March 8-9, 2024
The sail into Sydney Harbor “is not to be missed”. You sail along cliffs, turn the corner and see the Opera House and the famous Sydney Harbor Bridge in all their glory. We spent the morning at anchor in the harbor, tendering in to the steps of the Opera House, down the hill from the entrance to the Botanical Gardens.
John, Liam, Alan, Andrea, her John and I took a Guru Walk through the harbor region of Sydney. I learned a lot more about the town on my 3rd visit. We started at the Archibald Memorial Fountain, 1 km from where we stepped onto land.
In the 1810’s, Governor Macquarie and his wife, Elizabeth, embarked on an ambitious building plan for the city. When they lacked the funds to build the hospital, they turned to local businessmen. Macquarie granted the exclusive rights to import rum to three businessmen in return for building the hospital. The “Rum” Hospital was built in record time – in five years with convict labor, and three wings. Unfortunately, cheap labor and poor construction practices led to portions falling apart not long after completion; the rubble used in the foundation allowed in moisture and provided a great home for rats and other vermin. Until the 1840’s, the hospital only cared for convicts and the very poor, so the conditions were not a concern for the general public. When the new hospital was built in 1878, the outer two wings of the old hospital, which had been reconstructed, became The Mint and The Parliament building. There is a story that Elizabeth Macquarie was also the architect for the hospital, and failed to include washrooms and places for the doctors but I could not confirm in the online historical documents.
The Macquaries also greenlit the construction of an extravagant stables – so extravagant there was no further funds for the main building. The stables now house the Music Conservatory (which has wonderfully clean bathrooms).
The Barracks for the convicts still stand today.
Moving along the city, we ended at The Rocks – an area that housed mainly convicts, and home to the first police force in Sydney (made up of said former convicts who wanted the streets safe to walk at night). Now the region hosts a vibrant café and bar scene overlooking the harbor. Our guide also told us how to walk over the Harbor Bridge for free – the key is finding the entrance: You need to take the Argyl Cut – at the base of the archway, take the stairs to the right, go up to that street, take a left and go about 50 meters to another set of stairs up to the bridge.
After the walk, we stopped for a well-deserved pint at The Tap Room – one of the many bars you’ll find among “The Rocks”, then on to John’s go-to spot – “Harry’s Famous” pies. We Ubered over (and our Uber driver took a break and bought one as well). The foodtruck is now “Harry’s Café de Wheels” is the flagship for a franchise, and added hot dogs (we saw another one of the franchise in Newcastle). The pies are still good, but have lost some of the quality.
The ship docked in the afternoon, so after a shower and a change, I was off to the theater. Prior to the cruise, I’d communicated with fellow cruisers on Facebook. John and none of my friends had any interest in seeing The Magic Flute – playing at The Opera House, so I reached out and found two others to join me from my cruise Facebook connections. There were some technical issues getting the tickets printed, so we went early to guest services to get them, then into the theater lobby for a light dinner before the show and a visit up to the observation area for a lovely view of the bridge.
This was the second time I had seen The Magic Flute performed (the last time it was in Italian, this time in English with English subtitles – which I needed at times trying to understand what the heck they were singing. And it was written in German by Mozart, as an FYI). The staging and costuming were minimal – which contrasted with the bright, elaborate and colorful presentation of my prior experience, but its about the music – which was performed perfectly. It was a very enjoyable evening (they don’t allow photos of the performance).
I stayed up for our midnight sail-away, as we floated back past the opera house.
The next day we woke in Newcastle – “Newie” to the locals. I hadn’t read much about it, other than it had nice beaches, which weren’t visible from the industrial port where the ship lay docked. A bus ride past the containers, and into a lovely, lively town. We disembarked at a square by the Newcastle Museum, where locals with maps greeted us with friendly smiles and an abundance of information on local activities.
The town has beaches and waterfront along the flat edges, and a big hill in the middle. We were advised to walk along the edges unless we were OK with “a bit of a hike”. As we enjoyed the seaside air, we found the local Saturday market. I couldn’t resist buying a pair of lovely earrings for $10.
I headed up to the Lighthouse – where the older structure (built in 1858 after a portion of the crest of the headland was flattened beginning in 1854 to create a building platform) remains beside a signal tower built in 1953 (replacing one built in WWII) to assist ships navigating the headland.
John waited for me at Nobby’s Beach below the lighthouse. By the time I returned he had “cooked” long enough in the hot late morning sun, so we sat for a bit in the shade, chatting with fellow visitors, before moving on to find a place to get a snack and a pint.
We passed the “Soldiers’ Baths” made from the rocks in the surf to create some of the first baths (further down the beach was the “Bogey Hole” – the baths the convicts created). I thought about climbing up to the fort, but after my climb in direct sun to the lighthouse, I’d had enough of steep slopes in direct sunlight. We enjoyed some brews at The Newcastle Surf Lifesaving Club across from the modern public baths. Afterward, we climbed the main hill (this one with shade) so I could get photos of the Cathedral (which looked like a castle from the ship).
The Cathedral was setting up for a wedding, so I didn’t get to look inside, but the outside was glorious. As we continued back to the bus stop, we came across a deal we couldn’t resist – a wine tasting for $10. We found out later, several of our fellow passengers had been to Tyrell’s Winery on a tour (which cost way more than $10). I loved the Semillon – a white varietal that does very well in this region, our favorite was sold out, so we bought the Fiano – our second choice.
At a wine tasting on board for Pernod’s – a high end Australian winery (mainly reds, but do an amazing rose champagne), we chatted about Tyrell’s and their quality white wines.
History lesson:
Humans have been on the Australian continent for close to 50,000 years, with up to 3000 individuals immigrating from Southeast Asia (genetic studies have varied wildly, with estimates from a few hundred to 3000). These studies indicate there was a deliberate search for new lands that would have required stable and sturdy boats. Over the first 2 millennia, the aboriginal numbers climbed to about 20,000 then remained stable until approximately 12,000 years ago, when the continent’s population grew to about 1 million by 3000BC. The increase coincides with the arrival of dingoes and a warming climate that increased resources. The arrival of Europeans in 1788, like in other areas, brought war and severe diseases – especially smallpox and diphtheria, which killed as much as 80% of the native population. Only recently did the population of the First Nations reach 1,000,000 (about 3.8% of the total Australian population).
Exactly how the dingo arrived in Australia is uncertain. The early dogs, whose closest genetic relation is the east Asian domestic dogs, arrived after rising waters from the warming climate separated Tasmania from mainland Australia 12,000 years ago (no archeological record of dingoes exists in Tasmania). They likely came by way of New Guinea, and modern dingoes all descend from a small number of original animals. They quickly became part of aboriginal culture as hunting companions, guards and companions. They were often given names – sometimes even receiving burials similar to humans.