I had planned to go into the Blue Mountains today but wasn’t able to get tickets so instead toured more of Sydney.
Slept in, had breakfast and then went to the nearby Big Bus stop. When it arrived, I hopped on and rode it for a couple of stops to get to a stop to transfer to the blue line since I wanted to take the blue line today. Had to wait about 30 minutes for a blue-line bus to arrive. It’s a good thing I purchased the 48 hour pass and that it was good for 48 actual hours- rather than 2 days. I had about 2 hours available when I got onto the red-line bus, after waiting 30 minutes at the blue-line transfer stop I got onto a blue-line bus. The route took us back to the start where I had to get onto another blue line bus- by that time I had 30 minutes left on the ticket! Whew.
The blue-line route went past Bondi Beach. I thought I might be able to see penguins on the beach but not a chance- it’s very hot 85+ degrees during the day and the beach was full of people. No self-respecting penguin would be out and about then.
There is significant English influence in the names- Liverpool, Paddington, Queen Elizabeth Building, Kings Cross….
The bus tours have a sound system and a prerecorded talk that matches the route. At a couple of points, it warned of low hanging branches and by golly I had to duck to avoid some! I did certainly enjoy the shade under the trees as the sun is burning hot. I purchased a sun hat and am using the wonderful sunscreen(Super Goop) Monica got me to protect against the powerful sunlight.
Saw many zero emission busses on the streets and a cricket field that was built in the 1800’s. And learned that “Lifeguarding originated in 1907 with the founding of the Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving Club, the world’s first surf lifesaving club, created to address rising drownings as daytime ocean swimming became popular.” Up until the 1960’s women could be fined for showing too much skin while at the beach. Then came the advent of the bikini and so many women were wearing them that the beach inspectors stopped fining them.
Got off the bus at the Australia Museum. It was free to enter and I really enjoyed the amazing pictures in the “2025 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer” exhibit. I would have bought the picture book but it was heavy and I couldn’t imagine carrying it around until I got home.
Then I went to the bird exhibit which I really enjoyed but I suspect it wouldn’t be to everyone’s taste. The exhibit was of real Australian birds- they were stuffed and mounted. I liked to see the actual colors, sizes and features of the birds.
On the way to the bird exhibit I ran across a Moai. It was a little flash of the past- we saw many, many Moai a few weeks ago when we were on Easter Island. This one was not a relic but was carved by a master Moai carver especially for the Australia Museum.
I had lunch at the Bistro Gadi on the 4th floor of the museum. It had a view of Hyde Park, St Mary’s Cathedral and Woolloomooloo Bay. I tried to get reduced serving sizes for my meal but wasn’t successful and ended up leaving food.
The tours I’ve gone on give an indigenous welcome and offer respect to the elders. The museums have placards offering an indigenous welcome and respect to the elders. Many place names are also indigenous.
After lunch I walked back to my hotel for a shower and rest before taking the train back to Circular Quay for my 5:30pm dinner cruise. Got there in just in time to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia “Data, Dreams, Art and AI” exhibit 45 minutes before it closed at 5pm. The most thought provoking entry was the one that talked about the rare minerals used to build computers. They are also the minerals that gave rise to the microbes that are the basis of life. Really made me wonder about Artificial Intelligence and the blurring of the boundaries between human life and other life and intelligence.
