Today was spent mostly on the water. We purchased an all-day pass on the ferry system and travelled up the Paramatta River to Paramatta (23 km.), to Manly Beach and finally did the circuit around central Sydney. It became obvious that Sydney is a water city and Sydneysiders live on the water. Most of the development is taking place around the harbour and inlets and up the Paramatta River. The 2000 Olympic site is the focus of a great deal of residential const...

Today involved a great deal of walking. We went to the top of the sky tower (on the elevator, not stairs) for a 360 degree panoramic view of Sydney. We then walked to Circular Quay, thru' the Royal Botanic Gardens and back to our hotel. The Jacaranda trees are coming into bloom (see photo). While prices appear high, we are beginning to realize that, with tax included and no tipping, meals are not quite as pricey as we first thought. A$17 burger is equivalent...

Took a trip to the famous Bondi Beach today. It probably has some of the finest sand we have ever experienced. The surf was not much. We returned to Sydney and toured the Australian Maritime Museum. The highlight was a replica of the Endeavour, the ship of Cook when he landed in Australia in 1770 and claimed it for Britain. Late afternoon featured a brilliant red sun, the result of the bush fires in the Blue Mountains, inland from Sydney. No other evidence ...

Our first day touring Sydney. We took the hop on hop off bus for a good overview of central Sydney. Spent time wandering around The Rocks (the original settlement area) and Circular Quay (the first dock area). Toured the Opera House - quite a fascinating building. Sydney seems a lot like Vancouver, but without the mountains, except the accents are different and the prices higher.

After 28 hours from the time we left home, we arrived at our hotel in Sydney. Everything went quite well. No delays in the flights and the weather was fine the entire way. We have purchased a mobile wifi device for $39 that allows us to access the internet without using hotel or the cruise ship's wifi whenever we are within the mobile coverage of Telstra, which covers all Australia. We will have to recharge the account a couple of times but our total cost sho...