Sydney

Sydney skyline from Taronga Park zoo

Wrought iron work - Paddington

Syndey Harbour Bridge from Observatory Hill

How do you start to describe Australia’s biggest city? I’m not going to try however here is what we did during our short four day visit. We went to Circular Quay and took a ferry to Manly Beach. Marielle didn’t like the ocean swell and the small waves crashing onto the fore deck while navigating past the “Heads”. We went to Taronga Park zoo on a ferry. Not only is the zoo worth seeing in its own right but the views over the city are spectacular. We went to the Botanical Gardens which were expansive but drab as it was Winter after all. The hundreds of flying foxes (bats) roosting in the trees was interesting if only to make sure their guano didn’t end up on your head. We went to china town, large and full of restaurants with people selling cheap meals, and Paddy’s Market to see the same tourist merchandize at lower prices than the prices asked, and we paid, at tourist shops downtown. We went to “The Rocks” historical district of cobble streets and boutiques with great views to the Harbour Bridge. We walked on the Harbour Bridge and baulked at the $150 per person (each) price tag to scale the bridge. We lounged around on Observatory Hill while shooing away the ibises (birds) gathered to see if we had handouts. We visited the Aquarium which is a “must” to see the big tanks of sharks and turtles and the playful platypuses. We visited the IMAX, the biggest in the southern hemisphere or was it the world, while the parents ate at a waterside restaurant in Darling Harbour. We visited Paddington an inner suburb known for “Sydney Lace” – wrought iron lattice work on all the houses. We also circumnavigated the Opera House a couple of times without going in. I hear the tour is worth the money and if you can catch a show it’s even better. And not forgetting the kilometers upon kilometers of walking to get to all these places through streets of rushing crowds, colonial buildings and restaurants for all tastes and wallets.

Daintree

The Daintree is region of rain forested mountains, freshwater streams and ocean beaches north of Port Douglas in tropical North Queensland. The Daintree rain forest is on the World Heritage List and shelters an extraordinary number of frogs, marsupials, reptiles, bats, butterflies and birds. We didn’t find much evidence of them on a cool and cloudy winter’s day except for our trip to spot crocodiles.

Out trip started in a nondescript shack, one of several selling boat cruises, in the middle of a cane field on the banks of the Daintree River. The owner or at least the guy selling the tickets was barefoot and wearing baggy shorts and open front short-sleeve shirt. He served us local tea until his guide turned up. This guy thought he was God’s gift to women. Once getting over the human wildlife we concentrated on the natural stuff and I must admit the guide was informative in a kind of “poor joke” sort of way. We saw crocodiles of course, snakes, frogs and birds including an azure kingfisher. The tour was worth the $10 each we paid. We also walked in the rain forest and along the beach.

For more information go to this site: http://www.daintreerainforest.com/

Tin and Timber

If you have the time and you like walking then take some time to observe the houses in Queensland. The following web site gives you an idea of styles.

http://www.redroof.com.au/qld-housing-styles.html

You should set aside a day or more in Brisbane where you could see them all. My former house in Yeerongpilly (love those aboriginal names!) was an Ashgrovian style. It was built out of wood, sat on wooden stumps and had a tin roof painted green. The wooden stumps were replaced by cement ones to avoid white ant problems. To protect the wood my father, rarely helped by your truly, had to paint the outside and the roof every few years. A job he detested with a passion. I remember summer afternoons listening to the cricket on the radio in the cool breezes under the house. The ground floor was enclosed with wooden lattes that afforded privacy but let the air circulate. We didn’t have air conditioning and rarely needed it. The roof however was another thing. When pummeled with heavy rain or hail, a common occurrence on summer afternoons, the noise would be enough to drown out even my mother’s calls to do my chores.

Australia Day

Australia Day is an official national holiday celebrated annually on 26 January. It also ends the Summer break for students. It commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788. The fleet carried convicts, charged in England with what we would regard as petty crimes (e.g. stealing a loaf of bread), who were deported to provide slave labour in the colonies. It took over a hundred years to actual form a country. On January 1, 1901 the Commonwealth of Australia was formed by federating the numerous colonies into a nation.

Waltzing Matilda

This song epitomizes the convict heritage of colonial Australia more than any other. The song narrates the story of an itinerant worker who steals a sheep to eat. When the sheep's owner arrives with the police the worker (swagman) drowns himself in a small lake and goes on to haunt the site.

According to wikipedia Waltzing Matilda means to travel with a swag, that is, with all one's belongings on one's back wrapped in a blanket or cloth. As there were no women around the swagman would waltz with the swag for entertainment. However I disagree with wikipedia. My relatives insist that Waltzing Matilda has a sadder meaning tied to early colonial times. Matilda was the name given to the hangman’s gallows and waltzing was the death throes of the convicted. This seems plausible as stealing a sheep in those times was punishable by death.

Here are the lyrics of the song. I have added translations I italics.

Once a jolly swagman (itinerant worker) camped by a billabong (lake)
Under the shade of a coolibah (type of eucalyptus) tree,
And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy (kettle) boiled
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me"Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me"
And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled,"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".

Down came a jumbuck (sheep)to drink at that billabong,
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee,
And he sang as he stowed that jumbuck in his tucker (food) bag,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me"
And he sang as he stowed that jumbuck in his tucker bag,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".

Up rode the squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred (horse)
Down came the troopers (police), one, two, three,
"Where's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag?"
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me"
"Where's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag?",
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".

Up jumped the swagman and sprang into the billabong,
"You'll never take me alive", said he,
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me
"And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me."

"Oh, You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me."

QANTAS

We flew with QANTAS (the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service). See! It isn’t another word for Koala. We chose QANTAS because of their impeccable safety record. No deaths ever although just before our departure QANTAS airplanes were involved in a near miss and a turbulent flight. Several people were injured in the later.

To be quite frank QANTAS was very disappointing. We flew on a Boeing 747 – may be the Airbus would have been better – which was showing its age. The seat cushions had lost any semblance of padding, the on board flight program only consisted of films and music, no games (Sudoku can wile away the hours) and the system went down on the way to Australia for everybody and for me on the way back. Other than a quick apology I was left on my own.

The Aussie Pass however is unbeatable. For a price several hundred dollars less than Air Canada you also can get three internal flights free.

CBD

You will often see these three letters in driving instructions. They stand for Central Business District. Another Australian curiosity that took me a while to figure out.

Cairns

Since my last visit in 1976 the population of Cairns has almost tripled. I can see why. It now has an international airport and this combined with a tropical climate and proximity to the Great Barrier Reef makes it a tourist destination of choice. You can also drive or take the train if you’re not in a hurry. Cairns is more than 1,600 kilometres north of Brisbane. Despite our good intentions we didn’t see any of the Cairns attractions. If you have better luck take the steam train to Kuranda and the cruise to Green Island.

Mossman

Paul in a sugar can field with Mount Bellenden Ker, the highest in Queensland, in the background

Mossman is a small town 20 kilometres north of Port Douglas. On our way to Daintree we intended to stop to visit the Central Sugar Mill and the Mossman Gorge. We didn’t do either but we were told they are worth the visit. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that Mossman is sugar cane country

Boomerangs

Do boomerangs come back? Yes they do but it depends on how well you throw them. Even the cheap tourist shop ones well come back but watch out as they gather speed as they rotate. Boomerangs are used by aborigines to kill birds. One minute cockie (cockatoo) is sitting pretty on his perch the next minute he’s been felled by a boomerang. Listen to this song. Not all people are successful with boomerangs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_prtbj4MtDU

Brisbane

Marielle in front of a Bottle Tree
Paul in front of fence-eating Moreton Bay Fig tree

Brisbane skyline

I wondered how much Brisbane had changed since I left in 1980 and my last visit in the early nineties. Many of my friends had reported that it had grownup, from a sleepy country town albeit with a population close to a million, to a bustling cosmopolitan city. They were right. The Brisbane skyline has changed to one of towering condominium complexes and high rises with crowded streets full of young people and a decidedly asiatic influence. You can still find traditional pubs however they are outnumbered by sushi shops and Vietnamese restaurants. The botanical gardens are still there with their spectacular Moreton Bay Fig trees providing shade and even the little park where Marielle and I used to eat lunch together is unchanged with its benches, flower beds and Bottle trees (boababs). We spent most of our day in traffic jams on the highways under construction, shopping on the pedestrian mall (this never existed before) and visiting Mount Cootha for a walk through the other botanical gardens and a lookout over the city. Did you know that at many intersections in Australia traffic is stopped in all directions while pedestrians cross the streets every way including diagonally?