Sydney Harbour Water Taxis
Water taxi on Darling Harbour, Sydney
One of the fascinating things about places like Sydney Harbour is the constantly moving water traffic. There are boats of all sizes, from great sleek cruise ships with several thousand passengers through to small dinghies with one passenger out fishing. And everything in between. All shapes and sizes, colours and purposes.
One of the common types on Sydney Harbour are the water taxis, like the one shown above. This morning I checked out some websites because I knew very little about them. The few companies I checked out claimed that they will pick up passengers almost anywhere, including beaches. They will likewise take you almost anywhere on the harbour much faster than public transport or even driving there yourself.
That’s probably true and they do look very convenient. There’s only one catch: you need a very deep pocket as they are relatively expensive. Yes – they might be quick, but it will cost you. Mind you, it would be a great way to have a private cruise of the harbour if you had a large group of people, say 20-30 to share the cost.
Birds at the Sydney Fish Markets
Silver Gull, Sydney Fish Markets
Australians a quite used to having Silver Gulls watching them as they eat picnic lunches, especially if any seafood is on the menu. While we were eating our lunch in the picnic area on the wharf at the Sydney Fish Markets, several Silver Gulls kept a close eye on our food, especially the individual shown in the photo above.
He went hungry.
At least we didn’t feed him anything. Others in the vast crowd may have been more compassionate and shared their lunch.
A very bold White Ibis patrolled the footpath between the rows of tables where hundreds of people were eating. This species has become a pest in many picnic areas. They are not afraid of people and frequently hop on to picnic tables and grab food off your plate. Cheeky blighters.
Some people might think this behaviour as cute, or amusing. For a little child it can be very intimidating and downright frightening.
More docile were several hopeful Australian Pelicans cruising near the wharf.
Silver Gull, Sydney Fish Markets
Lunch at the Sydney Fish Markets
Picnic tables at the Sydney Fish Markets
After exploring the various parts of the Sydney Fish Markets we all settled on one outlet where we could buy our lunch. Hundreds of other people had the same idea even though it was getting on in the afternoon. I guess a place like this is very popular at all times. It took us nearly a hour to get our food – but the wait was really worth it.
Another problem was finding a place to sit down to eat. While the ladies of our party ordered and paid for our lunch, my son and I “patrolled” the picnic area on the wharf. There must have been well over a hundred picnic tables, each seating 6-8 but all were occupied. The lawn area adjacent was also very crowded.
Eventually we decided to “hover” next to a group of people who had almost finished, and “swooped” on the seats faster than a seagull grabbing a hot chip when the table was vacated. It was just in time – our lunch arrived five minutes later.
Naturally we all had seafood. The general feeling was that the food was well worth waiting for. There is nothing like Australian seafood freshly caught and cooked well.
Delicious.
My daughter taking a photo of me, Sydney Fish Markets
Some views of the Sydney Fish Markets
Sydney Fish Markets
The Sydney Fish Markets was one of the interesting places we went during our holiday in Sydney last year. This is an amazing place to visit. Everywhere there are food outlets, from fast foods through to full restaurants. Everywhere people a bustling along shoulder to shoulder vying for position. Some of the more popular vendors are shown by the length of the lineup of people snaking from their premises. Everywhere is the smell of fresh fish – or cooking seafood. The noise when we were there was probably a little higher than normal as it was school holiday time and there were a lot of children around.
Sydney Fish Markets
Sydney Fish Markets
Sydney Fish Markets
Boat moored near the Sydney Fish Markets
During our recent stay in Sydney, my son suggested that we all head into the city one day and visit the Sydney Fish Markets for lunch. We all love seafood, so we needed very little convincing that this was a good idea.
We travelled first by train to Central Station and then caught the light rail tram to the markets.
The markets were extremely busy but this was the day after New Year’s Day, so I guess that we were just one of many groups of visitors in the city on that day. I believe it can also be quite busy during non-holiday times.
The sights, smells, sounds and atmosphere of these markets are a wonderful assault on the senses. I can only share a little of the visual impact; I didn’t record the smells to share with you on this blog!
Inside the Sydney Fish Markets
Anzac Bridge and boats near the Sydney Fish Markets