Wednesday, March 1st, 2023 Queen Victoria, Sydney, Australia
Updated: Jul 4, 2023
Over the past 2 days we’ve steamed across the Tasman Sea from New Zealand to Australia and this morning we arrived at Sydney. We were up at about 5AM in order to see a specially arranged drone show to mark the return of Queen Victoria to Sydney and also the recognize the World Pride Month celebration that has been taking place here. The drone show was off the starboard side, so we had to go up to the top deck to see it. The ship stopped before the entrance to the harbor and we could see the drones whizzing around in perfect formation, creating words and shapes in bright neon colors – the perfect intersection of art and technology. Entering Sydney harbor has to be one of the most spectacular arrivals a cruise ship can make. With the sun slowly rising, the ship turned to port to enter the harbor; the harbor bridge became visible on the starboard side and then we could see the opera house on the port side – the Circular Quay part of the harbor is closest to downtown and quite compact. The ship docked directly opposite the opera house; this would be the view from our balcony for the next two days as the ship is staying in port overnight. A constant stream of small ferries ran in and out of Circular Quay bringing workers to the city from the outlying areas. We had booked a half-day ship’s tour for our first day in Sydney, as this is our first visit here, we thought it would be a good way to get an overview and the lie of the land. It was a bright sunny day, though not too hot, as the tour bus set off from the port for the short trip to the Sydney Harbor Opera House, our first stop. The opera house is on a small peninsular that forms one side of the harbor, the area has been used by the aborigines for ceremonial events long before the arrival of the Europeans. The years marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the opera house; it was designed by the Danish architect Jorn Utzon who won the commission through an international competition. The construction was funded through a national lottery, it took 10 years to complete and the original budget of 6 million Australian dollars was only slightly exceeded – the final cost was 107 million Australian dollars! During the project there was a major dispute between Utzen and the political overseers, he left the project and never saw it completed – in fact he never returned to Australia. The opera house is simply amazing, the interior theaters (there are 7 performance venues) are constructed from beautiful hardwoods and do not connect to the tiled outer shells. The contrast between the hardwood and exposed interior concrete is really well done. I don’t think I saw a right angle anywhere inside the building. Our guide showed us into one of the smaller theaters where we watched a video about the construction of the building and then we sat in the Joan Sutherland Theater, this is where the major operas are staged – in fact Carmen would be performed tonight. The Royal Botanical Gardens are immediately adjacent to the opera house, we took a walk through the gardens to get back to the tour bus. Although quite small, the gardens are very nicely kept with beautiful trees and the occasion whacky piece of “art” – they are not the type of botanical gardens that have hundreds of plants all carefully labelled, more like a park really. The residence of the governor of New South Wales is also located within the gardens, it’s a castle-like structure that we glimpsed through the iron railings. The bus made its way around Farm Cove to a viewpoint, everyone piled off for a quick photo stop – there is an excellent view across the cove to the opera house and the harbor bridge. Couldn’t resist buying an ice cream cone at the small kiosk, complete with a flake – what we’d call in the UK a “99”, it was delicious. Our tour guide was a great resource for the history and culture of Sydney, as we progressed through the various neighborhoods she entertained us with endless stories – she was very good. From another viewpoint, further out from the center of the city, we got amazing views again but from a different perspective. Soon we arrived in Bondi Beach, I was expecting a very long beach going off into the distance, and so was surprised to find in fact the beach is quite small and within a tight cove. There was a really strong, hat strap under chin, breeze blowing – the beach was not busy with only a few surfers and a smattering of sun worshippers. A large pavilion faced the beach, with many shops and cafes, as it was lunchtime we headed for a café. Sitting at a table outside the Glory Days Café I tried to ignore the wind, but wished I’d brought a fleece – nevertheless it was hard to believe we were sitting overlooking the beautiful Bondi Beach and ordering lunch. The food was very good, though the service was a bit slow and so we had to eat it rather fast in order to make it back to the bus on time. I didn’t realize I’d lost my hat until I was almost back at the bus, a quick sprint back the beach area, and a little detective work involving wind vectors, revealed the hat languishing under a nearby car. It took about 20 minutes for the bus to return to the port and along the way we got more information about Sydney – I also noticed that many of the place and road names were the same as we see in London; at one point we were driving down Oxford Street to Paddington. It was early afternoon as we got off the bus; rather than return to the ship we decided to head back into the city. Our friends had told us about a great shopping center called the Queen Victoria Building, the tour guide gave directions to the building via the street car system, and so we headed for the Circular Quay transit terminus just a couple of hundred yards away. With the help of a friendly local we purchased tickets from the machine for the 3 stop journey to the Queen Victoria Building. The streetcar system in Sydney is very modern and well used; the line we travelled on went right up the middle of George Street, one of the major shopping streets in the city. After about 5 minutes we found ourselves in front of the magnificent Queen Victoria Building (QVB – the Australians abbreviate everything). The QVB was built in 1898, it fills an entire city block and has a sandstone exterior, several domes, stained glass windows and lots on interior wrought iron. The building replaced the original Sydney markets and originally housed a concert hall, coffee shops, showrooms, warehouses and a variety of tradespeople. Over the years the building fell into disrepair and was eventually renovated in 1986 and again in 2009 to restore it to its former glory. The interior of the QVB is filled with shops on 5 levels, walkways with wrought iron rails encircle each floor and the central area is open and atrium-like. There is a nice mix of big brands and local supplier stores, including many Australian brands we did not recognize. There is a very prominent café culture in Sydney and the QVB if filled with many outlets selling excellent coffee and pastries, including savory pies. Sandra did some shoe shopping.
The area adjacent to the ship dock is called The Rocks, it became established shortly after the colony's formation in 1788. The original buildings were first traditional vernacular houses, of wattle and daub, with thatched roofs, and later of local sandstone, from which the area derives its name. From the earliest history of the settlement, the area had a reputation as a slum and the arriving convicts' side of town, often frequented by visiting sailors and prostitutes. Over the years the Rocks fell into decay and went through several renovations, though local resistance to the large-scale demolition and modern construction has resulted in the Rocks maintaining a distinct historical character. With the ship staying overnight, we decided to head into the Rocks area for dinner and found a low-key burger joint with outdoor seating; the place was a bit strange and the service a bit terse – but the burgers were excellent. Later we wandered through the streets; many old buildings, bars with music, large outdoor seating areas – though by about 9:30PM things were starting to quieten down. Back at the dock, we capped the night with ice scream and great views of the opera house, ship and bridge.
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