Circular Quay – silverfox175
Who gets tired of visiting Sydney Harbour?
Leaving Circular Quay, Sydney.
Not a cloud in the sky
Full ahead!
Iconic scenery
The city at work and the Botanical Gardens – a link with the past.
An older ferry, which we are catching . . .
Water views worth millions as we approach Rose Bay.
A closer look at the house on the point – no idea who owns it. Many of the waterfront homes also have their own swimming pool, as if the harbour wasn’t enough :-o)
Rose Bay – famous for being an airport at one time.
Four days to get to Singapore in 1938 – with only sixteen passengers.
A blast from the past
And today it is still a seaplane base . .
Above pictures off the internet
We stopped at Rose Bay to pick up some more passengers – the ferry only stops once between Circular Quay and Watsons Bay, which was our destination.
Not far for this home owner to get to the beach.
Entering Watsons Bay
Approaching the wharf in Watsons Bay.
The large tree on the left is a favourite of ours for sitting under with a fish & chip picnic.
I think the man on the wharf is breaking the law by waving at us as we approached.
We step ashore to be greeted with the above – wouldn’t be dead for quids.
When I took the photograph, I was standing near the entrance to Doyle’s Restaurant, is it any wonder that Doyle’s is so popular, besides the food? Location, location, location.
At the end of our time in Watsons Bay we decided to return to the city.
Only a politician would name a ferry as such, fortunately it is about to be changed to ‘May Gibbs‘, a well-known Australian author of children’s books, who died in 1969.
Leaving Watsons Bay
Clean water & clean sand, and just over the ridge, beyond the trees, is the Pacific Ocean.
To the left of this picture is the ‘gap’, which is the entrance to Sydney Harbour from the Pacific Ocean. It is an easy climb to the top of the ridge, and on a clear day some say they can see New Zealand . . . the rest of us were sober.
Maureen and I sat in the grounds of the red roofed large building with a cold drink and just enjoyed the view.
Small beaches are dotted all along the coast line of the harbour as we returned to the ferry terminus. The tall posts in the water hold the shark nets so that people can swim in safety.
A sister ferry with a proper name – Fred Hollows who founded an organisation to cure people of blindness. To date they have enabled over two million people in 25 countries to have their sight restored. Fred was a Kiwi by birth, he was born in Dunedin in 1929. He was only 63 when he died.
One of the older ferries that we ‘raced’ to the wharf.
The Park Hyatt Hotel
If you must ask the price of a room, you can’t afford to stay here, at $1230 / night.
Explorer of the Seas, alongside the cruise terminal.
As we come in to the wharf at Circular Quay, the end of a perfect day for $2.50,
which included a 40-minute train ride to get in to the city from home.
The only way you can pay $2.50 is to be over 60 and live in New South Wales
how fortunate are we.
Golden Princess, a sixteen-year-old ship, which has managed to maintain her grace.
The Golden Princess is registered in London.
The above photo clearly illustrates the historical link between Australia and the UK. The flag on the left is the Princess company flag.
We did notice a few things different from the more modern vessels.
The balcony was smaller than those that we have experienced on other Princess ships, but as the weather was not ‘sitting out’ weather this was not a problem.
Our shower cubical was smaller than on previous ships – just don’t drop the soap because I had to step out of the shower to pick it up . . . perhaps this is why the liquid soap bottle is bolted to the bulkhead in the shower – due to a skin reaction to perfumed soap I use basic unperfumed soap, which is why I make an effort not to drop the soap!
The view from our cabin before we sailed.
Also Circular Quay ferry terminal from our cabin.
The cruise has started – ‘sail away’, with the traditional dance music and passengers trying to secure the best photographic position as we sail Sydney Harbour towards the open sea.
A blast form the past, perhaps the last arrival from the 1st Fleet in 1787.
What is now Circular Quay, in 1788.
A piece of history, the Sydney ferry passes the top mast of ‘HMAS Sydney’, the Australian light cruiser that fought and beat the German light cruiser ‘Emden‘ off the Cocos Islands in November, 1914, during WW1.
If you wish to know more of ‘HMAS Sydney’ and the ‘Emden’ check this link.
The view from our balcony, after leaving Sydney harbour. I could spend hours just watching the sky change shape – who needs TV?