Sydney has one of the great natural harbors in the world. Two iconic symbols of the city sit by the harbor, the Sydney “coat hanger” bridge and the Sydney Opera House with its white sails. We sailed into Sydney before dawn so I set the alarm so we could be up to watch the sail in. I was not disappointed. We docked at the Overseas Passenger Terminal at “The Rocks” Sydney’s historic quarter adjacent to Circular Quay, the hub of Sydney’s ferry service.
After the sail in I went to bed. That was a mistake because, according to pics posted by friends who stayed up, I missed a spectacular sunrise. I would try to rectify that mistake the next day since we were in Sydney overnight.
This is the first time in four calls to Sydney that we docked near Circular Quay. On our other calls we were at White Harbor, 30 or more minutes from the center depending on traffic. When we got up again, we had breakfast in the Lido, on deck eight with a great view of the Opera House and the ferries moving back and forth. We got off the ship mid-morning with no plan. This was our fourth visit and we had seen most of the “must sees” and thought we would just enjoy wandering.
Our first stop was the Museum of Contemporary Art. Google had told me that the museum was free with some of the special exhibits needing tickets. I took Google at its word. We went to the rooftop sculpture garden for the views and I noticed that it said it was a fee area. I went down to the front desk and they told me that the free admission went away on January 1 but she said their website was slow in making changes so I was not in trouble. Google misled me but the museum misled Google. I didn’t want to spend $40 each for a short pass through on our way to explore “the Rocks” so we left to wander through the historic section of town.
We have a tradition of Tea and Scones in the Queen Victoria Building and Suzi had seen an ad for an Aboriginal Art Shop so we got on tram L and rode up George Street to the modern downtown to visit the QVB. The art shop was worth the visit. We bought some pieces but the real interest was the proprietor. He sold boomerangs but told me that they were right handed boomerangs and he was left handed, as am I. If a left hander throws a boomerang in the traditional way, it won’t come back. (I wonder if Charlie Drake is left handed.) He showed me how a left hander should throw a boomerang. And while he didn’t want to throw it in the QVB he assured me how it would work.
He also demonstrated the digeridoo. I told him that as a former sax player I could never master circular breathing to make sustained notes. How did they sustain the digeridoo notes for so long? He demonstrated. You fill your cheeks with air. When you run out of breath in your lungs you breathe in through your nose while playing the instrument with the air in your cheek. That gives the instrument its pulsating sound. The rhythm of your song depends on your breathing rate. The longer you can sustain the sound with a lung full of air the slower the beat. He also showed how a large instrument requires less air than a small one so for a beginner, start with the big beast.
We had scones with clotted cream and jam but since it was warm and muggy out, we had cokes instead of tea. Some of our friends called us on it but we have never been traditional. There is a grand piano open for anyone to play and there were some pretty good pianists playing for our tea, including a young boy with pink crocs.
We had dinner on the aft deck of Zaandam with views of both the Opera House and coat hanger. It had the best restaurant view in Sydney.
Then set out for the Opera House to watch Badu Gili (“Story Keepers” or “Water Light” depending on the website you consult) projection on the east side of the sails. The side not visible from the ship. Badu Gili is a depiction of Indigenous art and stories that run almost every night at sunset and into the evening. Note the modifier.
Google told me they were on tonight. I was tired and with my sore leg I pulled out the walker to go to the opera house. A rock concert was being staged on the terrace and when we got to the Opera House a gate keeper told me that there was no Badu Gili because of the concert. He invited us into the lobby to have a seat and perhaps have a drink. Again, Google led us astray. Later. when I started navigating the fine print after several clicks found that the opera house had posted a notice that the projections were off for this weekend.
After resting we headed back stopping in a café where I found a huge Lemon Marange, my favorite. Marange does not set up well in the rainforest climate of Southeast Alaska, so I don’t get it often. While I missed Badu Gili I scored a special treat.
