After nearly three months radio silence, here is the long awaited part four of my travelogue. It covers mid November to early December, starting with my brief stint in Melbourne and Adelaide, and including the first month of my stay in Sydney.
The Great Journey – Part Four
LA to Melbourne
Departing the City of Angels on 13 November, I lost a whole day to crossing the international date line, and arrived in Melbourne on the 15th. I had rather been dreading the 16 hour flight, never having endured more than 11 hours in a plane before. This was my first experience of Qantas, and despite the lack of lie flat beds, apparently to be introduced in September 2003, I was impressed by the service.
The extra time allowed me to have supper, catch a movie and enjoy a proper sleep without the interruptions normally associated with the UK/East Coast hop. Sitting in the bubble on the upper deck of the 747 is always quieter being away from the engines and the passing bustle of the lower deck.
On leaving the airport in the blazing sunshine of a record drought, the cab driver decided to take advantage of my Pommy ignorance of all things Australian. He pointed in to a field next to the runway and said “Look, a kangaroo!” only to collapse with laughter as I strained through the window to try and catch a glimpse of the non existent marsupial!
Melbourne itself, rather like Birmingham, has not a great deal to recommend itself to the passing tourist, although one can happily idle away a long weekend if your schedule is not too pressing.
The city has very recently opened a new Art Gallery in Federation Square, the cubist architecture and skew wiff angles of which are worth a look, as is the picturesque waterfront along the Yarra River which flows through the centre of town.
Taking a trip on the famous trams which criss-cross the city, I visited the beach at St. Kilda which was most impressive and reminded me of the beach along Lakeshore Drive in Chicago.
I enjoyed my afternoon wandering through (Church?) St. which boasts some of the best non-mall shopping in Australia. However, I was quite ready to leave the city, whose principal claim to fame being that its improbably named suburb Moony Ponds is the home of Antipodean Housewife Superstar, Dame Edna Everidge. Reading Barry Humphries’ excellent biography, “My Life As Me” one can quite understand how he yearned to leave the quiet suburbia of the place and move on to bigger things.
Adelaide and the Barossa Valley
On the approach over Adelaide, I had a splendid overview of this compact and charming tree lined city, framed by the Mount Lofty Ranges to the north, and to the south the Southern Ocean, with the natural wilderness of Kangaroo Island just off the coast.
I had arranged to meet up with a friend from London who was living there. We spent a most enjoyable long weekend touring through the starkly beautiful wine country of South Australia’s Barossa Valley, deadly dry because of the lingering drought, and still bearing the scars of previous devastating bush fires.
Arriving at the just opened visitor’s centre for the Jacob’s Creek winery (
http://www.jacobscreek.com.au/), I enjoyed a tasting there and purchased a few bottles. Afterwards, we enjoyed a mouthwatering lunch at Maggie Beer’s restaurant (
http://www.maggiebeer.com.au/- a sort of Australian Delia Smith) under the cooling shade of a tree watching the fish in the crystal clear waters of the man made lake below. Delicious!
That afternoon, I had my photo taken next to the Big Rocking Horse (
http://www.thetoyfactory.com.au/), 60 feet high and backing up Bill Bryson’s assertion that the place is littered with such kitsch monstrosities.
The highlight of the weekend for me was yet to come, with a trip to the Cleland Wildlife Sanctuary. I was able to hand feed baby and full grown kangaroos from one hand, while feeding emus from another. Best of all was seeing my first Koala Bear, and having my photo taken holding it in my arms. Although quite heavy, the bears are very soft, have deep doleful eyes and have a delightful eucalyptus scent. The photo says it all; I am beaming from ear to ear! It really was a terrific experience!
Sydney
Arriving in Sydney was breathtaking, as the fine weather afforded sweeping views of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, the Jewels in the Crown of this international city.
I caught a cab straight to a friend’s house, in Bondi Junction, well located between the world renowned Bondi Beach and the City. Within half an hour I had visited and viewed what was to become my home from home for the next three months, just round the corner from Baz at the Eclipse Building (
http://www.apartmentservice.com.au/property.php?id=112).
The one bedroom apartment was a real find, with air conditioning, a pool, spa, gym and fully furnished down to the essential champagne glasses and a DVD player. The clincher was a huge balcony with a view of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House which framed by the lights of the city at night was just what I had hoped for.
It was a week before I was able to move in, and I was very kindly put up by another friend in Sydney who was working as Front Desk manager at the city’s best hotel, the Four Seasons (
http://www.fourseasons.com/sydney/index). Their fantastic beachfront Point Piper apartment just a short kayak ride from the Harbour Bridge. With awesome views – waking up at 5am seeing the twinkling lights of the Bridge across the harbour with the gentle lapping of the waves in my ears – the place really made me feel I had arrived in Oz!
On my first rather foggy night, I was taken to see the marvellous views of the city from the bar at the ANA hotel, and felt very at home sitting with Camilla and my old Chatham chums!
For the next month or so I settled in to my new apartment, thrilled to be able to unpack everything properly for the first time on this trip.
I spent my time catching up on some reading, watching movies I had missed as well as some of the many sightseeing options. Ferry rides around the harbour, a most enlightening visit to the Shackleton Antarctic Exhibition at the Maritime Museum, followed by a jaunt on a Destroyer and an old Submarine in Darling Harbour.
I even managed to drag a famously philistine friend to the Opera House to see Verdi’s Rigoletto, which we both enjoyed as well as seeing quite a few local plays and film festivals.
Other cultural highlights included a trip to see Joan Rivers’ “Broke and Alone” Stand Up tour. She was hilariously funny and surprisingly switched on, despite her rumoured 70-plus years, Miss Rivers looked a million dollars (or $2,375,017.52 if the latest invoice from her surgeon is to be believed!).
The next stage will cover the latter part of my stay in Sydney covering Christmas, New Year and my trip to Hayman Island Resort.