The Little Dogs

Earlier today, when I was trying to get this thing to work, I mentioned the little dogs. We have now been able to upload many photos and I would just like to show you what I meant.

A small Jack Russell

A really piggy nasty looking dog. Snapping at Joan's hand.

Heaven knows what breed this is.

You will note an eerie resemblance between Oscar, the dog, and his owner.

Can't get much smaller than this.

The Chinese Crested.

Another pig-like dog.

(David discovers that "may I photograph your cute little dog" is a great pick-up line....)

Flora and Fauna-- a Brief Introduction

Flora and Fauna—a brief introduction

One notable difference between New Zealand and Australia is the variety of wildlife here.  Whereas birds were the only indigenous creatures in NZ (and everything else was introduced many centuries later by the immigrants, both Maori and then the Europeans), Australia has many indigenous species—including a large collection of deadly snakes, spiders and other nasty beasts, as hilariously recounted in Bill Bryson’s Down Under (just how scary does Southern Death Adder sound to you?).

Perhaps the most famous bird is the kookaburra, known for its laughing sound. 

But the ibis is also commonly seen, whether rummaging through a dumpster or in the trees of the Botanic Gardens.

The Eastern water dragon is a ubiquitous sight along the sunny walking trails near the water.

The zoo has an excellent bird show (OK, it’s technically not wild if it’s in the zoo, but the photo ops are better).

This thoughtful looking fellow is a meerkat.

Confession—we have not yet seen a kangaroo in the wild, but here’s one from the zoo, and a few of his non-Australian pals. 

Finally, after seeing this sign, we are constantly on the lookout for bandicoots, alas to no avail so far.

One animal we haven’t photographed but see every evening is the flying fox, really a bat, which likes to spend its evenings in the fig trees in nearby Rushcutters Bay.  They are quite creepy-looking.

As for flora, flowers and tropical plants abound here:

City of Contrasts

Sydney is, frankly, a bit overwhelming in its size and fast pace, particularly compared to our experience in Wellington last year.  New Zealand seemed like a lovable and slightly eccentric uncle: but by comparison Sydney is a young guy, aggressive and a bit cocky. (Canada in a thong, as we have heard). And the city seems to go on forever, with suburbs and traffic spreading out in all directions on both sides of the harbor.  After all, the population of the greater Sydney area is about 4.3 million—about the size of the entire New Zealand population. 

The architecture and skyline of the downtown area are very striking.  One prime example of urban redevelopment is the area known as Darling Harbour, which was the birthplace of Australia’s industrial age in 1815 with the opening of a steam mill.  Later, the area became run down until a massive redevelopment project in the 1980’s transformed it into a tourist site.

Colonial outpost:

Industrial blight:

Redevelopment:

And, today, the Aquarium, the Maritime Museum and countless cafes and fast food joints bring in the crowds. The development company, Rouse, was also responsible for the Inner Harbor project in Baltimore, but Darling Harbour takes the concept to a new level.

But it’s not all urban sprawl and high-rise offices and apartments.  Sydney also features smaller neighborhoods, like Potts Point (where we’re staying) and nearby Paddington, with its Victorian charm.  Paddington began to flourish in the 1840’s, when it housed the skilled craftsmen who oversaw the convict gangs constructing the Victoria Barracks.  Its narrow streets feature decorative cast-iron “lacework” balconies on terrace houses.  After the Great Depression, much of Paddington had become derelict and was on the verge of demolition, until an influx of postwar migrants transformed the area.  Now, it is a draw for “yuppies” seeking proximity to the downtown area. These photos give an idea of the area:

London Tavern, open since 1875, is the oldest pub in Paddington.

Antipodean Christmas

Antipodean Christmas

If you come from the Northern Hemisphere, there is some rather odd about associating Christmas with sunshine and palm trees.  But, of course, that is the norm in the Southern Hemisphere, where Christmas marks the start of summer vacation, beach excursions and barbeques.  Even Santa looks a bit out of place here:

So, how better to spend the day than to go surfing, or just cruising along the beach at Manly, which was packed on Xmas Day with sunbathers, picnickers, and some daring surfers.

Boxing Day traditionally marks the start of the Sydney-to-Hobart sailing race, which featured 99 entrants, at least at the start.  We headed out (in rainy weather) to Watson’s Bay to watch the race start.  The skies cleared by noon but it remained windy and a bit gloomy, foreshadowing the difficulties the contenders would face this year as they approached Tasmania.  But the harbour was a spectacular sight of the boats, dominated by the large maxis (over 100 ft) as well as spectators out for a party, and at least 10 helicopters buzzing overhead.

The smaller boats were relegated to the rear, as the maxis shot out quickly, particularly the heavily favored Wild Oats XI, which has won the race several times and set the record of 1 hour, 18 minutes to cover the 628 nautical miles.  They would go on to win again this year, after others dropped out in poor weather conditions, and notwithstanding a last minute protest over their use of a phone to signal in their position upon entering Bass Strait.

As the afternoon cleared, we headed –where else—to the beach, for a swim at Shark Bay.  (There is actually a safety net there to prevent sharks from entering, which makes it an ideal swimming spot.

At Rose Bay, a new sport: the moth, a cross between a wind surf and a sunfish.  Looks very difficult, and this fellow shot out like a cannon and soon capsized (but righted himself and was off again).

And for landlubbers, there is always the amusement park, modeled after Coney Island and filled with games and rides.

So, a typical Xmas weekend, complete with crackers and hats.

It Worked...and a couple more pictures

And Joan is back from her run and is now checking-mail on her I-phone and drinking a coffee. I have a couple of pictures I took yesterday, when we went on a bus trip to the Hunter Valley, about 100 miles north of Sydney, which is a huge area of vineyards and wine making.

We stopped on the way at a very small town that consisted of not much more than what you can see in the next two pictures.

Typical scenery in the Hunter Valley...

And lying on the grass waiting for the bus, I liked these slender trees with the clouds behind them.

OK--holding my breath, I'll hit POST again.

Trying Again in the Cafe

After failures to get our postings with pictures on the blog, I am once again--this is David: Joan is running in the park-- having a coffee and what is called a stuffed monkey in the local wi-fi cafe. I will try to put a few pictures on the blog. The one above is in Darling Harbour, which is a huge pedestrian development around what was once a busy harbour and a run-down industrial site. Designed by the same firm that did the Inner Harbour in Baltimore. Filled to the brim with tourists.

In the park where Joan runs in the morning the dog of choice is little--and often not just little but positively miniscule. And they get together in little dog conventions; ratio of big to little is about six mini-dachshunds to one golden retriever.

This is the Darling Harbour development again. The Xmas tree has a Kangaroo on it. Enlarge the picture by clicking on it and return to the blog using the back button.

The view from out hotel window. We have what is called 'an apartment' but it is not much more that a room with a small fridge, a micro-wave, a hot plate. Maybe we have posted this before...

Now for the test, which is to hit the 'post' button. Last time after tapping out with my two finger typing a long blog with lots of pictures, I just kept getting and error message. Hold my breath...