After the exhilarating experience of the barrier reef, I had two days of R & R aboard the Sunlander,
Queenslands' "crack express train" !! that runs from Cairns down to Brisbane.
I had booked a sleeping compartment because the journey takes a day and a half which I thought was because of the distance !!
No ... it's because the train rarely gets above 30 mph and stops twice at nearly every station on the way !!
The train has to stop twice because it's too long for the platforms !
First the people at the front get out, then the train moves forward, and then the people at the back get out !
But it was a good experience, I saw a lot of Australian backwaters and met a few characters in the bar !
Then it's a short flight from Brisbane down to Sydney.
Then it's a short flight from Brisbane down to Sydney.
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| Harbour Bridge and Opera House |
Sydney was a pleasant surprise for me and I was really pleased that I included it in my tour.
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| Darling Harbour |
Yes it's another big city with a lot of tall buildings,
but there's character here and a recent history
which makes walking the City really interesting.
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| Town Hall |
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| Queen Victoria Building |
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| St. Marys Cathedral Hyde Park |
It's difficult to believe that the peace and quiet of the beautiful botanical gardens is just a stones' throw from the city centre.
The next day I took the bus out to Bondi and this was my first glimpse of the famous beach.
I have to say that I was a little underwhelmed ! It's very nice but I'm not sure it's entirely worthy of its reputation.
On the other hand, if you're into surfing, then I guess this is the place to be.
I had thought of hiring a board and laying down a couple of "rip curls", but then I thought ... nah, I'll settle for a walk along the prom. !
I'd never seen proper surfing before and I was very impressed. I thought I'd leave this blog with a video clip.
So, that's me finished in Australia, what have I learnt ? two very important things ...
1) Below the equator the sun still rises in the East and sets in the West (of course) but ....
.... at midday the sun is in the North not the South !
The Old Geezer realised this after panicking in Flinders Chase, Kangaroo Island and thinking he was going the wrong way on a seemingly never ending dirt road
when needing to catch the mainland ferry !
2) Below the equator the bath or basin water does not spin in the opposite direction.
For me at least, this settles once and for all an age old pub argument !
And now I'm off to Borneo to visit my beloved Orangutans.
