Anxious to make the most of our hop on hop off ferry ticket, we ate an early breakfast and headed off to Circular Quay using our recently acquired travel tickets. We missed the first ferry of the day by a few minutes so walked around the immediate area, took some photos of those icons of Sydney, the Opera House and Bridge then returned to the appropriate pier for the 1030 ferry intending to take a complete circular tour in the first instance.
The whole journey took about 90 minutes with a live commentary which added to the journey and helped us better understand the sights and important aspects of the harbour though we were not able to hear everything especially when the boat went astern as a number of rattles and shaking parts made too much noise!
From Circular Quay we turned to starboard past the Opera House towards the first stop of Fort Denison, a small island with the last Martello Tower ever built and like those on the South Coast of England, never used for their intended purpose. A large number of folk left the boat at the next stop, Taronga Zoo, after which the boat sped across the harbour past Shark Island to Watsons Bay. Throughout the journey the guide continued to direct our attention to various landmarks including the former dwelling of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. We then retraced our steps to Taronga Zoo, Fort Denison and then the Harbour Masters Steps at Circular Quay. En route to Lunar Quay the residences of the Prime Minister, when on business in Sydney, and the Governor General, who had just been sworn into office, were pointed to and commented upon, then we went under the bridge to Darling Harbour.
The next stop, Circular Quay, was where we began our tour but we remained onboard having decided to alight at Watsons Bay, have lunch and take a short walk to see the Ocean at the Gap and North Head. Some new information was gained from the guide as we crossed and recrossed the harbour and alighting at Watsons Bay we headed for Doyle's Seafood Restaurant and were lucky enough to get an upstairs table with a view back across the harbour to the city skyline.
Watsons Bay was originally a fishing village and the Doyle family had set up a shack from which they sold fish and seafood then they began to cook and serve their produce all freshly caught from the local coastline and rivers. Today, there are three different eating experiences, we had chosen the middle priced one and were treated to a very delicious paella Oz style with the rice served separately which meant the fish and seafood were in a rich, thick, spicy tomato based sauce. There were crab, scallops, large prawns, calamari, mussels and sea bream. The warm bread with oil, balsamic and butter was also very tasty and we used some of it to mop up the wonderful sauce.
Feeling full we went for a walk, through the local park to The Gap where we were able to look out over the sandstone cliffs to the Ocean. Walking further along through native brush containing many yellow banksia trees, we were able to see the North Head. We made a complete circuit returning to the park and the pier in I time to catch the next ferry back to Circular Quay. We arrived back at about 1630 and decided it would be good to see the city from its tallest building the Tower Eye with a viewing platform at 250 metres.
Before being whisked up the tower at high speed we were treated to a 4D short movie of the harbour and environs which necessitated the wearing of 3D glasses. In addition to the enhanced view we were also treated to sea spray and rain, rumblings and movement in the floor on which we were all stood and then smoke as fireworks appeared onscreen.
The journey to the viewing platform was very quick and what fabulous views greeted us! The weather had been good to us all day and although there was some cloud one could see in all directions for a very long way. I had one or two poignant moments as I sat and considered my Irish cousins, perhaps even family, who had been transported to Botany Bay which was clearly visible from the Tower, the northern edge being the site of the current airport, so folk in their thousands are still going to Botany Bay but voluntarily. Also, nearby but not visible is Van Damien's Land, Tasmania where a lot of people, especially the Irish, were transported and two songs I am known to sing make reference to both of these places.
We spent a couple of hours on the viewing platform, waiting till it was dark enough for the city to be illuminated, and what another wonderful sight. It was really interesting to see the city from such a vantage point during both daylight and at night and with a little knowledge of its origins and layout from the earlier harbour tour.
We returned to the apartment via Woolworths for a few additional provisions, made use of the free wifi in a local shopping mall and then enjoyed a glass of the sparkling Shiraz and had a light supper of chicken soup and fresh rolls. Fairly exhausted we slumped on the sofa, watched a bit of tv then went to bed.
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