It Just Isn't Done That Way - Sydney and the Blue Mountains - TR Complete #284.

Great update! I sure up they changed the menu now at Fort Dension when hosting wedding receptions lol...

Is the free 555 service a bus? That's cool.

Taronga zoo looks awesome. I love that you go up and work your way down viewing different animals on your way. Wow re Tasmania Devil I bet they are very rare now. How brilliant to see one in real life. I wonder any successful breeding at this zoo? Love the komodo dragon too.

Lovely turtles! :-) The birds are glorious. I just adore sea lions.

How is the zoo funding PIO? Is it entry?
 
Lovely zoo pics! The teens did a good job of picking the priorities!
 
The zoo looks great. I would have loved the bird show. We are lucky enough to have resident Peregrins that do regular fly-byes.

Corinna
 
Thoroughly enjoyed my stroll down memory lane seeing Circular Quay, The Rocks, Opera House and Harbor Bridge and the Zoo. We took the ferry to the Zoo, but I don't remember the gondolas. Fabulous pics!
 
Yes, it is a snow leopard. Loved seeing it; and the tiger (not the Tasmanian variety. ;)).

That is so wonderful. I looked at the zoo website and was extra pleased to see that they are part of a worldwide breeding programme to try and bring the snow leopard back from the brink of extinction.
I love the chance to observe animals, but always battle internally with my sense of ethics whenever I visit places where they are being kept captive. So it's nice to see that this zoo has a fairly active conservation programme running.

As for the Tasmanian Tiger, I certainly wasn't as clued on as Zanzibar was. I had noticed that you'd written Tiger and was about to ask, quite innocently, how the Tiger differed to the Devil. :rotfl:
 
I was wondering if you'd put it in there on purpose, just to check that we were all paying attention :lmao:

:scratchin Why.....yes! :idea:
Of course I did. That was rather brilliant of me, and very observant of you...wasn't it???

:rotfl2:




I certainly wasn't - good spotting Zanaibar!

That makes 2 of us. :lmao:





Great update! I sure up they changed the menu now at Fort Dension when hosting wedding receptions lol...

Is the free 555 service a bus? That's cool.

Taronga zoo looks awesome. I love that you go up and work your way down viewing different animals on your way. Wow re Tasmania Devil I bet they are very rare now. How brilliant to see one in real life. I wonder any successful breeding at this zoo? Love the komodo dragon too.

Lovely turtles! :-) The birds are glorious. I just adore sea lions.

How is the zoo funding PIO? Is it entry?

The 555 is a free bus but it only runs to about 3.30 pm. It doesn't run during peak hour; which makes it difficult to rely on.

I think the zoo is publicly funded by the State Government and also by entry.





Lovely zoo pics! The teens did a good job of picking the priorities!

Thanks! Yes. I was happy with what we got to see at the zoo.




The zoo looks great. I would have loved the bird show. We are lucky enough to have resident Peregrins that do regular fly-byes.

Corinna

You are very lucky to have peregrines flying by. :thumbsup2




Thoroughly enjoyed my stroll down memory lane seeing Circular Quay, The Rocks, Opera House and Harbor Bridge and the Zoo. We took the ferry to the Zoo, but I don't remember the gondolas. Fabulous pics!

Glad you enjoyed it. I think the gondola has been there since the mid 80's. Perhaps you did catch it? Otherwise, maybe it was down for refurb or something when you were there.




That is so wonderful. I looked at the zoo website and was extra pleased to see that they are part of a worldwide breeding programme to try and bring the snow leopard back from the brink of extinction.
I love the chance to observe animals, but always battle internally with my sense of ethics whenever I visit places where they are being kept captive. So it's nice to see that this zoo has a fairly active conservation programme running.

As for the Tasmanian Tiger, I certainly wasn't as clued on as Zanzibar was. I had noticed that you'd written Tiger and was about to ask, quite innocently, how the Tiger differed to the Devil. :rotfl:

Well....I think you definitely need to spend some at Taronga and see the snow leopard when you're there.

And let's just say I will have a devil of time living down the tiger faux pas! :rotfl:
 
The Sydney Opera House


We caught the ferry back to Sydney.






We had a certain building in mind to go-see. Or more appropriately, walk past.






From Circular Quay, it is about a 5 - 10 minute walk to get to the Opera House. Designed by the architect Jorn Utzon, his submission was initially rejected by three judges, but his entry was picked out by the fourth judge, renowned American architect Eero Saarinen, who declared it outstanding. Mr Utzon beat 232 other entrants and won £5000 for his efforts. He resigned as chief architect of the Opera House in February 1966, after a new Liberal government was elected and the Minister of Works stopped payments to him. Apparently, his building costs turned out to be a complete runaway money pit! The Sydney Opera House’s construction cost $AUS 102 million - the original estimated cost was $AUS 7 million. It's nice to see that the Estimates Committee worked to such consistent standards over the last 40 years.






It's over 40 years old now but still looking as intriguing and majestic as the day it opened.







Though the shells appear uniformly white from a distance, they actually feature a subtle chevron pattern.






The roof is covered with more than one million tiles (1,056,006 to be exact), made by Swedish company Höganas.






The tiles are really in two colours: glossy white as well as matte cream.







Stunning to look at from whatever direction you choose.



















We chose not to go in. I guess we could have but it was getting late in the day and I suspect that we would have missed any guided tours for the day.







There was some construction work being undertaken at the Opera House so it was rather noisy on the concourse area. So we moved along from the area.





(Continued in Next Post)
 
Royal Botanic Gardens




The Royal Botanic Gardens was original established as a grain farm by Henry Edward Dodd. From such humble beginnings, big things grow. That first farm may have failed but no one can say that the RBG is anything but amazing. From the Opera House, you're practically right at the edge of the gardens.






Whilst the boy teens just wanted to sit on the grass, the girl teens wanted a ride on the Choo Choo Express (yes, it really is called the Choo Choo Express!).






The Choo Choo Express will cost $10 per adult and $5 per child (under 18). For that price, you're allowed to hop on/hop off at any of the 4 stops along the route. If we had gotten there earlier in the day, we might have felt differently. But it was the last ride of the day and there was no way we were going to HOHO. For just a ride round the circuit, we thought it was pricey for an adult. The policy for riding is that kids under the age of 18 needed to have an adult along. Rock-Paper-Scissors. Guess I lost.

I understand that the round building is designed for bats.






That slot is just big enough for an endangered species of microbats to enter.






The Gardens does house a range of exotic plants. Some of these may have come by sea with the fleets from England.






We headed in the direction of Mrs Mcquarie's Chair. Mrs Macquarie's Chair is an exposed sandstone rock cut into the shape of a bench, hand carved by convicts from sandstone in 1810 for Governor Macquarie's wife Elizabeth. Major-General Lachlan Macquarie was Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821. Folklore has it that she used to sit on the rock and watch for ships from Great Britain sailing into the harbour. She was known to visit the area and sit enjoying the panoramic views of the harbour. I was too busy looking in the panoramic direction. Neither of these two iconic landmarks would have been here in Mrs Macquarie's day.






Somewhere along the way, we passed a carved tree. I don't remember the significance. Maybe someone from Sydney might be able to enlighten us.







That tall tree? It's a Wollemi Pine. Discovered in 1994, the Dinosaur tree or 'living fossil', this tree is one of the greatest botanical discoveries of our time. It was found in a deep, narrow canyon of the rugged Wollemi National Park by a Park and Wildlife Officer. Fossils of this genus have been found, dating back some 2 million years and it was thought to be extinct until it was discovered in Wollemi. This particular tree and I were acquainted some 15 years ago. I had been visiting Sydney then and had explored the garden. Then, it had been newly planted and barely stood 0.5 m tall. Look at it now!






Here's another tall tree; or at last it will be. This is a sequoia, relatively recently planted. I guess if I’m around in 150 years' time, it will be the tallest tree in the Gardens.







One of the pavilions in the Gardens.







Government House is the official residence of the Governor of New South Wales. It's location is prime real-estate!







I did get this on the way back. If you look at where it bends round, that's where Mrs Macquarie's Chair is located.







And we're back where we started.









(Continued in Next Post)
 
A Ferry Ride to Darling Harbour




From Circular Quay, we caught the ferry out. We were heading to Darling Harbour tonight. Our direction was inland'ish of where the Harbour is. It gave us an opportunity to head under the bridge and look up at the climbers.






We had headed in this direction last night so that the tall ship could turn around and point outwards into Sydney Harbour.






The ferry route to Darling Harbour makes a stop at this dock.






It gave me the opportunity to capture that Luna Park smile.






It was another glorious sunset on the harbour.






It's a great vantage point, isn't it?













I really was amusing myself on this ride.






I think we were in Darling Harbour by this point. You get to see the city from the other side.






Darling Harbour is a harbour adjacent to the city centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is also a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central business district. It is named after Lieutenant-General Ralph Darling, who was Governor of New South Wales from 1825 to 1831. It was used as part of the commercial port of Sydney until the mid-1980's.






By this stage, Darling Harbour had become economically inefficient and the government of the day decided to turn it to an entertainment precinct and give the space back to the people of New South Wales. It is now home to shops, restaurants, tourist attractions such as Madame Tussards, Sydney Wildlife World, Sydney Aquarium, Paddy’s Market, Chinese Garden of Friendships, Australia National Maritime Museum, playgrounds and Star Casino.











If you head here, just be aware that it is a construction site at the moment. The east side of Darling Harbour is undergoing a massive urban redevelopment project that isn't expected to be completed before 2020.
There are a number of hotels in the Darling Harbour area. If you do decide to stay here, just check to see if they are affected by construction noise during the day and what time construction starts up in the morning. I had been interested to stay at another hotel closer to the construction zone but found out that construction noise could be heard from 7 am in the morning; even on weekends. So, I picked the hotel we are staying at instead.


We got off at the Pyrmont side, near the Maritime museum. Our friends live in this area and we headed back there to re-group and decide what we were going to do and eat for the night.










(Continued in Next Post)
 
A Star Dinner



It took us a while to decide on where we were heading to for dinner. In the end, because we were such a large group and there were so many different tastes and dietary requirements to cater to, it was easier to go to the foodcourt in the Star Casino.


It's not a foodcourt in the traditional sense of the world. Star bills it as the Café Court and it holds a collection of about 8 or 9 various food establishments here. And they do target a better quality of food. You won't find Golden Arches here.






Din Tai Fung is a restaurant chain that can be found around the world. You'll find them in Japan, Singapore, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, USA, Hong Kong and Australia. Their signature dish is the humble dumpling....pot stickers to those in North America.






It was a favourite choice with the adults. A couple of us chose to have standard dumplings with noodles. You have to pay extra for the vegetables!






Another adult had the dumplings with noodles in a chili sauce.






One of these are the steamed dumplings (I think it's the first picture) and the other is the vegetarian dumplings. Both were tasty enough.











Someone else on the table ordered this. I'm not really sure what it is; but it IS a dumpling!!!






One of the teens went with the rib meal from Ribs and Burgers.






A mother and daughter shared the mixed grill plate from Dergah Grill.






Underneath the pita bread, they do provide you with 3 kebabs. It was more than enough to share between 2!






Some of the other teens went with the old fat favourite. Fish and chips from Flying Fish and Chips.






Adriano Zumbo is one of the celebrity patissiers in Sydney. His main staple is sugar.







And his creations are to drool-for!












His macaroons are equally as spectacular.
















Voted as the best Gelato in Australia by the Good Food Guide, Messina has a store at the Star.






It was our go-to dessert.



















I've always been a bit of a fruity sort of a gal. I got the lychee flavour at the bottom with mango on the top.







Everyone was very happy with dinner and dessert. We headed back to our friends place for another night of games and chat. And as I bought a dozen of delicious mixed Macaroon flavours to take back to enjoy with coffee later on, it was a great night all round!






As was the night before, we got dropped off at our respective hotels. We said goodbye to everyone on this night. We still had one more full day in Sydney. However, my cousin and her family were heading back to Sydney the next day and our Sydney friends had work commitments and after-hours activities that would prevent us from catching up with them.
It had been great catching up with everyone!





princess::upsidedow
 
Yum! Yum! Yum!

Is that place within walking distance of The Rocks?

I think it might take you 30 - 40 minutes to walk to Star Casino from the Rocks. Head down George Street and then turn down Market and walk across the Pyrmont Bridge.

I would catch the ferry from Circular Quay. It is $6 per ticket.

Your alternative is to train it to Town Hall Station and walk to Darling Harbour from there.


ps. There is a Zumbo at the Queen Victoria Building if you're after Zumbo.
 
You definitely covered a lot of ground that day. I love all the close ups of the Sydney Opera House. With so much detail, I am not surprised that it went massively over budget.

I loved the look of the Botanical Gardens as well and that food court is really something.

Corinna
 
You may have lost rock-paper-scissors, but we won with the photos you took on the ride!

That creepy face entrance to Luna Park reminded me of the creepy clown face on the Boardwalk pool slide!
 
You may have lost rock-paper-scissors, but we won with the photos you took on the ride! That creepy face entrance to Luna Park reminded me of the creepy clown face on the Boardwalk pool slide!
omg lol I hate that face I'm sure that's what puts me off staying there lol..
 
Wow, I've missed quite a few posts!! I started a new job a few weeks ago and their web filter blocks a lot of image hosting websites (including the one I use... grrr) so I haven't been reading this thread.

I really do think Taronga is the zoo with the best view in the world! Just stunning, and one of my favourite places. The red pandas and the snow leopards are my pick usually. I feel it stacks up very well against just about any other zoo in the world. I think San Diego is better, but hometown bias sees me giving second place to Taronga :)

That little eating level under The Star is our usually go-to when seeing a show at the Lyric Theatre. Though if there is time, I prefer to go to the fish markets for fresh seafood, then proceed to the Star for dessert. Normally we grab macarons pre-show and gelato post-show :)

That tall ship cruise looks amazing. I love the old time sailing ships. We've been on one before out of Sydney but it was a different ship - the James Craig.
 
Oh my Sydney Opera House in all it's glory. What a corker! And the beautiful Botantic gardens. Such delights! Really lovely photos and narrative thank you.

Oh Adriana Zumbo I love that guy. Were they serving his Croquembouche in the nice food court or the V8 cake lol. That would have done me for main and dessert lol..
 
Wow, wow, wow! The Opera House is gorgeous and I love the up close detail! The food looks amazing too! I'm drooling.

Jill in CO
 
I love abstract photos of the Opera House (even my own fairly amatuer-ish attempts :rotfl:) :thumbsup2

Nice photos of the gardens too. I have yet to make it as far as Mrs Macquarie's chair.

That food looks awesome! Those upmarket food court things are such a great idea :thumbsup2
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!











facebook twitter
Top