Australia 4 - Sydney and Bondi

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.

  

Harbour Bridge and Opera House

  

Sydney was a pleasant surprise for me and I was really pleased that I included it in my tour.

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.

Town  Hall

Queen  Victoria  Building

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.

Australia 3 - Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef

Cairns :

I'm not sure what I was expecting of Cairns.

The only reason I came here was for the Barrier Reef but when I checked out the Town/City I was quite impressed.
(I know it's classed as a City but it feels more like a Town !)

It was no surprise to find that Cairns is very commercial.

It seems like every third shop is a reef dive/tour agency.

But there's a great choice of restaurants and coffee shops.

It's really clean, nice and open and probably the most user friendly seaside resort I've been to.

Yes, the little dots in the background are swimmers ...
...  the infinity pool is that big

At low tide the sea disappears leaving miles of mud flats.

( Like Weston-Super-Mare only with lots of sunshine and palm trees !!).

So,  they installed what must be the biggest infinity pool I've ever seen
right on the sea front .... and there's no charges !!

This could explain the infinity pool ...    
         ... and why nobody swims in the sea !

There is a lovely boardwalk along the promenade all the way into the town and marina.





At various intervals along the way there are outdoor gymnasiums to get the weight off   ...                                            
                                           ...   and  "help youself"  gas operated barbecue facilities to put it all back on again !!



free and continual live bands performing  (all the time I was here at least ).   You just turn up, lay in the sun and enjoy.

And there's absolutely no charge for any of it,  unbelievable !
It's a long way from Margate and Morecambe !

The Great Barrier Reef

"Old Geezer" is top right 

Well, I suppose you could be forgiven for thinking that these are all scenes from the set of the latest James Bond movie !!!






But I don't think Daniel Craig has too much to worry about just yet  !!

It took me about 30 minutes to fight my way into this wet suit !

Although the sun was shining, the wind was up, the seas were high and swimming was very difficult.

I had hired an underwater camera and carrying this strapped around one wrist didn't help !

On my first dive I couldn't even get from the boat to the reef because the currents were so strong.



Dive instructor Lauren arrived with lifebelt and rope to tow me to the reef, how embarrassing !  Good job nobody at home knows !!!

But then suddenly Lauren was pointing downwards and this is one of my first underwater pics.

A massive ray  !




I was having enough trouble swimming against the currents so I really couldn't concentrate too much on the camera controls.
Zoom and flash come later but slowly my confidence was growing.
The coral was magnificent and it's a shame my photography didn't do it justice.

As I gained in confidence I could stay underwater for longer periods and avoid being thrown around by the waves.

And the photography got better.

On the boat they told us that the only sharks we were likely to see were reef sharks and that they wouldn't bother us !   Yeah  right !!!

It was thanks to Lauren once again for pointing otherwise it would have just swum below me and I would never have known.
This one was probably about  2  to  2.5 metres long.
I've never seen a fish this big and definitely not in the same swimming pool as me !!

The next day I had 15 minutes scuba and saw 2 more just laying on the sea bed and I wasn't quite so bothered.
But this one today was moving ... and I froze !    

Swimming with Sharks ....  another one to cross off my  "bucket list"  !!

                            o                             

Australia 2 - Flinders Range / Kangaroo Island

Flinders Range

After a lot of driving yesterday I arrived in the dark with no time to explore my new surroundings.

When I awoke the next morning and went across the grounds to find reception I new I was in Australia !

These guys are not tame and if you get too close they will quickly remind you !

I was  staying at a place called Wilpena Pound station for two days.  The one tarmac road  (they call it sealed)  goes North right through the Flinders area,  but if you want to get into the hills and explore you need  4WD on the unmade roads.

I teamed up with Ron and Della from the Gold Coast (the only other residents !) and on Monday we hired Amy (Park Ranger) for a guided tour.

We soon found out that most of these "roads" are actually dried out river beds, gullys and creeks.  When it rains apparently these fill into raging torrents within a couple of days and then dry out again just as quickly.  The whole area is so vast that a camera cannot do justice to it I'm afraid.

Then, a lovely bonus ...

The guide books all mention the "yellow footed rock wallaby " as an endangered species surviving in the Brachina Gorge.

We were told not to get too excited because sightings are rare but ...
there he was,  waiting patiently to reward the Old Geezer with a photograph.


I christened him  "Bruce"  (of course !)  but immediately changed it to  "Sheila"  when Amy pointed out that  "he"  was a girl  !!

Later I went off into the bush for a walk on my own.

I don't want to get all "spiritual"  but I think being alone out here in this vast emptiness and silence is one of the most enlightening and humbling experiences anybody could ever have.

The wildlife is well concealed and easily spooked.

I couldn't get anywhere near the Emu's.

I had to be really patient and when I eventually did see them, I had to film them from quite a distance !

Kangaroo Island :

The next day I left Wilpena very early in the morning for the 700km drive back down to the Fleurieu Peninsular.
Then,  on to Cape Jervis for the 3pm ferry to Kangaroo Island.

I had to be very careful driving down in the dark because kangaroos and wallabies suddenly bound across the road in front of you.  They seem attracted to headlights just like rabbits only they're a lot bigger ...  and I've got a rented car to worry about !!

The final leg of the drive down to the coast was beautiful and I was once again blessed with good weather.


When I turned up at the ferry most of my fellow passengers had arrived earlier and were looking a bit sheepish !!  but they all seemed comfortable enough for the 45 minute crossing.

Because of its' name, Kangaroo Island sounds very touristy, like a giant theme park.   But it most definitely is not.  It was named by the British explorer Matthew Flinders and is actually Australias' third largest island after Tasmania and Melville.

It has a population of just 4000 and the main industry is agriculture but ...  and the real reason I've come here ... the Flinders Chase National Park on the western tip of the island is renowned for its' wildlife.

In keeping with these adventures, I've booked in at the Youth Hostel at Penneshaw next to where the ferry lands.

I haven't stayed in a Youth Hostel for over 50 years and never before in Australia !

This was a good decision bringing back loads of memories and it doesn't seem that much has changed.

Make your own bed up, share washroom and kitchen, beans and sausages for supper ... nice and easy  !

That night the heavens opened and the noise of the rain on the tin roof was deafening.
But in the morning I was rewarded with a beautiful sunny day as I drove up to Flinders Chase.

Once more I was treated to some great walks and rewarded with some of the wildlife I had hoped to see.






At last,   a Koala in the wild  !
I'd seen them  (and held one ) at a wildlife park in Adelaide
whilst staying with my sister Carole
but I really wanted to find one in its' natural habitat.

They are so hard to spot, I had spent ages walking around looking up in the trees until my neck hurt !

There were 2 or 3 others here but so well concealed I couldn't get any decent photos of them.  And they just don't move.
Apparently, they are active for only 6 minutes in every day !

Something to do with being "high" on eucalyptus leaves I think !!

There are loads of Kangaroos and Wallabies here and in open spaces it's ok because you can see them but ...  ... when you are walking through fairly dense bush and they suddenly leap out and surprise you it's a different matter !!







Unfortunately I have to get back to catch the evening ferry because I'm flying from Adelaide up to Cairns in the morning.

So,  just time to catch the "New Zealand Fur Seals" on the rocks below Admirals Arch and a lone Pelican off shore near Kingscote.

Goodbye to Kangaroo Island
The Youth Hostel is on the left of the picture

As I took this last shot of the southern horizon from the ferry I realised that this was as far south as I had ever traveled.
And as far south as I might ever be likely to travel again !

If you follow the sunlit path on the water to the horizon and beyond, there is nothing between here and Antarctica !!

Tomorrow,  I'm heading north for Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef.