World cruise 18

February 10

Okay, folks. Here are the "money shots." Both were taken from our own balcony. We are docked in the heart of downtown Sydney at Circular Quay.

Today Margaret and I took a tour to the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. We had an excellent guide who pointed out the other two places where we might have been docked but which were far inferior to Circular Quay. We drove across both the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the ANZAC Bridge, past the various 2000 Olympic venues, through city and suburbia, finally reaching the main road west which is often called the "Used Car Highway." We didn't actually get out of Sydney until we were almost to the foot of the mountains. Sydney is perhaps the largest city in the world in square miles, although not in population.

Our first stop was at the Featherdale Wildlife Park which was originally a wild life rescue place. They only have Australian animals including marsupials, birds, reptiles and mammals (the dingo is descended from dogs brought by aborigines thousands of years ago). A number of less dangerous marsupials like small wallabies are allowed to roam loose for visitors to feed and pet. There are also photo ops with things like koalas.

Then we got to a place called Katoomba up in the mountains and stopped at Echo Point (which has no echo). As you can see, the general landscape is much like our Blue Ridge back home, except for one fact.

These mountains are made of sandstone like many of the areas in our Southwest. So mesa-like erosion forming tablelands and canyons does take place such as this formation called the "Three Sisters." There is an elaborate aboriginal legend about the formation called the Five Sisters, but that had to be changed when two collapsed into the canyon.

Next we saw a presentation of aboriginal culture, dance, and music played on the didgeridoo. While very interesting, a little didgeridoo playing goes a long way in my book, and the dancing involves a lot of stamping around and knee shaking. There are actually lessons on the ship in playing the didgeridoo, just as there were ukulele lessons en route to Polynesia. Thankfully, I had other things to do at those times.

By this time, according to our guide, no one on the bus had eaten in four hours so he (the guide) was getting nervous about his own safety. So our next, last, and longest stop was at a place called The Mountain Heritage Hotel where we were served a very tasty lunch of chicken or fish with a wonderful pavlova for dessert. The hotel is quite Victorian and ultra-charming as you can see here, and with views that won't quit although it was somewhat hazy by mid-afternoon ... again, much like our Blue Ridge, but the volatile oils here are from eucalyptus trees instead of pines.

February 11

Margaret's friend, Vicki, who lives here in Sydney, came and picked us up at about 11:00. She took us across the Harbor Bridge to North Sydney where she drove us all around the beautiful harbor areas and to some of the wonderful beaches there including at Balmoral and at Manly shown here.

She then took us to her home which is a gorgeous cottage that she and her husband have just finished renovating. This is a view through the living room and dining area out toward a great second story flagstone patio.

Vicki had invited another friend, Wendy, who is also heavily into organic farming and sustainable agriculture to join us for lunch. The conversation was interesting, but often above my head except in the most general of ways. The lunch itself was all organic and sustainable. The main course was free range chicken with a tuna mayonnaise sauce along with various side dishes. For dessert there was locally made ricotta cheese with fresh blackberries from Vicki's farm plus honey and thick cream.

All too soon we were back on the ship watching us sail away from Sydney.