broughton Island the next morning.

We headed out early the next day to make Pittwater. Pittwater is a busy boating area north of Sydney. On the way we passed a lot of shipping, leaving and approaching the port of Newcastle. They export a lot of coal from here to China and India. There are a lot of freighters (bulk carriers) anchored in the ocean in front of Newcastle. There are also a lot just drifting offshore like this one pictured above. Their AIS status reads NUC (not under command) which used to mean in the old days that the captain and officers were dead or so sick they couldn’t run the ship. The ship is moving at about 1 – 1.5 kts with the wind and current. Odd - must be saving money while they await new orders.

We entered the main entrance to Pittwater Bay and took the finger that goes toward the Hawkesbury River. Pulled into American Bay and grabbed a mooring near friends on Fairwinds just at sunset. This is a picture of Fairwinds in the bay early morning. It looks like the white is washed out in the photo, but that’s just because they have a new, shiny paint job. Nice bay, but lousy cell connection.

Next day we motored over to Pittwater Bay to try and find a paid mooring for a week. Our plan was to spend until after New Years in Pittwater then head to Sydney Harbour when the crowds lighten up a bit. We lucked out and got a mooring from Michael at Lovett Bay Boatshed. The small ‘marina’ is located in the Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park. Access is by boat or bush trail only.

The boat yard has been here for over 100 years. The current owners have lived in the beautiful house behind the boat shed and rails for the last 14 years or so. It is a really wonderful setting, except perhaps for the non-stop squabbling of the Sulphur Crested Cockatoos and the harassing laugh of the Kookaburra birds. Check out their famous laugh here (scroll down to the audio clips).
We are leaving the boat on the mooring and taking a ferry, two busses and a train up into the Blue Mountains west of Sydney for a couple of days over New Years.
Paul