I spent just two days walking around downtown Sydney and it's a beautiful city, even with the current construciton on George Street. There's a mono-rail that runs a loop around the center - pay A$6 and you can get on/off at any stop as often as you want for a day. Bus services are also good. Click on any of the photos to see it "full-sized".
The first two photos are "stock" shots of Sydney - it's world famous Opera House and Harbor Bridge. You can pay and take a 3 hour walk to the top of the bridge - on the outside! The "Rocks" is a neighborhood of homes and shops beside the harbor - pubs, expensive shops, etc. The last photo in the first row is two ships outside the National Maritime Museum (in Darling Harbor) - Australia's last "gunfire support" destroyer, HMAS Vampire (6 x 4.7" guns) and HMAS Onslow, a sub.
Row two shows 3 of the many ferries that cruise the harbor - the first is the one that goes to the Zoo, the second is a jet-powered hydrofoil for longer trips, and the 3d is a catamaran (two hulls) for more sedate cruises. The last picture in the 2d row is for the horses the Australian Army had to leave behind to the tender mercies of the Arabs when World War I ended - quarantine rules wouldn't let them bring back the mounts.
Row three starts with a view of Hyde Park - a nice bit of greenery with Ibis (birds with long beaks), businessmen and women strolling or eating lunch, the Botanical Gardens nearby. The second photo is of Hyde Park Barracks - the colony's first prison. You can enter and see how convicts lived. You can even spend a night there! Shows how the conditions were in the prison. The last two photos are of the ANZAC Memorial, a memorial for the warriors of Australia and New Zealand.
The next set of photos were taken at the Taronga Park Zoo, across the harbor from the city and reachable by ferry (A$21). The zoo has a number of areas with different types of animals, reptiles, birds, etc. found in Australia (and elsewhere, but a lot of Aussie stuff). The first photo is the gate into the Zoo. The next few are of live kangaroos - mostly they just lie about but I think the one in row two might be playing with himself/herself.
The 2d image in row two shows the view of Sydney from the Zoo - really beautiful when I was there (sunny and in the 70s). The last image on row 2 is of a Komodo Dragon - a lizard from Indonesia that can be up to 6 feet long. The first image on row 3 is shows the Zoo's prized lion cubs - three of the little beggars. The last two images show meerkats - from South Africa, I think. When not running around their pen, they look at humans and beg for treats.
Why go to the Zoo? Take a look at this sign in the zoo!!
Thanks for coming - you're visitor
since 10 Dec 1999.
