Glimpses of Oz: Sydney and Melbourne
Posted by Devika RajanWe'd just landed in Sydney after a thirteen hour flight, surprisingly comfortable. I had wriggled toes and stretched arms whenever I remembered, during those lulls in between sleep, doing my bit to follow the rules…and of course, having only one glass of sparkling white Australian wine with dinner.
Things felt topsy-turvy on arrival—oh okay, it was Down-Under… It was summer here, while back in tropical home we were experiencing single digit winter temperatures in many places. Besides, we'd just had breakfast, but immediately after, setting our watches five and a half hours ahead for landing made it past lunch time in Sydney. I really wouldn't have been surprised if we had been greeted at the airport by a kangaroo…
Stringent entry procedures—notices at the arrival area reminded us to declare foodstuffs, wooden items or even foreign dirt on shoes we could be importing. Having been forewarned by son, Siddharth, resident of Mornington, near Melbourne, we had not brought along the proverbial pickle and pappadam. Besides, we were in a hurry to catch that onward flight to Melbourne…We made it through, but not without our luggage being scrutinised by an official, who friendly-reminded me that I should have declared my old skipping rope I carried along for my daily exercise — it had wooden handles! I confessed it hadn't occurred to me, and was ready to get rid of it. But he let us pass, skipping rope intact…
Melbourne is a relatively quiet city. Australian TV proudly announced that it had just been declared the world's second liveable one in an international poll. They had four cities of Oz in the first ten on that list, including Sydney… Our apartment, booked through the internet back in India, was in the South Yarra area of Melbourne. Compact and comfortable, and provided with a kitchenette, it was possible for us to cook Indian dinners with provisions bought from a store round the corner. Breakfast was also at the apartment — cereal, fruit and bread — but lunch was invariably 'local' fare: Australian, Italian, Mexican, Chinese or Turkish food, a happy blend of home and abroad, that works for me.
Melbourne is more laid back than Sydney. The day of our arrival was the one India won the Perth Cricket Test, and we were surprised to have a couple of perfect strangers, coming up to us to good-naturedly congratulate us on the win. There seemed to be no impact of the Harbhajan-Symonds' controversy on the average Aussie, except that they felt it was a shame that "a gime should be spoiled by such things." Easy-going and friendly — that was how the Australian came across to me — and speaking with an accent that took a trifle getting used to.
Melbourne has quite a few options in sight-seeing, though for Rajan and me, apart from the sights, this was a trip to watch some matches of the Australian Open at the Rod Laver Arena, and even fit in a twenty-twenty Australia-India cricket game. We managed the tennis — and what a thrilling experience it was! The stadium, shaped like an ancient Greek amphi-theatre, but with bright green seats, burst with an audience crazy about the game; they were polite and sporting — they were absolutely quiet during play, but in between sets, cheered their favourites madly. We watched Sharapova play Henin, and even better, saw an unseeded Tsonga create history the day he made it to the semi-finals. We just had to go back one more time to watch the amazing Federer… Our T-cup was indeed full!
The Australian Open at the Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
We rented a car from Budget-Rent-a-Car, and drove it in and around Melbourne ourselves. This wasn't a problem, because Australia drives on the left side of the road like us, and the Indian driving license is also recognised by them. Armed with detailed road-maps (provided by them) we managed to find our way around easily.
One of the best ways to experience the spirit of Melbourne is to walk around the place, as much as you can. You can't miss their picturesque Victorian style houses with their neat gardens. Federation Square, overlooking the River Yarra, is the centre of the city. We were there on an afternoon when roadside artistes attracted hordes with their balancing and juggling tricks. The whole place pulsed with a holiday atmosphere. And, no wonder, Australia was getting ready for a long celebratory week-end — January 26th is Australia Day, this being the
anniversary of the day that Captain Philip and his men, eighteen years after Cook 'discovered' Australia, landed in Botany Bay, Sydney in 1788 — to stay.
We did two day trips from Melbourne. The first one was to the Yarra Valley, an hour's journey. Here, we went to one of the wineries to taste the Australian wines and visit the Healesville Sanctuary nearby. Viewing animals anywhere in Australia, as far as I am concerned, is a draw. So many fascinating new animals to see: it was the first time I had seen kangaroos, koalas, platypus, dingoes, Tasmanian devils, kookaburra, penguins….The penguins really intrigued me — they were smaller than I thought they would be, and when in water they really zipped around.
Our second trip was south-west along the coast from Melbourne, on the Great Ocean Road, up to the Twelve Apostles, a distance of around 250 kms. The Twelve Apostles are natural stone structures rising from the ocean. There are only seven now remaining, the others having been worn down over millions of years.
We dipped our feet there, in the waters of the Southern Ocean — it was icy cold even though it was summer, and no wonder — this is the ocean that goes right up, or should I say, down, to Antarctica. We returned from our trip that day, with our fill of sun and wind, but strangely, felt the occasional chill in the air, when the sun hid behind the clouds or it threatened to rain. To say that the weather in and around Melbourne in summer, is variable, is an understatement. One must always be prepared to carry around a jacket — although sweating in a T-shirt — just in case… And don't forget your sunscreen. Even the Indian skin needs to be protected from the sunshine here, because of the thinning ozone layer. Australian TV repeatedly air ads advising people to protect themselves from the sun, referring to skin cancer as their 'national cancer'.
We decided to drive down from Melbourne to Sydney. The distance is roughly 900 kms, and we took it easy, stopping after some hours of driving at the picturesque and historic town of Gundagai. Life here is a far cry from the big city rush of Sydney, or even the medium pace of Melbourne. People close shops early, and the standard dinner time is before the clock strikes seven. We found a comfortable room in a motel, and retired early.
The next morning, we visited the old railway station, which has been preserved as a museum, and saw the old railway bridge and the wooden bridge over the River Murrumbidgee, which now flowed in a trickle. In 1852 there was a devastating flood in Gundagai and close to half its population was drowned. The story goes that the Aborigines saved many of the white residents, and they are ever grateful to them for this. After this incident, the town was relocated at a higher level.
We made a detour to see the statue of the Dog on the Tuckerbox, just outside Gundagai. The story of the dog goes this way: when one of the men, of the earlier pioneering days, was riding to Gundagai, his bullock-cart got stuck in mud. He egged on his bull to yank out the cart, but this only resulted in its straining so much that it broke its yoke. So our man decided to take a break; but to add to his woes, when he went for lunch, he found his dog sitting on his ‘tuckerbox’ or much worse! This provoked a lot of mirth, and over time the tale passed into the realm of folk lore. Several poems have been written about the incident, and now a statue — sculpted by local artist Rusconi — stands today, outside the town of Gundagai.
Dog on the Tuckerbox, off Gundagai
From Gundagai to Sydney… We checked into our apartment at the Hyde Park Plaza in Sydney, by lunchtime, and deposited the car at Budget's office there. We didn't fancy driving around by ourselves anymore, as this is a big city with its own share of fast cars, traffic jams and one way streets. However, Sydney is a place built conveniently for pedestrians (I suspect most Australian towns and cities are), and so decided to manage by walking, or using public transport.
Our apartment was within walking distance of the most important sights of Sydney. We spent a day first visiting the Royal Botanic Gardens (which actually had signboards inviting people to walk on the grass and touch the flowers), then made a tour of the flower shaped Sydney Opera House, and the area of the Sydney Harbour. The Opera House, along with the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge is the symbol for the city.
The city offers a paid climb of the Harbour Bridge; the charge, at close to Au$ 200/=, is steep, but we gave in to the temptation, and in hindsight, I am glad to have done it. The bridge is 503 ms long and 134 ms. high, and we were taken right up to the top by our intrepid guide, Melissa. The preparations for the climb were elaborate. We were a group of twelve persons; all of us had to change into jumpsuits provided by them. We had harnesses which hooked on to the railings of the bridge, from the beginning of the climb right till the end; we were not permitted to carry any cameras. Even caps and handkerchiefs issued to us were attached to our suits by elastic and hooks. All this was to ensure that we dropped nothing on to the surging traffic on the bridge, from our position on its summit. The experience was exhilarating for me. Not having the nerve for extreme sport like bungee jumping, I was glad to be able to do this climb, and have a bird's view of the landmarks of Sydney.
Signboard at the Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney
Opera House, Sydney
Harbour Bridge, Sydney (we climbed to the top of that!)
From Sydney, we did a day trip to the Blue Mountains. This was a conducted tour; although, like most conducted tours it was a bit regimented, we still managed to have our share of fun. The Blue Mountains, as the name suggests, look blue from afar, since the oily haze around the eucalyptus trees which cover them, acts like a prism that refracts sunlight. At Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, we rode the world's steepest incline railway line, and went on a skyway that offered us a wonderful view of the valley below. The highlight of the scenery here are three tall stony columns called the Three Sisters, and several rapids and cataracts that gush around them. It was at one of the viewing points for the Three Sisters that we came across an Aborigine playing a long trumpet like musical instrument called the didgeridoo. The didgeridoo has a soulful sound, and I remember sitting quite still for some minutes with eyes closed, drinking in the sound.
Sydney is famous for its beaches. We visited the Bondi beach — spectacular to behold. The place literally crawls with sun worshippers, and if you're thinking of a quiet beach experience, then Bondi is not the place for you.
Bondi Beach, Sydney
But for us, it was the thrill of a glimpse and feel of another ocean—the Pacific. And that took my count from two to four in a matter of a week! I now only had the ArcticOcean unticked in my to-do list of Oceans!
This first trip to the Land of Oz is just a scratching of its surface, for me. Australia is a country larger than India in size, and with as much variety. Certainly I should be able to visit it again and discover fresh delights…
Other Information
Sydney& Melbourne: How to reach: Direct flights (Quantas has one of the best safety records!) though long, are quite comfortable. You could also take flights with a stopover in the Far-East (Singapore, for instance). This gives you the opportunity to see two places, makes the journey less tedious, and manages the time differential in a smoother fashion.
When to go: October to December is pleasant.
Playing the Didgeridoo
Kangaroos, Healesville Sanctuary
Penguin, Featherdale Wildlife Park, near Sydney
