Sydney

Sydney

I flew from Christchurch to Sydney and it seemed to take all day. It was a midday flight so not much free time to do anything before heading for the airport. The fight was delayed so it arrived late and it seemed to take the rest of the afternoon to cross Sydney by public transport to reach my hotel at Potts Point.

The view form my window...

...another iconic tower, The Sydney Tower Eye....

...and there are plenty more tall buildings to see such as this tower and I could count 40 storeys but was unable to name the tower..

                                        

And as I was walking down the street, there were the usual pigeon and gull vermin looking for an easy meal but also this local bird...an Australian White Ibis fighting its way into a plastic bag.

                                        
A piece of modern sculpture down by the docks new Finger Wharf made of chain welded together.

A rig support vessel with a helicopter landing pad above the bridge and a heavy lift crane on the back.

HMAS Sydney at the navy base.

A long shot of Fort Denison and its Martello Tower in the centre of the harbour. 

Mrs Macquarie Chair, located at the end of a peninsula jutting out into Sydney Harbour, whose husband was the fifth Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821. The inscription behind is to note that the road around the peninsula was more than three miles long and completed in 1816 for her recreation.

                                        
And from her chair and the point named after her, there is a view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.

A closer view of the Opera House.

A view of the bridge from the Opera House. 

A glimpse of Government House through the security fence.

The side view of the Sydney Conservatoriun of Music...

...and the front gate although it is not a good photo as the sun was in the wrong place, but to get the right photo, you might need to visit twice to see each sight in reverse order on different days so that you see it in both the morning sun and the afternoon sun. 

The State Library of New South Wales.

A wing or the Sidney Hospital...

...and the main entrance, although due to its height and other encroaching buildings, whilst dodging traffic, it was difficult to get a good picture.

The next building in a row of historical and significant buildings should have been the Parliament bit it was covered in scaffolding and plastic sheeting so there was nothing to see. This is the Mint which has a very Colonial style of architecture with its verandahs, the picture taken through a hole in the security fence but it was well guarded as the Hyde Park Barracks are just next door, seen in the back ground to the right.

My first view of St Mary's Cathedral from the northwest, taken dodging traffic to stand in the road to get a view of it without too many trees in the way, but it was still a challenge...

...the west entrance...

...and the south entrance.

To the west of the cathedral is Hyde Park and at its northern end is the Archibald Memorial Fountain.  

Just a stone's throw away at the southern end of the park is the ANZAC Memorial, and although the grandeur is spoiled by the building behind,  up close it is an impressive monument to the fallen and has the names of major battles that they fought in the First World War, which by co-incidence, all of which I have visited, the Second World War and other conflicts after 1945.   

The eternal flame and downstairs there is a small exhibition.

The next stop was just over the road at the Australian Museum, part old stone, with a large new modern extension added to one side and extending around the back.

.Outside was a model of a shark in rainbow colours to publicise a temporary exhibit on sharks.

I went in as much to see the architecture as the exhibits and in the old section, there was a marvellous hall rising several level with exhibit. The black outline to the top right is the skeleton of a moose.

And another little architectural detail of the original building, the start of the stairs to the upper levels. The modern section has multiple lifts and escalators for visitors.