G’day from Sydney!

Pat and I have had a great time during our brief stay here. Lesson learned, we need more time to fully explore Sydney.




We arrived at 6AM local time after a brutal 14 hour flight from LAX. Lots of turbulence disturbed our sleep but the inflight entertainments was a help…how many times can you watch “Shrek” before you are ready to go bonkers. We looked like the walking dead as we disembarked. Australia is a unique ecological system and the Australians were hyperactive about what you declared in the way of food and vegetables. True story, the customs agent was concerned about the type of cashews I had in my trail mix (which I did declare on penalty of prosecution). The friendly agent took pity on me and let me keep my trail mix.



We stayed on Pitt St. downtown (which I later learned was the most expensive street in the world). We checked in early, recharged a little and went out to explore. We then learned an extremely important economic fact…..everything in Sydney costs at least $35! No kidding…the on-off bus ticket, $35. The Wildlife Museum in Darlington Harbor, $35! A tour in the Sydney tower? $35! We thought our streak was broken when we went to the Art Museum of New South Wales to see an exhibit of the Terra Cotta Warriors produced the Peoples Republic of China. The admission to the museum was free…..but if you want to see the warriors, admission for that exhibit is $40. I guess the streak was broken anyway!



Sydney was settled much like the United States was….with criminals. Great Britian has a long history of exporting convicts when prisons became overcrowded. In fact, disruption in these prison ships to the Americas during the Revolutionary war caused Parliament to seek a new dumping ground….you guessed it, New South Wales! The first ships landed in Botany Bay with 759 male and female convicts and 400 sailors. Subsequent fleets landed bringing plentiful cheap labor.  Building and infrastructure began to take shape. The first governor, Phillips realized that no sustainable colony could exist solely on convicts so officers, freed convicts and other citizens were granted land and the convicts were assigned to them ….somewhat like indentured servants (the way many American immigrants paid passage from Europe). With the abudance of cheap labor and a power structure supporting it, many small farmers were taken advantage of and a system of local currency based on Rum took shape. The joke around Sydney is that entire streets were built in exchange for rum and still turned out relatively straight!

Today, Sydney is one of the most culturally diverse and open-minded cities in the world. Anything goes is the motto. I saw businessmen dressed like they were headed to a weekend ball game. All accents and languages can be heard here. If you are people watcher, there is plenty to see.

As I often do, I learn the streets and landmarks by running. I took off on about a 5 mile run out to the opera house and the spectacular Harbor bridge and was amazed by the number of people doing exactly the same thing……the climate is a big factor in Sydney…..everyone seems to want to be outdoors doing something.

Anyway, enough of that….here are some highlights:

Sydney Wildlife World: Great exhibit worth going to and very educational. The wallabees are very cute along with the Koalas. I mistakenly called them Koala Bears and was quickly corrected by the staff….Koala is the proper term. Some of the less thrilling parts were the giant cockroach exhibit. I can do without bugs of all types but this cockroach was as big as a closed fist (which I would use on it if given the chance!) Pat had to hug and kiss the Koalas (named Jack and Charlie in this picture.)

Sydney Harbor Bridge: The bridge can be walked across for one of the best views of the Sydney skyline. We did not have time to do this but have some great pictures of the bridge from the rocks area. You can also see a close up of a group climbing the arch. I wanted to do this……but it was very expensive and also violated the “$35” rule…..pay $200 and they will put you in a specially designed safety suit, hook you into a safety cable and start you on your climb. Not for the faint of heart or wallet! As a side note, the bridge is a great example of a works project designed to stimulate the economy…sound familiar? Legend also has it that the builder of the bridge decided that he should have the singular right to open the bridge so he mounted his horse….charged towards the ribbon and cut it with his ceremonial sword! Needless to say the ribbon was re-strung and the proper authority opened the bridge…..you got to love the Aussies!

Sydney Opera house: Though designed and built in the 1970’s it is still one of the most recognizable structures on earth. We could have taken the tour but…..you guessed it, another $35 entrance fee so photos will have to do.

Lot’s more to see and more than we can list here…..Sydney is a wonderful, multi-cultural city with a vibrant city life. Aussies in general seem to really love their country. As you have heard in the news, widespread flooding through the Queensland / Brisbane area have just devastated thousands of people…it’s a disaster on the scale of Katrina. What I find amazing is the amount of public support of the people. Volunteers are turning out in the thousands (apparently 50,000 and more as of Saturday AM). Public officials are supportive and, most refreshing, the media is not trying to place blame on anyone for some perceived lack of response.

That’s all for now…..next stop, Melbourne