AUSTRALIA – SYDNEY

OCTOBER 2 – 5, 2025

We had a 6.5 hour layover in Hong Kong where we took advantage of a lounge. When reboarding for the flight to Sydney, we only had to step in front of a scanner where facial recognition popped up with our name and seat number before a small gate opened to let us pass. So cool!

We flew Hong Kong Air. Their safety video was a bit comical. The part where they say there is no smoking allowed on board, the animated video showed a guy sneaking into a bathroom and lighting a cigarette. Immediately, another animated character threw a bucket of water on him. Even though it was in Chinese, the message was clear. LOL

Sydney! We got breezed through security. Our rental car had a computer problem, so we had to get a different car. We got to our accommodations and basically crashed. We were absolutely knackered. We had spent 25 hours in the air, with two layovers totalling another 11 hours. Jet lag is real, my friend!

The next day we took the metro to Town Hall. The metro stopped at the station below the QUEEN VICTORIA BUILDING. QVR was built in1898, with a grand central dome of glass on the inside.

The outside is very ornate and grand looking.

The inside is filled with over 200 high end shops over four floors.

Outside, a statue of Queen Victoria sits proudly on a pedestal, looking like she is pissed off by all the people entering her fine establishment.

The TOWN HALL was directly across the street. It was built between 1868 and 1889. Before the Opera House was built, it was Sydney’s Concert Hall.

It houses the largest pipe organ in the world.

We could see the SYDNEY TOWER nearby. It is a 300 metre tower with a 360 degree view of the city from its observation platform. It began as a shopping centre in the sky. It took 10 years to build and was completed in 1981. To withstand the strong winds and earthquakes, it is held in place by 56 cables weighing 7 tons each. There is also an enormous water tower on top that holds 162,000 litres of water, which also adds stability to the structure. We were fortunate enough to get a seniors discount.

While we were walking the circuit around the observation deck, I overheard a young lady telling another lady that she was from Canada, married an Aussie and now lives in Sydney. I jumped in and asked what part of Canada. Saskatchewan. Saskatoon. I told her I was from Bonnyville. We laughed at being almost neighbours. The other lady was a Greek living in Sydney. She was curious about Canada. I showed her some pictures and, I think, convinced her to plan a trip to Canada. The younger lady left, chasing after her kids, but Kathy and I kept talking. We ended up exchanging phone numbers. She asked where we were staying in Sydney. I told her the Bexley Motel. It turns out she lives a short distance away. She made us promise to contact her when we returned to Sydney upon returning our rental car. We parted with hugs and a new friendship. Life is so randomly beautiful!

From the observation deck we had an excellent view of our proximity to things we wanted to see. HYDE PARK was a short walk away.

We stopped for some fish and chips in the park, where an ibis was making a total nuisance of itself jumping onto tables and stealing food. A waiter finally came out with a water gun and shooed it away.

HYDE PARK is the oldest park in Australia. I was taken by the huge trees and flower beds. We passed the 18 metre, hexagonal shaped ARCHIBALDE MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN. Apollo dominates the centre with a fan of spray seemingly coming out off his shoulders. He is surrounded by the figures of Diana, Pan and Theseus. Turtles and dolphins spray water from their mouths toward the centre.

ST. MARY’S CATHEDRAL is across the street. It is the largest church in Australia.

The original church, completed in1835, burned down. The present church was completed in 1882. The interior was as spectacular as any we have seen in greater Europe. The arches glowed golden from the light streaming in from its many stained glass windows.

ANZAC MEMORIAL is a war memorial, museum and monument. It commemorates the ANZAC landing at the Battle of Gallipoli as well as other wars the Australians gallantly fought. It was built with fundraising money, with each donation represented by a star on the ceiling.

Climbing the stairs we first entered the Hall of Memory. It is a round space with four niches, each commemorating a major WWI battle.

In the centre is an opening that looks down into the Hall of Silence and the SACRIFICE sculpture. It is a powerful sculpture of a dead soldier being held aloft on his shield by his mother, sister and wife nursing infant child.

The sculpture is based on the story of a Spartan warrior from ancient Greece. Spartan men were raised as warriors from boyhood and, when marching to war, were told to come home with their shield or on it – a warning to be victorious or die in the attempt. This young soldier represents the emotion experienced by the families of the young men who died in WWI, but is relevant to all wars.

There is also a big Library that houses over 20,000 books, articles and maps on military strategy from Napoleonic times to recent.

There was another space that had all the names of the towns and villages from which deceased soldiers hailed. Each name had a small round glass container of a soil sample from that town.

YININMADYEMI – Thou didst let fall is a sculpture acknowledging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women who served in the nation’s military. It is composed of 4 standing bullets (survivors) and 3 fallen shells (sacrificed). It references the fact that while the white Australian soldiers were given land for their service, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were still having their land taken away.

HYDE PARK BARRACKS was constructed by convicts. Many, if not most, of those sent to the Australia penal colony were craftsmen back in England. Brick makers, brick layers, carpenters and even the architect who designed the barrack were all part of the motley crew who were sent here.

When the barracks opened in 1819 there were nearly 600 men housed. They slept on tightly spaced hammocks. It is estimated that 30,000 men and boys passed through these facilities. Rats stole many of their meagre personal belongings. Ironically, it is these stolen items that survived under the floor boards that now tell the story of life inside.

Later, it was used to house the single Irish Famine women who came looking for a better life, and to offset the gender inequality. It was also used as a women’s hospital.

FORGOTTEN SONGS is an artwork of 120 suspended bird cages in the laneway above the Angel Place accompanied by the sound recordings of 50 extinct or threatened bird species of the central Sydney. Ironically, the restaurant on that street had music blaring which drowned out most of the bird sounds, threatening their memory.

ROYAL BOTANICAL GARDEN  is a 30-hectare (74-acre) botanical garden located not far from the Sydney Harbour. It is a beautiful respite from the hectic city with walking paths, flowers and statues tucked amongst the bushes. I love gardens and parks so it was a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours.

We made our way along the Harbour to the peninsula and MRS. MACGUIRE’S CHAIR. It was hand-carved by convicts in 1810 for Governor Macquires’s wife, who loved the views of the harbour.

It offers a panoramic view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House. 

CADMAN’S COTTAGE was built in 1816, and is one of only a handful of Sydney buildings that remain from the first 30 years of the colony. 

Coming back to the CIRCULAR QUAY to catch the metro back to our guesthouse, we came upon some ABORIGINAL MUSICIANS. One was on the digeridoo and the other banging two boomerangs while singing. Their faces were painted but they wore modern clothing. It was still entertaining.

SIDE STORY: We were staying in a small hotel and one night the fire alarm went off. Everyone came out of their rooms. We could not smell smoke or see fire, so we all went back into our rooms. Our room happened to be on the front of the building. Within minutes fire trucks were pulling up and firemen entering the building. Hmmm, maybe this is more serious than we thought….. We were finding our passports, ready for an emergency evacuation. However, a few minutes later the firemen left.

The next morning I asked the hostess what happened. She said someone was vaping in their room. There is a strict NO SMOKING policy in all hotels. She said that most people do not realize there are super sensitive smoke detectors inside the rooms, as well as a small red light outside of the room that lets the firefighters Know which room caused the alarm.

Because the fire department has an arrival time within 3 minutes, and the cost of a call-out is $2500, the guilty people were immediately evicted and charged for the expense. When they say no smoking in the rooms, they mean NO SMOKING!!

We were off to Port Macquarie…,