Road Art

If you take the route from the airport to downtown Sydney, and avoid the expensive underground tunnel, you will travel along Anzac Parade and South Dowling St. A red light at the intersection with Cleveland St. will give you time to admire this innovative planting:

Returning towards the airport allows you to see the Volkswagen's back end:

Road Art

If you take the route from the airport to downtown Sydney, and avoid the expensive underground tunnel, you will travel along Anzac Parade and South Dowling St. A red light at the intersection with Cleveland St. will give you time to admire this innovative planting:

Returning towards the airport allows you to see the Volkswagen's back end:

South Head

January 7th was a hot day so we thought a walk along the coast would bring us some welcome sea breezes. We drove to South Head, the bluff that forms the southern entrance to Sydney Harbour. Looking outward from here, all you can see is the ocean;

looking inward, through typical Sydney red tile roofs, you can see the famous opera house and the "coathanger", as Sydneysiders affectionately call their bridge.

South Head lighthouse dominates the high ground.

A protective fence around it warns off trespassers in misspelt English. I am collecting quite a portfolio of misspelt official signs in Australia. You would expect government departments to get somebody to proof-read their messages. Wouldn't you?

A short trail leads along the top of the cliffs, providing views south along the coast towards the lighthouse above Bondi Beach

and northwards across the harbour entrance to North Head.

We took full advantage of these opportunities.

The trail passes above the notorious Gap, which used to be a favourite suicide jump for depressed locals.

There have been no recent suicides, but a man was convicted last year of throwing his girlfriend to her death over the fence.

Although the scenery was stunning, breezes were non-existent so we abandoned plans to walk further and retreated to the relative cool of our little house.

South Head

January 7th was a hot day so we thought a walk along the coast would bring us some welcome sea breezes. We drove to South Head, the bluff that forms the southern entrance to Sydney Harbour. Looking outward from here, all you can see is the ocean;

looking inward, through typical Sydney red tile roofs, you can see the famous opera house and the "coathanger", as Sydneysiders affectionately call their bridge.

South Head lighthouse dominates the high ground.

A protective fence around it warns off trespassers in misspelt English. I am collecting quite a portfolio of misspelt official signs in Australia. You would expect government departments to get somebody to proof-read their messages. Wouldn't you?

A short trail leads along the top of the cliffs, providing views south along the coast towards the lighthouse above Bondi Beach

and northwards across the harbour entrance to North Head.

We took full advantage of these opportunities.

The trail passes above the notorious Gap, which used to be a favourite suicide jump for depressed locals.

There have been no recent suicides, but a man was convicted last year of throwing his girlfriend to her death over the fence.

Although the scenery was stunning, breezes were non-existent so we abandoned plans to walk further and retreated to the relative cool of our little house.

Living in Newtown

After the end of the great road trip, I was all blogged out for the rest of the year.

However, the new year has had its usual invigorating effect, so...



In mid-December we found another temporary home: a small semi-detached house in Newtown, one of Sydney's inner suburbs, just a hop and skip from the University of Sydney.

This typical semi is just one room wide, with a long connecting hall running down the inside wall.

The original house would once have had a toilet out the back, but now ends in the added-on bathroom. Both kitchen and bathroom are 2/3 the width of the property, leaving space for a courtyard.

 

For many decades Newtown was a cheap place to live. It was always attractive to students, of course, because of its proximity to the univerity, but most locals were just working-class poor or unemployed of all ages. Some of the old buildings became council housing, some became backpacker hostels, and these have remained as the area has slowly gentrified over the last 20 years. Today there are as many young professionals in the area as there are old timers. The owner of our place is typical: a 40-ish film maker, mostly doing documentaries on aboriginal issues, but currently engaged on his first feature film.



Like the inner suburbs of most cities, Newtown has its share of graffiti. Some is eye-catching and artistic:

Some is subtle and amusing:

The verbal kind runs the usual gamut, from aggressive...

 

to plaintive...

(Optus is one of the local cell phone companies)

Living in Newtown

After the end of the great road trip, I was all blogged out for the rest of the year.
However, the new year has had its usual invigorating effect, so...

In mid-December we found another temporary home: a small semi-detached house in Newtown, one of Sydney's inner suburbs, just a hop and skip from the University of Sydney.

This typical semi is just one room wide, with a long connecting hall running down the inside wall.

The original house would once have had a toilet out the back, but now ends in the added-on bathroom. Both kitchen and bathroom are 2/3 the width of the property, leaving space for a courtyard.

 

For many decades Newtown was a cheap place to live. It was always attractive to students, of course, because of its proximity to the univerity, but most locals were just working-class poor or unemployed of all ages. Some of the old buildings became council housing, some became backpacker hostels, and these have remained as the area has slowly gentrified over the last 20 years. Today there are as many young professionals in the area as there are old timers. The owner of our place is typical: a 40-ish film maker, mostly doing documentaries on aboriginal issues, but currently engaged on his first feature film.

Like the inner suburbs of most cities, Newtown has its share of graffiti. Some is eye-catching and artistic:

Some is subtle and amusing:

The verbal kind runs the usual gamut, from aggressive...

 

to plaintive...

(Optus is one of the local cell phone companies)

Journey's End: Tannachie to Glenbrook

November 25



We had a farewell coffee with Piers and Patricia in Orange, before going on our way. First stop was a car wash so that we could return the van to its owners in sparkling condition.

Thanks to a leak in the radiator hose, it was a slow journey from then on, as we had to stop every 50 km or so to replenish the water supply. Nevertheless, we were grateful that everything had held up so well until this, the last day of our travels. We limped into John and Susan's in Glenbrook, and the van seemed happy to be home after its 12,000 km journey with us at the wheel.







After a delightful evening with them, we got up the following morning, reclaimed our little Echo, stuffed it with our belongings and cruised down into the Sydney suburb of Turramurra to a great welcome from my sister and her family.



So ends one great adventure. Who knows what is next for us.