26 March 2016 :- AUSTRALIA >>>Sydney (Last day of the journey)

AUSTRALIA :-  Sydney

21th Day: 26.03.2016

Practically this is my last day in Australia. I have my pre booked Sydney Opera House Tour at 12:00 and I have got also a ticket for the Requiem Concert at the Sydney Opera House. It is a day for relaxation and smooth activities.

After a fine sleep during the night I woke up around 08:00 and then I started to walk on the

Wattle Str. down to the Sydney Fish Market. It is approx. 1,2 km from the hotel where I am staying. On the left hand side of the street there is a big green park close to the Fish Market. Some people are doing sport at this nice weather.

As I came closer to the Fish market I wanted to take some pictures but I recognized that I have forgotten the memory card of the camera at the hotel. So I walked back to the hotel, took the memory card of the camera and then came again to the same place.

At the Sydney Fish Market

 

Mud Crabs, alive ready to buy
Anyway, I looked around in the fish market. The people have already opened their shops and benches for the new day. There are various sea products like shrimps, oysters, lobsters, fishes any kind all around. In some shops within the market there are also ready to eat sea food which were very attractive even in the morning. I tasted some sashimi and  similar small items.

Sydney Fish Market

After leaving the fish market I walked the Pyrmont Bridge Road and crossed the Pyrmont Bridge at the Darling Harbour.

Crossing the Pyrmont Bridge, at the Darling Harbour.

It is very nice to walk in the city in the Saturday morning. The George Str took me to the Rocks. The Rocks is a historical part of Sydney. It is the oldest convict settlement in Australia.

Street Markets at The Rocks

The Rocks markets (=shopping huts) are open every Saturday and Sunday as well. I stopped at the Guylian Café and took a macchiato. Walking at the Overseas Passenger Terminal I saw the big cruiser still there. The passengers of it where spread out enjoying nice weather of Sydney City.

Sunny day at Sydney Cove, the big cruise ship in the background.

I walked to the other tip of the Sydney Cove where there is the Sydney Opera House located. I had to get my tickets at the ticket box. After having them I came to the meeting point of our tour group. A nice tour guide took us into the various sections within the building. She explained technical facts and history of the building.

From Wikipedia :

“ The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney, Australia, identified as one of the 20th century's most distinctive buildings.^[3]

Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, the building was formally opened on 20 October 1973^[4] after a gestation beginning with Utzon's 1957 selection as winner of an international design competition. The government of New South Wales, led by the premier,Joseph Cahill, authorised work to begin in 1958 with Utzon directing construction. The government's decision to build Utzon's design is often overshadowed by circumstances that followed, including cost and scheduling overruns as well as the architect's ultimate resignation.^[5]

The building and its surrounds occupy the whole of Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbour, between Sydney Cove and Farm Cove, adjacent to the Sydney central business district and the Royal Botanic Gardens, and close by the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Though its name suggests a single venue, the building comprises multiple performance venues which together are among the busiest of performing arts centres – hosting well over 1,500 performances annually, attended by more than 1.2 million people.^[6] A wide range of performances is presented in the venues, by numerous performing arts producers, including four key resident companies: Opera Australia, The Australian Ballet, the Sydney Theatre Company and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. As one of the most popular visitor attractions in Australia, more than eight million people visit the site each year, with around 350,000 visitors annually taking a guided tour of the building.^[7] The building is managed by the Sydney Opera House Trust, an agency of the New South Wales State Government.

On 28 June 2007, the Sydney Opera House became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.^{[8] “}

This is the design philosophy behind the Sydney Opera House :- Sails of a ship

One of the performance halls of Sydney Opera House

Tiles of the roof have been manufactured in Sweden

Precasted concrete modules are holding the building together

Perfect symmetry is everywhere in the building

Percasted beams of special cross-section of the Sydney Opera House

Our nice guide at the entrance of the Utzon Room-Utzon is the Arcitect of the Sydney Opera House

In the Utzon Room
In my opinion, those who are studying architecture and/or civil engineering must see this building. It pumps the enthusiasm and creativity.

After finishing the tour roughly in one hour we met with Lilette in front of the box office.

She had also bought ticket for the same concert as me. We walked into the concert hall.

It is fantastic and really big space inside. Occasionally, without knowing each other’s seats we had bought almost neighbored seats at the same row. We had only two seats between us.

Audience of the "Requiem" at Sydney Opera House

Orchestra

Orchestra

The concert “Requiem” of Mozart was fantastic. It was finished around 16:00 o’clock. When we came out we walked to the Rocks where we met Hakan, son of Lilette. He was waiting for us there. We sat with him at the Bavarian Bierhaus and ordered two beers.

Meanwhile, Lilette wanted to make shopping within the Rocks’ shops. Later on, after buying some souvenir she came to our table and we continued to chat altogether.

Hakan found a Japanese Restaurant to dine. It is Sushi Yachiyo in 1/13 Kirketon Road, Darlinghurst (Tel.02 9331 8107). Then we walked to the restaurant. It was a long walk from the Rocks. It is a little restaurant with cozy ambiance. We sat around a small table and the food was wonderful.

After the dinner Hakan called Uber Taxi and we all drove to our Hotels. They first left me at my Hotel. It was around 22:30 when I came to my room. Tonight I am going to have short nap because my flight to Dubai departs at 06:00. I have already ordered through the reception a taxi which will pick me up at 03:30 from the hotel.

I packed all my stuff and started to sleep the last night of the Australia+NZ journey. Tomorrow will be a long day on the way to Istanbul.

25 March 2016:- Australia:- Sydney

AUSTRALIA :-  Sydney

20th Day: 25.03.2016 

We will have a kind of reunion today. Mrs Lilette who is a friend of mine from Istanbul and her son Hakan who is living in Brisbane will fly this morning from Brisbane and they will come directly to my Hotel Vulcan. On the other hand our friend Erhan Izmir and his lovely wife Gul will pick up all of us from the hotel and we will enjoy the day altogether.

The meeting time at the hotel is 10.00. Gul and Erhan came first and we waited a little bit for Lilette and Hakan at the breakfast hall. They came directly from the airport. Then we jumped into the Erhan ‘s car and he took us to many places in/around Sydney which we couldn ‘t cover by ourselves. Gul and Erhan have been living in Sydney for more then 20 years.

We, first, made a sight-seeing tour with the car on the south Sydney. After seing the down town of Sydney we drove to Rose Bay and Voucluse and headed to the South Head. After walking a while altogether we made a coffee break in Watsons Bay.

Sydney from South Head

Suicide point at the South Head

Erhan,Hakan, Gul, Lilette and me

 

South Head -Background North Sydney

Cem, Erhan, Hakan with umbrella, Gul and Lilette

Then we started to drive and this time Erhan took us to Bondi Beach on the east coast of the south Sydney. Bondi Beach is a well-known and even it is autumn there are a lot of people surfing and laying in the beach. The weather was cloudy. We drank some beer and ate some short stuff here. After that we departed and we took Bondi Road and Oxford Str.

headed the Harbour Bridge. After crossing the bridge we stopped shortly at the Milsons Point and took some pictures.

From Milsons Point

Harbour Bridge from Milsons Point

 

Neutral Bay and Mosman Bay are the places we passed on the way to Spit Bridge. We are now on the North Sydney and it is still nice. The area is in intimate touch with the sea and this makes the city lovely in my opinion. Right after crossing the Spit Bridge Erhan took us to the big green field at the Arabanoo Lookout. He had used to play football here.

From the Arabanoo Lookout

As our final destination we came to Manly. We walked shortly at Manly Beach and then

we –except Erhan and Gul- took the ferry from Manly to Sydney. To use the public transportation someone must have Opal Card which is sold at every “Convenience Stores”. I had bought one yesterday and I have used it at the ferry.

Manly Beach

Heading to Sydney on the ferry from Manly

After we landed at the Sydney City, we took a taxi and Lilette and Hakan dropped me at my Hotel and I gave their two pieces of luggage from my room. We agreed to meet at a restaurant for dinner and I have rested a little bit in my room.

Around 19:00 o’clock I went out and walked to the down town. Meanwhile I have received a message from Hakan to go to the restaurant in Darlinghurst where he found a restaurant

popular with pasta and sauces. We met there and ate some fine pasta and drank two bottles of tasty red wine of Australian Origin. Late in the night, around 23:00 we drove back to our hotels.

Good Night .

24 March 2016:-AUSTRALIA:- Yulara>>Sydney

AUSTRALIA :-  Yulara >>>Sydney

19th Day: 24.03.2016 

Today is my last day in Ayers Rock or Yulara. I have a scheduled short tour starting early in the morning to catch the sun rise. SEIT Tour guide picks me up at 05:30. The name of the tour is “Uluru Highlights”. Our guide, Rolano, with the Chilean origin is a friendly guy with good experience about the Aboriginal Culture in Yulara. We collected some more guests from different hotels and altogether 5 people we drove to Uluru.

Rolano stopped approx. on the southwest side of the Uluru (the big massive stone) with a distance of around 2 km to the stone. We got out from our minivan and waited for the rising sun. Meanwhile our guide prepared a breakfast at the rear of the car. Coffee, bread, honey, almond cake and some fruit was ready for self-service. The sun rise was at 06:21 and we caught a lot of pictures under the first rays of the sun.

After the sun rise we departed from this point at 07:00 and drove closer to the Uluru. We started to walk to the water sink. There is a cave made by nature and we saw on the walls of the cave some primitive paintings done by the Aboriginal people.

At the top of the cave there was a big stone with the shape similar to a snake head. Snake is a sacred animal for the Aboriginal people. They believe that the snake laid eggs at Uluru and therefore the stone Uluru is respectfully treated by themselves.

The land going closer to the water sink is in a shape of a bottleneck. This part is also a natural trap for the wild animals. As per the explanations of our guide the Aboriginal people

had used to hunt here easily. The hole on the cave wall looking to this area was also serving to the children to peep outside where the men were hunting and learn hunting skills of their fathers.

After the water sink we walked back to the minivan and we drove to the east side of the Uluru. This part of the Uluru is not for photography. The native people are living here somewhere and there is no permission to take picture. The tribe, called “Anulu” is living here according to their traditions and rules and there is a kind of consensus for a reserved living. They have obtained their rights during late nineteen eighties and since then they live

here as before. There is a believed set of rule among themselves which describes their daily relations and similar traditional rituals etc.

As per our guide we understand that almost half of the year is allocated for the ceremonies, traditional rituals. We drove further to the north side of the Uluru. We saw that a few people were climbing the stone. The people are not encouraged for climbing because of two main reasons: Security, respect to the Aboriginal people believes,

On rainy and windy days it is not safe to climb the stone.

Just before 09:00 o’clock we returned to the Hotel. I bought some souvenirs from the shop at the entrance of the Hotel and then went to my dormitory room and packed my luggage.

The scheduled AAT Kings bus is at 10:30 and this one is adequate for my Virgin Australia flight at 12:35 to Sydney. Our plane took off at 12:35 and after a 3 hours flight we landed at Sydney Airport.

The local time was 17:10 when we landed at Sydney airport. I took the Redy2Go shuttle service from the Airport and our driver dropped me at the Vulcan Hotel, 500 Wattle Str, Ultimo, around 19:15. It is very reasonable price: 22.-AUD only. It took more or less one and half hours from the airport to the hotel during the rush hour.

My hotel has a good location. I walked to the China Town and took seat outside at the table on the pavement of a Chinese restaurant and ordered some Chinese food with some steamed rice and drank a bottle of Chinese beer, Tsingtao.

Night view at the Darling Harbour, Sydney.

After the late dinner, I walked to the Darling Harbour. It is a touristic zone and there are a lot of cafés, bars and restaurants there. The lights of the city was very colorful and attractive. After spending some time at the Darling Harbour, I walked all along the Harris Street to my Hotel. I arrived at the hotel around 23:00. I felt happy while thinking that this is my last stop on this long Australia+NZ journey and I am going to sleep three nights at the same hotel.

Tomorrow I am going to meet with some friends and we are going to make sight-seeing in Sydney together.

                                   

07 March 2016:-AUSTRALIA :- Perth >>Cervantes, Pinnacles

AUSTRALIA & NZ :- Perth (The Pinnacles Tour)

2nd Day  : 07.03.2016

In order to be picked up by the ADAMS Tour (www.adamspinnacletours.com.au) at 07:00 o’clock, I woke up early in the morning at 06:15 and went downstairs to the breakfast hall of the Hotel. Breakfast is served on the ground floor looking to the Street. Breakfast is well enough and is responding to my tastes: Plain egg, cheese, croissant, boiled mushroom, some fruit, toast bread and cafe.

While drinking my coffee I saw a man walking on the street in front of the hotel. I have got the impression that he is looking for someone to pick up. He passed the hotel. In the following two minutes I saw him again walking the other way round. I went out and asked whether he is looking for me. Yes. I was right. I jumped into the coach waiting at the corner on the William Str.

The bus started to go and collected guests from some other hotels,too. Finally we arrived at the Convention Centre on the Esplanade. This is the place where all the guests are gathered and distributed to the adequate ADAMS Tour busses depending to the place where to go.

I climbed into another bus which was a little bit different then the modern coaches. This one was a 4x4 MAN modified bus. The weather is nice and warm but not hot and the sky is clear. We are approx.14-15 people on the bus. We departed at 08:10.

First we drove to Caversham Wildlife Park in the Swan Valley. It is a ½ hr drive from the Convention Centre and we stopped there. We saw koalas and kangaroos. There was also a wombat which is a native animal.

Kangaroos in the Caversham Wildlife Park, Perth

Wombat and the ranger, Caversham Wildlife Park, Perth.

We spent approx. 45 minutes there and then departed to the fisherman’s village “Cervantes”.

It was 12:00 when we reached to the town. Cervantes is a small village there are a few lobster companies. These are fishing lobster and processing them professionally. We stopped at the company “Lobster Shack” for an informative talk about the lobster industry. We visited the facility and saw every phase of processing clearly while walking on the grid floor construction above the lobster pools. After grading they ship them in big boxes alive to their customers all around the world. We sat there for lunch and I ordered lobster. I enjoyed the grilled lobster very much.

Lobster Shack:- Lobster Industry, Cervantes

Biggest size lobster, Lobster Shack, Cervantes

Lobsters alive; ready to be shipped, Lobster Shack, Cervantes

Lobster ready to eat, Lobster Shack, Cervantes

Indian Ocean from the coast of Cervantes

After the lunch we moved with our bus to the mystical “Pinnacles Desert” in the north of Perth. The Pinnacles is around 260 kms in the north. Our driver was also giving us information about different facts. The Pinnacles is very famous with the earth formation. The soil is sand and there are 2-3 meter high sand stones eroded within time. The landscape was very fascinating.

After a short visit at the Pinnacles Museum we headed to another place close to this site. On the vast sand dunes of the town Lancelin we enjoyed 4 wheel driving with our own vehicle. Our driver has got stuck at one of the sand dunes because of a mistake in changing gear. Then we rescued the vehicle and moved further on the sand dunes.

Our bus driver has stopped at a sand dune and took out several sand boards and we had experienced sand boarding, too.

Joel is on the sand board

Mia is climbing sand dune

Mia, on the sand board

Our bus driver and guide is trying to inflate the tyres

After all, around 17:40 we departed for Perth. It took around two hours to reach to the City Perth. The ADAMS Tour bus dropped everybody at their hotel and it was approx. 19:00. After having a shower in the Hotel I went out for dinner.