When we left Cowra we were so close to Sydney that we headed back that
afternoon. The area around Parkes and Cowra is very much like California
in appearance. The roads were starting to actually have "traffic", so it
felt like we were in 'civilisation': Sydney. Before getting back,
though, we had to pass thru the Great Dividing Range, mentioned at the
start of the trip. From where we were, it was now low road like the early
cows took, it was right over the top. The ground gradually rose, with
occasional vistas down wide valleys, and toward dusk we got to Katoomba,
also mentioned earlier.
Now, having been driving on the left for over a month, I thought I
had this thing licked. Not so. Swooping down steep mountain roads, at
night, in heavy traffic, put a whole new color on driving. Driving on
the left all that time I thought I was used to having oncoming cars just
to my right - but when it's a steady stream coming at you, it makes one
nervous. Slowly the traffic built up, so I was still kinda'
'white-knuckled' even as we got out of the mountains on the Great
Western Highway.
Finally we pulled onto good old Parramatta Road - and the lanes felt
so NARROW. Fortunately, Mary was doing the navigating so I could
concentrate on keeping us out of trouble. Then we turned off Parramatta Road
onto Annandale Street, where Disa used to live - and hit the "Mother of
all Road Dips". Everything in the car was tossed around, Mary's knees
got bashed, panic. We recovered and went the couple of blocks to Disa's
present house on Young Street. Safely back at 6:59 PM - nice and dark.
Remember, June in the southern hemisphere is equivalent to December back
here.
Prying my hands off the wheel, into the house, greet the dog, Snuva.
12,920 Kilometers - 8,010 miles. Safely 'home'.
The Mitsubishi performed very well, and the camping worked out very
well. Lots of folks like to say: "To me, camping is a hotel without Room
Service!". Well, where we went roughly half the nights were spent far
from the nearest hotel - same as when we travel in the western US. We
have everything we really need in our little "Tin Tent" especially our
OWN BED! Not too soft, not too hard, pillows just as we like 'em. Covers
just right - particularly important to me, as I 'sleep hot' and rarely
use even a regular blanket, even in cool weather - I brought a 'string
blanket' (thermal blanket) with me from home, woven with a loose, open
texture to let heat out. Mary, who is always cold at night, had 2
quilts! We had food selected by US, cooked to our taste. Had SUPERB
coffee every morning, hot and right after getting up, never weak or
cold. This is very important to me, particularly as that damned "French
Roast" coffee is becoming so prevalent in the US, and now in Australia,
too! (From Mary: Erik is a great cook! I've always said that every
girl should marry a good cook! When we go camping, it is MY vacation
also, so Erik does all the cooking & clean up.)
Yes, I did have to
Mary: This gave us plenty of time to see Sydney, now that it was
'winter' and there were fewer tourists. Because of my knees, we had to
be selective, but still I chose to do enough to drive my knees into my
hips, We took a bus from Disa's house to Circular Quay and the downtown
area known as 'The Rocks' at the heart of the Sydney Harbour waterfront.
The old colonial buildings here are beautiful, & those that are not in
use by the govt. are being used as hotels, restaurants and business
offices. We walked several blocks, unfortunately steeply uphill, to the
Sydney botanic gardens. Erik wanted to find someone who could identify
pictures (pickies in Strine, the slang part of English they call the
Aussie language) of flowers he couldn't identify in the available
references. Checking the map at the entrance, the offices were at the
complete other diagonal end of the park, as far away as they could be.
I chose to wait on a comfy bench in the rose garden near the entrance,
reading my ever-present book. Although small, the garden has a nice
selection of roses, from hundreds of years old up to current tea roses.
And just as I had read, the Bourbon roses had the sweetest, most complex
scent of any there. (I believe in stopping to smell the roses.) Erik
couldn't find anyone to help him, so we took off past the quay to the
Sydney Opera House. Such a unique building, as I'm sure everyone knows.
What I didn't realize, because most pictures are taken from the side
(because there is a point of land photographers can stand on, always an
important point) is that there are really 3 complexes there, a concert
hall, the opera house, and (the 2 small 'shells' behind them) a
restaurant. There were no performances so we weren't able to get inside.
There are 2 huge staircases to get up to the opera house, & the
elevators were not running, so we were unable to even look in. We did
however walk completely around the opera house along the water. Quite a
building!
The Sydney Harbour Bridge on the point next to it is more massive
than is apparent from photos. It was built around the time the Brooklyn
Bridge was built, to fix it in your time frame. This was before
engineers really knew the tensile strength of steel, so built a heavier,
more massive object than was really needed. The rivets are bigger than
Erik's fist! If you saw some of the 'colour' coverage at the Olympics,
you may have seen groups of people climbing the top arch of the bridge.
Not my idea of how to spend my summer vacation! I don't do heights.
The walks in the Tingle treetops was enough! But to climb it you have
to sign all kinds of disclaimers, take a little class in safety
beforehand. Each person wears a complete, heavy bodysuit with a life
line, a heavy cable that is attached to the suit & fits into a channel
on the bridge, so even if you did manage to fall (which would have to be
a deliberate jump because you're walking between 6-ft high 'fences') you
still couldn't go anywhere & would be hauled back in. You can't wear
any jewelry, & if you have to wear glasses, they are tied & taped to
your head. No purses, briefcases, not even a camera, nothing that could
fall down & hit someone. They take pickies of you at the top. The
bridge was expected to be the longest in the world, but the Brooklyn
Bridge measured 21 inches longer, much to the disgust of the Aussies.
We took a bus to within 3 l-o-n-g blocks of Disa's office, met more of
her friends there, then got a bus home.
The next day we took the bus back to Circular Quay for a less
taxing day for my knees--we took a boat around Sydney Harbour. Had a
great time! I thought I'd be sitting the whole time, but ended up
popping up every minute or so to take a pickie! Saw many of the areas
that have been reconstructed or renewed for the Olympics, the Botanical
Gardens, the expensive housing along the water, the repro of the
"Bounty" sailing ship, Darling Harbour, the 'highest natural point on
sydney Harbour, 33 ft high, where the original observatory was
originally, (which was confusing since there are huge hills & cliffs
surrounding the harbour) and of course, past the Sydney Opera House and
under the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Next we took the bus to Queen Victoria Building, built in the late
1800's during her reign. This is a beautiful building, with lots of
iron "lace", mosaic marble floors, stained glass windows, & 5 balconies
of shops. We went into several art galleries, antique shops, souvenir
shops, but the only purchase I made was at The Body Shop - a pair of
shower gloves I've never seen anywhere else but in Australia. They're
stiff stretchy nylon terry cloth gloves that you soap up & scrub your
body with. The building also houses special exhibits--clocks 2 stories
high, a jade marriage coach with mannequins garbed in fabulous marriage
costumes, repros of some of the crown jewels, etc. Nice place to shop!
Want to go back! Then we went to a market held weekends across from
Disa's office that sells all the Aussie souvenirs you could want at
fabulous prices! Unfortunately, we got there just as they were closing
& never got back for a huge shop! Then we met Disa at her office again &
went to a Japanese restaurant for dinner, then walked over a raised
pedestrian bridge to Darling Harbour for dessert. The ped. bridge ended
in a 'tower', where you could pick up the elevated light rail into
downtown Sydney, take a ped. bridge over Darling Harbour, or go down to
ground level to the restaurants at the wharf. We ate at an outdoor
restaurant right on the water, across the harbour from where the Olympic
wrestling took place. Had a sinfully delicious pecan pie ala mode with
a cappuccino. Disa, and even Erik who rarely eats dessert, also indulged
that night. There's a beautiful fountain there, encircled with
whimsical statues of cranes. Then, to my knees delight, we took a cab
home!
So, two months in Australia, lots of time visiting Disa (who was
probably glad to 'get her life back'), and some great outback
experiences.
It cost about as much as a nice cruise - and we still have the car
waiting for our next Aussie trip!
cook in the cold, and sometimes in the dark, and
often as not with the stove sitting on the ground. We've travelled this
way for over 30 years, all over the US, Europe, and now Australia. It's
our 'only way to go' - especially as we travel to see the country, not
the cities, which by and large just mean: Lots of People. Crowds. Cities
- particularly the smaller ones are, of course, a lot better in Europe,
where they are old,and nearly every one different from the next.