We got up early for our 3+ hour drive from Rotorua to the Auckland Airport and made it there in plenty of time for our flight. It's a refreshing change from airports such as Heathrow and JFK to have there be only 15 possible gates at the airport and not much distance from check in to boarding.
We landed in Sydney around 3pm, picked up our rental car and met up with my cousin Peter and his wife Pam at the airport. Peter took the navigator seat in our snazzy Hyundai Getz and they showed us all around the Sydney Harbour area (I guess I have to follow the Australian spelling!). We walked through the Royal Botanic Gardens and had our first glimpse of the iconic Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour bridge.
We also had our first glimpse of a very Australian bird - the ibis.
Here is a shot of the gardens we walked through.
Here Frank and I are sitting in a seat carved into a large piece of Sydney sandstone, which is what a lot of the buildings are made of.
This is where all the tourists stopped to take a picture so we had to do the same. Here we are with Peter and Pam in front of the Opera House, although it's difficult to see us because of the lighting.
We walked up to the Opera House and touched it - it's covered in two different colored tiles - and this is what it looks like when you get up close. It's actually three separate buildings.
We walked along the harbor area on the other side of the Opera House which is called Circular Quay. It is filled with bars and restaurants and was extremely festive and lively.
There are amazing views of both the Opera House and the Harbour bridge which we could not stop taking pictures of. Here it is as the sun is setting. Note that you can actually walk across the top of the bridge if you want to. Apparently it costs about $200 a person and you are taken in groups with a guide. We could see people up on top when we were there.
We took a "lift" up to the highway so we could get another view of Circular Quay and the bridge. Frank has been practicing using the manual settings on his camera so was able to get this great shot of everything lit up.
We walked back to the car along the edge of the Botanic Gardens and saw some of the important historical buildings in the area including the Parliament building, Sydney Hospital, the Conservatorium of Music and the entrance to the Government House. Along the way, we stopped so I could rub the nose of this wild boar statue in front of the Sydney Hospital for luck.
Apparently it is a copy of a Florentine scuplture called Il Porcellino (See wikipedia link a la Frank: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porcellino)
We then drove to the beach area of Dee Why and had dinner right along the strip facing the Pacific Ocean. We had fabulous fish and chips, with the fish an Australian specialty called barramundi.
A wonderful introduction to Sydney which has already completely impressed us with its beautiful scenery and cosmpolitan vibe. We are so lucky to have such knowledgeable and enthusiastic tour guides in Peter and Pam!
ILM
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