Photos - 2007 - Late in the Year

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End of the Year

Thailand

These photos are from the end of the year. 

Click on an image to see a larger picture. 

October school holidays - Roger & Rex at Balmoral Beach in the first two weeks in October; we went to Luna Park on night, too - but don't have any good photos

Rex about to go onto the beach; it really isn't cold but Usa insists on the boys wearing sweaters if there is any breeze - she says the wind is too cold ...

... time to play in the sand ...

... and then exit the surf like real men

Fort Denison - This fort was originally built to defend Sydney against maritime invasion, although it has never been used in anger; there are multiple reasons for that & hard to explain in a set of photos [so see Wikipedia].  It is now an iconic part of Sydney Harbour yet few people visit the place; on Oct 20-21 the fort celebrated its 150th anniversary of opening and the Gamble Family managed a visit.  As an unpaid advertisement, Fort Denison is open for visits every day with 3 ferries per day to take people to & from Circular Quay.

Fort Denison [circled] on a normal day

Are you ready?

"Welcome to Fort Denison" says the tour guide

the Gamble guys standing in front of Sydney's "only island food cafe"

Roger & Rex in front of the cannons that are fired at 1pm every day; they are actually aimed at the Opera House ... and generally miss their target

this time standing in front of the 32lb cannons

A port authority boat gets excited for the 150th anniversay

cannon in the background & some of the Sydney skyline

Rex & Neil with the Martello tower in the background

the tower has three levels; the lowest level is the gunpowder room; the cannons fire 32lb cannon balls

barrel of gunpowder [a replica]

over the years the heavy gunpowder barrels left ring marks in the soft tar-based floor

Tower constructed in 1856; opened in 1857

the cannon room is at the tower's mid-level ...

... and space is at a premium

they were pretty clear about when this was built

32lb cannon balls neatly stacked in case they're needed

the stairs leading to the top level are steep

but Usa likes it when she gets there

and the top level of the fort offers fantastic 360o views of Sydney - this is Mrs Macquarie's Point

and some of the Sydney skyline, with a patriotic Australian flag

yacht race on the harbour

Usa was looking at the harbour but we asked for a photos

she was watching the sailing boats

the beacon at the top of the tower

did we mention that the stairs are steep and narrow?

this is a grassed picnic area that is actually the roof of the garrison & water tank

 

information about the water tank

 

Rex in the picnic area

 

Fort Denison measures the tides for Sydney; here is the old & new tide equipment

 

the fort had a special cap & a birthday cake - you could buy a cap but not touch the cake

 

this is a cool men's toilet; very modern; there is an original fireplace glassed in next to the urinals & on the right is a mirror which shows Rex's reflection - he was standing at the entrance 

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We had a busy day.  After Fort Denison we went on the ferry ride to Luna Park & Darling Harbour, then got off at Circular Quay and had out first up close look at the Sydney Opera House

Sydney skyline from Darling Harbour ...

... and another view ...

a reproduction of Captain Cook's ship the Endeavour used when he discovered the east coast of Australia

Luna Park is a small theme park almost under the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Neil & Usa with ...

... the famous Sydney Opera House in profile ...

... and the sun reflecting off the "sails" ...

... which we found are covered by a bunch of bathroom tiles!!

The famous story is that the sails of the Opera House were inspired from cut orange peels; this explains the story

Roger plays the goat; Rex is unimpressed

Roger plays the goat; Rex refused to be in the photo

Before the Opera House was built the land was used for tram sheds

And we were finally on our way home, which means a ferry ride and passing some great treasures of Sydney Harbour

Rex photographed with aborigines at Circular Quay; these guys play virtually all day for donations & are quite happy to ham it up for a picture

This is Admiralty House, the Governor General's Sydney residence; a nice place if you can get it

Hard to see, but this is Kirribilli House, the PM's residence in Sydney; it is right next to Admiralty House

Cremorne Point; near our apt and a great place to explore the rocks

Curraghbeena Point in Mosman, where we live; our apt building is highlighted

The sun setting in the west indicates the end of a long day sightseeing

Something else we've found that we enjoy is exploring around the rocks at Cremorne Point (pictured above left)

the beacon warns of rocks at Cremorne Point

Water taxi - a nice way to get around the harbour; it might cost a bit for a ride, though

the waves from ferries & boats swirl around the rocks

looking down at the rocks

Looking down Mosman Bay ...

... and across the bay to our apt ...

... into Sirius Cove ...

... and across to Taronga Zoo ...

... it can be almost tropical

In spring the jacaranda trees bloom in Sydney, giving a splash of colour; below are two photos taken from our apt balcony; one when we arrived & the other in late October with the jacaranda trees in bloom

looking east in July 2007

looking east October 2007

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In December Phil Stewart, Neil's best buddy from university days - invited Neil to the SCG for a cricket ODI against NZ; we planned a great day ... unfortunately it rained and we didn't get much play.  A true case of the thought being the most important thing.

Neil with (L-R) Phil Stewart & Rob Terry at the SCG

(L-R) Robb Terry, Phil & brother Cameron Stewart at the SCG

Cricket rained out & this is what the harbour looked like around 1900hrs