We carried on the touristy activities and boarded the ferry to Manly beach. Sydney has the best public transportation that I have come across in a long time. A ferry system that can take us anywhere in the harbour that forms the center of a 3-4 million person metropolis. The boats are on time, clean and safe. We departed circular quay and headed toward the Pacific. The natural harbour runs East and West with the headlands on the North and South sides of the harbour. As we made our way to the North headlands we were able to feel some of the swells that were rolling in from the Pacific. The winds were from the Northeast at about 20 knots so the swell was noticeable. I'm sure that its been/will be worse but when our 1,000 passenger ferry was rolling, the waves were a good size.
Arriving at Manly was like stepping back 30 years in time. The streets had a decidedly English feel, narrow with curious zig-zag markings. The signs referenced chemists and surgeries for drug stores and dentists. There were a lot of young people milling around the open plaza that went from the wharf to the beaches, all of whom were tanned and in various forms of bathing suits. A short walk from the wharf through the plaza led to Manly beach with one small stop along the way. I met and spoke with Luke, the constable in charge of the Anti-Crime unit for the Manly beach area. He has worked in policing for 20 years always with the New South Wales police department and has been stationed several different places prior to Manly beach. We traded shop talk a bit and I finally asked him what he thought of the job. "What's not to love, Mate? I work in paradise. The beach is here, the sun is shining? What do you think, Mate?" I thought that it was a very Australian answer to my question. He was not insulted, nor was he condescending to me for asking. It was, I thought, a very honest friendly and open answer with a matter of fact tone. One of the things that I have consistently been amazed about while here. Everyone has the attitude (at least the people that we have talked to) of "of course things are great here, why wouldn't they be". What a pleasant way to go through life.
We regretfully headed back to the wharf to catch the ferry back to Sydney. An ice cream along the way powered us for the return trip. On the boat, we made the turn from the North headlands back into the harbour and saw an amazing sight. The entire harbour was filled with sailboats. Big, 24 footers and larger along with small, blazing fast, skiffs. Sails were everywhere. The ferry had to stay to the extreme right side of the channel to make it back to the wharf. The Australians take sailing very seriously and follow it with the same sort of passion as some college football fans in the States. Now I have a better understanding of the passion that Australia has with the America's Cup and 12 meter yacht racing.
Docking at the wharf meant that we needed to get our act together for our evening adventure, climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The bridge was constructed during the Great Depression and is gargantuan. If I remember correctly, only 16 people were killed while it was being built. One man fell from the bridge and lived. An Irishman, he threw his spanner (wrench) into the water just before he hit, breaking the surface tension. He landed feet first (with boots on) and used his arms and hands to protect his face. He suffered broken ribs and returned to work two weeks after the fall. he also had some minor surgery to remove parts of his boots from certain parts of his body.
We had our training session, suited up in a jumpsuit that has lots of "attachment points" and put on our safety harness. Then it was attach-up and out of the door onto the cat walk. We exited the south tower a hundred or so feet above street level and our first challenge was to climb a series of ladders to the top of the span. Probably one of the more difficult parts of the trip. After the ladders, we walked the top of the span that is closest to the Opera House to the very top of the bridge, where the flags are. We were 1,000 or so feet above the water, taller than the Opera House and looking at the upper floors of the skyscrapers in downtown. It was dark, with a crescent moon in the sky and I was simply amazed at just how big the city of Sydney is. It covered most of the horizon. 90% of the population of Australia lives in Melbourne and Sydney and I can believe it. We have pictures that the tour guide took (nothing of our own is allowed on the bridge, it seems that dropping something has dire consequences) that I hope to post later. Over 1,400 steps in total.
We finally got down from the bridge and changed into our regular clothes. When we walked out of the business at the foot of the bridge, it was nearly 11 PM. We were exhausted so we succumbed to temptation and stopped at Maccers for dinner (McDonalds in the local parlance).
Stay tuned. Now that we are in Brisbane, I plan on going back and posting in pictures to prior blog posts. Its now 9:15 AM and time for some brekkie. Hoo roo for now!
Good stuff mate! FNOTH here with Alan, Jenny, Sienna and the York's...sounds like old times!
ReplyDelete