New South Wales (part 2)

Thursday 14th August - After the poor weather on our first visit to Sydney and the wintry weather in Victoria we are glad to see very mild temperatures and blue skies. Our hotel is just south of the city center but convenient for buses and trains so it is easy for us to head into Circular Quay for some tourism. After grabbing breakfast from a cafe and enjoying the harbour view from our park bench we wander slowly east past the opera house and into the botanical gardens.

Here we're just in time to take a walking tour of some of the gardens which is very informative and proves a pleasant way to wile away the middle of the day, before Tracy opts to take the City Circle train back to the hotel while Tim walks back past Sydney Hospital and through St James and Hyde Park to get pictures. In the evening we meet up with the Sydney Thirsty hash for a good run in the Roselle area before we retire to a nearby bar.

Friday 15th August - Today we begin by taking a look at Darling Harbour on the west side of the city centre. Here we eat the brunch we grabbed at an interesting Indonesian bakery (and keep the aggressive gulls at bay) before walking around to the ferry terminal and catching the ferry around to Bradley's Head where we take a walk in the remnants of the native forest that once grew all around the Bay. This gives us city views and a look at the typical sandstone geology on the beach before riding the bus back to Milson's Point at the north end of the Harbour Bridge. Here Tim takes a walk for pictures on the north shore and over the bridge as the sun sets while Tracy takes the train back to the hotel.

We grab dinner in one of the many cheap and cheerful Chinese restaurants in the area of the hotel, which largely cater to Asian students. The food is good including dumplings that are sold in great quantity at the restaurant door for take-away. Noticably every restaurant seems to boast a brand new big flat screen TV, I'm sure these are for the Olympics that attract a big Chinese crowd every day. The Aussies may not be so keen as the look like getting less medal than the Brits, a serious failing!

Saturday 16th August - A day for some serious packing where we get the bike boxes reorganized one last time and make sure that all the bags meet the requirements for the next leg of the flight. In the afternoon Tracy opts for lazing while Tim trains over to the 2000 Olympic Park to have a look at the area and take in an Aussie Rules Football game. While this is the code favoured in Victoria (as mentioned before New South Wales is dominated by Rugby League) the local Sydney Swans are reasonably good and boast a large support in the impresssive Olympic Stadium, however today they come up against the all conquering Geelong and the match is never close.

Sunday 17th August - The city is currently hosting the Sydney Biennale, a large festival of contemporary art with venues all over. We opt to ride over to Cockatoo Island, both to look at the installations and see this historic place which has functioned as an imperial prison, industrial school, gaol and most recenty one of Australia's biggest shipyards (closedin 1992). The modern art fits well with the decaying industrial architecture and it proves to be an interesting and stimulating experience.

Next stop is back at Circular Quay where we meet the local hashers for a special full moon run. We get a short trail but good views of the Harbour at dusk and the rising full moon from the walkway on the road past the Quay, before moving to a nearby bar.

Monday 18th August - After the partying we get up late and relax. Tim walks over to our favorite Indian Restaurant with internet access for a few hours online, other than that we accomplish a bit more packing.

Tuesday 19th August - To compensate for yesterday's sloth Tim is up early for pictures around the harbour and The Rocks, before picking Tracy up for a trip out to Bondi Beach. It is a little cold for a dip despite the clear sunny weather and we opt for some walking around the area on the sand and around the sandstone cliffs. More pictures in the afternoon... and more Asin food and internet in the evening.

Wednesday 20th August - Our last day in Australia and Tim takes a run with the camera for some of the few views he's missed so far. Then we ride down to the Harbour where Tracy hangs out while Tim rides the ferry over to Manly to enjoy last views of the harbour. This fills the time before we return to the hotel, haul our baggage down to the foyer and pick up an airport shuttle with very grumpy driver en route to our Hawaii flight.