| October school
holidays - Roger & Rex at Balmoral Beach in the first two weeks
in October; we went to Luna Park on night, too - but don't have any
good photos |
|
Rex about to go onto the beach; it
really isn't cold but Usa insists on the boys wearing sweaters
if there is any breeze - she says the wind is too cold ... |
... time to play in the sand ... |
... and then exit the surf like real
men |
Fort Denison -
This fort was originally built to defend Sydney against maritime
invasion, although it has never been used in anger; there are
multiple reasons for that & hard to explain in a set of photos [so
see Wikipedia]. It is now an iconic part of Sydney Harbour
yet few people visit the place; on Oct 20-21 the fort celebrated its
150th anniversary of opening and the Gamble Family managed a visit.
As an unpaid advertisement, Fort Denison is open for visits every
day with 3 ferries per day to take people to & from Circular Quay. |
|
Fort Denison [circled] on a normal
day |
Are you ready? |
"Welcome to Fort Denison" says the
tour guide |
|
the Gamble guys standing in front of
Sydney's "only island food cafe" |
Roger & Rex in front of the cannons
that are fired at 1pm every day; they are actually aimed at the
Opera House ... and generally miss their target |
this time standing in front of the
32lb cannons |
|
A port authority boat gets excited
for the 150th anniversay |
cannon in the background & some of
the Sydney skyline |
Rex & Neil with the Martello tower
in the background |
|
the tower has three levels; the
lowest level is the gunpowder room; the cannons fire 32lb cannon
balls |
barrel of gunpowder [a replica] |
over the years the heavy gunpowder
barrels left ring marks in the soft tar-based floor |
|
Tower constructed in 1856; opened
in 1857 |
the cannon room is at the tower's
mid-level ... |
... and space is at a premium |
|
they were pretty clear about when
this was built |
32lb cannon balls neatly stacked in
case they're needed |
the stairs leading to the top level
are steep |
|
but Usa likes it when she gets
there |
and the top level of the fort offers
fantastic 360o views of Sydney - this is Mrs
Macquarie's Point |
and some of the Sydney skyline,
with a patriotic Australian flag |
|
yacht race on the harbour |
Usa was looking at the harbour but we
asked for a photos |
she was watching the sailing boats |
|
the beacon at the top of the
tower |
did we mention that the stairs are steep and narrow? |
this is a grassed picnic area that
is actually the roof of the garrison & water tank |
|
information about the water tank |
Rex in the picnic area |
Fort Denison measures the tides for
Sydney; here is the old & new tide equipment |
|
the fort had a special cap & a birthday cake - you could buy
a cap but not touch the cake |
this is a cool men's toilet; very
modern; there is an original fireplace glassed in next to the
urinals & on the right is a mirror which shows Rex's reflection
- he was standing at the entrance |
Intentionally blank |
|
We had a busy day. After Fort Denison we
went on the ferry ride to Luna Park & Darling Harbour,
then got off at Circular Quay and had out first up close look at
the Sydney Opera House |
|
Sydney skyline from Darling Harbour
... |
... and another view ... |
a reproduction of Captain Cook's ship
the Endeavour used when he discovered the east coast of
Australia |
|
Luna Park is a small theme park
almost under the Sydney Harbour Bridge |
Neil & Usa with ... |
... the famous Sydney Opera House in
profile ... |
|
... and the sun reflecting off the
"sails" ... |
... which we found are covered by a bunch of bathroom tiles!! |
The famous story is that the sails of
the Opera House were inspired from cut orange peels; this
explains the story |
|
Roger plays the goat; Rex is
unimpressed |
Roger plays the goat; Rex refused
to be in the photo |
Before the Opera House was built the
land was used for tram sheds |
|
And we were finally on our way home, which
means a ferry ride and passing some great treasures of Sydney
Harbour |
|
Rex photographed with aborigines at
Circular Quay; these guys play virtually all day for donations &
are quite happy to ham it up for a picture |
This is Admiralty House, the
Governor General's Sydney residence; a nice place if you can get
it |
Hard to see, but this is Kirribilli
House, the PM's residence in Sydney; it is right next to
Admiralty House |
|
Cremorne Point; near our apt and a
great place to explore the rocks |
Curraghbeena Point in Mosman, where we live; our
apt building is highlighted |
The sun setting in the west indicates
the end of a long day sightseeing |
|
Something else we've found that we enjoy is
exploring around the rocks at Cremorne Point (pictured above
left) |
|
the beacon warns of rocks at Cremorne Point |
Water taxi - a nice way to get
around the harbour; it might cost a bit for a ride, though |
the waves from ferries & boats swirl
around the rocks |
|
looking down at the rocks |
Looking down Mosman Bay ... |
... and across the bay to our apt ... |
|
... into Sirius Cove ... |
... and across to Taronga Zoo ... |
... it can be almost tropical |
|
In spring the jacaranda trees bloom in Sydney,
giving a splash of colour; below are two photos
taken from our apt balcony; one when we arrived & the other in
late October with the jacaranda trees in bloom |
|
looking east in July 2007 |
looking east October 2007 |
Intentionally blank |
|
In December Phil Stewart, Neil's best buddy
from university days - invited Neil to the SCG for a cricket ODI
against NZ; we planned a great day ... unfortunately it rained
and we didn't get much play. A true case of the thought
being the most important thing. |
|
Neil with (L-R) Phil Stewart & Rob
Terry at the SCG |
(L-R) Robb Terry, Phil & brother
Cameron Stewart at the SCG |
Cricket rained out & this is what
the harbour looked like around 1900hrs |
