Day 65 – New Year’s Eve. The fires are very intense in and around the Canberra area. While there are no fires in the immediate area, the city is inundated with smoke. Visibility is extremely reduced, and Air Pollution Indices are very high. It is also very hot. Again, we are experiencing the hair drier running in your face sensation of the winds which are coming up. A day best suited to be indoors.
With all the fine choices of free museums in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) we ventured to the National Museum of Australia. The museum is in a very newly constructed building, and featured some animation special exhibits from DreamWorks movie studios. We didn’t go to the special exhibition, but instead went to the historical exhibits recounting the history of the traditional custodians of the land, and the changes since arrival of the Europeans. National Museum of Australia It is a very interesting history.
The dangerous fire situation in all of the southern states of Australia preempted plans for fireworks in many cities. Canberra was no exception. We watched the fireworks from Sydney on tv, after we ordered in a fantastic Indian meal.
Day 66 – Happy New Year!! We started off early-ish on our drive to Sydney. We had AirBnB accommodations in Asquith, slightly north of Sydney Central Business District – and we had to collect the keys before too late in the afternoon. The apartment is very new, and well equipped.
Best of all, our apartment is only a few minutes walk to the trains into the City. Transit is critical to enjoy Sydney. Parking is outlandishly expensive. Parking at the shopping mall and grocery stores outside the city is free for only the first two hours. A day of parking at the mall can cost in excess of $50.
Months ago, we wanted to enter the Sydney Opera House not on a tour. After a bit of thinking and looking at the upcoming performances we decided to take-in the “All You Need is Love” concert on our return to Sydney. We are so happy we made the decision we did. An excellent experience. The Strawberry Fields Rock Orchestra was amazing. The vocalists were very talented as well. The Opera House itself is worth visiting, but the acoustics have to be experienced!!
Day 67 – The problem with public transport is that it follows a schedule. Sometimes that schedule can lead to a late evening (or a VERY early morning). We had a wonderful time at the Opera House last night, but didn’t get rolling until close to noon today. A bit of cooking. A bit of laundry. A bit of lounging. Downtime was certainly a great use of our day.
Day 68 – A visit to Manly Beach and North Head was in order to beat the heat. Sydney Harbour is a fantastic natural harbour. Steep stone cliffs protect the entry from wild weather. The cliffs also were instrumental in the fortification of the harbour. Between the lighthouses and quaint sailing clubs inside the protective cliffs, there are huge fortifications, old barracks, abandoned gaols, and shipbuilding facilities. We went hiking to explore much of the area stopping for a little lunch on Manly Beach. We walked almost 12 kilometres. The sea breezes were constant and cool, making it a very nice day with some views of the city skyline in the distance.
Day 69 – Everybody is likely familiar with Bondi Beach. Bondi certainly has notoriety. We have found so many other beaches which are nicer, cleaner, and more accessible than Bondi. Palm Bay Beach, north of the City and Manly Beach is another great beach. The sand is soft, and not too hot to walk on. We thoroughly enjoyed the day at Palm Bay.
Returning to Asquith, we experienced another blast of hot weather. Brent is not built for operation at temperatures exceeding 45C.
Day 70 – How can you possibly visit the North Head, without visiting the South Head as well? We took the train into the CBD and transferred to a Ferry at Circular Quay to get to South Head.
Sydney has a great network of ferries running up and down the harbour and Parramatta River. We travelled to the end-of-the-line disembarking at Watson Bay. We walked 17.5 kilometres to take in the sights, and returned by ferry from Rose Bay. The coastal walk was really nice, but the views were pale and smoky in comparison to the views from North Head.
Our day was finished up with a visit to the Botanical Gardens near the harbour.
Day 71 – We really wanted to visit the Blue Mountains with this visit to Sydney. But the fire risk is too high. The Blue Mountains National Park has been totally closed in recent days. We didn’t venture out of city.
We decided instead to go to the Art Gallery of New South Wales and Cockatoo Island. The art gallery is very nice and has a mix of European Masters, Modern Australian Artists, and a very extensive collection of art from the Traditional Custodians of the Land.
The art gallery is on the corner of the Botanical Garden, and adjacent to some beautiful sandstone government buildings near the CBD.
Continuing on with our adventure, we boarded a ferry and headed west in the Parramatta River to Cockatoo Island. Cockatoo Island is a misnomer. There is not a single cockatoo to be found on the island. Cockatoo Island was a Penal Colony for the folks who continued to be ‘bad guys’ after their relocation to Australia. Later the island became a Naval Shipyard and had hosted other boat works, after WWII.
This island is infested with seagulls. We are very happy that we didn’t shell out hundreds and hundreds of dollars to camp on Cockatoo Island for New Year’s Eve and see the harbour fireworks – which was one of Brent’s early far-flung plans. Frankly, the conditions we found made the present day $45 CAD too much. Look at the evidence of the bombing runs made by the seagulls on the top of each of the tents!! Just in case you are wondering, NYE 2020/2021 accommodations are fully sold out already.
Brent And Bron Abroad 