Exploring Australia&NZ Day 10

Day 10 - Monday, April 25, 2011 - Tour of Sydney; Sail Around Sydney Harbour; Opal Demonstration

April 25th is ANZAC Day in Australia and New Zealand. That stands for Australia New Zealand Army Corps, and is similar to our Memorial Day. There was a somber service at 4:30AM which we did not attend and then a parade of all of the military personnel or service men and women who gave blood and treasure for their Country.

As we went down to the lobby we saw many people wearing their parents or grandparents medals as well as their own in a show of respect and patriotism.

A woman came into our breakfast room and gave us a little Australian Flag with a spring of evergreen. Gennie gave her a donation and we wore the badges proudly as we traveled the streets of Sydney during the day.

We met Leigh and our group at 8:00 and left for our coach tour. He reminded us of the cooperation between the United States and Australian Forces during WWI and WWII as well as the modern conflicts in our own time.

Our driver gave us a wonderful tour of the downtown area and Leigh pointed out Chinatown, the new monorail, the Maritime Museum, and the Rocks. This was the original area where the English clipper ships landed bringing convicts to this island continent in 1788.

Although it was raining quite hard, we had a very thorough tour. Many of the streets were blocked off for the parade and most of the stores were closed and there was no traffic.

Seeing more of Sydney, the capital of New South Wales and Australia's oldest English-inhabited city, we drove by the famed Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. The Harbour is the essence of Sydney and every home with a view of the water is now worth hundreds of times the value of the same house anywhere else. Location, location!

We were supposed to have a group photo taken in the park with the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House in the background. It was raining so hard, the photographer told us to come back later when it cleared up.

By the time we arrived at Bondi Beach, famous for the excellent surfing and treacherous undertows, it had stopped raining. We had a half hour to walk on the beach and talk with the people.

As we continued on our Harbour Loop we stopped at Dudley Page Park to take panoramic photos of the skyline. We also stopped at Harbour Bay Park and the Gap Viewing Platform to photograph the entrance to the Harbour discovered by Captain Cook.

Leigh and our driver were very accommodating to stop for photos and breaks to stretch our legs today. We really appreciate this as it is so much better than trying to take photos out of a moving bus.

We went back to the park where the photographer was waiting for us for our group photo. Gennie and I also asked a young Japanese man to take our picture down by the water level.

Our tour ended back at Darling Harbor where we boarded the Majestic Cruise Ferry and had a very plentiful buffet lunch. We spent from noon until 2:30 on the boat with excellent opportunities for great views of the Opera House, the Bridge, and the skyline of Sydney.

After disembarking Leigh took those of us who wanted to continue the walk to The Rocks for a close up view of the docks, the warehouses, and the wharf. The pubs were full of servicemen and women as well as many other well wishers partying loudly!

Our last learning opportunity of the day was to the Opal Museum where we saw a video of the mining of Opals, Australia’s national gem stone.

There was no demonstration, but there was an opportunity to purchase these beautiful stones. We did not; but looking is still free…

As downtown was so busy tonight and we had had a big lunch, we opted to stay in and update the Journal.

Accommodations: Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney - - - Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

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