Sydney

Nov. 13

Today at 5:40 AM my wake-up call beckoned and I peeked out my window to see the mist shrouded cliffs of the outer harbor of Sydney. I quickly dressed and made my way topside to witness sunrise over Sydney and our early morning sail into one of the most spectacular harbor cities in the world. Aside from the natural beauty of the river inlet and the cliffs, and the rising sunshine  bouncing off the first buildings coming into view, I wait with severe anticipation the moment the ship will negotiate that one turn which will reveal the Opera house and the Sydney harbor Bridge. And… there it is, in full morning glory, sparkling water, shimmering buildings as a backdrop, the famed opera house and bridge, one to my left and one to my right. It is hard to believe I am not only here, the place I see only in photos or TV, but my ship is parking directly across from the Opera House. Tonight I will sit at my table of 50 days for the last time and watch the sunset with the bridge on my left and the Opera House on my right. We have THE primo spot in Sydney tonight. What a way to say, “g’bye mates.”

I eat breakfast after taking many photos of the sail in. I pack as much as I can without much enthusiasm – I have to wheel my suitcase up three levels every time I get one filled to weigh it and see if it is under airline weight. I will have three full suitcases and two carry-ons. I’m allowed one apiece to New Zealand so my over charges will be high, but sending home one bag FedEx was like $600, so schlep it I will. I meet an older gentleman who has spent a year in Australia and we are going to do a little walking and ferry riding together. As you know, there is no way I am going on a city tour. So, between the ship’s commentary as we sailed in and this gent’s knowledge, I figure I’m covered. It is hot. I cannot believe the heat here. We got a little reprieve in Brisbane where it was only about 78 – 80 and lower humidity. But here today it is 80’s and humid and sunny. We decide to walk across the bridge as that is something like climbing the Great Wall, only a lot hotter. That bridge is long. Way long. It is the widest long-span bridge in the world and the fourth longest spanning arch bridge in the world. But really quite an experience and the views of Sydney Harbor are so exciting with ferries in every direction, and pleasure boats of every kind. It takes us over an hour from the ship to get to the other side. It is spring here and the flowers and flowering trees are spectacular along with their aromas everywhere. On the other side we make our way through a park under the bridge to a ferry stand and take a ferry back to the other side. Once there we purchase a ticket to take us up river to the end of the inlet to the first settlement town originally here. I can’t remember the name! The fast pontoon ferry took about 50 minutes and was really fun as we saw so much of Sydney and her suburbs. We saw downtown, turn residential, turn Olympic Park, turn industrial, turn rural and then back to city. It was Saturday and springtime and people were on the water getting boats ready, taking sailing lessons and sunning on decks. We walked into town and found a café and had a beer and pizza. Australia is now officially EXPENSIVE. A soda is $3-5. A beer is $6-9 and lunch starts at $18 for a sandwich or salad. I paid $2.50 for a candy bar in Darwin. It seems like about the same prices as England. As a matter of fact, the English were complaining about how expensive it is. So, Australia is not a place to come for a vacation unless you are on a cruise ship. I told my Aussie friends that unfortunately, I could not recommend Americans visit now with the value of the dollar and the Australian standard of living. They understand, but it will hurt places like Darwin that are largely based on tourism. Anyway, we met some nice people in town and all the Aussies want to know where you’re from and where you’re going. Very lovely. Nice ride back on the ferry and it rained a bit which helped to cool off the non-air conditioned boat.

I came back on board and had my last supper with the remnants of my table family as we gazed at the beautiful harbor sights at sundown. Then it was on to finish packing and three more trips to the weighing station. Where did all this stuff come from? If the ship had not given us a whole new suitcase I would have had to buy one. My big suitcase is under weight by .6 pounds. I sure hope that is accurate. I am planning to stick it in my rental car and never look at it again for 4 weeks. I cannot buy anything in New Zealand as my other bags are filled to the seams regardless of weight. At about 9:30PM I go upstairs to use up the last little bit of money I have on my beverage card. One last Cosmopolitan overlooking Sydney at night with the Opera House lit up and the ferries cruising and criss-crossing in the dark. I say my good byes to the easy life; a toast to the seas, calm and rough, the ports foreign and frenzied, the friends found and lost, the excellent adventures.