Thursday, 12/31/09: Sydney

Postscript to yesterday’s entry: We underestimated the strength of the Sydney sun (seems much stronger than the sun back home). Even though everybody wore water-resistant sunscreen, Laura, Elena, Katrina and I got sunburn in various spots. Elena’s is particular noticeable right under her eyes where her swim goggles must have rubbed off the sunscreen.

Overcast today, warm (mid 70s) and very humid. Went for a “bush walk” to George’s Head this morning, the site of a former Australian navy base. The trail went through a forest overgrown with ferns and all kinds of plants unknown to me. A riot of green wherever you looked.

The concept of “bush” in Australia is different from the stereotype Americans have. It’s not just the outback where the likes of Crocodile Dundee reign supreme, but rather a wooded area, in between shrub land and forest, with thin to thick woody shrubs and bushes, under a sparse canopy of trees (mostly eucalypts). In a more general sense, it can also refer to any natural, undeveloped area either in or around a city.

An interesting synonym of “bush” is “mulga”, after an Australian acacia tree of the same name. This usage was made popular by the famous Australian poem “Mulga Bill’s Bicycle” by A.B. “Banjo” Paterson:

'Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that caught the cycling craze;
He turned away the good old horse that served him many days;
He dressed himself in cycling clothes, resplendent to be seen;
He hurried off to town and bought a shining new machine;
And as he wheeled it through the door, with air of lordly pride,
The grinning shop assistant said, `Excuse me, can you ride?'

`See, here, young man,' said Mulga Bill, `from Walgett to the sea,
From Conroy's Gap to Castlereagh, there's none can ride like me.
I'm good all round at everything, as everybody knows,
Although I'm not the one to talk -- I HATE a man that blows.
But riding is my special gift, my chiefest, sole delight;
Just ask a wild duck can it swim, a wild cat can it fight.
There's nothing clothed in hair or hide, or built of flesh or steel,
There's nothing walks or jumps, or runs, on axle, hoof, or wheel,
But what I'll sit, while hide will hold and girths and straps are tight:
I'll ride this here two-wheeled concern right straight away at sight.'

'Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that sought his own abode,
That perched above the Dead Man's Creek, beside the mountain road.
He turned the cycle down the hill and mounted for the fray,
But ere he'd gone a dozen yards it bolted clean away.
It left the track, and through the trees, just like a silver streak,
It whistled down the awful slope, towards the Dead Man's Creek.

It shaved a stump by half an inch, it dodged a big white-box:
The very wallaroos in fright went scrambling up the rocks,
The wombats hiding in their caves dug deeper underground,
As Mulga Bill, as white as chalk, sat tight to every bound.
It struck a stone and gave a spring that cleared a fallen tree,
It raced beside a precipice as close as close could be;
And then as Mulga Bill let out one last despairing shriek
It made a leap of twenty feet into the Dead Man's Creek.

'Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that slowly swam ashore:
He said, `I've had some narrer shaves and lively rides before;
I've rode a wild bull round a yard to win a five pound bet,
But this was the most awful ride that I've encountered yet.
I'll give that two-wheeled outlaw best; it's shaken all my nerve
To feel it whistle through the air and plunge and buck and swerve.
It's safe at rest in Dead Man's Creek, we'll leave it lying still;
A horse's back is good enough henceforth for Mulga Bill.'

We enjoyed spectacular views of the opening of Sydney Harbor and saw a large tanker exiting the harbor, and a cruise ship entering. Lots of sea planes flying overhead, probably with sightseers on board.

We heard quite a few kookaburras whose call sounds a little like loud, echoing human laughter. The kookaburra is the most iconic Australian bird, and much beloved.

The sky  was pretty gray, with rain clouds threatening to douse us, but I thoroughly enjoyed the cooler air at the Georges Head overlook. This is the view towards downtown Sydney.

Katrina, Heather, Lucy and Elena spent some time exploring the Georges Head Battery, one of three forts in the area that were built for the purpose of defending the outer harbor. Georges Head battery was built in 1871 after the removal of the British forces from Australia in 1870. Georges Head was armed with four 80 pounder rifled muzzle loading guns and two 68 pounder muzzle-loading guns. It took three months and 250 soldiers to roll the gun barrels all the way from North Sydney to the batteries.

Later in the afternoon, Katrina, Bill, Sophie, Laura and I went for a walk to Tunks Park and Middle Harbour. It was basically a continuation of the Flat Rock Gully walk we took on Monday.

 

Heard lots of kookaburras and Eastern whipbirds which produce a very distinctive whip-crack call. In one spot, the cicadas were so loud that I thought my head would explode—I’ve never experienced anything like it before. Australia has very large cicadas; the one I saw on a tree branch was at least 3 inches long. I tried to photograph it but it didn’t like me getting close.

Also saw lots of angophoras (Sydney red gum), which is fast becoming my favorite tree around here. I love the coloration of the trunk, which is often completely devoid of bark. The bark, usually piled at the foot of the tree, is even redder.

Wednesday, 12/30/09: Sydney, Bronte and Bondi Beach

Went to Bronte Beach in the morning. Bronte is one of the eastern suburbs of Sydney and has a small but beautiful beach. The sand is a fantastic yellow color with a tinge of pink. The sand is fine and deep. And the stunning natural beauty of the shoreline is hard to beat.

In the photo below, Bronte Beach is in the distance on the left, with Tamarama Beach in the middle.

Katrina graciously agreed to stay at Bronte Beach with the girls while Bill, Heather and I did the cliff walk to Bondi Beach, about 3 miles roundtrip. The trail follows the coastline and offers stunning views of the ocean, beaches and the fantastic sandstone formations. The trail is much used by walkers and runners and by the scandily clad “beautiful people” that just want to be seen. “Sydney sunny side up--bronzed, beautiful, undressed to thrill,” as one website describes it.

The photo below (taken by HEATHER) is the saltwater pool at Icebergs Winter Swimming Club at the south end of Bondi Beach. Quite a stunning location!

This is Bondi Beach, one of the largest and most popular beaches in Sydney, not to mention a must-see destination for millions of tourists from all over the world.

Pictures of the girls having fun at Bronte Beach.

 
Elena

 
Laura

 
Lucy

  
Sophie and Laura

 
Group shot 

…and a local beach bum for added atmosphere!

Tuesday, 12/29/09: Sydney, Taronga Zoo

Today went went to Taronga Zoo, a world-class zoo on the shores of Sydney Harbor with a stunning view of downtown and the Opera House. The zoo is very large, with more than 2600 animals on 51 acres.

After a few days of rain, the weather today is fantastic, with blue skies and puffy white clouds. This might explain why the crowds at the zoo were huge. Bill and Katrina said they’d never seen so many people there, and they go quite frequently. We had to stand in line for a half an hour to buy our tickets. Luckily, while we were queuing up, a lady gave us free tickets for the kids so we only had to pay for the adults (AUS$ 41 per person, about US$ 36).

The first display we saw were koala bears, all asleep of course (they seem to sleep a lot and pretty much do everything in slow motion). They looked just as cuddly as the pictures we’d seen, although judging from their claws, they’re probably anything but cuddly.

  

Next came a display of wallabies, emus and kangaroos. Talk about icons of Australian wildlife! I had to pinch myself a few times—hard to believe I’m actually here in Sydney and not dreaming this!

 

The girls even got to pet a baby wallaby:

Since Laura is such a huge hedgehog fan, she was very excited to see a pair of echidnas. They look a lot like hedgehogs, quills and all, but are actually relatives of the platypus. Platypus and echidnas are the only mammals that lay eggs (both are Australian natives). It was hard to photograph the echidnas because they were moving so quickly and there were lots of rocks in their enclosure behind which they were hiding. But Laura wanted me to include this photo, so here it is.

We  also saw the usual zoo animals, like elephants, tigers, seals, etc. but they weren’t that different from what we have in our zoos.

The animals weren’t the only attraction. In fact, the vegetation was every bit as stunning. I saw a lot of plants that I’ve been trying to grow in Davis for years, with limited success because of their lack of cold hardiness. Here they are the thriving because the Sydney climate is very close to their native environment. Very large shell gingers, all in bloom. Hedychias. Ferns. And of course bamboos (mostly Bambusa vulgaris ‘Vitatta’ but also Bambusa multiplex and Phyllostachys nigra).

 

 

The icing on the cake were the views. Taronga Zoo is located on the North Shore, on a hill overlooking Sydney Harbor. The views across the harbor to downtown and the Opera House are stunning.

After an exhausting half day at Taronga Zoo we went back to the Ellises, then to the shops to replenish the larder, and now we’re sitting here drinking wine (a wonderful sauvignon blanc and semillon blend from the Margaret River) and planning our outings for the next few days. Could life be any better? 

Monday, 12/28/09: Sydney

It’s Lucy’s 8th birthday today. Happy birthday, Lucy!!!!

It started to rain in the middle of the night. Soft drumming at first, wonderful to hear as I drifted in and out of consciousness throughout the night. At dawn, though, the floodgates opened, and it began to rain so hard that I felt transported to India in the monsoon season (not like I’ve ever been there, but I did see Monsoon Wedding twice). It didn’t really cool down much at night (high 60s), so the rain felt warm and tropical. Lying in bed, listening to the rain and feeling the warm summer air--all the while knowing that I could stay in bed as long as I wanted--was incredibly relaxing.

After coffee and some blogging, Heather, Katrina and I went to the store (“the shops”, as they say here) to buy groceries. The supermarket we went to, Woolworths, is in a small indoor shopping mall. There are quite a few small stores that sell everything from produce, seafood and baked goods to shoes and flowers. I found it very interesting to walk around the aisles and look at the stuff they sell. It’s like a combination of a U.S. and European supermarket.

Had to photograph the Vegemite and milk displays. Nothing says England & the former colonies better than Vegemite. And the milk in the U.S. is typically fresh and in a cooler case, instead of the ultra-pasteurized long-life milk which Europeans (and apparently Australians) like and doesn’t require refrigeration.

Bill’s brother Michael and his wife Fiona came back at around lunchtime. They live in Southern California but are in Sydney for the holidays. We’d met Michael and Fiona at our house in September and had a great time with them, so we were really looking forward to seeing them again. We did a lot of yakking, fueled by a glass or three of wine. It was a great way to spend the afternoon. Later in the afternoon the adults went for a walk to Flat Rock Creek, a local green area, where we saw all kinds of vegetation unknown to me, including paperbark tree and angophora, not to mention tree ferns in their native habitat. Really, really beautiful.

Many houses here in Willoughby have plumeria trees (called “frangipani” by the locals), and they’re all in bloom. The scent is heavenly. I’ve always associated plumerias with Hawaii because the house we rented in Kauai in 2003 had a huge plumeria tree, but they seem to be very common here as well.

 

Sunday, 12/27/09: Arrival in Sydney

The remainder of the flight went very smoothly. All of us slept for at least several hours, Laura and Elena for 8 or more! Immigrations and customs went quickly and efficiently. The officers were actually smiling! Their name badges had their first name and the initial of their last name, opposed to “Office xyz” in the U.S. This simple thing creates a completely different climate while waiting in line than in the U.S. where the mission of the immigration and customs officers seems to be to instill cold naked fear :-).

Bill, Katrina, Sophie and Lucy greeted us as we exited the customs area and there were lots of hugs, smiles and laughs. It was so great to see everybody again! From the warm gentle breeze and the lush tropical vegetation, it was obvious that this was NOT Northern California in the middle of winter!

Before going to Bill and Katrina’s house, we did a quick round of sightseeing. We drove over the Harbor Bridge, stopped for a quick look and photo of the Opera House and then made our way to the suburb of Willoughby on the North Shore where the Ellises live. We unpacked, showered and relaxed for a few hours.

Bocks (and Lucy) in front of Harbor Bridge and Opera House 

Crossing the Harbor Bridge—they do believe in signage, don’t they? 

Then it was off for the Royal Botanic Gardens, a large public green space near the Opera House. For the plant aficionado in me, it was awesome seeing so many plants that I only knew from books.

Queensland bottle tree

The first highlight (aside from the stunning views of downtown, the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge) was coming upon ibises and sulphur-crested cockatoos that wander about much like squirrels would in Capitol Park in Sacramento. It’s clear that the cockatoos get fed by the passers-by because you can get VERY close to them. All they do is look at you with a somewhat cheeky look that says “Feed me!”.

Sulphur-crested cockatoo

The next highlight for me (even though not necessarily for the others) was the Oriental Garden section of the Royal Botanic Gardens. They have lots of mature stands of tropical and subtropical bamboos, including Bambusa vulgaris ‘Vitatta’, Dendrocalamus latiflorus ‘Mei-nung’, Thyrsostachys siamensis, Gigantochloa atroviolacea and Bambusa membranacea. Quite a few species that we could never grow in the Sacramento area, with very thick culms.

Gigantochloa atroviolacea

Lots of people find them attractive, too, apparently—so much that they feel compelled to carve their names, initials and/or messages into them. At first I was upset that these mature bamboos were disfigured like that, but in a way, the sheer volume of these graffiti makes for a very artistic patchwork of lines and shapes.

Timber bamboo with graffiti

After I had photographed all the bamboos I could find, we went home to drink champagne, eat dinner, drink some more. At eight pm or so we went for a nice stroll through the neighborhood and then the Bocks pretty quickly hopped into bed. It had been a long day and a half since we left Davis!

On board United flight 863 to Sydney

Sunday, December 27th, 2009, 2:43 am Sydney time

7 1/2 hrs down, 7 hrs to go. We all slept during the first half of the flight. About 1/2 hr ago, they served a “light snack” (limpid turkey and cheddar on a limpid roll) and woke us up. Heather and I just switched seats. She’s sitting with the girls now, and I’m across the aisle. A good time to catch up on my travelogue.

Our flight left 1 1/2 hrs (!) late. After boarding, we sat at the gate and soon impatience gave way to frustration and anger because nobody would tell us anything. Eventually the cockpit announced that due to an incident earlier in the day on a Delta flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, they were trying to disconnect the in-flight entertainment system from the plane’s electrical (?) systems so they could show us movies. It was all very muddled and I still don’t exactly know what the attempted bombing attempt by a Nigerian man has to do with the in-flight entertainment system. But maybe I’ll find an explanation once I’m hooked up to the Internet again.

Anyway, after about an hour they realized that they couldn’t unlink the entertainment system and we finally took off. Dinner was served relatively quickly. Choice of “meatloaf with barbecue sauce and garlic mashed potatoes” or “pasta trio in Alfredo sauce”. I took a gamble on the meatloaf, and it truly was horrid. I don’t know how they can mess up something so simple! Laura didn’t finish her pasta—which, for the record, came with a marinara sauce, not Alfredo—so I had a taste, and it was only marginally more palatable. Elena had already fallen asleep and since my attempts at waking her were fruitless, she skipped dinner altogether. But I saved the best part of the meal for her: the prepackaged brownie.

2:53 am now. Elena, Laura and Heather are listening to their iPods, looking sleepy still. I’ll wrap this up now and will try to watch a DVD, provided the battery in my laptop lasts long enough. Soon we’ll be in Sydney, and I’ll be able to take off the anti-thrombosis stockings that Heather’s parents gave me for Christmas. I’m sure they’re very effective at preventing blood clots in your legs, but man, they are TIGHT.

5:43 am. Featureless bright light streaming in through the windows. Are we in limbo? Stuck between here and there? Or am I hallucinating, maybe because a blood clot made it past my stockings after all? What I know is this: I’m HUNGRY and I want OFF this plane! RIGHT NOW!!!

Computer battery down to 16 minutes so this will be my last rant from the plane. We should be in Sydney is less than three hours. I wonder what their customs and immigrations procedure is like? We had to fill out an arrival card, answering a list of questions such as whether we’re bringing in forbidden items such as pornography. Should I have declared my stash of Hustler?

At SFO, waiting to board our flight to Sydney

Friday, 12/25/09, 8:50pm

We’re sitting at gate G100 waiting for our flight to Sydney to board. Another hour to go. The drive to SFO was smooth and quick. I’d rented a car so Heather’s mom wouldn’t have to drive home at night and the traffic on I-80 was very light, even (especially!) over the Bay Bridge. Just three cars ahead of us at the toll booth.

It’s funny sitting here at the airport on Christmas Day. Everybody looks drowsy already and we still have a 14 1/2 hr flight ahead of us! I think leaving at this time of day is great because your body will naturally want to go to sleep.

Electrical outlets are always in high demand in airports—at lesson I learned when flying to Vermont a couple of months ago. I couldn’t find an outlet at our gate so we’re actually sitting at a different gate. Shame on SFO, Wi-Fi access is NOT free here like it is at many airports now. They want $7.99 for a day pass. I guess that’s not bad if you have a really long layover, but for an hour or so, that’s too much for me. This means that this entry won’t actually get posted until we arrive at the Ellises in Sydney.

Elena is writing in her travel journal and Laura is reading a sticker book Santa had brought her. Heather’s looking tired but contented, as do I.

Signing off for now. Want to get a cup of coffee before we board.

Laura all happy after seeing a Twilight display at a bookstore

Laura and Elena, with our Sydney-bound 747 in the background

Counting down: one more day...

Merry Christmas Eve! We're in the throes of figuring out what to take, packing, etc. We'll try to get the majority of the packing done today. We can take two suitcases each, but would rather not. Handling that much luggage is very unwieldy.

Everybody is getting excited...

We're not really mutants

People were really disturbed by the picture in the initial post. Let me assure you, we're not REALLY mutant, at least not on the outside. Here's a more conventional picture of Laura and Elena.

Less than a week until we depart for the Land Down Under (and SUMMER!!!!)...

Two more weeks...

Two more weeks before we leave! Amazing how quickly time has flown by. Our trip used to be many months away and now it's almost here.

We'll leave on Christmas Day, at 10:30pm, and will return on January 17th. Aside from getting to spend lots of time with our friends, the Ellises, the highlight of our trip will be a 7-day stay in Tasmania. I hope we'll see a Tasmanian devil or two!