Sydney, Australia Day Two

Sunday in Sydney 

Rain fell on us as we made our way up empty George Street early Sunday morning on our way to meet Sylvia at her hotel. After retiring so she could write, she moved from Sydney to Tasmania, which is an Australian island off the southeast coast. On our previous visit to Australia, our ship stopped in Tasmania, but unfortunately, not this time. Sylvia flew into Sydney to see us during our stop there.

From the hotel, we walked the short distance to the New South Wales ANZAC War Memorial. ANZAC is an acronym for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, which was a short cut reference given to the troops from those countries during WWI. Each state in Australia has an ANZAC memorial, all of them quite impressive. As former members of the military ourselves, with fathers and uncles who fought in WWII, and a daughter and son-in-law in the Army, we have a great interest in military memorials and made it a point to see the ones in each Australian state we’ve visited. A volunteer at the Sydney memorial helped to put the impressive sizes of the monuments into perspective for us.

During WWI, ten percent of the population of Australia served in the military—without a draft. Their patriotism for Britain and the Commonwealth motivated them to serve without any form of conscription. Over 60,000 ANZAC troops perished in WWI, which was sixty-five percent of their troops, compared to 59 percent of the British forces and 10 percent of the U.S. forces. This large country with a very small population made tremendous sacrifices, especially at Gallipoli. The inscription on the monument said so much:

Designed to express with dignity and simplicity neither the glory nor the glamour of war, but those noble attributes of human nature which the war of 1914-1918 so vividly brought forth - courage, endurance, and sacrifice.

Inside the dome over the Sydney memorial, 120,000 gold stars are embedded in the ceiling, representing the number of people from New South Wales (only one of the states in Australia) who served in WWI.

After a very somber tour of the memorial and the photo gallery in the lower level, we crossed Hyde Park to St. Mary’s Cathedral and attended the 10:30 solemn high mass, sung in Latin by the boys’ and men’s choirs. We’ve heard recordings of choirs and seen them televised, but nothing compares to hearing them in a cathedral with vast ceilings and acoustics that help their voices resonate.

St. Mary’s Cathedral on a Gray Day in Sydney

At noon we said a reluctant farewell to Sylvia who had to catch her flight back to Tasmania. She is quite busy holding seminars and doing research for a second book. We are hoping that she’ll be able to come to the States to introduce American readers to her book.  

During the afternoon, we walked through the shopping and business areas of Sydney, stopping for lunch and a peek at more of the Victorian arcades that Australia is famous for.

The sun had come out and was quite intense. It turned out to be a very hot day—a far cry from the cool, rainy morning we had started our day with. Tree-covered parks abound in Sydney, and we were thankful to locate a park bench under a tree to get a respite from the sun. It is no wonder that Australians have some of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. To promote better skin care, they have a saying something like, Slip, slap, dab, which is a reminder to slip on a covering from the sun, slap on a hat, and dab on some sun block. I may not have gotten the exact saying, but it’s close enough to get the message across.

I should have put up the umbrella I had been carrying in my bag, as we saw other people doing. In Australia, an umbrella comes in handy as protection from the rain and sun. Only now while writing this did that occur to me. In the park, we saw a pick-up game of cricket. It appears that in Australia, it is never too hot or sunny to play cricket.

In the distance, we could see the ANZAC Bridge, which the people of Sydney have nicknamed Madonna’s Bra because of its two pointy support towers. Darling Harbor, another gathering place in Sydney, which we visited before, was within walking distance. Ferries also go between Circular Quay and Darling Harbor every 20 minutes. Unfortunately, we just didn’t have time to get there this trip.

Making our way back to the ship, we stopped along Circular Quay (pronounced key) and the Overseas Passenger Terminal to do some people watching, including the people who were embarking on the Queen Elizabeth for the next segment of our voyage. Families were coming out in droves to look at the ship and to just have a Sunday afternoon walk around the harbor. It definitely is a fun place to gather.

Queen Elizabeth Docked in Circular Quay

A paved pedestrian walk extends from the Sydney Opera House around to the end of Circular Quay and the Overseas Passenger Terminal. Along the path, large bronze plaques, about the size of manhole covers, are embedded in the pavement. You have to love this city. While other places have plaques honoring explorers, politicians, and film stars, Sydney honors writers. Each plaque included the name of a writer, the title of at least one of their works, and a brief quote from the writer. Among the ones we saw were James Michener, Mark Twain, Douglas Stewart, Jack London, and Neville Shute. The plaque for Dorothea Mackelar was the only one we saw for a woman writer. We didn’t get to see all of the plaques, so there may have been plaques for other women writers. It makes you wonder who got to select the writers to be honored.

Just before sailing time, we returned to the ship and had dinner in the Lido (Deck 9), high overlooking the harbor and the Sydney Opera House. The lights of the Sydney skyline made an impressive backdrop. It was a fabulous setting, made even more spectacular by the fireworks that began exploding above the Opera House (apparently something that happens every Sunday evening). A Hollywood production couldn’t have created a setting that was more breathtaking.

Moon Over the Sydney Opera House

Shortly after 9:00 p.m., the Queen Elizabeth pulled out of Circular Quay and began sailing through Sydney Harbor. We stood on the top deck, with a band playing in the background, looking back as the lights of the vibrant city slowly faded.

Sydney at Night

Looking Back at Sydney

Sydney, Australia

Day 1

We set the alarm for 6:00 a.m. so we could be up and out on deck as we entered Sydney Harbor. The captain had the crew open the bow of the ship so the passengers could be right at the front of the ship as we entered the harbor. The open deck was a bit blustery, but it provided us with a terrific viewpoint. When asked what their favorite port is to sail into, many ship’s captains will say Sydney Harbor.

We could well understand the selection of Sydney Harbor. Even in the early morning mist, the view was spectacular. The homes and buildings that are along the harbor make for a picturesque setting, but add in the Sydney Opera House and the Harbor Bridge, and you have one fabulous setting.

Sydney Harbor Early Morning

With all that Sydney had to offer, the thing we were most excited about was seeing our friend of over 40 years, Sylvia Barrett. We have known Sylvia since we lived in England and John served with her husband Keith in the Royal Navy. Sadly, Keith was killed in an accident, and Sylvia (at age 30) took a job in Australia and stayed there. So we don’t get to see her very often.

Sylvia is the best-selling author of the book, A New Perspective on Wellness, which recently was number one for four straight days on Amazon Kindle’s health category. We know how hard she worked on this book, so we are just thrilled for her. Sylvia addresses the issue of the mind/body relationship and how it affects health. It’s an excellent book and well worth reading.

Sylvia Barrett

Another cruise ship was docked at Circular Quay next to the Overseas Passenger Terminal, so we anchored in Sydney Cove, opposite the Sydney Opera House. It felt like we were sitting right in the middle of the harbor. We would be spending the night there and move to the Circular Quay dock early the next morning when the other ship sailed.  As a result, we had to take a tender to shore, landing at the Man of War Steps next to the Opera House.  

Sylvia was there to meet us and we had a lovely reunion. We found a coffee shop and spent time there catching up on the eight years since we had last been together.

The area we were in is known as The Rocks, the oldest and most historic section of Sydney. We wandered through The Rocks Market, which is open on the weekends, and the side streets, stopping to see the Hero of Waterloo pub, one of the oldest in Sydney. The Rocks area must be a favorite place for weddings because we saw several that afternoon.

We stopped at Swagman’s Post Courtyard Café in the market area to have lunch. It was a pleasant courtyard with tall trees that provided welcomed shade. It was a hot day and the sun was intense. The coffee there was delicious.

The one place I was really interested in seeing while in Sydney was the nearby Sydney Observatory. Since Sylvia had never been there, even after all her years of living in Sydney, we climbed Observatory Hill to check it out. A ball at the top of the observatory drops each day at 1:00 p.m. We arrived there shortly before one and got to see it drop. If you turned away for even a second, you’d miss it.

Sydney Observatory

The inside of the observatory houses the Sydney Museum of Astronomy. We toured the exhibits and then bought tickets to view a video and tour of the observation dome and telescope. One of the volunteers took us to see a 3-D film about the stars, and because it was hazy that day and we might not get to see anything from the telescope, the volunteer showed us another video about the transit of Venus. Our volunteer had a PhD in astrophysics. He said that he volunteered at the observatory on the weekends to stay in touch with the more interesting things about space. I guess his daytime job was a bit more mundane. He said he had wanted to become an astronaut but was three inches too tall. Since Sylvia and I were the only two on our tour, we got to ask him lots of questions. I think he was pleased that we had such interest in the stars, planets, and space.

After the films, he took us up several flights of steps to the observatory and the telescope. He opened the domed roof of the observatory, which was like something right out of a movie, adjusted a huge telescope, and let us look through the lens. We got a clear view of the sun and actually saw sunspots.

The observatory was a real hit, and I highly recommend stopping there. It was only a short walk from the harbor. Since we haven’t been able to get a very clear view of the stars during our voyage, I really enjoyed the videos. The observatory is only open at night on certain days, so we weren’t able to see the stars, which would have been a real treat.

Sydney Harbor is immense and the coastline weaves in and out of small communities around it. Large and small ferries go in and out of Circular Quay quite frequently, and we watched them in fascination. People catch boats and catamarans of various sizes close to their homes and ferry into the business center of Sydney. It all operated so smoothly. On our last visit, we spent the night with Sylvia at her home, and she had arranged for us to travel back to downtown Sydney by water taxi. It picked us up at the end of her street and dropped us right at the Man of War Steps next to the Opera House. It was such a unique experience. 

On The Rocks, we were right in the shadow of the Harbor Bridge, so we climbed the many steps to get to the pedestrian walkway of the bridge. From there we had a stunning view of the harbor and Opera House. We also watched the brave (or should I say “crazy”) people who were climbing the arch over the bridge. It is 200 steps to the Pylon Lookout at the top. For safety, the bridge climbers are put into harnesses and then linked to the bridge as a safety measure. The bridge top is so high up we could barely see the climbers. Later that evening, we could see tiny lights carried by the climbers as they made their way over the bridge top in the dark. They had a unique viewing platform, but it makes me shudder to even think about it.

Sydney Harbor Bridge With Climbers (barely visible on top)

At dark the harbor area around the opera house really came alive and was jammed packed with people. It’s the meeting place for young people, as well as a place to have drinks before attending a performance at the Opera House. We wanted to stop for a drink and have a place to chat before we caught the tender back to the ship, but it was so crowded, we just about gave up.

Sydney Opera House

Walking past the shops along the harbor, we spotted a bar and seating area and went in. After ordering drinks, we discovered that we were in the lobby of a movie theater (that had a bar). Although there were tables and chairs outside, we learned that we had to sit in the theater lounge area to have our drinks (a licensing law for them). It ended up being a comfortable, quiet, and air-conditioned place to have a nice chat. We were still catching up with Sylvia’s publishing adventures.

After a full day in over 90F heat, we said goodnight to Sylvia, who we would see the next day, and walked back to the Opera House to catch the tender back to the ship. We were tired and thankful for the cool ride across the water back to the ship.

The end of a terrific day in Sydney with a lovely friend.

En Route to Sydney, Australia

At each Australian port, passengers have disembarked and new passengers have boarded. Since we have been on the ship for several weeks, all passengers who boarded in Hamburg, Southampton, and Cape Town, had to attend a lifeboat drill again—just in case we had forgotten what we were to do in an emergency. Attending the session made me think again about safety onboard and on shore.

Onboard Safety

Before we sailed, we attended a lifeboat drill where the crew explained the procedures for where to go in an emergency and how to put on our life vests. It makes you aware that we are at sea and things can happen. Being a Capricorn, I wanted to be doubly prepared.

With this in mind, while walking around decks, particularly on the promenade deck, I took note of the lifebuoys on the railings. The deck provides a place to get some exercise, sort of like walking laps around a school sports field. Three times around the deck is almost a mile. Once you’ve gone around a few times, it gets a little boring, and I found myself studying the safety features of the ship. I discovered there is no rhyme or reason for how many lifebuoys are on the deck or where they are positioned. On the port side (left facing the bow or front of the ship) there are six lifebuoys but only five on the starboard (or right) side.

Promenade Deck

They can be anywhere from 40 to 100 paces apart. Some have lights attached, some don’t. So if you happen to fall overboard, hope that it is on the starboard side closest to a lifebuoy, and if it is at night, close to one with a light. And, more importantly, hope that there is someone around to throw you a lifebuoy.

It was a comfort to notice that there are a number of lockers on the promenade deck filled with life vests. So if an announcement is made to report to an assigned lifeboat station and we don’t have time to get back to our cabin to get our life vests, vests will be available there.

Recently, I read that if you hear that someone has fallen overboard (and someone has reported the emergency) to immediately start counting from that point so that when the ship turns around, you can give the crew some idea of how far back it was. I read this in a murder mystery of all places. You never know where you are going to read a bit of useful information. Fortunately, we have never been on a ship where someone has gone overboard, but we have friends who have been on a ship that had to turn back to search for a passenger. Fortunately, the passenger was found okay.

On the deck, I also stopped to read the instructions mounted near the railing on how to launch a life raft. The life rafts are stored in large canisters along the deck, and unlike on the Titanic, there are lots of them. The notice board contained written instructions and illustrations. I could figure out many of the instructions but was stumped at the last one that said to cut the Painter Line and showed an illustration of a knife. John said that the Painter Line is a short line or rope. I could follow that, but the question arose, at least in my mind, about the knife. Is one provided on the lifeboat? Would a crewmember have one in an emergency? As a passenger, you can’t bring one onboard. If a crew member isn’t around to help, and you don’t have a knife to cut the line, would that mean the life raft would be pulled under by the line still connected to a sinking ship? To be prepared, you need to know these things.

Launch Instructions

For exercise, for exercise, for exercise. Man overboard (or Fire in the Laundry, or Emergency in Cabin XXXX). For exercise, for exercise, for exercise.

Periodically, announcements like that come across the loudspeaker from the bridge. Exercises are held that involve just a few crewmembers or a majority of the crew. During some of these exercises, all but essential personnel gather at their respective “survival” stations. On one occasion, we sat on the deck and watched as members of the crew from the engine room, laundry, kitchens, medical staff, etc., ones we would ordinarily not see, gather with their life vests. I hoped we would see them launch one of the life rafts on the deck as part of the exercise so we could see how it was done. But no such luck. On this occasion, the exercise demonstrated that the crew knew where to go if there had been an emergency, but the exercise didn’t go beyond that—at least that we could see. It would have made me feel more comfortable if they had demonstrated that more than just a few crewmembers knew how to launch the life rafts. I’m sure that’s the case, but still….

Fortunately, a large tender sits directly beneath our cabin balcony. In an emergency, we could jump onto the tender and pull back the canvas covering on the roof to get inside. It’s good to consider these things in advance of when you might need them.

One of the most interesting documentaries or docudramas I’ve seen was about a cruise ship that began to sink, I think in the South Atlantic, and the captain and crew deserted the ship. The entertainers radioed for assistance, kept the passengers calm, and eventually helped every single passenger onto helicopters and ships that came to their aid. That ship sank. If it hadn’t been for the entertainers, they would have all perished. A search on YouTube for “entertainers save sinking ship” or something like that will bring up videos about it.  It was quite the story and remarkable that people with little knowledge about the ship saved the day. So you can never be too prepared.

Safety Ashore

Before arriving in each port, Cunard includes in the daily program things to keep in mind about safety when going ashore—common sense things such as not wearing flashy jewelry, carrying bags that could easily be gotten into, etc.

As a precaution, we make it a practice to carry a photographic copy of the information page from our passports. Since the Purser’s Office keeps our passports so they can automatically get visas for us at some ports, we don’t have our passports to take with us when going ashore. We don’t need to show them to anyone, but having a copy would come in handy if something were to happen while we were ashore, or if we got left behind, etc. Having a copy would make it a lot easier to replace a passport if we had to.

Also, we take along the Cunard port contact information that is printed in the Daily Program for each port we visit. That way we would have someone to contact if we had an emergency on shore, or if we got left behind. Once, in Montevideo, we saw two passengers on the pier running toward the ship after it started pulling away. They got left there and had to fly to the next port to meet the ship. You can never be too prepared.

Dolphin Spotting

Today while having lunch, we looked out and saw dozens of dolphins swimming along side the ship. The water was clear enough that we could see the dolphins a few feet under the surface and as they jumped out of the water. Some were in pairs, and we realized that they were mother and baby dolphins. That was a lucky sighting and such a pleasure.

View from Rear of Ship

Melbourne, Australia

 To reach Melbourne, the Queen Elizabeth passed through a narrow gap at the entrance to Port Phillip Bay and sailed through a stretch of water known as The Rip, one that must be navigated carefully because of its strong currents and shallow waters. The captain and crew probably were greatly relieved when we finally docked. Thankfully, while all this was going on, we were sound asleep.

Melbourne (pronounced Melbern by the Australians) is the capital of the state of Victoria and the second largest city in Australia. It has twice been identified by The Economist as one of the World’s Most Livable Cities, based on its cultural attributes, fine climate, cost of living, and social conditions such as low crime rates and exceptional health care. It should also be identified as one of the friendliest cities. The volunteer greeters at both the ship and downtown were wonderful representatives of the people of Melbourne.

Looking out from our cabin we were disappointed to see dark clouds and rain. We later boarded the shuttle into Melbourne loaded down with rain jackets and umbrellas, but it wasn’t long before the sun started peeping out between the clouds, and it became bright and sunny by early afternoon.

As we traveled from the harbor into Melbourne, we passed Victorian-era homes and buildings with intricate iron railings that the Australians call lace work. The railings can be near the sidewalk as a fence or along the balconies of the buildings. It is strange seeing buildings with this beautiful fretwork sitting next to modern buildings that look like square boxes.

Melbourne is booming with buildings being constructed throughout the city. In many places, facades from older buildings are being preserved with large skyscrapers built behind them. It preserves some of the original feel of the city while allowing the city to expand upwards.

The shuttle dropped us outside the National Gallery of Victoria, which had a huge picture of Andy Warhol on the side of the building. If nothing else, it provided a good landmark where to pick up the shuttle later for our return journey to the ship. The gallery was featuring an exhibit of Andy Warhol’s artwork.

Melbourne has more trams than any other city in the world, so getting around the city was quite easy, especially for such a large city. The City Circle Line (free and well used) passed close enough of the city’s highlights to have kept us occupied for days. On the tram we passed the Melbourne Aquarium; the Docklands and Victoria Harbor, which are being redeveloped for commercial and entertainment purposes; the Melbourne Star Observation Wheel, a huge Ferris wheel; and numerous parks and gardens.

Melbourne Tram with St. Paul’s Cathedral

At Williams Street, we hopped off the tram to visit Victoria Market, the largest open-air market in Australia. We wandered around, stopping for a coffee and a Sicilian donut, which is like fried pizza frete we used to get at our church festival in Pennsylvania. Ordering coffee can be a bit of a challenge in Australia. A short coffee is strong, a tall coffee is lighter, and a flat white has milk but is supposed to have less froth than a cappuccino. We found it to have even more froth, but it was delicious. While the market was interesting, with so many places to see in the city, I would visit it only if you aren’t limited in the amount of time you have in Melbourne.

After waiting a long time for the next tram, we gave up and walked to where we wanted to go in the city. There is so much to see on every street. We wandered into the State Library of Victoria, which was a magnificent building, and saw hundreds of people congregating in an area using the Wi-Fi the library provided. It isn’t just the young people who are connected to their systems. An elderly couple on the shuttle bus ignored the sights while they checked their Facebook pages.

Some of our favorite places to visit in Australia are the Victorian arcades, forerunners of modern shopping malls. Melbourne has several arcades, including the Royal Arcade and the Block Arcade. A dome within the Block Arcade houses a large clock that can be seen from two sides. Each time the clock strikes the hour, two figures holding long brass horns turn toward each other and the sound of horns blowing can be heard throughout the arcade.

Arcade Clock

Fitzroy Gardens is one of the best gardens/parks in Melbourne. Among other things, it contains Captain Cook’s cottage, which was dismantled in his birthplace in Britain and erected in the park. (Captain Cook discovered and mapped large parts of Australia but was killed by natives when his ship stopped at the Hawaiian Islands on his way back to England.)

The gardens also contain the Model Tudor Village. The small buildings of the village were built in England and sent to the city of Melbourne in appreciation for the food and other supplies the people of Melbourne sent to Britain during WWII. It is worth visiting Fitzroy Gardens just to see the tree carved with fairies and other creatures.    

The Yarra River winds through the city in an area called the Southbank. A beautiful walk along its embankment is filled with shops and restaurants. A relaxing stroll along the river was a nice way to end our day in Melbourne. From a bridge over the river, we watched an eight-women’s crew team row by and thought of our daughter and her days on rivers with her crew team.

Yarra River Embankment

Near the bridge over the Yarra River, you can catch tour and restaurant boats for a cruise up and down the river. The view of Melbourne from the river is supposed to be spectacular, but with only one day in Melbourne, we just didn’t have enough time to take one. It would be a good way to see the city and many of its highlights. Perhaps on a future visit if we are lucky enough to return to Australia. We saw a dirigible or Zeppelin flying over the city, so that may be another way of seeing Melbourne.

Along the river sits the tallest building in the southern hemisphere, the Eureka. According to our bus driver, the gold stripes on the outside of the building represent the gold rush in Australia, and a long vertical slash of red represents the blood shed by Australians. At the top of the 92-floor building, the Eureka Skydeck 88 provides a viewing platform they call the Edge Experience. The Edge is an all-glass (including floor) structure that juts out from the building 88 floors above the ground. Not for the faint of heart.

Eureka Building and Eureka Skydeck 88

After having covered a good deal of the city, by tram and foot, we made our way back to the meeting place for the shuttle bus, close to Federation Square. The square is referred to as Melbourne’s meeting place, and it was teaming with people. The square is also the location of the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), which is housed in a building that looks like several smashed cardboard boxes that have been draped in camouflage cloth. The building looks a bit strange sitting near historic structures such as St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Federation Square

It is said that the people of Sydney were slow to warm up to the Sydney Opera House when it was first built. If I lived in Melbourne, it would take me a long time to warm up to the buildings in Federation Square. They were probably designed to represent the natural countryside or sandy outback. That makes sense since Federation Square is also the home of the Ian Potter Center, which contains one of the largest collections of Aboriginal artifacts in the country.

Back at the harbor, we watched the cruise ship Diamond Princess sail away. From the top deck, we waved to the passengers on the Diamond, and they waved back—each of us wondering what the other ship was like.

The Spirit of Tasmania, a large car/passenger ferry bound for Tasmania, also set sail. Set sail is such a strange term to use these days when ships don’t have a single sail. When it came time for us to leave, we were sorry to motor away from Melbourne. It was a delightful place to visit, and we hope we can return there some day.