Days 144 and 145 - idleness and an afternoon in Manly

Tuesday dawned quite nice for a walk round the headland

but that didn't last long ...

(the cloud cover/mist got worse than this - now you see it, now you don't) so, apart from a trip into Mona Vale for shopping, we did the final prep for the Burma leg of the trip and otherwise didn't stir.

Wednesday looked a wee bit better so we bussed it to Manly for a kayaking session.  Best laid plans though - they'd decided, about 20 minutes before we arrived, to cancel on safety grounds (too windy).  Shame because otherwise it looked a decent day - not so sunny so as to burn us... 

Ah well.  Last day in Sydney though so not to be wasted - the Manly Museum and Art Gallery is just along the beach and had a good exhibition on the interaction between Manly's Aboriginal people and the new arrivals, and a portrait exhibition by Bill Leak, NSW's leading modern portrait painter (with subjects as diverse as Donald Bradman to Dame Edna!) Talking of fame and fortune, the beach path to the Museum is dedicated Australian Olympians, but not just any old Australians... Manly's first gold medallist (in 1900) was a Wallaby, and all three gold medallist at the 1924 Games hailed from Manly. Clearly something high grade in the water...

So it's goodbye and thanks Sydney (and goodbye and huge thanks to Fiona and Gordon, and Uncle John); we're being picked up by a 04.00 shuttle tomorrow for the airport and our Singapore Airways flight, via Singapore, to Rangoon.  Early to bed.

Day 143 - tourists in Sydney - yet again - part VI

Last few days - Sydney time running down... Today we met an old DeutscheBank colleague of Duncan for an excellent sushi lunch, popped at the QVB again and the Strand shopping arcade 

and then onto the Australia Museum (was v slightly worried it might be too much a repeat of Canberra but not a bit of it : it certainly also covers natural and social history,  but with a very different approach). It kicks off with a novel section on "defensive armour" : ranging from turtle to scaly pangolin to spiny porcupine, from horseshoe crab to 17th century European chain-mail and Aboriginal shield. 

Next was the skeletons section - as well as various commonplace, endangered and extinct specimens, a few light-hearted ones, such as "Home, sweet home"

and, our favourite, "The Bone Ranger".

Highlight for me was the floor of Aboriginal artefacts - Pukumani poles marking burial sites of Tiwi people,

and a presentation on Aboriginal history, including the original land grab and subsequent begrudging return of sacred areas like Ularu, and interviews with NSW Uni students who took a bus around Australia in 1965 - "The Freedom Ride" - to draw attention to racism and discrimination against indigenous people, raising consciousness of the casual apartheid which operated, all of apparently in no small part led to the 1967 Referendum (90+% in favour) on whether, in effect, Aboriginal people were now to be considered citizens and entitled to vote. 

But enough of the politics, there were also more great art works

Days 141 and 142 - Mona Vale for the weekend (and left in charge!)

Gordon and Fiona having gone to a weekend concert overnight in the Hunter Valley, Bonny the dog was left in charge with instructions of when she was to take us for various brisk rabbit-hunting walks round the headland and beach 

and she then retired to let us amuse ourselves with Gordon's back-catalogue of international rugby matches and Scrabble 

So yes a very idle weekend but, frankly, with this weather and glorious view, why bother going very far?!

PS. Duncan didn't much appreciate his splendid breakfast being disturbed for my photo op...

Day 140 - Mona Vale and Bilgola Beach

After the past few days' excitement, a quiet morning followed by an afternoon swim at pretty Bilgola Beach just along the bay; first in the seawater-fed pool

then (lots of fun, and spending a fair amount of excess energy), splashing about in strong waves ("Bilgola" apparently comes from the Aboriginal word Belgoula meaning "swirling waters" - and they weren't wrong!).  Isn't that golden sand gorgeous?

Day 139 - tourist Sydney part III

Welcome to the Chinese Year of the Horse!

Another great day in town : after lunch, we went to the Art Gallery of NSW 

for a combination of some old masters, some interesting Australian art and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art

and a few too many of these modern stuff...

Then to the Opera House and SHB for a sun-downer, 

where a liner was obligingly ready to leave and gave us a masterclass in reversing out, turning on a sixpence and heading onwards...

It being nearly Chinese new year, we ate in a super waterside place, complete with seasonal entertainment

though in truth we could have done without the (very very loud) drums and clashing cymbals percussion... Just as well no one appeared to be there on a quiet romantic first date.  

The noise is apparently supposed to drive away last year's bad spirits to allow the new year to afresh - it certainly drove us away but that was timely because the fireworks started right on cue, just as the SOH was turning a pinkish hue

and closer to lucky red by the time we called it a night.

Day 138 - fantastic day's sailing in Pittwater

Gordon and Fiona are enthusiastic sailors with whom we've enjoyed many a sailing trip so it was excellent news to hear that they'd rented a 32 footer for the day to explore Pittwater (staying within the confines of America's Bay so as not to stray too far).  A gorgeous day with still calm waters

to come aboard (though you'll be relieved to hear this is as close as I came to steering)

Tranquil and warm, with the odd burst of action to come about

but as ever our duties were primarily enjoying the views, admiring the sea eagles and jellyfish, preparing the picnic and fetching the beers.

At one stage, we caught some frisky winds and were careering along (picture by Duncan, manfully holding on to the deckropes as the yacht catches an impressive angle in the water!) 

Day 137 - Nowra back to Mona Vale - trip south part VII

We started the day with breakfast by the beach

and then went into a rainforest park called Minnimurra, for a 1.6km Rainforest Loop boardwalk stroll 

crossing the odd suspension bridge.

Duncan took a detour to a waterfall of the Minnimurra river

and made friends with some local wildlife.

And then "home" to Mona Vale, to the good news that we're going sailing tomorrow