On arrival back into Sydney we set off on the half an hour train ride to Gordon (across the bridge !) where we were met by our generous host Graham & driven to their home. We spent a very relaxing evening with him,Pat and their lovely kids Michael & Victoria. After breakfast on sunday we went on a tour of the Hawkesbury River area with Graham & Pat including the local national park where we were lucky enough to spot a small group of kangaroos. I got my customary shot of the local faunas backside but also managed a reasonable shot of what appeared to be the group sentry. We visited one or two beautiful lookouts and had lunch at a marina cafe before visiting "Summer Bay' ( Home & Away Beach" for those familiar with the program ) to stretch our legs on the sand for half an hour.
Our next few days were spent savouring as much Sydney as we could fit in. We walked round the bay from The Rocks at the southern end of the Harbour Bridge to the Opera House and after studying the that from all angles carried on to the Botanical Gardens which are immediately adjacent. We spent quite a lot of time on the ferries out of Circular Quay and I even managed to lose my cap on a particularly gusty day en route from the Lunar Park jetty to Darling Harbour. For the benefit of our Canadian followers (hope you are all well) on one day I remarked that the cruise ship docked in Darling Harbour looked quite like one that we had been on 5 years ago. We then found as we got closer that this was because it was the same ship the Sea Princess. Following our garden theme we visited the Chinese Garden in the Darling Quarter which despite being cheek by jowl with skyscrapers managed to be a haven of peace and very relaxing. We also visited the year 2000 Olympic Park stadium to watch a Big Bash Twenty 20 game between the Sydney Thunder & the Perth Scorchers. This began as Graham, Michael a couple of his work colleagues plus us but expanded to a group of 15 which made it more fun and made up for the poor performance of the local side who lost comprehensively. Our last day was spent at Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour followed by the Sydney Fish market where we had a beautiful lunch of oysters (Jenny & I have developed a taste for these) & mixed seafood of superb quality. We thoroughly enjoyed Sydney and are indebted to Graham & Pat for their hospitality .
Our next few days were spent savouring as much Sydney as we could fit in. We walked round the bay from The Rocks at the southern end of the Harbour Bridge to the Opera House and after studying the that from all angles carried on to the Botanical Gardens which are immediately adjacent. We spent quite a lot of time on the ferries out of Circular Quay and I even managed to lose my cap on a particularly gusty day en route from the Lunar Park jetty to Darling Harbour. For the benefit of our Canadian followers (hope you are all well) on one day I remarked that the cruise ship docked in Darling Harbour looked quite like one that we had been on 5 years ago. We then found as we got closer that this was because it was the same ship the Sea Princess. Following our garden theme we visited the Chinese Garden in the Darling Quarter which despite being cheek by jowl with skyscrapers managed to be a haven of peace and very relaxing. We also visited the year 2000 Olympic Park stadium to watch a Big Bash Twenty 20 game between the Sydney Thunder & the Perth Scorchers. This began as Graham, Michael a couple of his work colleagues plus us but expanded to a group of 15 which made it more fun and made up for the poor performance of the local side who lost comprehensively. Our last day was spent at Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour followed by the Sydney Fish market where we had a beautiful lunch of oysters (Jenny & I have developed a taste for these) & mixed seafood of superb quality. We thoroughly enjoyed Sydney and are indebted to Graham & Pat for their hospitality .
Lovely - brings back memories for me as I celebrated my 40th birthday there! xx
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