My Project 2012    

ALONG THE WATER’S EDGE  

       

January 2012

I thought this year my project should be walking around Sydney Harbour, maybe also along beaches and headlands. Just walking along the water’s edge.

We moved to Sydney 50 years ago. A good reason to look at the same old sites and the many new buildings afresh. 

I will try to do one walk each month, starting with the inner harbour. 

There is excellent information available on all sorts of harbour and coastal walks, brochures with maps, routes, distances, landmarks. And of course google anything about Sydney Harbour and the information coming up is endless.

So no need for to write a Blog about Sydney Harbour. But this is not the point. I just want to do it, the walking and the talking. Telling what I see walking along and taking pictures. Maybe even a bit of reminiscing.

And yes, maybe I want also to prove that even being older one can still start doing what one wanted to have done ages ago.     

Do it now and enjoy it. Whatever! 

So here we go! 

Sydney Harbour is best seen from a ferry. 

But I am walking along the foreshore, around the water’s edge as close as I can get. 

I planned to do a walk each month. But sometimes I did  more than one walk in a month.

By September I had walked all around the Inner Harbour. 

Walking across the Harbour Bridge is a must, so that is what I did in October.

In November I explored the harbour by going on all Sydney Ferries. 

I thought of something special to do in December around Sydney Harbour. 

And now it is all done.

These walks around Sydney Harbour was one of the nicest things I have done. I had so much fun. 
And I am sure I will walk a lot more along the water's edge of Sydney Harbour. 

12    

SYDNEY TO HOBART YACHT RACE   

December 2012

approximately 2km 

more than 2 hours  

 As a special and final contribution to my Harbour Walks Blog I thought the favourite attraction on Sydney Harbour, the annual Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race starting on Boxing Day each year would be a fitting end of this project. 

So I took the ferry to Watson Bay and walked around the Bay, along a few pretty streets onto a small reserve, to Green Point. 

This is an ideal spot to watch the start of race because not too many people were here. 

The Maxi Yachts were first to cross the starting line,   

 and sailed very fast through the Heads. 

The smaller boats looked great as many started putting up their Spinnaker sails.

It is easy to get back from Green Point to Watson Bay Ferry Wharf and walk up the short distance to the Gap, overlooking the ocean. 

There together with a few thousand others spectators

 I could see the boats heading south on their long and hazardous journey to Tasmania. 

The Sydney to Hobart Race was started in1945. The distance is 630 nautical miles, or 1170 km. It attracts international competitors. The race record up to now is 1 days and 18 hours and 40 minutes and 10 seconds. 

But the winner is not the one getting to Hobart first, although line-honours is a prestige, this race is won on handicaps, giving all boats a chance. 

The atmosphere was great all around and it was very enjoyable to see Sydney Harbour so crowded.

   

11

      HARBOUR CRUISE + FERRY RIDES      

November 2012  

not much walking

but it takes a day or two

So far this year I have done all the Inner Harbour walks and also walked across the Bridge. 

But there is still some time left till the end of the year. So I thought instead of starting now to walk along the water’s edge of the North Shore and Eastern Suburbs, in November I will be lazy and go for rides on all ferries and look at the Harbour the easy way. 
No way of having an easy time. 
It was  hard work too to catch all day some ferries, 7 of them. I did not go on the Parramatta River Ferry this time, because I did that in May.
Writing up over 8 hours of excursions and selecting photos of the far too many I have taken was not easy. With Christmas approaching I hardly could  find enough time to sit down and work solidly on my project. Finally it was all done.

11.1.1 

CRUISING ON THE HARBOUR     

November

  

Before I even began to look at all the ferry time tables, an invitation  arrived to join the 90th birthday celebration of a friend on a Tall Ship Harbour Cruise! 

No better way to start going around on the Harbour.

The ‘Southern Swan’ is an 1850‘s style Tall Ship and was built in 1922 in Denmark. She came to Australia for the Bicentenary Celebration in 1988 and stayed in Sydney ever since.

The voyage started from Sydney Cove.

The boat used its engine to travel to Watson Bay, 

. 

and then returned under sail.

This was magic. 

11.1.2      

I went downstairs, 

It was so quiet there, 

only the calming sound of the swell against the timber to be heard. 

Soon more of us explored the tight facilities and admired the timber work.

This silence, just sailing, no motor noise, is not so noticeable on deck, because of all the happy talking and food and drinks being offered all around.  

The lively atmosphere was great,

and the view was fantastic. 

11.1.3     

Only too soon we were back at the Bridge and the sail came down, 

and this beautiful  little voyage came to an end. 

What a great way to see Sydney Harbour. 

AND 

a few days later I saw the beautiful Southern Swan go past Barangaroo,

AND

then again at Circular Quay.

11. 2  

         

  HARBOUR FERRY RIDES

November 2012  

a day or two

Sydney Ferries can take you to 8 destinations along the Harbour:

Inner Harbour - west of the Bridge:

  Darling Harbour via North Sydney, Luna Park and Balmain 

  Woolwich via Cockatoo Island

  Parramatta and Rydalmere 

East of the Bridge:

  North Shore :                                      

  Neutral Bay

  Mosman

    Taronga Zoo

    Manly

  Eastern Suburbs:

    Watsons Bay

To go on all the ferries one needs a whole day, or more if the connections are not perfect.

One can just go to Circular Quay and take the next ferry leaving to wherever it takes you, and on returning to Circular Quay get on the next available ferry to another destination. 

Or one can work out a schedule and do it systematically. 
I just went in the morning to Circular Quay and tried to follow my Harbour Walks. 

Circular Quay is always an interesting place. 

It is interesting to watching the ferries come and go, often a big Cruiser is in the harbour,

 also looking at people, admiring the street artists there is fun. 

Waiting for a ferry is never boring.