Sydney CBD
Our holiday in New South Wales
September 2007
Whenever we visit Sydney we rarely go into the CBD or to many shopping centres. Shopping does not really interest us. We are more interested in going to places where there is natural bushland, for my wife to look at the plants and for me to do some birding. The photos shown here are as close as we got to the CBD on this latest visit to Sydney. We were heading for the Royal Botanic Gardens for lunch and the afternoon.
Sydney Harbour
Our holiday in New South Wales
September 2007
On our last day in Sydney during our recent holiday there we decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and head in to the CBD. Our main objective was to spend some time in one of our favourite spots in the city, the Royal Botanic Gardens.
We took the train into the city, changed trains at Wynyard Station and then took the next train to Circular Quay on the harbour.
Public transport in Sydney enables one to move around quite easily compared to some cities. I regret not having taken one or more of the ferries out on a cruise of the harbour. We did this in 2000 when we visited Sydney after a long absence and we thoroughly enjoyed the cruise. Next year when we return we have already decided to do far more touring around the city and the harbour and see more of the sights of this beautiful city.
A relaxing day at home
Our holiday in New South Wales
September 2007
On our holiday in New South Wales we stayed for ten days with our son and daughter-in-law. During that time we had some relaxing times walking around the suburbs nearby. I’ve already written about some of the flowers we saw in people’s gardens.
Today I have posted some of the flowers in my son’s garden. I took these photos while he was cooking a wonderful barbecue for us on our last weekend staying with them.
A long walk to Middle Harbour, Sydney
Our holiday in New South Wales
September 2007
While staying with our son in Artarmon, North Sydney, he led us on a long walk from his home to Middle Harbour. This was a walk of some 3-4 kilometres and it is mostly all downhill on the way to the harbour. This meant mostly uphill on the way back. We did it in just short of four hours. My son thought we’d take longer; he does it in two hours but then he is used to the hills around here. He and his wife do a lot of walking around this district.
It took us through some nearby suburbs along a walking and cycling trail through this part of the city. The path kept us away from busy roads and streets, sometimes passing under very busy streets and motorways.
At one point the track dropped quickly to the creek and here we followed Flat Rock Creek until it emerged from the gully into Middle Harbour. It was very peaceful following the creek, with dense vegetation on all sides. It was hard to believe we were about an hour’s walk to Sydney Harbour Bridge. It was so peaceful along that creek you could not imagine being in the heart of Australia’s largest city.
Near Middle Harbour one of the local roads passes high over the creek bed. The magnificent bridge over the creek is very inspiring and a wonderful subject for the camera.
A special resident
My son and daughter-in-law live in a lovely part of Sydney, the northern suburb of Artarmon. They have an interesting array of birds that visit their garden and the surrounding district. They also have some other resident animals.
The Eastern Blue-tongued Lizard shown in the photo above is a long-term resident of their garden. It is often seen basking in the sun near the front steps of their home. When approached it will scuttle under the bottom step where there is a gap large enough to hide. Not that we are a threat to its survival but I wouldn’t be so sure about all the Laughing Kookaburras that frequent the area.
For more information about Blue-tongue lizards click here.