An Odyssey Down Under: Australia and New Zealand Day 20

Tuesday, February 25

We spent the morning at the Taronga Zoo. It is Australia’s largest zoo and is located on the shores of Sydney Harbour. It was founded in 1916 and consists of approximately 69 acres. We were in smaller groups for our tour of the zoo with one of the zoo’s docents.

Just a few of the many animals that we visited at the zoo!

From the zoo we had a great view of Sydney across the harbour.

We took the ferry from the zoo to cross the harbour. We then had a tour of the Sydney Opera House! Our tour was hurried because security was being put in place because the Israeli prime minister was attending the opera this evening. No photos are allowed in the 11 various theaters .

It was great to have the tour this afternoon because this evening we are attending the opera, “Don Giovanni” in the Joan Sutherland theater! At intermission you are permitted to take photos.

It was an evening we won’t forget!

An Odyssey Down Under: Australia and New Zealand Day 19

Monday, February 24

Our morning started with a lecture by a history teacher that shared with us all about Australia’s past and some of her family history as well, which was interesting because of the convicts on her husband’s side.

After the lecture we boarded our motorcoach for an exploration of the City of Sydney and its eastern suburbs. Our first stop was Dudley Page Reserve which is a park in Dover Heights.

We also stopped at The Gap which is an ocean cliff on the South Head peninsula and it faces the Tasman Sea. It is located in Watsons Bay which is another eastern suburb.

The original Macquarie Lighthouse was built in 1818. A replacement was built on the original site in 1883 and it continues to operate.

Bondi Beach was where we had lunch and enjoyed the views! Bondi Beach is one of the best beaches in the world. There were a lot of people enjoying the sand and surf!

Our afternoon was free. We went back to Sydney and Kay got ready to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It was a beautiful afternoon and warm. It was a highlight for Kay during our stay in Sydney.

looking at others who are doing the climb

We rode public transportation to get to our hotel to get ready for dinner.

Dinner was on our own this evening. We used an app to find a restaurant that offered a gluten free menu. We walked from our hotel to King Street Wharf at Darling Harbour where we enjoyed a delicious Italian meal sitting outside on the patio at Casa.

An Odyssey Down Under: Australia and New Zealand Day 18

Sunday, February 23

Our morning started with a lecture giving us an introduction and overview of Sydney. Then we boarded our motorcoach that took us down near Sydney Harbour and our site coordinator led us on a walking tour. We were excited to get our first glimpse of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.

On our walk we passed by the Writer’s Walk. There are 60 circular metal plaques along the path. They honor the lives and works of well-known Australian writers and some overseas authors. Each plaque contains quotes from one of the author’s notable works and some information about the author.

From there we strolled to The Rocks which is Sydney’s oldest historic neighborhood of laneways.

Statue of William Bligh- the 4th Governor of New South Wales

The Rocks was the first European colony and was established in 1788 when ships filled with convicts came from England to settle the colony of New South Wales.

“First Impressions”
A sandstone relief created by Bud Dumas in 1979 as a memorial to the convicts, soldiers, and settlers of The Rocks

We also passed through the Nurse’s Walk. The Nurse’s Walk was created in 1979 to honor the nurses that worked in the hospitals in this area in the late 1700s and early 1800s. It runs into Suez Canal which is a laneway that was constructed in 1840 and it was an area where the street gang, Rocks Push, would hang out.

We walked up several flights of stairs and then down a street to the Australian Hotel for lunch. It is one of the oldest pubs in The Rocks.

After lunch we had a cruise on the Sydney Harbour! It was a relaxing afternoon with beautiful scenery.

We had this room and the front of the boat just for our group.

This evening we walked from our hotel to have dinner at a restaurant along Cockle Bay Wharf. On our walk we passed “the nest” building in Darling Square. It is a mixed-use building and was designed by a Japanese architecture firm.