“Anticipation is a gift. Perhaps there is none greater.
Anticipation is born of hope. Indeed it is hope’s finest expression.”
-Steven L.Peck
I have been blessed to spend the past 10 winters with my family in Australia: that all changed on March 15, 2020. I was more than a little dismayed to receive notice that all Canadians abroad – like me – should plan to return to Canada at the earliest possible opportunity, and with no time to waste. COVID-19 had potential to become a global catastrophe. Linger in Sydney at my peril as medical and travel insurance would terminate within days and return flights could be impossible to book. So, no time for tears, just a few final, brief, anxious hugs before a return flight to Vancouver and home again.
And now here we are, nine months later, in the middle of what seems to be an endless lockdown, and returning this winter is looking less likely every day. I am deeply saddened, occasionally angry, and filled with regrets but, to my surprise, I have come to appreciate COVID in ways I did not expect. Solitude makes my memories more vivid. I am sustained by an abundance of gratitude for joyful reunions with family and friends, the excitement of unimaginable sites, and the anticipation of future adventures both old and new. Travel is the ultimate inspiration.
“Sydney Harbour… one of the finest,
Most beautiful, vast, and safe bays
The sun ever shone upon.”
-Joseph Conrad, Mirror of the Sea (1906)
Sydney is the perfect blend of old and new, a city that begs superlatives. My annual winter adventure has been nothing short of life changing with all the excitement and surprises that come with travel in the Southern Hemisphere. Each visit includes countless moments of utter astonishment, not unlike the experience of European explorers when they arrived on this continent for the first time. These first adventurers took home hundreds of pounds of alien plant and animal specimens. My takeaway has been an equivalent suitcase filled with photos, surprises and tips for travellers like me, looking for things to do on this largest, most beautiful harbour in the world.
TAKE A WALK:
An essential orientation walk should start at Hyde Park and end at Circular Quay: take in The Barracks for their convict stories, museums, The Domain, The Opera House, and views galore!
Then take a walk to the Tourist Information Centre in the Rocks, where you can pick up self-guided brochures and maps covering a dozen city walks. My favourite is the Coastal Beach Walk in the Eastern Suburbs: without a doubt this is the most beautiful coastal beach walk in the city, perhaps the world. Take the train/bus to Coogi Beach as your starting point and then take the coastal path north through Gordon’s Bay, Clovelly Beach, Waverley Cemetery, a golden boomerang of sand on Bronte Beach, tony Tamarama Beach, and finish your walk with a pub dinner on Bondi Beach before taking a train/bus home.
VISIT RBG:
Your orientation walk could take you through the Royal Botanical Gardens on the foreshore, but take some time on another occasion for a proper tour. There’s a free, escorted tour that leaves the gift shop at 10:30am, daily, or explore on your own.
Finish a perfect day with a stroll across the harbourfront to The Rocks for the charming historical pubs, convict relics, a colourful weekend market, and the Sydney Harbour Bridge
EXPLORE THE HARBOUR:
Head back to Circular Quay next to the Opera House, where dozens of passenger ferries sail off in all directions. These little guys are the best way to see the largest harbour in the world since they are, in fact, really cheap cruises!
Check out ferries to:
• Manly: for the beach, the historic quarantine station and surfer pubs.
• Watson’s Bay: for the walk around South Head, fish and chips at Doyle’s on the Beach, and a beer on the patio at Watson’s Bay Hotel.
• Taronga Zoo: find a picnic spot with harbour views amongst the locals who share some of the most expensive real estate in the world.
GO TO THE BEACH:
Although Manly and Bondi beaches are well known to tourists and the surfing crowd, Sydney-siders keep several secret beaches to themselves. Few tourists have heard of Cronulla, the only beach accessible by train in just 45 minutes from city centre: this was our winter home for the first few years. Another rather quiet stretch of sand is Camp Cove Beach, perfect for picnics while visiting Watson’s Bay.
ORGANIZE A FOOD SAFARI:
Sydney reminds me that this is no longer a country of vegemite and chips. Serious foodies, like me, love this city of small shops in multicultural communities that continue to value old traditions. Feed your food frenzies in neighbourhoods such as:
• Marrickville: I am thankful to family members for introducing me to the sights and smells along Illawarra Road, where Asian butchers display fresh beef and pork in their front windows at amazingly cheap prices. This is the place to shop for great cakes, baklava and yummy spanakopita at Hellenic Bakery, fabulous fish at Faros Brothers Seafood, and a fresh pasta place across the street.
• Haberfield (Little Italy): for the best bakeries and butchers, fresh nuts and olives, roasted coffees, cheeses, and wood-fired pizza.
• Chinatown: generations of restaurant families have perfected what many argue is the best Asian food in the world.
• Take a tram from Central Station to explore Darling Harbour, Paddy’s Market, Chinatown, and the Sydney Fish Market (largest in the southern hemisphere).
And don’t get me started on the ubiquitous pie shops and bakeries: where else could a lunch takeaway feature a hot, chunky beef pie in a paper bag?
CONSIDER GOING BUSH:
You cannot come to know Australia unless you venture beyond that fruitful garden in the 300km wide strip of land along the eastern and southeastern coast of the continent. Beyond this fertile crescent lies more than just the unyielding, desolate, drought-ridden interior you have heard about. For me, “Going Bush” has included:
• Get on track for The Ghan: a leisurely transcontinental train trip from Adelaide in the south, across the Outback to Alice Springs in the Red Centre, and north to tropical Darwin at the Top End. Alice’s Desert Park, camel caravans, Uluru (Ayers Rock), Kata Tjuta (The Olgas), curious gorges, jumping crocs, and aboriginal stone art reckoned to be at least 65,000 years old, dreamtime relics of the oldest continuous civilization on the planet.
• Great Barrier Reef: Port Douglas and Cairns offer daily cruises to the largest coral reef on the planet, where there are more fish, turtles, and other marine animals than almost anywhere in the world.
But you can also “go bush” without travelling great distances from Sydney. New South Wales deserves attention for the Blue Mountains, and the wineries of the Hunter Valley and Mudgee. And don’t forget the fascinating ghost towns left behind after the gold rush: Hill End (with 29 pubs for thirsty miners), and Sofala (Australia’s oldest surviving gold town with just two short streets) claiming to have more than 500 sly “grog shops” in the 1850s.
HAVE FUN!
Remember to pack your sense of humour when you come to Australia and you will be certain to have a grand time. Blame the outrageous Aussie psyche for some way-out names for towns and other places: Egg and Bacon Bay, Nevertire, Lilli Pilli, Useless Loop, Tom Ugly’s Bridge and Mt. Buggery, among others.
Although both our countries speak the Queen’s English, there are enormous variations on the theme! For example, “fair dinkum” isn’t the only slang term that means genuine, real or true. Other phrases that mean the same thing include dinky di, ridgy-didge and dead set.
My list of new-to-me words continues to get longer annually with this year’s entry including larrikin, brumby, paddock, and fair tucker.
Everybody has a nifty nickname: the late opera diva Dame Joan Sutherland was known as La Stupenda. My mates at the weekly meeting of The Punters Club at Grandviews Bowling Club include Bongo, Rocky, Erik the Red, Big Pete and Round Pete.
This is a nation that began as a jail, settled by unwilling guests of the Crown. This is a country where the Labour Party is liberal and Liberals are conservative, a country where the trees don’t shed their leaves, they shed their bark. And, of course, the Aussie sense of humour is driven by an old maxim: never let the truth get in the way of a good yarn!
This pandemic has taught me that tomorrow is promised to no one, so I will continue to do what I love. Travel – however it looks in our new normal – can be inspiring and motivating during a time when those things aren’t always easy to muster. As we emerge from this pandemic and year from hell, we are going to be okay.
And Australia isn’t going away.
Oh, the anticipation.
Another January in Sydney: surely the finest time and place on earth.
Ian Carter is a retired educator and mental health professional, published author, freelance writer, photographer, and inveterate world traveller. He welcomes contact at: heritagematters@bellaliant.net
IF YOU GO:
Ten Travel Tips
It is no secret that Sydney can be one of the most expensive cities in the world. But I can tell you that with careful planning and a spirit of adventure, this can be a destination that is both affordable and the travel investment of a lifetime.
Australia is an absolutely magical place and a world away from our North American experience: here are some tips to make the magic happen for you.
- Your Travel Visa:
Canadian citizens require a valid passport and visa for entry to Australia. Visitors must apply online prior to departure for an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) at http://www.eta.immi.gov.au The cost is $20 for an ETA that is valid for stays up to 90 days for each visit. The ETA is automatically linked to your passport. The customs authorities and airline check-in staff have access to this information, using your passport details, so there is no need for any further documentation or reference numbers to be presented.
- The Flight:
My preference is always Air Canada from Vancouver for that non-stop 15-hour flight. You can manage this long flight like a 3-act play with the first few hours for dinner and a movie, then 8 or so hours of sleepy downtime, followed by a final few hours for breakfast and pre-arrivals. You will arrive early morning, so do what you can to experience a full day after arrival before packing it in… and you won’t be surprised that it takes several days for your biological clock to adjust.
- Arrivals and Customs:
Australian Immigration and Border Protection officials mean business. It often starts with random spray downs of the aircraft cabin interior immediately after touchdown, followed by rigorous inspections. Simply declare everything and you’re good to go!
Incidentally, if you are looking for duty-free purchases, buy them at the airport immediately upon arrival. There are several large shops in the arrivals area just before customs inspection.
- Accommodation:
Most recently I’ve been fortunate to have a private suite in my family’s Sydney home. Prior to that I booked long-term stays in privately owned furnished accommodations found on such sites as Vacation Rentals By Owner (http://www.vrbo.com) and Airbnb https://www.airbnb.ca/.
I have also found local realtors can assist with long-term furnished rentals.
- Banking:
Australian ATMs dispense cash and update your Canadian account balance in real time… that technology still surprises me! Be certain to travel with four-digit passwords for all credit and bankcards.
After arrival, opening a local bank account was easy – that account is useful for international money transfers between visits.
- Getting Around:
The Opal Card is a smartcard ticket you keep and reuse to pay for travel on metro, train, bus, ferry and light rail services. You can get a card at train stations and convenience stores and, after activating it, you simply top it up as necessary, then tap on and off to travel.
Car rentals require an International Driver’s license. Remember to keep to the left and consider a short initial trip to get a feel for the other side of the road.
- Pubs and Clubs:
It is a rare Australian town that doesn’t have at least one pub: food and meals are ordered and paid at the bar, with “a schooner’ of a favourite brew, a perfect way to quench a thirst in the summer sunshine of New South Wales. Lemon, lime and bitters is popular for those looking for no alcohol.
Restaurants are world-class, with local Bowling (lawn) and RSL (Returned and Services League) clubs also offering good food at reasonable prices. Menu prices include tax, and no tips are expected.
- Shopping:
Shopping on Sydney’s Pitt Street is part of your holiday: be sure to check out the David Jones Food Hall (a food-lover’s paradise), and the Queen Victoria Building (QVB), a stunning 19thC complex called “the most beautiful shopping centre in the world.” Again, the price on the tag is the price you pay – tax inclusive!
- Smartphones:
Make sure your smartphone is unlocked before you leave Canada. After arrival, pick up a new SIM card at airport arrivals or a local provider such as Virgin Mobile or Telstra. My basic $20/month plan gives me full texting, internet and free voice calls to other subscribers. It’s no contract and can be cancelled at no cost prior to departure.
- Hats, sunglasses and sunscreen: bring them all!
Coincidentally, Sydney’s International Airport is on the shores of Botany Bay, directly across from Captain Cook’s Landing Spot in 1770. This is the site of the first contact between Aboriginal people and British explorers in eastern Australia. The Landing symbolically represents the birthplace of a nation and the dispossession of Aboriginal peoples. That debate continues, but for this Canadian there is no argument about the splendour of a winter in the South Pacific.
Photos by Ian Carter
Cover photo: Circular Quay is the vibrant and active gateway to sensational Sydney
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A retired educator and mental health professional, published author, inveterate world traveller, freelance writer and photographer. He welcomes contact by email.