Georges Head to Taronga Zoo Walk, Sydney

One of the fortunate aspects about living near the harbour in Sydney is the ability to stroll out the front door and have some of the best walks in Sydney on the doorstep. In the morning I took one of my favourite walks is from Georges Head to Taronga Zoo. Starting at Mosman Shops, follow Military Road to the Georges Head Lookout, which was the site for an old gun battery that defended Sydney Harbour. It is open to the public now, and is great place to watch the annual Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, or any of the events on this magnificent harbour.

Continuing down the hill, a bush track takes you to Clifton Gardens. The old Government buildings have been turned over to restaurants, cafes, and a dive school. The sheltered beach, bordered by a park, that is very popular with families.

Past the beach, and around the point is the tranquil Taylor Bay (pictured below). One of the midget submarines, which attacked Sydney Harbour in World War 2 was sunk here.

A bush track follows the bay around to the end of the point that is Bradely's Head, where there are fine views of the City of Sydney, and the famous Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

Keep following the track and past Athol Beach you will catch sight of Taronga Zoo. Outside the Zoo there is a ferry to take you to the City, or you can keep following the track to Mosman Bay. If you visit the Zoo there is a chairlift to take you up to the top of the hill, or you can do what I did, and stride to the Zoo Entrance.


From there it's a ten minute walk to Mosman Shops. All up the round trip is a pleasant one and half hour steady walk.

Spit Bridge to Manly Walk

Friday 12th September, 2008: Spit Bridge to Manly Walk.

Sydney Harbour must be the most beautiful in the world; the sandstone cliffs bordered by bushland, magnificent mansions descending down to the shore, white yachts sailing effortlessly through the water, or lying silently at anchor in pretty bays, and therefore it’s no wonder that the First Fleeter’s described it as the ‘finest harbour in the world’. You also don’t have to be a millionaire to enjoy these sensational views; simply take a walk along one of the walking tracks. They are absolutely free, and one of the best is the Spit Bridge to Manly Walk, which I walked today.

At 10am under beautiful clear blue spring sky, I strode off along the leafy green streets of our home in Mosman towards the Spit Bridge. The Spit Road section is the noisiest part of the trip, but thankfully, it was not too long I turned right onto Parriwi road to escape the din, and enjoy the views over Middle Harbour (pictured above).

From here simply walk down to the shops and the bridge.

After crossing the Spit Bridge, take the first driveway on the right, and follow the trail along Fisher Bay reserve. The roar of the traffic on Spit Bridge gradually fades away as the path curves around the harbor, along these boardwalks (pictured above) to Clontarf Park, where I recommend a stop at the small kiosk for a cold drink, and perhaps, like me, an ice cream.

I scrunched along the golden sands of Clontarf Beach, into the bush land of Grotto Point Reserve, following the side of the cliffs (pictured below),

marveling at the sensational views (pictured above).

At this point you can either continue straight along the track towards Manly, or detour, like I did 700 metres to the white Grotto Lighthouse (pictured above), which from my balcony looks like it should be sitting on a Greek Isle somewhere, but up close it’s rather less impressive. From here I looked directly opposite to Balmoral Beach, and our sandy coloured brick apartment on the ridge above (pictured below). I texted Louise, who was sun baking on the balcony to wave, but I guess I might well as asked her to look at an ant, I was so far away.

Back at the main track, a short distance away is some of the best views of the whole trip; on the left Manly Cove, straight ahead Sydney Harbour Heads (pictured below), and on the right views to the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney.

The path curves around west to the tranquil North Harbour, and past this lovely beach (pictured below), before turning back east towards Manly.

At 1pm, after an easy three hours of walking, I had made it to my destination, Manly (pictured below), which is also a great place to have lunch. I ate at the Fusion Pont Manly restaurant on Wentworth Street, enjoying their tasty salt and pepper squid salad, at their outdoor tables, and appreciating at how relatively cheap and good Australian food really is. After travelling overseas and seeing the cost and poor quality of both their cuisine, and chefs, I will consequently never take our food for granted again.

From Manly you can take a ferry, like I did back to the city, where you will experience the harbour firsthand, and have one of the cheapest and best cruises imaginable. From the city, I took a ferry back home to Mosman, eternally grateful for all the conservationists who fought so hard to protect the Sydney Harbour foreshore from development, to ensure it remains like when it was first settled two hundred years ago, as ‘the finest harbour in the universe.’

Sunday 14th September, 2008: Taronga Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia.

Ever wondered what it would like to go on an African Safari; cruising along the African plains, viewing lions, tigers, elephants, giraffes, and other exotic wild creatures. There’s no tigers in Africa you idiot, I hear you say, but there are at the Taronga Western Plains Zoo, and here, you can go on your own safari, on foot, by bike, or for the lazy, like us, by car.

Checking out of our motel in the morning we followed the Mitchell Highway over the bridge, turned left onto the Newell Hwy, and a couple of kilometers down the road is the turn off to the Zoo. Adult entry is about forty dollars, however as we are Zoo Friend members at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, we are allowed free entry.

The first stop is the information building to get the timetable for the day’s activities.

TRAVEL TIP: You can make bookings here to get closer to the animals; behind the scenes tours, animal encounter's etc.

Meanwhile, my photographer, Louise has woken up and is in full National Geographic mode, snapping swans and this cheeky Spider monkey (pictured below).



The Zoo is set on over 300 hectares, and designed so that the visitor follows the road around clockwise, encountering, I’m told, around 82 different types of species. For the terminally lazy, like us, it’s even possible most of the time not to leave the car, shooting the animals (photographing, not firing a gun), out the car window. You immediately notice how much more space the animals have, which removes that guilty feeling that sometimes creeps up on you when you see caged animals at a normal zoo. It's like being on African Safari, or as they say in the brochure 'Africa in your backyard’. Well, presumably, the Africa without the warlords, corruption, and epidemic diseases.

Make sure you do get out of the car to walk to the African Savannah Viewing Platform, where it really does sort of look like an African Savannah (pictured top of page).

The Cheetah’s are located just behind the platform, and they stalk around their home, watchful, like they are patrolling, just ready to chase a startled gazelle (pictured above). Cheetah’s, as you well know, are the fastest animals on four legs. The sign says 'Male cheetahs live in small groups of 2-3. Females live alone (the girls are probably saying right now – lucky them). Cheetahs purr to each other in greeting but also communicate with chirps and yelps. Some yelps can be heard up to 2km away." I’m sure my yelps could be heard 2km away, when the Australian rugby team lost to New Zealand last night.

Drive further along and you can find this Sumatran tiger. See, I told you there were tigers (pictured above).


Here is the King of the Jungle, the African Lion। (Pictured above). The sign says “they sleep up to 20 hours a day and can consume up to 40kg of meat in one sitting - that's 352 quarter pound burgers!’



Talking about food, the Midway Kiosk, is located here, and the toilets. But, now, it’s starting to rain, and we are very glad we decided to drive, not walk or ride the bikes (as if that was going to ever happen).



Continuing on past the midway point, there are many other animals still to go;



Zebras

Not sure what these are. Antelopes?

The Feature Animals as listed by the brochure include; African Lion, African Wild Dog, Asian and African Elephants, Bison, Black Rhinoceros, Bongo, Cheetah, Dingo, Galapagos Tortoise, Gibbon, Giraffe, Greater One-horned Rhinoceros, Hippopotamus, Maned Wolf, Meerkat, Otter, Przewalski's Horse, Slamang, Tapir, Tiger, White Rhinoceros, and Zebra.

There's so much more to do here, and it's no wonder that all tickets are valid for two days. You can actually stay on-site at the Zoofari Lodge. Imagine, going to sleep listening to the roar of the lions, and the sounds of the other animals - just like being on Safari.

We left to head back to Sydney, and because it was raining, but we will be back. We like animals (Louise is a trained veterinarian nurse) , and if you like animals, we recommend a visit to the Taronga Western Plains Zoo, where you can see them without all the cages and bars. If you can't make it to Dubbo, definitely go to Taronga Zoo in Sydney. It should be noted that Taronga Zoo make a significant contribution to conservation, which is one of the reasons why we are Zoo Friends.

Zoo Friends is an organisation which offers support in form of volunteers and fund raising for both Taronga and Western Plains Zoo. It's a good way of getting behind the scenes at the Zoo and offers its members free Zoo entry. Members are also eligible to volunteer to help at the Zoo. More details at http://www.zoofriends.org.au/

Taronga Western Plains Zoo

Obley Road, Dubbo NSW 2830 Ph: (02) 6882 5888
Fax: (02) 6884 1722
www. Taronga.org.au
wpz@zoo.nsw.gov.au
Viewing time: 9.00am-4.00pm daily
Exit gates close at 5.00pm.

Ticket prices: Adults $39, children (4-15) $19

TRAVEL TIP: Save 10% if you purchase the tickets online. For further information click on the Zoo's website.

It normally takes between five to six hours to drive back to Sydney. In our case, allowing for Sunday drivers, it took five and a half hours.

Wednesday 4th September, 2008

Day 39

We left Hawaii, or paradise as we call it, with style - in a white limousine (same price as a taxi), and on the way the driver explained why the Honolulu traffic was so bad. Back when they built the freeway, they never imagined there would be so many people living on the Island, so they only made it three lanes in each direction. Now, there is no room to expand; they can't go under, because the ground is unstable, and to go up, would spoil the city skyline.

Complicating the matter is most of the population lives in this one city; there's less people up on the North Shore, so there must be hardly anybody living on the other Islands, and these are probably the areas to stay after your all done with Waikiki.

The tricks we have discovered to flying: arrive two hours and fifteen minutes prior to the flight, because, right on the two hour mark everybody seems to turn up all at once. Security? Simple, wear thongs (flip flops), no belt, and carry hardly anything in your pockets. Seating? The last four rows of a 747 are two seats on the window side, with a gap to put items or stretch out. The last lesson, the most important, avoid flying domestic if at all possible; catch the train or drive.

The flight from Los Angeles to Sydney is ten hours, and it felt more like twenty, because there were no monitors in the seats. I watched a DVD on my laptop, until after about ninety minutes the battery ran out.

Normally when we catch a plane, we are looking forward to a new city, a new hotel, but now all we can look forward to the next trip, which we have decided will be a six week driving tour of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.

We arrived safe and sound at Sydney Airport at 5.30pm 4th September, as we of course, lose a day when we cross the Date Line. Stepping outside the terminal, we were struck by how cold it is here – 14 degrees! This is going to take some getting used to.

At home, the apartment looks smaller, different, and Australian television strange – no constant US election coverage or the missing child, Caylee Anthony, in Florida, and I can’t remember any reference to Australia in the US media for six weeks. We feel disorientated; Louise is wandering around, suddenly realizing the bathroom is a 1960’s throwback, which I guess has become apparent after staying at luxurious hotels for the last six weeks.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed our United States blog, and we certainly had a fun time over there. We will continue to update this blog from time to time as we make some short trips around Australia during the next twelve months, prior to our next overseas trip to the United Kingdom and Ireland, which you will again be able to follow on this blog.

Tuesday 2nd September, 2008 - North Shore, Hawaii

Day 38

After breakfast we walked up the road to Thrifty Car Rentals and hired a mid size car, a Chrysler Sebring (pictured above), a nice car, which I found similar to a Honda Euro. We also hired a GPS unit that takes the stress out of trying to navigate and drive on the other side of the road, and I would recommend this option when driving in America. Trust me; you will really appreciate the advanced warning when it’s time to take those freeway exits.

Soon we're on the coast road heading past some spectacular scenery; those well known steep green mountains on the left, reminiscent of the movie, Jurassic Park, and on the right, golden beaches, and beyond, the brilliant aqua coloured sea. I'm sure tourists simply drive off the road, distracted by the views.



Two hours later we arrive at Turtle Bay Resort (pictured above) on the North Shore, which is where they filmed the hilarious comedy, Forgetting Sarah Marshall. After a delicious buffet lunch overlooking the water, we head down past the pool, to the beach, where turtles (pictured below) are playing in the surf.

White beach villas stretch along the water’s edge, bordered by lush green grass, with wide hammocks hung between palm trees. The only sound is the gentle lapping of the waves, and the occasional bird call. This is our idea of paradise, and we will definitely be coming back here to stay.

Louise was very interested by this cute wedding chapel (pictured above) on the cliff overlooking the ocean. The hotel does wedding packages and she made sure she picked up a wedding information kit, which kept her occupied the whole way home.

Up on that hill, where the white domes are, was the radar station that detected the Japanese planes on route to Pearl Harbour. Sadly, the warning wasn't passed on to avoid the tragedy. At the time the United States were not confident in the value of the technology, which is surprising, considering the contribution radar provided earlier to the English victory during The Battle of Britain.

We arrive at Banzai Pipeline (pictured above) expecting those famous big waves, and find there is barely a ripple. Continuing on we stopped at the Wahiawa Botanical Gardens – a lush Hawaiian rainforest. The North Shore of the Island is so tranquil, the scenery is breathtaking, and the best part is that there is hardly anyone there. If you’re put off Hawaii, because of the crowds, then you should definitely head here.


My graduate American driving test was successfully negotiating the Honolulu freeway, and then Downtown Honolulu during peak hour to find a service station, and return the car back to Thrifty in one piece. I'm not sure whether Honolulu has beaten New York yet, for the worst traffic, but they are well on their way. I think it took about an hour to go four miles, and the poor people heading out of the city, well, they weren't going anywhere, in a hurry, at least.

At dusk there was a Hula show (pictured above) at Waikiki Beach. The performance began with a red robed man turning to face each direction, and loudly sounding a Conch shell, and then the Hula dancers started swaying to the music. We must admit we got bored and left after fifteen minutes, (we prefer Broadway to tell the truth), although I do admire how Hawaiians have kept their tradition; after both their language and The Hula was banned by the Missionaries.

With the sun slowly setting over the beach (pictured above), it signals the end of our holiday. Tomorrow, we are faced with that long flight home that always seems twice as long coming back. This was our best holiday yet; Europe was about culture, scenery, and Cathedrals – this was trip was about pure fun. I now know why America is the entertainment capital of the world – they just do it so well, and Las Vegas and New York are the big draw cards, because the shows are just so good, and they alone would just keep you coming back again and again. Also, the United States is just so easy to move around, and there’s no problem with language, or culture, and nothing is ever a problem in a country when the customer is “always right’.

Monday 1st September, 2008 - Waikaki Beach, Hawaii

Day 37

"The wind blows, coconut fronds sway, Koali blossoms dance on the plain."

The opening lines of a traditional Hula in relation to Waikaki.

Relaxing on Waikiki Beach in the morning, we can't help but be enchanted by this tropical paradise; like the Sirens call the water beckons the idle sunbather in, because it looks so warm and inviting, and it is. It's the perfect temperature, and it would be so easy to stay right here; many do, some just seem to float around all day on brightly coloured lilos.

But, soon or later, everybody gets hungry, and then they are spoiled by choice, with a huge variety of restaurants, cafes and food courts available. One of the best places we found was Tropical Iceland in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Centre. Their fat free sorbets, on a bed of shaved ice are simply divine, and it’s all healthy.



These four rocks are called Kahuna, or Wizard, Stones, (pictured above) and represent four mysterious historical figures that came from across the sea and helped the Hawaiians.

In the afternoon, Kalakaua Avenue, running parallel to the beach was closed, for the Parade of Champions, a street parade honoring local sportspeople.

There were bands, and flag wavers, and lots of colour and movement.

The local Little League World Champion team were very popular (pictured below). After seeing so many award winning teams, and individuals, I formed the opinion Hawaiian's are like us, very good at sport. Perhaps, the good climate encourages kids to play outside.

Gold medialist, Natasha Kai, received a standing ovation (pictured below - check out those tat's)

We had dinner at the Marriot Hotel's buffett, which had a particularly good roast beef. The chef carved off the biggest choicest piece off for me, and I must say it was mouth watering. To walk off this indulgence, we followed the boardwalk along the beach.

Tomorrow we've booked a car through Thrifty Car Rentals to drive up to the North Shore of the Island to visit Turtle Beach, and hopefully, the famous Banzai Pipeline.

Sunday 31st August, 2008 - Waikiki, Hawaii

Day 36

The Ala Moana Centre in Honolulu is the largest shopping center in Hawaii, and the largest open-air shopping Centre in the World. After catching the bus here, we can also attest it is very easy to get lost here. It’s also well worth a visit, especially if you’re hungry, because it has the largest food court in the world. Have you noticed how everything in the United States has to be the world’s biggest?


There are fountains, palm trees, rain forests, and these colourful fish (pictured above) swimming happily in the pond. There is entertainment most days, including Hula dancers.

TRAVEL TIP: Ala Mona Center is located on Ala Mona Boulevard cross of Piiloli Street. Jump on nearly any bus and it will take you there.

On the way back we stop of at Waikiki’s best kept secret – The US Army Museum (pictured below) on Kalia Road, Fort DeRussy. It’s also absolutely free!

We signed the guest book and had a long chat with the old guy at the counter, who was a retired Chicago cop. He couldn’t believe that we were cops travelling around the world on six weeks leave, and I kind of formed the impression cops don’t get paid that much in the States. The pay and the fact that there are 192 million guns in this country, makes us feel lucky we are NSW cops. The museum has exhibits on the history of the army in Hawaii, the war in the Pacific, The Korean War, and The Vietnam War. There is even this cool Cobra Helicopter Gunship on the roof (pictured below).


We spent the remainder of the afternoon on Waikiki Beach, enjoying the sunshine, the warm water, and the relaxed atmosphere. It's easy to see why they call this place paradise - perfect weather, friendly people, and a laid back lifestyle reminiscent of our own.

It's a public holiday tomorrow, and we have been warned to stay off the roads due to traffic conjestion. It's pretty bad from what I've seen so far, so I would imagine it's going to be really really bad tomorrow. As a result we will delay our drive to Turtle Beach on the North Shore of the Island until tuesday.

Saturday 30th August, 2008 - Pearl Harbour, Hawaii

Chief Cabin Boy on USS Bogan. 

Day 35

It's about one hours bus ride to Pearl Harbor; an hour of stop, start, stop, start along Waikiki Beach, through Downtown Honolulu, past Chinatown, and industrial areas to the Visitor Centre, which is run, like, Alcatraz, by the National Park Service.

The tour begins with a film on the Japanese attack on ‘the date of Infamy', Sunday 7th December, 1941. At the time of the attack, battleships were lined up two deep along that far shore (pictured above). The white building is where the USS Arizona was docked, and the grey ship on the far left is the USS Missouri. The Japanese sunk or damaged 21 ships here with a total of 2,388 people killed and 1,178 wounded.



Immediately after the film we board a boat to the Arizona Memorial (pictured above) crewed by the United States Navy. The water is shallow here, and you can see the base of the gun turret (pictured below), the white buoy marks the stern of the battleship Arizona. A Japanese bomb ignited the ammuniton stored on the boat, subsequently causing a catastrophic explosion, thus sinking the ship, and killing most of the crew.

Oil still seeps from the ship, called the “tears of the Arizona”, which I just happened to see. At the far end of the memorial is a white wall with the names of the 1,177 crew killed, and it is eerie to think that many of them are entombed beneath us.

Then it was back on the boat to the Visitors Centre, where we managed to take this photograph (pictured above) with one of the sailors.

He said, "I love Australia. I've been to Sydney, Darwin, and Brisbane." (with the Navy).

The Arizonia Memorial tour is absolutely free, however to visit the USS Bowfin & USS Missouri it costs $24 per adult.

This is the USS Bowfin submarine (pictured above - with some idiot on it saluting), which sank 44 enemy ships over the course of 9 missions during World War 2. US submarines were the unsung heroes of the war, sinking over half the available ships, a crippling blow to an Island nation having to import most of their raw materials.


The tour of the submarine was fascinating:



This is the business end - the Torpedo room. 24 torpedoes were carried.









This is the bunk room. There were not enough beds to go around, so they had to 'hot bunk'; the sailor coming off duty had to get into the 'hot' bed of the sailor coming on duty.








This is the engine room. If attacked by Japanese ships the submarine would 'run silent, run deep' - turning off the diesel engine, and run on electric battery power and dive to over 300 feet deep.









This is the galley, where the crew ate. There was even an icecream machine, that was obviously very popular.




We board a bus to take us to the battleship, USS Missouri (pictured above), which is where Japan formerly surrendered. The ship is absolutely massive and had a crew of 1,500. The living quarters are positively palatial compared to the submarine we just visited.

Back at Waikaki, we had walk along the beach, which is actually quite narrow, a cement boardwalk is needed in places (pictured below).

Tomorrow we are having a relaxing day in Waikiki.