The Volendam sailed quietly through the headlands on the way to Sydney Harbour well before 5am, we think. It was still dark when we passed the iconic Sydney Opera House (unlit), Circular Quay, and proceeded past the already docked Zaandam, then finally under the Sydney Harbor Bridge. As promised, the bow was opened before 6am and there was no rain. Lucky since even in the dark, the city was beautiful lit up like a Christmas tree. Our destination was White Bay Terminal where we seem to dock these days. Usually, the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay is reserved for those cruise ships that will not fit under the bridge. The Zaandam beat us to that spot because they arrived yesterday. Not to worry, we did have a shuttle over to the Hilton Hotel.
Anyway, here are a few tidbits on the fabulous country of Australia. The population is 23.7 million people (more or less) that mostly speak English. The capital is Canberra, one city we have not visited. Most Australians live on the coastline of this country….89% of them. Sydney is considered glamorous with beaches, boutiques, and bars. Melbourne is arts, alleyways, and football. Brisbane is sub-tropical and Adelaide is festive. Perth is considered the West coast up and coming city, while the capital of Canberra remains political. Hobart is totally opposite with chilly weather.
We have been so lucky to have visited these many places and more. We have never explored Uluru or Ayers Rock, but many friends of ours have gone overland there. Most of them came back with stories of extreme heat, dust, and incredible amounts of flies. We had the same impressions while on a tour in Kakadu years ago. We lasted 10 minutes outside the bus until the flies drove us crazy. Now we see the need for those nets that cover your entire head.
Food here is a trip within itself. How about bugs (shovel-nosed lobsters), or fish like snapper, trevally and whiting (good for fish & chips). Marron is a prehistoric-looking freshwater crayfish and another good choice is fresh water grilled barramundi. Oysters in Sydney are called rock oysters, but in Tasmania, they are called Pacific oysters. Yamba prawns can be found about anywhere.
And who can resist the furry and ferocious critters native to Australia. Cuddly koalas, wallabies, kangaroos, kookaburras, nesting sea turtles, little penguins and fur seals come to mind. On the other hand the ferocious animals may include a numerous variety of poisonous snakes, Tasmanian devils, wombats, saltwater crocodiles, and sharks like the great whites and the bull sharks. The bulls can come up the rivers when you least expect them.
What is there to see and do? If you prefer tours, HAL offered eight of them today. Manly and North Sydney sites was 4 hours for $70. Another affordable one was Sydney sites and Bondi Beach for 4 hours and $90. Two excursions costing $140 were the Taranga Zoo for 6 hours or Taranga Zoo sunset walk for 3 hours. A foodie tour in Sydney was 4 hours for $270 or a trip to the Blue Mountains (we have done this one twice) for 8 hours for $280 with lunch. To climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge for 4 hours was $500, or take a seaplane flight with fine dining for 5 hours for $900. These same tours would be available on March 8th as well.
Everyone had to attend the immigration inspection, even if you did not want to go ashore. We had been given letters with group numbers on them to go through the checkpoint. Although our paper said 7:45am group B, we had the option of staying onboard until the last call after 9am. That happens to one of the perks of being Presidents Club members. The folks that had tours went off first, then the group numbers were called. We still had plenty of time to eat our usual breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill and be on time for the inspection.
So with our passports, room keys, and the filled out incoming passenger forms, we headed off by 9:30am. There was hardly a line this time, which was great as it is usually the Disneyland-type line that moves like a snail. The guests who had chosen to go back on the ship were seated outside the xray checkpoint in the huge terminal. They could not re-board the vessel until everyone had cleared immigrations. On our way to the waiting shuttle, we picked up a city guide booklet with a few maps. We were on the bus by 10am, and once it was full, we were driven to the Sydney Hilton Hotel within walking distance of many city sights. It was not close to Circular Quay, but we easily walked there as it was downhill all of the way.
To begin, it was going to be a very warm and humid day, unusual for this time of year. Rain was in the forecast but not until later in the afternoon. We brought umbrellas just in case but never needed them. The bus ride took only 20 minutes or so. We walked down Pitt Street and located the pedestrian-only Pitt Street Mall. One of us was in need of some new denim shorts, and we knew there was a Cotton On store in Westfield's Mall. Lucky for me, I found one pair that worked.
Then we headed down towards Circular Quay and the Overseas Passenger Terminal where the Zaandam was docked. That ship is currently doing the Australia/New Zealand Grand Voyage and a special Chocolate Afternoon Tea was happening for guests from both HAL ships. This meet-up had been in the works for a few weeks because we had a printed invitation to fill out and let them know of we were going or not. We never responded since we did not want to sacrifice the precious time we had in Sydney. Everyone that attended from the Volendam had to be cleared and on their roster. Long story short we really do not like tea nor did we need the chocolate fix. We only wanted to see some of our friends that were sailing on the Zaandam.
As luck would have it, we were passing by the Museum of Contemporary Art when someone approach from behind us and pulled my hair. What a wonderful surprise to see friends Greg and Heo and Allen and Sandra. They had been invited to attend by another guest and had submitted their documents a few weeks ago. Before they boarded this ship we were able to spend some time chatting with the four of them. The guys will be joining the Volendam in Singapore, while Allen and Sandra will be boarding the Eurodam next Sunday after spending three months living in the Manly area. We said our goodbyes before the buses began arriving from the Volendam. We knew that without signing up for the tea we would not be allowed onboard. Turned out to be a wise decision.
It was crazy crowded at Circular Quay with the ferries going everywhere. It was also a Saturday with decent weather, so many families were out and about . Knowing our favorite pizza stop in the Rocks had closed last year, we knew we needed to find a new place. That turned out to be Eastbank Cafe and Pizzeria right on the Circular Quay waterfront. It was noontime so there were only a few remaining seats left outside under the umbrellas. We ordered one pepperoni pizza to share along with ice cold tasty draft beers. Much to our surprise, the pizza was excellent. We added a shared dessert of chocolate cake. The next morning, we learned from very reliable sources that the special teatime on the Zaandam was disappointing as far as the food went. One of our buddies even went as far as saying it was on of the worst teas he has ever attended. For one thing, the duration of the tea party was only 1 hour, and the ship was due to leave the port by 5pm. That must have been challenging because they had to use both lower and upper dining rooms to accommodate that crowd. So by the time these folks were waiting for their tea and sweets, we were already having our pizza and beers.
From the restaurant, we walked around the back if the Sydney Opera House, spotting the one New Zealand fur seal that was resting on the steps of the harbor. He barely moved and may have had a slight injury. We entered the Royal Botanical Gardens and made our way to the center of the park. It was here we saw many Australian white ibis, the scavengers of the area. Going from bench to bench, we also saw some Sulphur-crested cockatoos hiding in the evergreen trees, and some noisy aggressive mynah birds doing the same. There were a few black and white Australian magpies. And there were no squirrels because they do not have squirrels in Australia.
We exited the gardens at Macquarie Street and followed it uphill. We passed by the State Library, NSW Parliament, Sydney Hospital with a bronze wild pig outside the main door, the Mint, the old barracks museum, and St. Mary's Cathedral. We continued on to Hyde Park with Queen Victoria's statue looming high over the entrance. We saw the Archibald Fountain, then detoured to take some photos of a flock of little white corella cockatoos eating seeds in the grass. From there, we made our way back to the shuttle above the Pitt Street Mall. The buses were running often enough, we did not have long to wit before they left. We were back onboard the ship before 4pm, enjoying some well-deserved ice cold sodas.
Working on photos and reports took the rest of the afternoon. Dinner was good with arancini appetizers, a salad, and mains of meatloaf stuffed with cheese and wrapped with bacon. We may have passed on the dessert. And because today was the start of another segment, the Lido Market had their welcome onboard steak dinner. That seems to appeal to the newbies first dinner as a casual one ending at 8pm. The dining room at 7:30pm was not crowded.
The show for this evening was provided by a fellow named Patrick McMahon who entertained the crowd with country songs. His best ones were from Glenn Campbell, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Kenny Rodgers and more. We believe he was on the Tales of the South Pacific last fall and was a big hit.
Resting up was on our agenda for another marathon day tomorrow.
Bill & Mary Ann
