I'm not really sure why they call it that (Australia into Aussie into Oz??) but it is in common usage here.
Sydney. After dumping all our contraband at customs (including peanut butter and bouillon cubes - very strict agricultural importation rules here!), we arrived via plane and bus at Sydney Central Hostel. A huge bustling hostel in a huge bustling city. It was nice to have a private bath for a change! We immediately got a 5 day Sydney pass which is good on all the trains, busses, trams, and ferries. And we used them all!
The pass allowed us to take two different circular bus trips all over the city so we could scope out where we wanted to return. Both tours informed us that there were only two types of neighborhoods -- fashionable (expensive) and transitional (needs work but will be expensive when finished). Saw the swanky area where Tom Cruise/Nicole Kidman and Kevin Costner have homes but they didn't ask us in. Saw the world famous Bondi beach where there is world class surfing, but unsafe surf limited the number of people in the water...did see guys walking around carrying their surfboards and trying to look cool, though.
We (Tim) took pix of the famous Sydney Opera House (even more spectacular than any photos -- it was designed to look like sails filled with wind, the locals say it looks like mating armadillos), walked the Botanical gardens, took more pix of the Opera House, took the ferry to the Zoo (on the way taking pix of the Opera House), took a 2 hour afternoon ferry cruise of the harbor (more O.H. pix), bus to the Aquarium (even more O.H. pix), later a 3 hour evening cruise of other parts of the harbor (with yet more O.H. pix), and a ferry to Manly, a suburb with a great trek out to the mouth of the harbor (alas, no view of the O.H., but there was a topless beach), walked over the Sydney bridge (taking more...you guessed it) and bussed back. I even took a picture of Tim taking a picture of the O.H. (hint: buy Kodak stock). Having the Sydney pass was great...when we had walked out too far or it got dark we hopped on some form of mass transit and went home.
This really is an exciting city. It is divided into fairly distinct areas/neighborhoods: the artsy Rocks, X-rated Kings Crossing, Darling Harbor (aquarium and casino), etc. Lots of ethnic restaurants (over 100 different nationalities in the city). First rate Zoo (with a nocturnal area to view awake Kiwis and platypus) here and probably the best aquarium we've seen (walk through seal tank, ocean tank, and shark tank; a backlit tank with just jellyfish - very ethereal).
The Australian Museum had a thought-provoking display on the treatment of the aboriginal peoples -- far too many similarities to our treatment of the native americans. They were removed from their land and many native children were taken away to training homes where they were taught English (and told to forget their native languages) and trained as domestics for the white people. There was a student-led civil rights bus tour through the country in the 60s, like we had in the south. The Australians are just beginning to face the problems disenfranchisement brings -- alcoholism, unemployment, domestic violence, crime, drug abuse. Lack of adequate education, health care, land rights, and representation in government are now being addressed. The road back is long, hard, and littered with lost cultures and thousands of wasted lives.
In viewing the aboriginal art we've seen at several museums and galleries, it is interesting to note the similarities in color and patterns to the art of the Fiji and New Zealand natives. We have been looking at native paintings done on bark -- basic colors of dots forming animal and human symbols -- and hope to acquire one later in the trip.
Sydney is a metropolis that could require several weeks in which to see everything, but we needed to move on. So we skipped the shopping (except for a trip to the official Olympics 2000 store) and the actual opera, and headed via train to Melbourne (pronounced "Melbun").
The train trip to Melbourne was (unfortunately) reminiscent of overnight trips both of us had taken when we did Europe with Eurail passes (20+ years ago). It is difficult enough to sleep sitting up (the seats seemed only to recline to an upright position) but it was our fellow passengers who made the trip memorable. As we settled in, a group of four very tired looking adults with seven young (very active) children arrived to sit behind and beside us. I think I got some sleep after I confiscated the two seats in front of me. I also think I achieved some advanced yoga positions trying to get comfortable (but to no avail). When we got off the train (at 7 a.m.), we immediately upgraded our next trip to sleepers..we're too old for this!
We bought an all day bus pass when we arrived in Melbourne but that didn't stop us from carrying our packs back and forth several times down the same street looking for our room at the Y (must have been the lack of sleep). No naps for us, though. We found a food hall that rivals the Marketplace at Marshall-Fields or London's Harrods...at Myers (one stop shopping). Counters and counters of anything you could think of...we were inspired...and that's the history of the now-famous Trainor/Krasnewich antipasto/cheese sandwich (hard roll with goat milk cream cheese and grilled marinated mushrooms, eggplant, tomatoes, and artichokes)...a culinary treat repeated (with variations) several times so far.
The Melbourne Zoo was smaller than Sydney's but horticulturally superior. Numerous little pathways naturalized with plants from the areas the nearby animals originated from. I wish we could grow some of this stuff at home. And a huge long aviary that you walked inside...so large that it had three distinct ecological areas and the birds just flew all around us. Also, there was a butterfly house where you were surrounded with hundreds of butterflies.. you had to watch where you walked...they were everywhere.
In Melbourne we hit the local farmers/craft/general junk market where you could buy everything from leather coats to car batteries from stalls. Then to the National Gallery to see impressive aboriginal art. And, of course, the botanical garden. Then we realized we were tired of big cities and needed a countryside fix.
Headed southwest along the Great Ocean Road, reminiscent (the books say) of Highway 1 in California. Cliffs, little seaside towns, and some spectacular natural features. One is the 12 Apostles, 12 spires out in the water that resulted from the erosion of the shoreline cliffs. Up to Grampion National Park. It had been raining the last two days so we skipped all but one of the planned hikes and hunted out some aboriginal rock art. We have seen such art in Mesa Verde and Guadeloupe. It is fascinating to find these drawings on rocks in the middle of areas where the natives lived and worshipped. This was a drawing of a manlike figure the natives believed created their tribe. Two dogs were drawn beside him. Sadly, the art was behind a fence due to past vandalism, but there was a mysterious feel about the place.
All along this part of the trip we had been seeing lookout signs for kangaroo and koala (you know, the yellow diamond-shaped sign with the silhouette of the kangaroo and "next 25 km" below it). So I got pretty excited and had camera in hand. Unfortunately, the first kangaroo we saw in the wild was a very recent road kill. In fact, the car that hit it was still on the side of the road with a badly dented grill. Next stop was Silverband Falls involving a 20 minute walk in the rain. I was ahead of Tim on the trail and as I waited for him I looked to the side and saw it..my first live wild kangaroo. Are they aggressive? (I think I saw a Fox network special, "When Marsupials Attack!"). Do I have time to get a picture? As I nervously fumbled for my camera, I stared at him (her) and he (she) at me. I got a couple of pix, hoping the shutter noise wouldn't spook it. Then Tim came by and saw it, too. I was so excited. In fact, the roo was there on our way back from the falls.
Rainy days are good for visiting wineries, too. So we stopped at two local ones, did a little tasting, took a tour of one of the wine cellars, and bought a few bottles to send home. The specialty here is sparkling red wines (Burgundy and Shiraz).
Then a long drive to Phillip Island. We stayed at a lovely bed and breakfast -- a definite splurge. But the high point was the penguin parade. In the constant drizzle, starting at 8:45 p.m., hundreds of humans gather on viewing stands to watch about 500 little (fairy) penguins swim in from the day's ocean feeding and waddle back to the chicks at their nests. They come in as small groups, sometimes freaked out by the people and heading back into the water. When there are about 8-16, they come on shore and start looking for their nests. I wish we had this on video. I know they do this every night but some of those birds look absolutely clueless! The chicks come out of the nests where they have been awaiting mum and dad's return and start to cheep, urging the parents on. The park setting where this takes place has extensive board walks to control the tourists, yet allowed us to see lots of chicks and parents up close and personal. I know we have lots of really great penguin photos taken with insufficient light but it's only film. And we did buy a penguin postcard just in case.
Off to Tasmania, next postcard from there. Keep in touch.
Di and Tim
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