Easter Sunday, our last day in Australia – April 12, 2009

Easter Sunday was a family day for the Tozers. Three of their children and five of their grandchildren gathered in Putney Park, on the banks of the Parramatta, for a family picnic. Plans for a barbecue went sideways when it turned out that shops were closed, but Rhonda quickly turned famine into feast and created a delicious meal out of ingredients on hand.

Robin in Kerry Tozer's kayak

Kerry Tozer’s kayak was the hit of the day. In the photo below, Robin takes his turn paddling out among the moored sailboats and back again with a huge smile on his face.

Next morning we sailed out of Sydney Harbour in a pouring rain. Dark had fallen, and even the rain couldn’t dampen our delight in our last view of Australia. Windows in the towers of commerce were lit, as were the streetlights along the quay. It was like a brightly lit Christmas scene, the last gift of our stay Down Under.

The sky was dark as we sailed out of Sydney Harbour, and we were moving too much for a photo, but this skyline is magical at night - surely one of the prettiest city harbours anywhere

As we sailed away from Australia, I thought of these lines from “My Country” by Dorothea MacKellar. The poet and novelist was only nineteen when she penned them, but they are among the best-known lines in Australian poetry.

“I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror—
The wide brown land for me.”

Quick visit to Australia’s Blue Mountains

The recognizable shape of the Three Sisters

Barry and Rhonda joined us the second day of our visit to Sydney. We boarded the train for a ride west to the Blue Mountains town of Katoomba and a walk out to the Three Sisters. Robin had rhapsodized about the Blue Mountains long before we came to Australia. Michelle and Mim (who grew up there and makes frequent trips to visit family) had piqued my interest even more. So when Barry presented a number of options for the day, I jumped at the chance to see at least a corner of the mountainous area.

The tiny needles of the tea tree, whose medicinal properties make it a prized plant

In spite of cloud cover and intermittent rain, the Blue Mountains proved as beautiful as their advance press. As we climbed higher, the forest thickened, the hills taking on the blue that gives them their name. This range is more like the Appalachians than the Rockies, its rugged landscape covered with trees. Here they are mostly species of Australia’s ubiquitous gum trees. Barry pointed out the tea trees, whose oil is so prized for its medicinal and cleansing properties. Seeing the tiny needles along its stems, I couldn’t help wondering who first thought of crushing them for their oil.

The Katoomba Cascades

We stopped along the trail to see the Katoomba Cascades. Coming from a land with plentiful water, I had to work hard to be impressed by the lower end, which falls in a narrow spray to the valley below. The photo here is from the upper end, where the gentler slope gives the swiftly flowing stream more room to play and make water music. On this old continent, where drought is common, a waterfall of any kind is an oasis, a feast for ears and eyes.

The day’s overcast skies and occasional drizzle couldn’t dim our appreciation for the misty Blue Mountains, the craggy Three Sisters, and our wonderful hosts.

With friends in Sydney, New South Wales

Robin with Barry Tozer in Katoomba

We spent Easter, our last weekend in Australia, with long-time friends of Robin’s, Barry and Rhonda Tozer. Their spacious apartment overlooks the Parramatta River. Robin was Barry’s best man when the Tozers married some 41 years ago. From Thursday, when they picked us up at the Strathfield (a suburb 15 km south of Sydney’s Central Business District) train station until Monday, when their son Anthony dropped us off at the Central Quay, the Tozers spoiled us thoroughly.

Cathryn with Rhonda Tozer in Katoomba

Since we had such mixed feelings about leaving Australia, we were grateful to have the time with the Tozers as a transition from farewells to return voyage. On our first full day they walked with us to the ferry dock, about twenty minutes from their house. For $2.50 each we boarded the Sydney Ferries and spent the day traveling up and down the Parramatta River.

Ferry ride into Sydney Harbour

Our first view of the highrises that line Sydney’s gracious harbour was from the water, motoring past tree-lined promontories, marinas, and upscale neighbourhoods. Sydney residents have more water-view options than most seaside cities. The better the view, of course, the higher the price. [NB – for the first time since arriving in Australia, Robin’s hay fever has disappeared. Too bad Sydney is so far from the family.]

Highly talented digeridoo player with the Aboriginal company, Koomurri

We stopped at the Circular Quay to walk along the waterfront. There were many buskers, including the talented digeridoo player in the photograph. The Aboriginal instrument is difficult to master. It can sound like a foghorn playing one, endless note. In this man’s hands, the haunting sound became animals and birds and likely a whole lot of other things I didn’t understand. You can check out Koomurri’s other offerings at http://www.koomurri.com. [N.B. The link doesn't always work, but there are mp3s and videos online, through various other links.]

The Sydney Opera House is even more impressive first hand than in photographs

One of Sydney’s icons is just around the corner from the Quay’s restaurants and gift shops. Up close, the Sydney Opera House looks far more solid than in the more distant photographs of its sails. Unfortunately, it was closed for maintenance so we had to content ourselves with walking around the tiled wings and sailing past it on the ferry.

Of course, when we walked beneath it, Robin couldn’t resist pointing out the Tour Meeting Point in the photo below. In his years as a tour director, he has gathered many a group there.

Robin the Tour Director, pointing out the spot where he's met many tour groups

The Sydney Bridge is as impressive as its photographs. We sailed under it on our way to Circular Quay, gazed at its graceful span as we ferried to Manly and back again, and walked up the Pylon on its north end for a close-up view. We opted to spend $6.50 to climb the 200 steps to the top of the Pylon rather than $180 to join a group of harnessed bridge walkers climbing to the top of the span. At night the fee for that particular thrill jumps to $300.

Cathryn posing with the Sydney Bridge in the background, from beside the Opera House

The sun was setting as we ferried back to the Tozers. The brilliant sky as the sun slips below the horizon never fails to delight me.

Sunset seen from the Sydney ferry