The Zuiderdam sailed into the harbor of Sydney so early that we bet no one was up watching it. Except one of us. The time of the sailing was somewhere around 4am, and we still are not sure why we had to arrive so early unless it was due to tides and other ship traffic. Or it may have been linked to the Immigration Inspection we had to do before being let loose in Sydney.
First of all, this was the end of the first segment, so there was a "zero" clearance required where everyone, including the crew, had to have a face-to-face passport check. This takes time, so being docked earlier, we had new information regarding the disembarking process. With the exception of the excursion people, we were all divided into groups by letter A to G. The guests who were leaving had the usual luggage tag colors and were mostly called off first. We chose group G which had until 9:15am to get off.
So we had plenty of time to have our breakfast, but at 7am instead of 7:30am. Not everyone that dines in the Pinnacle Grill got that message, so for a change, the door was not blocked by some folks that HAVE to be first. Service was excellent as always. When we returned to our room, the crew guy was hosing down our veranda once again as well as preparing for the new guests that were arriving today or tomorrow.
So before we get carried away with today's activities, here is a little info on Australia. The size of this country is 7.7 million square kilometers of the most diverse terrains that exist. The population is 23.7 million people that primarily speak English with a really cool accent. City-living folks live in mostly the coastline, while the rugged people live in the interior. Canberra is the capital, but the "fun" cities include Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and the Gold Coast to name just a few.
It is a country of furry animals like the wallabies, kangaroos, koalas, and kookaburras. There are the ferocious animals like the crocodiles, snakes, wombats, and Tasmanian devils. Other creatures big and small include the whales, fur seals, sea turtles, platypuses, and little penguins. The birds can be ferocious as well like the emus, ostrich, and several varieties of parrots.
The top experiences include the undersea kingdom of the Great Barrier Reef. If you wish to see turtles, rays, timid? reef sharks, and strikingly colorful tropical fish, this is for you. Keep one thing in mind, however, the long boat ride to access the reef pontoons may leave you with a bad case of sea sickness. We have seen many friends drop from it over the years, although we were smart enough to take the meds ahead of time.
Melbourne appeals to the "foodies" and park and garden lovers, while Fremantle and Perth appeal to the student filled towns with the best beer and wines to be enjoyed. The Blue Mountains, Kakadu, and Uluru are must-see destinations, but be prepared for unbelievable heat and humidity. And the flies. That was a surprise to us the first time we went to Kakadu. The smart folks wore those hats with nets to keep the flies out of their eyes, noses and ears. That's probably one reason we never went on the Uluru overland trip.
What kind of food is good here? Everyone likes the "bugs" or shovel-nosed lobsters, fish of all types, - water crayfish, Rock oysters in Sydney, and Pacific oysters in Tasmania. Prawns are big here particularly sweet prawns or Yamba eastern King prawns. And you can find great pizza here too.
And then there is Sydney, a city like no other. A stop here is the best way to begin exploring this massive country. We will be docked in the White Bay Terminal for one day, then re-locate after 10:15pm to the Overseas Passenger Terminal and spend the rest of the evening and following day there. That's nice for a change.
Ship tours offered for the two days here were city sights with Bondi Beach or The Opera House for 4 ½ to 5 ½ hours from $80 to $150. A trip to the Blue Mountains was 8 ½ hours for $260. We liked the trip so much, we did it twice over the years. A visit to the Taranga Zoo was $140 for 6 hours. But the over-the-top excursion had to be the Sydney Bridge Climb for 4 ½ hours costing $500. And by booking these tours on day one, these folks were shuffled through a separate line for the Immigrations Inspections. It did move quite a bit faster.
So we left the ship when the last number G was called at about 9:15 am. In hindsight, we should have waited longer, because we got sucked into a Disney-like zigzag line for almost an hour before we saw the agent and got clearance. By the way, we did need our room key, our passport, the time slot and in -transit slip, and the completed Australian Incoming Passenger Card. The several shuttle buses were lined up outside the terminal waiting to load guests for the ride to Darling Harbor. This works well, so we have no problem being docked away from Circular Quay. But being docked there tonight will be convenient for day two.
We decided to keep to the Darling Harbor area for our first day here. We were dropped off at the King Street Wharf and walked down a flight of stairs to the wide promenade waterside walkway around the harbor. Sydney's Darling Harbor is described as a premier leisure and entertainment hub. It has over forty eateries, bars, theaters, museums and parks. And since we have been coming to Sydney, we have seen a complete renovation take place creating this most lovely area of the city. The scenic harbor is full of private vessels and tour boats as well. We turned left and checked out each and every dining venue along the harbor to find who offered pizza and draft beer. One nice place called Casa Ristorante Italiano filled our requirements with a wood-fired oven and draft beers. We would return here by 1pm.
We continued walking past the Aquarium and the Wild Life exhibit, two places we have toured in the past. The Pyrmont Pedestrian Bridge connects one side of the harbor to the opposite side. Since we were here last a few years ago, we found the entire building where the Hard Rock Café was located has been leveled. It appears that there are more condos going up in that spot now. Deeper into the harbor, we were in the Cockle Bay Wharf and at the end of the bay. Besides many huge entertainment centers, there is a park area for kids with a playground and even a carousel. Naturally across the way was the popular McDonalds. A series of wading ponds have been added for the little ones as well as some of the local pigeons and ibis that live in the area. The Chinese Garden of Friendship is here and many more new sidewalk cafes.
Turning left, we made our way to Chinatown which is the largest one in Australia. It is full of more restaurants featuring Chinese cuisine along with special shops selling food items and wellness remedies. It was early, so many of the vendors were just setting up for the day. There were many decorations left over from the recent Lunar New Year Celebration all designed around the theme of the year of the snake.
At the end of Chinatown was Paddy's Market, which we had forgotten that it was not opened today. Mondays and Tuesdays are the days they are closed. However, there is a Marketplace Mall at one end, so we went inside and found the mall to be very nice with several levels of familiar brand stores and a supermarket as well. The upper levels were filled with even more dining options. We did locate a small pharmacy where we bought some things we needed. That was our big job of the day, so from here, we back-tracked to look for the lunch venue we had decided on.
We were seated at a table with a cushioned couch with pillows along the outer railing of the indoor/outdoor restaurant. We ordered two draft Heineken beers (pints) along with a pepperoni pizza to share. Being cooked in wood-fired oven really makes a difference in the texture and taste of the dough. It was excellent and cooked with lots of tomato sauce and cheese on top. Water was also provided in a bottle and was much appreciated. Although it was not overly hot today, it was humid, and after walking for so long, we realized how easy it is to become dehydrated. The beers and the water took care of that. We added a dessert we have had before, although not sure where. It was a Nutella pizza with some vanilla ice cream. The pizza had some ricotta cheese on the top, then generously drizzled with the Nutella sauce and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Needless to say, it was good. And complementing the chef sure brought a smile to his face.
We had toyed with the idea of walking down to the Barangaroo area of the harbor, but it was nearing 3pm, and we decided we could take that area in tomorrow if we leave the ship early. And remember, we will be closer to everything docked at Circular Quay.
Back on the ship, we cooled off in our room, worked on photos and reports, and relaxed until dinnertime. Frankly, we were still not really hungry after having such a fun lunch, but some of the starters were good. One of them was a crispy spring roll, so good, that one of us ordered doubles. An entire meal could be made with just these tasty appetizers. One of us ordered the everyday Caesar salad followed by a spaghetti with pancetta (a little salty) and one chicken cordon blue. Desserts were a strawberry shortcake with sponge cake and one little scoop of mango sorbet.
We figured there would be no show tonight although there was a movie, The Dry.
The ship was scheduled to leave White Bay around 10:30pm. That did not happen. We were still watching at 11:30pm, and eventually the tugboats arrived. There was still a delay and we gave up and went to bed, trusting we would wake up at Circular Quay in the Overseas Passenger Terminal. We sure hope the ship will dock starboard side.
Bill & Mary Ann
