30 Days Down Under - Part 4 - Port Douglas: The Daintree & The Reef

Flying to Cairns & Port Douglas

The most common way to get from Ayers Rock to Cairns (I'll never learn how to pronounce that right the Ozzie way) is to take a long flight to Sydney, mess with a transfer, and then take a long flight up to Cairns - all totalling 8 hours or far longer. There are lots more choices that way and it's far cheaper.
But to save time we chose to splurge and take the only flight direct between the two - Qantaslink - 2 1/2 hours.  Unfortunately, the flight is in late afternoon, so it was after 7:00 PM by the time we disembarked and picked up our car for our drive to Port Douglas; much of the drive was in the dark.

Click on any photo in the blog to enlarge it

On the flight we came across a strange surprise - a help wanted ad in the flight magazine. And look at the advertised wage, plus a ute (4wd utility vehicle)!
What kind of economy does Australia have?

In the Cairns airport we found the Budget rental counter, got in their car, and were off to Port Douglas.  It was a bit confusing leaving the airport, but we soon found our way.

We had read about the many roundabouts on the highway north toward Port Douglas.  We were a bit apprehensive ... in a long past trip to the UK the joke had been that when we approached a roundabout warn me, and even though I was driving, I'd hide until we were past. But this time, even though many were 2 lanes wide with heavy traffic in both lanes, it felt more comfortable.

The road eventually narrowed to 2 lanes with almost no shoulders as it tightly twisted through unknown terrain. Luckily we came across a driver who drove similarly to me, pegged at the speed limit. It was relaxing following the red tail lights rather than trying to peer into the darkness past the headlights' beam, looking for curves or rockfall or the feared nocturnal animal crossing the road.

At Port Douglas we found the Outrigger Port Douglas Holiday Apartments, set amidst its lush tropical gardens, found the manager's instructions to our second floor walkup apartment (we had warned them we'd be late). The apartment was spacious ... kitchen, living & dining room, bedroom ... the rooms arranged in an L-shape around a large patio-balcony ... large sliding doors (with screens) and copious opening windows let in the tropical air.

We unpacked then walked the two or three blocks to Macrossan Street, Port Douglas's main drag, to find a place to eat. The first thing we noticed was a sure sign of a tropical tourist town: a semi-open-air walkup liquor store. We bypassed it ... forty years ago I'd have walked in and picked up several bottles (and those bottles would not have been bottles of beer *if* it was one of those rare moments at that age when I could afford more than brew). But nowadays we drink more water and coffee, having, at dinner, only one glass of wine (Ginny) or a beer or a double shot of whisky neat (me) or the very occasional cocktail (both).

Best of all, our apartment had its own washer and dryer. We'd planned the next day to be a "down day", a chance to wash our clothes and relax after having been on the go for 10 days after leaving home - especially after the dusty red earth of the Red Center, and to shop for food for our breakfasts and picnics (dinners as always were to be in restaurants - who wants to mess with cooking on a holiday), and to explore the more-tropical-than-California town.

We awoke early to dawn's raucous cacophony of birds in the palm and other tropical trees outside our windows.








We'd always known that Port Douglas and the Great Barrier Reef were on the coast of Australia, vaguely on the western edge of the south Pacific Ocean, but were a bit surprised when we realized that it's on the shores of the Coral Sea, only about 500 miles from New Guinea.

It was more tropical than we expected. The air wasn't just hot;
it was sticky.  Sweat didn't evaporate.  The dryer in our apartment wasn't vented to the outdoors, increasing the humidity. We kept all the windows and doors open and hung stuff to "dry" on the patio when it wasn't in shade.

All of that while realizing that we were there on a *relatively* cool day with clouds hinting at the possibility of a tropical rain. Unfortunately (?) it didn't rain on us.







It was early spring, with summer yet to come, but even then people tended to lounge around pools and wear swimming suits downtown. (We're possibly the only people who came to Australia without swimsuits. I cooled myself off by thinking about being in the Pacific Northwest mountains, dipping nude into an alpine tarn fed by melting nearby snow.)

Sugarcane

Next day we drove north of Port Douglas through Mossman to the Daintree Rain Forest, a UNESCO world heritage site.


I had always imagined Mossman to be a tiny hamlet tucked between trees and waterfalls in a rain forest.  It's not. It's mostly a farming town in the middle of a large and unexpected sugarcane growing area ... and apparently early October when we were there is the middle of harvest.

There were machines that looked like old wheat threshing machines from the early/mid 1900's cutting the cane.  And there was a small narrow-gauge railroad that wended its way along and across the highway, with branches into what seemed like almost every cane farm, trundling trains of cars loaded with cane to a plant in Mossman. It was fascinating, but we were in too much hurry to get to the Daintree to stop for photos, so here are some photos from the web.

(Photos by Craigle (top) and Bahnfrend (bottom)
from Wikimedia Commons)

Daintree Rainforest

This was THE HIGHLIGHT of our stay in Port Douglas, unexpectedly topping the Great Barrier Reef.
"The Daintree Rainforest is one of the most spectacular ecosystems in the world"- Dr. David Suzuki

It's hard to overstate the importance of the Daintree and its history.  It's *interesting* to look at, see, and explore. But when one learns its history and finds out more one is simply awestruck and dumbfounded.

The Daintree Rainforest is estimated by scientists to be between 110 and 180 million years old!!!

Yes. That would make it and its ecology existent before Australia and Antarctica broke free from the former continent of Gondwana and drifted apart.

At the visitor center we picked up a colorfully illustrated 74 page summary of Daintree, its history, ecology, plants, and animals:  Daintree, Jewel of Tropical North Queensland by Lloyd Nielsen, 1997 (obtainable from Lloyd Nielsen, PO Box 55, Mount Molloy, QLD, 4871, Australia or online at this link)

There is lots of information about Daintree online (google is your friend). Some quick summaries include Discover The Daintree and CapeTribBeach.com.au and an especially good one at this link that talks about both the forest and Cassoways

Although we left Port Douglas very early, we were in a hurry. We had scheduled tours with the naturalists at Cooper Creek Wilderness Tours starting at 11:30 halfway between the Daintree River and Cape Tribulation and we didn't know how long we'd have to wait for the cable ferry across the river. It's reported that during busy times the wait can be hours (plural). We needn't have worried; we got there in plenty of time and there was no wait. That gave us time for a leisurely drive, sightseeing, and time to stop at the visitor's center as the road wound its way through the rainforest.

Although much of the Daintree along the roadside is wild, much land has been carved out of it.

Unfortunately Daintree has a long history of dismemberment by humans.  Sugarcane farming expanded into much of the area.  Parts were cut out by logging, others by speculators for small lot development. The severe rainfall and difficulty of access kept much at bay but dismemberment began to pick up in the 1960's. Throughout the 1970's and 1980's and later dispute raged, with some private interests and the governments of the shire (county) and Queensland on one side and the government of Australia and environmentalists on the other side. Much focused on a road proposed through the area in the 1980's.

Gradually the environmentalists began to prevail; the government of the shire reversed course, as did later the government of Queensland. In 1981 the Great Barrier Reef was listed as a UNESCO site followed by the Daintree in 1988.  A government buyback of properties was begun, but has since been discontinued so the fight goes on. See a partial history here and and also here

We drove down the barely-one-car-wide dirt and gravel drive into Cooper Creek Wilderness Tours http://coopercreek.com.au/ , where we got instructions directing us to the launch site for the first part of the tour, a one hour boat tour along Cooper Creek to see mangroves, river life, and hopefully, crocodiles (alas, none were to be seen).

While we were waiting for the boat tour we were joined by a family from the Netherlands.  They had just arrived the previous evening after long flights from Amsterdam to Hong Kong to Cairns.  The parents were exhausted  - they left to sleep; their 20 something son was raring to go. so Tom joined us for much of the day.

Afterwards we piled into our car, Tom showed us a nearby place to have lunch at a beach, then off we went back down the narrow road to meet a naturalist who would lead a smaller group on a fascinating and informative walk through the rainforest.

Like most visitors to the Daintree, we had been hoping all day to be lucky enough to see a cassowary.  At many places along the highway there had been the standard yellow diamond-shaped signs warning of animal crossings . But instead of silhouettes of leaping deer, they showed the silhouette of a cassowary.

Photo from Wikimedia Commons by Licualawin

Why warn about a bird crossing? They are flightless and big. Very BIG. And although they are ancient birds which have been around through prehistoric eras, they are now endangered, with only about, 1,200 to 1,500 left in Australia - too few to lose one to the car of a heedless driver.

Cassowaries can stand 6 feet tall, weigh 130 pounds,  jump 7 feet high into the air, and can run 30 mph. They have a reputation of being dangerous -  the middle of the three claws on each foot is sharp and can slash 2" or more deep - and they can kick - hard.  Luckily, they eat mostly fruit and only small animals like snails and frogs.

Because they have the reputation of being dangerous, and because they look (and are) prehistoric, youtube is full of videos about them: here - at the beach and here - a mini documentary and  here - being stalked

Our naturalist explaining: some trees use their roots as a buttress 

The naturalist told us there is a chance we'd see one. There was a female and several nesting males nearby and it was about time for their chicks to hatch and for them to be out and about.

Yup. The males sit on the eggs and tend the young.  A female cassowary will mate with several males; the last male is the one who sits on the eggs for about 50 days.  In the meantime she'll seek out other males and start over again.

He also assured us we'd be fine, be calm if one came around, that they are usually docile, more interested in eating fruit, and usually attack only in defense when disturbed or frightened.  The only person known to be killed by one had been chasing and harassing it ... he was killed by one kick that sliced his torso open from top to bottom.  Alas, we didn't get a chance to see one nor to be disemboweled.

He pointed out the the dangers of the  gympie-gympie plant, the stinging plant.  The hairs have a neurotoxin that is excruciatingly painful and keeps up until every one of them gets removed by a wax hair removal strip.  The pain is said to have caused people and animals to kill themselves.

He also pointed out the dangers of the pretty purple fruit that we often came across on the forest floor - cassowaries eat copious amounts of it with no ill effect (and they plant more by passing its stone in their droppings), but its skin contains a powerful neurotoxin to most other beings ... do not touch and if you do, wash immediately and do not touch your mouth.

I knew Australia was notorious for having more species of poisonous snakes and spiders and jellyfish than any other place on our planet. Damn. Even plants too.

At the end of the walk we hooked up with Tom's parents, said goodbye, and started back to Port Douglas, wishing that we could have planned to stay longer.

The Great Barrier Reef

The next day we got up early to walk to the harbor to take the Quicksilver cruise to the Great Barrier Reef.  What a change from the previous day ... from laid back walking in the rainforest to a one hour ride on a speeding catamaran holding over 400 passengers to Agincourt Reef - a platform on the Great Barrier Reef.  It was windy, so a bit rough.

We sat at a table with another couple only about a decade younger than us. And on the reef and on the way back ended up sitting and talking with them too ... we had a lot in common and had enjoyable conversations about our countries (they were from Sydney AU) and about travelling. They invited us to dinner when we were to pass through Sydney a week or so later. (Unfortunately, when we did get to Sydney, our plane was scheduled to arrive in the mid evening, our plane to Queenstown was scheduled to leave early the next morning, and Ginny's coughing was still bad, so we had to cancel.) 

One of the other things we had in common was that both our wives were affected by the motion of the boat ... they didn't get horribly seasick, but enough to make the trip unenjoyable.

Before we came on the trip we had debated how best to see and experience the reef. We both wanted to experience the outer reef.  ... But ... If outdoors people tend to arrange on a scale from more mountain oriented to more water/sea oriented, we're both on the mountain end of the scale. And if travellers are arranged on a scale from those who like to do things with big groups and those who don't, we're on the don't end of the scale.

If we were really into the sea and either snorkeling or diving, we would *definitely* have chosen a very small and active cruise to a more remote portion of the reef.  But Ginny definitely didn't want to snorkel (and she was justifiably nervous about getting seasick).  I'd have liked to snorkel, but it was no great deal to me to miss it.

Quicksilver has their large platform with various things to do to experience a curated part of the reef including looking out from a semi submersible and walking through an underwater passage, watching the (less colorful than expected) underwater  life.  So Quicksilver became our plan.

Am I glad we did it? Yup, given our interests.  Would I do it again? Nope.  What could have been better: snorkeling with a small group in a more remote place.

The Beach & The Drive

Before leaving we had to hit the beach at least once, so we walked the four blocks from our apartment to Four Mile Beach.  The signs at the entry add excitement, but the locals are comfortable using it and stinger season had not yet started. Although it was cloudy and a bit chilly there were some playing in the water. I wadded in. I'm used to the ocean being cold. The warm water was great!

4 Mile Beach - Port Douglas - See the kayaker?

We had lots of time so we mosied down the coast to the Cairns Airport, enjoying the scenery and the beaches that we had missed when northbound in the dark.  The Captain Cook Highway and its view reminded me of California Highway 1 north of San Francisco in the 1960's. There were pockets of development, but long stretches with unpopulated beaches.

At Rex Lookout, a hang glider was soaring on thermals,  jumping off, soaring down, then letting the thermal take him high over his takeoff & landing spot.  He had a sign out offering to sell tandem rides.

Last stop on our way to Cairns airport to fly to Melbourne: a picnic in the park at Palm Cove.

30 Days Down Under - Part 3 - Uluru

2 1/2 days in Uluru

We had hoped to fly into Yulara at 1:30, pick up our rental car, quickly check in to the hotel, then get to Uluru (Ayers Rock) for the afternoon and evening, then spend one day going to and hiking in the Olgas and possibly one day driving to Kings Canyon and back, then the morning of the next day exploring around Uluru  before flying out.

Typical mistake: planning to cram too much in too short a time.

The plane was on time, but something was amiss with the baggage handling system. Two plane-loads of passengers waited an unusual amount of time until the conveyor finally started up. We boarded the free shuttle to the Yulara village center where we picked up our rental car, then drove to the Outback Pioneer Hotel.

The respiratory thing we caught in the flying petri dish on our way to Australia had a good grip on us by the time we got the the Red Center. So we quickly "relaxed" our plans. We spent the afternoon leisurely walking around Yulara and browsing in its shops.

Accommodation

We were curious what our hotel, the Outback Pioneer Hotel, would be like since it's the cheapest of the hotels in Yulara (everything in Yulara is expensive) and shares a compound with the Outback Pioneer Lodge, a hostel-like place with dorms and private rooms.

It was a very pleasant surprise. It was composed of clusters of concrete block units spread amidst nicely landscaped gardens. Although a bit spartan, it was very clean and well tended ... perfect for our needs.

That evening we ate in its restaurant, the Bough House - it was semi prix fixe - a bit pricy for our taste but the main course meat was great and the accompanying buffet was as good or better than most. We found the breakfast buffets (included with our room) were great and included the ability to request things from the kitchen.

The best part of eating there was our frequent waitress with whom we had many short conversations; she was a young girl from Japan.  In Australia, Canada, and many countries young people from throughout the world are able to work on short term permits.  That's a great experience for them, and tends to create a bond with, and appreciation of, the host country which can have lasting impact on relations between countries. Sadly, that doesn't happen much in the US.

It was only a 15 minute walk across an "unlandscaped bit of the outback" to the village center. We walked it a lot during our stay.
.

Map from Ayers Rock Resort website

Exploring Uluru (Ayers Rock)

We had read much about Uluru in our trip preparation, some of the best sources being the national park's visitor guide and The Ayers Rock Resort website.

We needed our rest so got up late, hence unfortunately missed the sunrise. Instead of hurrying off we attended the mid morning Mani-Mani cultural performance in the Arkani theater behind the Desert Gardens hotel. Mani-Mani Performance  It was well-worthwhile attending (it's free, with a donation gently requested). Then off to the whole point here: Uluru.

Immediately outside of town we noticed a small hill with a few people on it, so stopped and walked through the red earth to it for our first good view of the rock. (All the soil around the Red Center is red ... fortunately we had brought pairs of old shoes that we didn't mind getting gritty and ochre red).  I don't really know what I was expecting the outback to be like, but was surprised to find the red center to have lots of dry country plants, much like the high desert of the western US.

We drove to the Mala Carpark and began walking the 6.6 mile base walk that circumnavigates the rock.  We were lucky - it was sunny but only in the mid 70's ... going in early spring had its benefits.  And I'm not sure if its because of the wind, or the season, or the fact that we came prepared with our insect nets, but the notorious flies were nowhere to be found; the nets remained in the bottom of our packs.

The Mala Carpark is where the climbing route starts (In the photo below you can barely see the line of metal stanchions and their chain that provides a safety handhold to the top.) The day before we got there it had rained, so the rock was slippery and climbing was prohibited that day. But throughout the area there are many pleas not to climb it ... it's sacred to the Anangu, the aboriginal owners; they plea to visitors to respect their culture. When we returned from our trip we heard that the Anangu and the Australian government have finally decided to prohibit climbing on the rock beginning October 26, 2019. Click here for press release explaining the decision  I wonder if at that time the stanchions and chain will be removed; it seems appropriate to do so.

Because of the rain the previous day there were mud puddles periodically on the trail - a thing we definitely hadn't expected to see.  Unfortunately a group (gaggle? flock?) of segways wheeled past.  Their tire tracks turned some of the mud puddles to muddy wallows and in places widened the trail.  It's questionable whether it's appropriate for them to be allowed on such trail, but certainly not when the trail is wet - is it an affront to Tjukurpa?



Tjukurpa

"Tjukurpa is the foundation of Anangu culture.
It provides a spiritual basis of Anangu culture, rules for behaviour and knowledge of the environment. It is the law for caring for one another and for the land that supports people’s existence. Tjukurpa refers to the time of creation as well as the present time. Tjukurpa defines the relationship between people, plants, animals and physical features of the land. Knowledge of how these relationships came to be, what they mean and how they must be maintained, is explained in the Tjukurpa."

"Anangu culture, which is codified in Tjukurpa, is based on exclusivity of knowledge. This knowledge 
is only available to those who are initiated. Because some of the knowledge is coded within Uluru—its geological features illustrate stories from Tjukurpa—even looking at certain parts of the rock is taboo for those who are not initiated. For this reason, the Anangu do not want certain parts of Uluru to be photographed or footprints left on the rock, in contradiction with the maxim of ethical tourism."    From an essay by Peter Prevos - see it here

In keeping with Tjukurpa, along the trail were periodic areas where there were requests for no photography, and areas to be approached only for initiated males, others for initiated females.

Periodically groups of signs feature the Anangu legends about many of the features of the rock, giving great insights to their culture.  Here's part of a series about greed. (I wonder whether we could get Trump to walk the path and read the signs.)




You can click on any image in this blog to enlarge it.

Because of the rain from the previous day, water was still trickling down the indentations and valleys in the rock. When we came to Mutitjulu Waterhole one of the reasons became apparent why Urulu would have been so important, so sacred, to the Anangu: it offers shade and more importantly, collects water, permitting plants, animals, and people to survive in the midst of the hostile dry Red Center.

The water hole's impact is greater to those circumnavigating Uluru by foot, but for those who must drive, its only a short walk from the Kuniya carpark.

As one continues around the dry rock you periodically come to places where water occasionally seeps down the rock allowing plants and trees to grow, and in places there are caves offering shelter.

Warning: the only place there are toilets at the rock are at the Mala Carpark.  Towards the end of our circumnavigation we were hurrying to get to them to avoid needing to commit sacrilege.

Driving back to Yulara, when we passed the sunset viewing area we came upon a half mile of people and their vehicles gathering .. a half mile of people standing in a vague line with cameras ready to view the sunset.  Although it seemed anticlimactic and impersonal to us having just spent hours being up close and personal with Uluru, we stopped, and with the horde, watched the the slow progression of various hues of red and ochre as they changed with the intensity of light.

By the time we got back to our hotel the flying petri dish's gift had really gotten to me ... off to bed without dinner, feeling miserable.  Alongside the main hotel and restaurant structure is an informal outdoor area with tables and TV, a bar, BBQ place, and walkup window for burgers, fries, and such. Ginny went there trying to find some soup.  None to be had. She brought some other things back so we sat in our room, nibbling a bit on cold greasy hamburgers, drinking tons of water, both of us blowing our noses and coughing.

This is what I felt like.

I don't know what this is ... it's one of the occasional odd fragments that shows up on my iPhone (maybe a photo from when I slip it into my pocket?)

Strangely, but very appropriately, it showed up in my sequences of Uluru photos.  I guess my iPhone knows me better than I'd like.

Morning, as usual, brought a new day ... we were still not feeling well, but excited to get out and about.  After another very good breakfast we left for the Olga's, hoping to hike all day, but resigned to just car tour if we had to.  In the end, when we got to the Olga's, all we had energy to do was stop and get out at the Valley of the Winds and the Walpa Gorge carparks.

On the way back we stopped for a mid afternoon lunch at the underwhelming Uluru Cultural Center before returning to pack for tomorrow's flight to Cairns and the subsequent drive to Port Douglas.
Fortunately, by the morning I was feeling much better and it gradually dissipated over the next days.  Ginny hadn't felt as bad as I had, but for her the respiratory thing kept lingering for the next 30 days.

A Random Impression

For some people a quick look at Ayers Rock is enough; two nights, one day, would suffice.  But there is so much more, both to see, to experience, and to learn. I've been to deserts and their rock formations before, but this was strangely different.  Maybe it actually has unusual power.

Were I to go back to the Red Center I'd stay much longer ... 2 weeks or so.  I'd go to Alice Springs and explore the MacDonnell National Park and along the Mereenie Loop Road (four wheel drive only) to Kings Canyon, thence to Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park.  And most importantly, do it with someone indigenous to the area, knowledgable about its history, its arts, and its culture.

from the Ayers Rock Resort website

A Random Musing - Night Sky

Coming from the US Pacific Northwest I'm familiar with camping in the alpine areas of the mountains or unpopulated high desert the and watching the milky way, the canopy of stars, and the random shooting star.  One of my strongest memories was camping on a late summer surviving alpine snow field and watching the perseid meteor shower. It was moonless.  The stars were so bright.  The snow seemed to vaguely glow in response to the heavens.

We didn't get to the Field of Lights display while we were at Uluru ( Link to the Field of Lights ),  though we did get chances to marvel at the clear night sky. 

At the time we needed our rest as it wasn't high enough on our priorities to pay to get to the display.

In the last few days I've read articles how the world is becoming inundated by light: Losing Darkness and  Light pollution covering nearly 80% of the globe .

Art can illuminate the human spirit and help it soar.

And I realize the Field of Lights installation is only temporary.

But now I wonder about the Field of Fights and about Tjukurpa.

I don't know.

I'm ambivalent.

Surely it can't make the human spirit soar more than watching the heavens on a clear dark night.

30 Days Down Under - Part 2 - Sydney

Our first stop: 4 Days in Sydney

Us enjoying Sydney (photo by Graeme of "Bike Buffs - Sydney Bicycle Tours"

Day 1 - Recovering from our flying petri dishes:

After being up all day and dutifully arriving at Seattle's airport several hours before our 5:00 flight, flying for 2 hours, enduring a 4 hour transfer at San Francisco, and flying for 15 more hours, we finally arrived in Sydney at 7 AM.   Exhausted.
We swore that if there is a next time we'd fly Seattle to Honolulu, have an enjoyable day or two there, then fly on to Australia or New Zealand cutting the longest flight to a bit more manageable 10 or 11 hours.

Instead of taking the train to Circular Quay and then having to schlep our bags about 4 or 5 blocks (some uphill) from Circular Quay's to Holiday Inn Old Sydney, we sprang for a taxi from the airport.

The hotel's location couldn't be better - it's in a heritage building dating from 1925 in the midst of The Rocks ... a trendy area of older buildings that had been slated for demolition in the 1960's for a new freeway - it was saved by a public outcry. http://www.hioldsydney.com/explore-rocks  The inside has been nicely remodelled as an atrium with rooms arranged around it. We don't look for luxury but do look for comfort and cleanliness - it met our expectations. The only drawback: our windows were not openable, so the room was a bit stuffy.


Luckily the hotel was able to check us in early.  We immediately began exploring: it was a short enjoyable walk along the harbor to Circular Quay (the center of Sydney's tourists' world). We walked for hours along the wide plazas and promenades beside the harbor to the Opera House and through the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Sydney is excitingly cosmopolitan; we saw and met people from every corner of the globe (Mali, New Zealand,The Netherlands, China, and many other places.).

We walked and explored until dinner and afterwards immediately crashed into needed sleep.

From a distance the shell of the Opera House looks monolithic and white. We were startled to find that it is covered in a highly detailed, complex pattern of metal "leaves" that shine differently when various light strikes it at different angles.


Day 2: Cockatoo Island

We picked up Opal cards at Circular Quay (easier to use than most transit cards - makes getting around a breeze) and took the ferry to Cockatoo Island. We didn't know about it until it was recommended by our taxi driver from the airport.  It was one of our unexpected HIGHLIGHTS - a huge variety: a mix of uses dating from the earliest 1800's: part an historical park (an old prison for convicts transported from England, part a military and shipbuilding area from WWI, WWII, and later; a warren of tunnels and caves in the cliffs from all eras); part a current mixmash of new industries using old buildings; a yacht harbor; and part a place to stay while in Sydney (old historical houses to rent, a massive "glamping" campground, a separate campground for backpackers) - all on a relatively small island only a few minutes by frequent ferry from downtown. It well deserves its UNESCO world heritage listing. http://www.cockatooisland.gov.au/visit/our-history

photo from https://www.sydney.com/destinations/sydney/sydney-city/sydney-harbour/attractions/cockatoo-island

The lives of the convicts were not easy.
Ports were constructed to enable guards to shoot into the convicts' compound in case of uprising. The guards' side of the ports were narrow so that if a prisoner grabbed a rifle's barrel the gun's stock would prevent the prisoner from pulling it through. The sides were splayed to allow a wide arc for firing.

On any picture in the blog, click on it to enlarge it.

Day 3: Exploring

Our hotel was only a couple of blocks from one of the stairways to access Harbour Bridge. We walked the full way across it across and back - fantastic views - one of our HIGHLIGHTS).

We debated doing the bridge climb but since some respiratory thing from the flying petri dishes was starting to take hold of us, and since we in our mid 70's, we didn't think we were quite up to doing it. If it were cheaper, and if we were younger, we definitely would have done it. I now have a few regrets that we didn't do it.

We all are familiar with views looking both towards and from Harbour Bridge, but on it I was surprised by its size. It has a walkway on the east side overlooking the opera house and Circular Quay, 7 traffic lanes plus a bus & taxi lane, 2 railroad tracks, and a cycleway on the west side.

From Harbour Bridge: Above: The Opera House and beyond it, the Royal Botanic Gardens

Below: Circular Quay and the cruise terminal

As soon a we got back from the bridge we set off to the ferry to Taronga Zoo,
To us, the zoo was meh: a huge number of exhibits overcrowded into too small an area - a bit of an old-fashioned zoo with animals in smaller areas than a few other zoos - at least they were not in too-tight cages.  But we were happy that at least we got to see Australian wildlife there and we concentrated on that section.  We expected it to be an introduction to Australian wildlife, but were later disappointed that elsewhere we just weren't in the right place at the right time to see other wildlife ... we didn't even see a kangaroo in the wild)



A koala bear (above) and either kangaroos or wallabies (in spite of the signs in the zoo, since both were in the same exhibit, we were unsure which they were.)



In late afternoon we ferried to Manly. The downtown itself seemed like many tacky beach towns, but the beach and its promenade were outstanding. It was still early spring and a bit chilly so few were on the beach. We walked the promenade past Manly Life Saving Club to the rocky point where we watched the surfers, then continued to Fairy Bower and towards Shelly Beach. .

On the ferry trip back we admired the Opera House at night (a must, especially from the ferry)




Day 4: Biking

This was THE HIGHLIGHT of our time in Sydney:
Against much advice, we decided to bike in Sydney. The biggest problem in a strange city is knowing where, and finding out where, you can safely bicycle. So we signed up for an almost-full-day with Bike Buffs Sydney Bicycle Tours. http://bikebuffs.com.au/


We made the right choice.  The guide/owner Graeme met us near Observatory Park (a great viewpoint) with a selection of bikes on his truck. He encouraged us to use electric bikes, which proved to be a good choice  - we covered a tremendous amount of ground.

By happenstance, we were the only 2 signed up for the tour that day, so it was like having a private tour.

Graeme is fun to be around - gregarious and a fount of knowledge about the history of Sydney and its current nature.  We're a bit shy and reserved, so it took a bit of getting used to the music he blares from his bike when riding, but we soon appreciated it: (1) it alerts both drivers and people walking of our presence (in crowded mixed-use promenades people tended to part for us), (2) it helped keep us together, which would be even more important in a larger group, and (3) I suspect it helps maintain his aura - he's quite a fixture around Sydney and all day long people would recognize him, he'd introduce them to us, and we'd stop to chat.

We rode over Harbour Bridge's cycleway to a number of interesting places on the north side of the bridge including a great bike-oriented coffee shop, Admiralty House (the Queen wasn't there so we weren't invited in for tea), and notably Wendy's Secret Garden, a very special place.
https://www.wendyssecretgarden.org.au/

We biked back to Barangaroo Foreshore Walk ( a very nicely done new sandstone-lined promenade around Millers Point), had one of the best lunches we had in Australia, and continued to Darling Harbour thence over pedestrian bridges to Pyrmont.  That whole area is filled with newly constructed high-rises and is swarming with people.

We returned to our starting point on some busy main street (was it Kent Street?) that had a physically separated bike lane with signals for bikes - it was far better than any currently in downtown Seattle.

Would I have attempted it on our own? Nope. I'd have no idea of how to find a safe route and we would have missed the places that Graeme took us to and the fun we had with him.

We returned to our hotel in time for dinner, repacked, and went to bed to help us recover from the respiratory thing and to prepare for our early morning flight to Uluru.

Us on Prymont Bridge, headed from Darling Harbour toward Prymont