Went walkabout

After losing the morning waiting for a change of hotel room (which I eventually got) I decided that I needed to make the most of the time that remained today, so ordered an Uber to take me into the city. The hotel told me that it would cost around Au$50, but it didn’t, just less than Au$30, which I thought was quite reasonable (the return journey also cost about the same).

I got the driver to drop me off at Darling Harbour Wharf 9 which seemed like a good place to start but by the time I’d walked around the corner it had begun to rain, which it did on and off during the rest of the day. While I was sheltering until the worst of the shower had passed I got talking to a very nice American couple from Boston who were leaving to return home tomorrow after being in Australia for 6 weeks, so quite a long vacation.

As soon as the rain eased off I started to walk north along the east side of Darling Harbour heading for Millers Point, The Rocks and ultimately the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Sydney’s CBD (Central Business District) has some stunning modern buildings, just as Melbourne’s has, overlooking the harbour.

At one point I stopped to ask a guy in a white shirt who I thought was a waiter from one of the restaurants on the quayside if I could get to the bridge in the direction I was going. It turned out he was also a visitor, an Aussie, and he said that the last time he was in Sydney none of the new buildings were there. When I asked how far it was to the bridge and if I could walk it, he said, ‘Too far for me mate, I’d get an Uber’.

But I kept going. The next shot shows the view looking back towards the CBD from Barangaroo Reserve. The stunning all-glass building pointing skyward is The Crown and it has a huge gold crown on its side almost at its top.

Eventually I came to Millers Point and was rewarded with my first view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The following shot wasn’t actually the first view but was the first photogenic one.

As I continued on my way to The Rocks, the oldest part of Sydney around the foot of the Harbour Bridge, it began to rain again so as it was about lunchtime, I decided to pop into a small restaurant for a steak salad. The restaurant is on one of the old quays that were originally constructed for international shipping and I guess many of the early immigrants into Australia entered through here. However, they’re no longer required for such a purpose and much the same as in London, they’ve been gentrified with modern new apartments being built on them.

I climbed up some stairs and crossed over one of the bridges mentioned in the above photo and saw my first view of The Rocks. I would imagine the houses were once occupied by the dock workers but they have long gone and been replaced by a much more gentrified type of homeowner.

Much as I would have liked to spend more time exploring The Rocks I couldn’t so just kept taking shots as I continued walking to get up to the Harbour Bridge. I did pass one place of special interest, though, namely the Hero of Waterloo pub. I didn’t have time to stop for a drink and anyway I’d only just had lunch, but I did pop in for a quick pee and also took a photograph of the inside where a small jazz combo was playing.

I then continued on up to the road that runs under the bridge itself.

I then turned a corner and walked parallel to the bridge until I came to an elevator opposite the Glenmore Hotel that took me up to the bridge walkway.

Once on the walkway I headed north until I got my first view of the Sydney Opera House. Like the bridge, the following shot wasn’t the first but it was the first photogenic one.

I don’t know if the walkway on the west side of the bridge was open or not, but if so most of the foot traffic was on the east side because that’s the side with the view of the Opera House. The next shot shows the south-side bridge towers.

The next shot shows the Opera House on the south side and Milsons Point on the north. Between the bridge and the Opera House is Circular Quay where the visiting cruise liners tie up

The next shot was approaching the centre of the bridge.

Finally, here’s the last shot I took looking back towards the Opera House from Milsons Point.

And the next shots are of Milsons Point itself.

The next shot was walking off the bridge at the Milsons Point end and shortly after I reached another elevator which took me back down to ground level.

Having completed the long walk north from Darling Harbour over the bridge I decided I’d take the easy way back to the city and go by train. Much as in London, frequent users purchase an Opal card but occasional users like me just swipe their credit or debit cards. You swipe on and off and the system calculates your fare and debits your card.

A friendly guy who was observing passengers going through the barriers told me that if I wanted to walk south through the CBD one stop would be enough and anyway, if I then wanted to continue again on public transport, I could use the trams that operate on the same principle.

I don’t know the name of the station where I caught the train but I got off at Wynyard Station’s York Street side.

I walked out of the station and sat down in some small gardens opposite to get my bearings and there was one of those pesky Ibises as bold as brass!

I decided to make my way to George Street as by walking south along it I’d be able to see all that I wanted to – the Queen Victoria Building, the Sydney Tower and Sydney’s old Town Hall. Some (most?) of the trams on George Street are incredibly long and swish through the crowds at quite a high speed.

Here’s the Sydney Tower.

Here’s the Queen Victoria Building

And finally, here’s the old Sydney Town Hall.

I picked up an Uber opposite the Town Hall outside Woolworths to return to my hotel. I’ve now seen enough of central Sydney as I just want to see (some of) the sights and get a flavour of where I’m visiting. Call me a philistine if you like but I’m not one for trawling around galleries, museums and the like. I’ve now got to decide what to do tomorrow, my final day in Sydney. I’ve got two options – visit Bondi Beach or take the ferry to Manly which has been recommended to me. I don’t think I can do both as they are in opposite directions and I’m leaning towards Manly.