Introduction:
The Great Australia Trip of 2024
I spent about 2.5 weeks in Australia in October 2024,
with 6 days in Sydney being a tourist, 5 days in Brisbane
as a tourist, 2 days in a rainforest in a national park
(including travel), and 4 days at a conference (the intial
motivation for the trip), and 2 or 3 days traveling.
I was traveling from October 9 - Octover 28, 2024.
The trip was a lot of fun, it was easy to get around, and
I got to get a taste of some of what Australia is.
That included: learning some of the history, politics,
and culture; seeing some of the cultural landmarks,
seeing wildlife that is unique to Australia or the region;
having food from places in the Asia-Pacific region;
seeing an ocean, a river, mountains, rainforests, parks,
botanic gardens, zoos, and more. I learned that the 14-15
hour time difference wasn't that bad for me (both when
I got there and when I got back home) and that my dislike
of smartphones is more than a professional occupational hazard.
Not bad for just a couple weeks.
Since I have nowhere perfect to put this and it spans
the entire trip, I'll start off with a visual summary
of some of the dining (largely Asian cuisines) I enjoyed
on the trip. Click on the image for the full size picture.
This section includes the New South Wales (NSW) Parliament building,
Hyde Park, Sydney Harbo(u)r, and the Opera House.
The first couple days I explored various areas around Sydney,
especially between my hotel in Surry Hills and the Harbor.
I didn't take any pictures of the trip over. It was a long
set of flights, including flying east to DC before flying west
to LA. I was a bit of a zombie the first day (I didn't go to
sleep until the end of the first day, which had been a couple
days or so, but after that I synched up pretty quickly.
001-DSC_8887-header: The Arrival
001-DSC_8887-headertext:
I stayed at a little "boutique" hotel which was pretty nice and conveniently located. But that's not what stuck out to me… 001-DSC_8887: It's possible being awake for a few days made me loopy, but the toilet looked so happy and jolly with its eyes and big grin! 002-DSC_8888: OK, I have made fun of the Smeg brand while traveling internationally before and I know it's some fancy Italian brand. But this one was total smeg. It was too small to hold most anything, and half the time the door wouldn't fully shut and seal if I closed it quickly. 003-DSC_8890-header: NSW Parliament 003-DSC_8890-headertext:
On the way to th Sydney Harbor and back I had passed the New
South Wales Parliament building a few times and noticed that
they had free daily tours. It sounded interesting and
offered a way to be inside, away from the sun which could be
very, very angry at people during the day.
The tour included a bit of the public space in the building,
though the building goes
It was interesting seeing the similarities to both the British
Parliament and the US Federal government. Two houses, direct
election, and so on.
003-DSC_8890: The Legislative Assembly chamber is forthe lower house.
Their color theme is green, like the House of Commons.
004-DSC_8891: A replica of the mace that the Serjeant-at-arms wields
when entering the chamber and removing disorderly people from the chamber.
005-DSC_8892: Another view of the replica of the "you need to leave now"
mace with the seat for the speaker, the leader of the majority party,
in the background.
006-DSC_8893: One of the real ones.
007-DSC_8894: The Black Rod that is carried by the Usher of the Black Rod
to pound on the door before entering the upper chamber (or getting
ceremonially rejected from the lower house).
008-DSC_8896: The Vice Regal chair in the Legislative Council which is
over 160 years old and is only used by the Monarch or NSW Governor when
attending the Upper House. Queen Elizabeth had sat in it on two occasions.
009-DSC_8897: Shiny things in the Upper House in NSW.
010-DSC_8898: A door that shows the humble warehouse beginings of
the chamber.
012-parlaiment_fountain_Panorama1: The building is a "square donut" and
in the center, outside, is a cool fountain.
013-DSC_8906: Something about the fountain reminds me of the Doctor Seuss
wet pet drawing.
014-DSC_8907: The outside of the NSW Pariament building from the LC side.
015-DSC_8909: The flags flying in fromt of the NSW Parliament building
(Australia, NSW, and Indigenous Peoples.
016-DSC_8910: A bronze copy of Il Porcellino, a bronze fountain
in Florence. The plaque tells people to rub its nose and make a wish
so that their donations to research at the hospital will help. It's not
a fountain as much as a very slow drip, that kind of looks like it's
drooling.
While not part of Parliament, the original Parliament
House was part of the "Rum Hospital", the original hospital in Syndey
(excluding previous tents and temporary buildings) that was funded by
businessmen who were permitted to have a monopoly on rum import.
017-DSC_8916-header: Hyde Park
017-DSC_8916-headertext:
Hyde Park is a large park in the middle of Sydney and is the oldest public park in Australia. It has a fountain with a naked dude (Thesius) slaying a naked Minotaur, along with some other statues at the north end, and the ANZAC WWI memorial next to the Pool of Remembrance on the south end. Lots of trees…kind of weird, twisted, freaky trees. The the east is St. Mary's Cathedral. It's a nice park that was a couple blocks away from my hotel and provided some limited protection from the angry, angry sun. 017-DSC_8916: The Archibald Fountain in Hyde Park, Sydney. 018-DSC_8917: St. Mary's Cathedraw by Hyde Park in Sydney. Note the jet between the spires. 019-cathedral_Panorama1: St. Mary's Cathedraw by Hyde Park in Sydney. 020-DSC_8920: Theseus and the Minotaur sculpture in the Archibald Fountain in Hyde Park. 021-Hyde_Park_Panorama2: Looking south on the main avenue in Hyde Park in Sydney. 022-DSC_8926: Freaky, freaky fig trees in Hyde Park. 023-DSC_8927: More creepy, contorted fig trees, usually mostly harmless during the day. 024-DSC_8928: Braille sidewalk. Or maybe it's just…actually I've no idea. 025-Hyde_Park_Panorama1: The HP logo, Ibises, and the ANZAC Memorial in the distance. 026-DSC_8932: Ibises (or "bin chickens") are weird yet cool, but also pretty grungy. 027-Hyde_Park_Pool_Panorama1: The Pool of Rememembrance, from the steps of the ANZAC Memorial. 028-DSC_8933: Pool of Remembrance, while kid retrieves lost soccer ball as guard watches. 029-Sydney_Harbor_Bridge_Panorama1-header: Sydney Harbor and Opera House 029-Sydney_Harbor_Bridge_Panorama1-headertext:
The
Sydney Opera House, located on Bennelong Point, at the edge of
Sydney Harbor, designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1998,
is an icon of not only Sydney but Australia. The city of Sydney
extends both north and south of the harbor (and west too), with
ferries that run multiple times and hour connecting to many points
around the area. Not only is it convenient transportation, it's
also an easy way to sightsee at the same time.
I took a guided tour of the Opera House. We went to the various
theaters, some of the vista, got the history, and more. It was
quite interesting. The tour was at 9 or 10 in the morning. We
went to the concert hall, sitting in the balcony, as the guide
told us about it and the new acoustic and echo dampers that were
installed a few years ago. Herbie Hancock was going to be performing
that night, and his stage crew was setting things up, like the stands
for the synthesizers, the drum set, and so on. Because there were
people on the stage, we weren't allowed to take picture in the auditorum.
The guide was hoping they might take a break and walk off the stage,
but they didn't and actually more stagehands walked out to
plan the setup.
Similarly, while the main theater was empty, the complete set was assembled
and out on the state for the play Sunset Boulivard. Set, lighting,
and costume designs (and choreography) are protected by copyright. Another
thing I learned on that tour. So again, we were not allowed to take any
pictures in that theater. The only theater that we visited where photographs
were allowed as The Playhouse, which is a very small, basic theater.
There is, for all practical purposes, no backstage or side stage. It's
just a small box.
The other theaters have a larger capacity but have their own space
constraints. The orchestra hall has all sorts of adjustable hanging
acoustic dampers to try to manage the echoes while still allowing for
a full sound. The main theater has very little backstage area. But
its floor is a massive elevator so they can change the sets. Also,
the ceiling is very high and they can hoist and drop things as needed.
And there's some rediculous number and weight capacity of lights that
are supported. For operas, the orchestra pit is partially/mostly
under the stage. Many musicians can't see the conductor so
there are video montors hanging from the low ceiling so they can see
the cues. Many wear hearing protection because it's so damned loud
in the back since the only opening is at the front.
029-Sydney_Harbor_Bridge_Panorama1: Yeah, a thumbnail version of the
above thumbnail of the panorama.
029a-DSC_8945: It begins…
030-DSC_8936: I took a lot of pictures of the Opera House.
032-DSC_8946: To me, it has a sort of Star Wars bad guy helmet feel to it.
033-DSC_8947: The Harbor Bridge and a Manly Fast Ferry (more on Manly in
Section 3).
034-DSC_8948: A picture of someone taking a picture of herself. I assume
it's for social media, even though I don't have an exact idea of what
that means anymore.
035-DSC_8949: A tunnel under the Operahouse, looking east. I like the
silhouette effect.
036-royal_botanic_gardens_Panorama1: The Royal Botanical Gardens is
boarders the southeast side of the opera house.
038-opera_house_Panorama3: The east side of the opera house looking north.
039-DSC_8957: Lookingi north by the east side of the opera house.
040-DSC_8958: The north end of Bennelong Point, with the harbor and Harbour
Bridge.
041-opera_house_Panorama4: The northwest auditorium (concert hall).
042-opera_house_Panorama5: The northeast auditorim (opera hall).
043-DSC_8970: The Harbour Bridge with a sightseeing floatplane flying above it.
044-DSC_8971: A remote control picture of me (exposure photoshopped
to hell and back).
045-DSC_8978: The Playhouse, a small theather with a basic stage holding
just under 400 people.
046-DSC_8979: The tour continued up a set of stairs that is closed to the
public during the day.
047-DSC_8980: There was a nice view of the Sydney Harbor from the back
part of the Concert Hall.
048-DSC_8981: Like I said, the stairs were closed to the public.
049-DSC_8982: All of us had little mini-radios and headphones. The guide
had a mic and could speak in a normal voice, and we could hear her if
we were within 30 feet (10 meters) of her or more. It worked well.
050-DSC_8984: The foyer for the Concert Hall was all in purple to symbolize
royalty.
051-DSC_8986: The windows above the Conert Hall foyer and—HEY,
DON'T WALK ON THE WINDOW!
052-DSC_8987: Anyway, the foyer has a great view of the harbor and the
Harbour Bridge.
053-DSC_8988: The guide indicates the glass distorted bridge
is bigger than her armspan.
054-DSC_8990: The view to the other Darth Vadar-esque hall just to
the east of this one.
055-DSC_8991:
056-DSC_8992: I THOUGHT IT TOLD YOU NOT TO WALK ON THE GLASS!
(Not a job I'd want.)
057-DSC_8993: Another view of the Concert Hall foyer looking to the west.
058-DSC_8994: Walknig along the structure between the shell and the building.
059-DSC_8995:
060-DSC_8997: There's also another layer between the building and the
auditorius.
061-opera_house_Panorama6: Getting up close to the tiles on the shell.
062-DSC_9001: Another view of the tiles on oe of the Sydney Opera House shells.
063-DSC_9002: Yet another view of the tiles on the shell.
064-DSC_9003: And still more views of the opera house shell.
065-DSC_9006: A tiny bit of props from the (at the time) current opera.
066-DSC_9008: For a couple hundred dollars, you can walk up on the top of
the Harbour Bridge, wearing a safety harness, clipped in, and not taking
a camera (they take pictures of people and then charge an extra fee like
$50). It wasn't appealing to me, but I was impressed that my telephoto
lens could show reasonable details.
067-DSC_9009: It just doesn't look all that fun to me, especially if you
can't take pictures.
068-DSC_9010: But this kind of reminded me of the end of Berman's
The Seventh Seal.
069-DSC_9011: More Opera House shells!
070-DSC_9013: Close up of the edge of a shell.
071-DSC_9015: I did say I took a lot of pictures of the Opera House.
072-DSC_9016: I think this might be the forbidden stairs we used
in the tour.
073-DSC_9018: How fast is Manly-Fast? If you have to ask,
you probably couldn't handle it.
074-DSC_9019: Luna Park Sydney, a creepy looking older amusement park on
the northern shore of Sydney Harbour that looks like something out of
a 1970s episode of Dr. Who, or the revival when lots of the stories were
"that mundane well known thing is actually SCARY!"
I know nothing more about it, but assume it's run by evil aliens
from another planet or galaxy, or possibly dinosaurs from the centre
of the earth (yeah, it has to be spelled (spelt) that way given the
context). Obviously walking into the mouth is BAD, unless you're the hero.
075-DSC_9020: "Crown Sydney" (a.k.a. Packer's Pecker) contains
a casino, hotel, and residential apartments. It was completed in 2020
and had various controversies.
076-DSC_9021: Close-up of the top of Crown Syndey, a 271 m/890 ft
skyscraper.
077-DSC_9023: The Circular Quay (pronounced "key") ferries
from the opera house.
Bottom:
