Well, we do not know exactly what time the Zuiderdam moved out of the White Bay Terminal. We gave up watching after midnight. The ship was supposed to be docked in the Overseas Passenger terminal at Circular Quay by midnight, but obviously that did not happen. We are sure there must have been some passengers that went out to dinner or attended a performance at the Opera House, and expected the ship to be docked by 12am. The gangway was pulled after 10:30pm, so that was not an option to return to White Bay. They had no choice but to wait until the ship arrived and was ready to re-board. That may have taken even more time. One option may have been to go to a nearby hotel and spend the rest of the night there. We are sure to hear some stories tomorrow.
We woke up to the view of the Opera House right across Circular Quay…..just where we wanted to be. The sun was out and it looked like it was going to be a nice day with no rain. One of us took a ton of photos yesterday, so we would stick around working in our room until 10am or so. There was a crew drill, and that kept the room stewards busy for an hour. Today was going to be easy compared to yesterday. We had cleared customs, and did not have to take a shuttle to downtown.
Leaving the umbrellas on the ship, we headed off and walked towards the Ferry Terminals. For a Wednesday morning, the crowd was about half of what we find on weekends. That made for a much nicer walk. We looked and listened for a digeridoo being played by perhaps an Aboriginal man, but we heard nothing today. Usually there is an older fellow who played near the Museum of Contemporary Art , the first colonial building we passed by near the cruise terminal. Maybe he comes here on weekends only, and has a better chance of getting tips from a bigger crowd of spectators.
It's always fun watching the ferries coming and going. It can be described as a choreographed dance. Different ferries go to Darling Harbor and the Parramatta River, the Taranga Zoo, Manly, and Watson's Bay. Captain Cook Cruises run some vessels from here for touring as well. One of the most famous icons of Sydney is the Opera House which hosts more than 40 performances weekly. There is theater, music, opera, and dance to see. And there is always a chance to book a behind- the- scenes tour of the people that create the magic every night. We have taken that tour and liked what we learned.
We made our way around the back of the Opera House and took the time to take photos of the Sydney Harbor Bridge that has spanned the two sides of Sydney for over 100 years. There is a bridge climb that takes the suited-up folks along the arches to the 134 meter summit. More than 4 million people have taken this thrilling hike since 1990. It takes 2 ½ to 3 ½ hours to do this climb. Today we counted six groups on the upper arch on their way to the summit. We are happy to say we were not part of those groups.
We prefer to spend our time in the Royal Botanic Garden and Domain, which happens to be the oldest garden in the country. There are 15 themed gardens with over 27,000 plants from all over the world. We think we read somewhere that this is the area where the original settlers from England grew their crops. There are some ancient and massive trees planted here, which were brought from England hundreds of years ago. Many of them are labeled which is great.
It seemed that most every bench in the shade was occupied, so taking shelter from the hot sun under the canopy of some of those trees cooled us off. Eventually we headed for the Calyx, a fairly new structure where there is a small café with food to go. Alongside this structure was a trail that led to a dense forest of jungle-like growth. We never saw it there before, so we followed the wooded trail seeing all of the plants, shrubs, and trees that were labeled. This came out very close to an exit to Macquaire Road and a string of historic buildings all the way to Hyde Park.
Out on Macquaire St., we ran into the largest library we have ever seen called the State Library of NSW, which took a whole city block. The Parliament of NSW was here as well, and surrounding it were law offices. We did see some official-looking people in the long black robes, one of which was wearing a wig. Another huge complex in this area is the Sydney Hospital which appears to have been built in the oldest part of town making use of the colonial buildings. The Mint was further up this street as well as the Hyde Park Barracks Museum that housed convicts in the past.
A most impressive building had to be St. Mary's Cathedral with spires that reminded us of Barcelona's Cathedral that never seems to be completed. Across the street is the beginning of Hyde Park with the Archibald Fountain as the center piece. We noticed a warning posted there for people not to go to this park after a heavy rainstorm due to failing tree limbs. Probably some people have been injured or worse because these old growth trees are massive.
We headed down the street where the Sydney Tower at 268 meters above the ground is located. The foot traffic got very busy here with all of the shopping opportunities. It is close to the Pitt Street Mall where many of the luxury boutiques and shops are located and where the wide street is closed to vehicle traffic. While waiting at a stop light, we happened to look up and see Woolworth's marked on top of the building at the next corner. That was exactly where we wanted to go.
This store is the most useful store for locals and tourists too. The first level has items that you can buy quickly like at a 7/11. Down the escalator there is a grocery store. Among some other things, a must buy item for us was Tim Tams, the special chocolate-covered cookies unlike no other. We added some chips and popcorn for room snacks, then went out through the self-help registers. That's the first time we have done this, and we did have help from an employee that worked there. It's really a piece of cake if you are using a credit card.
Directly across the street was the colonial Town Hall, and across from that was the Queen Victoria Building. This is always a must-visit for us. This historical building was once a market place and butchery we believe. Walking through the floor level, the tiled floor is tilted enough to be noticed. The reason for that has to do with the fact it was where meat and fish were cleaned and sold. The floor was pitched so it could be hosed down every day. Now it is full of small boutiques and cafes with mostly sandwiches and sweet treats. One of the boutiques was a Jimmy Choo store, where only a couple of shoppers were allowed inside the shop at a time.
Time was slipping away from us, so we headed straight for The Rocks. There is a pizza restaurant we like there, and we were more than ready for some ice cold beers and a pizza. Once we arrived at the top of The Rocks, we were so disappointed to find the restaurant had closed and was being rebuilt a few blocks away. The sign said "coming soon". Darn. Truthfully, it was already 3pm, and we did not feel like taking the time to try a new venue. So we went down the short street to where the ship was docked.
Back in our room, we chilled out with several Cokes, tortilla chips and salsa. Not really a full lunch, but fun anyway. We worked on reports and photos, barely putting a dent in it, while we waited for sail away. All aboard was 5:30pm with a complimentary wine and cheese party in the Seaview Pool. Usually we would attend these affairs, but knowing it may be crowded, we chose to "stay home". Whenever you see wine and free, there will be a mad rush to go nuts.
Well we waited and waited, and we were not moving. Finally the Captain came on the speakers announcing there was a problem with the azipods, and our departure would be delayed until it was fixed. Oh well it was entertaining watching the dozens of ferries sail in and out of the quay. Finally at 7:30pm, we were on our way out of the harbor. There was enough light to get photos on the way out.
Dinner was at 8pm for us, because we were not going to miss the scenic sailing out of this fabulous harbor. The sun was setting behind the bridge, and we hope the pictures come out good. We stayed until the ship went through the opening at the headlands and the pilot was picked up. It was so rough and windy, the pilot had difficulty getting into the pilot boat. Sure would not want his job.
Dinner was good with a hot bowl of chicken dumpling soup, two salads, and mains of Indonesian spiced lamb chops and BBQ ribs. Dessert was one strawberry torte and a scoop of pineapple sorbet. Needless to say, we slept very well with an added hour that we put back on the clocks tonight.
Looking forward to an easy day at sea tomorrow as we sail towards a new port for us – Moreton Island.
Bill & Mary Ann
