Tapping on and off like a Local

We've got these Sydney Opal travel cards well under control, and have been tapping on and off like a local, on our travels on buses, trains and ferries.  It is wonderful that the card covers all modes of transport.  A visit to the new Madame Tussauds at Darling Harbour seemed a good idea, so we jumped on the Circle Line train onboard one of the brand new trains.  With several attractions side by side, there were long queues waiting to purchase tickets, seems like everyone and their family were out and about on Saturday morning. 

Madame Tussauds exhibition has quite as Australian flavour, as would be expected.  Who did we see first but Captain James Cook whose three great Pacific voyages took him to Australia and New Zealand.  He was killed in Hawaii on his third voyage.

Captain James Cook

Who could be more Australian than Steve Irwin? TV wildlife warrior Steve caught his first crocodile aged nine and his first venomous snake when he was only six.  Although he handled countless deadly snakes and crocs, he was most afraid of parrots.  He died in 2006 while filming in the Great Barrier Reef, killed by a sting ray

Steve Irwin

Hello, Jonah Lomu, what are you doing here, don’t tell me they are claiming him as one of theirs's?  Jonah was the youngest ever All Black, and sadly died quite young in 2015.  And Keith Urban, married to Nicole Kidman, was described as a ”New Zealand born Australian country musician and singer-songwriter”.  Really?

Two Kiwis, Jonah Lomu and Keith Urban

Aussies love their sports, and we saw plenty of sportspeople, cricketers RFL players, runners and a hurdler.  Several Australian politicians who looked familiar, rubbing shoulders with Ghandi and Barack Obama.  Marilyn was there in her famous white dress from “The Seven Year Itch”  when a gust of wind from the subway below brushes her skirt in an iconic moment.

 

Hello Marilyn

This was quite an interactive exhibition, with many props available for visitors to don and have their photo taken besides whoever they wanted.  As I did, meeting royalty, attired in a pretty purple hat – I’ve always been a bit of a royalist.  Sadly, the Queen doesn't seem at all amused, but the younger ones seem happy to meet me.

Meeting Royalty

It was time for lunch, and we went to Nick’s Bar and enjoyed the reasonably priced Chef’s Specials, steak for him and pasta for her.  Lovely food indeed, but not a patch on what two young couples and their kids were having at the next table.  They started off with oysters in the shell, followed by huge platters containing lobster, steak, kebabs and fish, obviously young business  “power couples”.

Lunch at Nick’s Bar

As it turned out, there was a ferry terminal just a little way up the wharf, so we jumped aboard and were whisked around to Circular Quay.  Just love these ferry rides, such fun.

Under the Harbour Bridge and returning to Circular Quay

On the quay there was quite a crowd gathered around as two Aboriginal danced and played the didgeridoo.

Entertainment on the wharf

One final train ride took us back to Central Station, and a short walk to the hotel.  That’s another successful day of sightseeing done.  The next day we took a ride on yet another form of Sydney Transport, the light rail.   It was crammed full of people, with most disembarking just a few stops up the road, going to Paddy’s Market.  We stayed on for the full trip, tapped off then on again, and did the return trip back to Central Station.

Sydney Light Rail

Perhaps a train trip over the Sydney Harbour Bridge might be fun, and off to see northern Sydney?  We traveled up on one line, and caught another train back on another line.  Plenty of suburbia flashed by, and a fair few older, quite gracious homes from earlier years.

View from the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Our time in Sydney is almost at an end, we’ll be finishing with a nice farewell meal out tonight - I’ve got a hankering for some juicy Aussie prawns.  Tomorrow we will be flying “across the ditch” to New Zealand, spending a few days in Auckland first.