Tuesday 8 December 2015

The Big Adventure - week Four: Sydney and Alice Springs

Monday 7th December:
This morning we met my old boss, Michael Lynch for coffee in Bronte.  Great conversation and good to see him after over 10 years.    We walked round the headland to Bondi and after lunch had a couple of hours on Bondi beach.   Well you have to do that, really, when in Sydney.

Tuesday 8th December:
We started at the Museum of Sydney which gives a good overview of the early days of Sydney.  Then we met Rosemary and Lyn at the opera bar at the Opera House.   We first met Rosemary during our visit to Melbourne in 2002.    We had an excellent lunch.
In the evening, I decided to see a bit of gritty theatre at the Belvoir street theatre.   The play, Mortido, was about the drugs culture in Sydney and the movement of drugs from Mexico and Colombia.   I hugely enjoyed the evening.  The acting and direction in the play were excellent, but it was very complicated and some of the writing could I think have been more self-explanatory.   The constant scene shifting Sydney to Mexico was confusing.   I am glad I went, though.  It was a good antidote to the relentless upbeat nature of the tourist brochures.

Wednesday 9th December:
I joined the State Library of New Sough Wales a couple of weeks ago.  I love the peace and calm in this building.  There are good contemporary exhibitions, some great research material and very fact internet connections.    Which is why I am here writing this. 
Later in the day we went to Tauranga Zoo.   Not perhaps the greatest zoo in then world, but possibly the greatest view from a zoo.














Thursday 10th December:
A quiet day.  The afternoon was spent in the sun at Andrew (Boy) Charlton pool.

Friday 11th December:
Another quiet day.   This afternoon we paid our last visit to Redleaf Pool.   And had dinner at the Thai Restaurant that we like in Stanley Street.    Then it was time to do a final washing and get packed ready for our departure tomorrow.


So that's it.  Four weeks in Sydney.   It was a great experience.  We loved having time to chill out and see our local neighbourhood as well as, of course, seeming the iconic sights of Sydney.   It really is an amazing city.   Will we ever be back.  Who knows?   Depends on what fate has in store.   

But for the immediate future we are looking forward to the next part of the adventure in Alice Springs.

Saturday 12th December:
The flight was a pleasant one and we arrived on time in Alice Springs.   This afternoon we had an Alice Springs tour to the telegraph station, school of the air, flying doctor service, reptile sanctuary and Anzac Hill.    All very interesting.    I guess what was particularly interesting for me was trying to recall my visit in 1979 and how things may have changed.    To be honest there has not been a great deal of obvious change.   Of course Alice Springs has expanded, but I still remember the layout and many of the places we visited today.   Back in 1979, many of the indigenous people gathered of an evening beside the Todd River and drank a lot of alcohol.  Progress has been made there and many of them now have work within Alice Springs.   I hope at the same rate of pay as their white counterparts.
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1 comment:

Graeme Lyall said...

Now that I have realised that you are blogging this trip, I will follow your travels from the comfort of this dark, cold, wet and windy UK! But I am glad you are both having a great time. Congrats on the wedding, and (in advance) Happy Christmas!