A vast, mostly empty land
How can I adequately describe a huge country like Australia after spending only one week there (late July-early August 2012) and barely leaving its largest city Sydney? Not very well, so I’ll keep it simple. If I can impart just one impression about this “island continent”/country, it’s the vast size combined with its small population density. Australia has a population of only 23,000,000 (about 7% the population of the USA) living in an area only slightly smaller than the USA minus Alaska. Furthermore, about 60% of Australia’s population is concentrated in its five largest cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide. In terms of population density, a comparison with Canada is appropriate: the population and area of Canada are both larger than Australia but both have about 3 people per square kilometer making them two of the most sparsely populated countries in the world.
 |
| Australia’s flag has six stars, one for each of its six states. |
 |
Most of Australia’s population is concentrated along the east coast.
|
You wouldn’t get a feel for the dearth of population in crowded, cosmopolitan Sydney, but step outside for a few hours like I did and the lack of people becomes readily apparent.
My first exposure to Australian solitude came on a weekday I spend in Royal National Park located only 30km (18 miles) south of Sydney. It was a sunny but windy, comfortably cool (about 15oC – high 50s F) winter day. As I walked a trail along the rocky, wave-swept coast facing the Tasman Sea (part of the Pacific), I noted that my hiking companion, Bill, and I encountered very few people except for one school group. It occurred to me that there were thousands of miles of gorgeous Australian coastline and most of it was equally deserted or even more so.
 |
| Royal National Park: A wind-swept wilderness only a few miles south of Sydney |
The second time I was struck with Australia’s lack of people occurred in my window seat flying from Sydney to Bali, my next destination. As dusk settled over the Australian Outback, I spent a couple hours observing a vast expanse of bush and wide, dry river valleys where there was no sign of human habitation save for an occasional dirt road, maybe one road for every 50 kilometers we covered.
I can visualize spending a year exploring the Australian coast and Outback. However, exploring the Outback would require a team effort with at least a couple of well-equipped 4WD vehicles and would best be undertaken in the Austral winter when the Outback’s heat and notorious, annoying fly population were having a respite. Those are dreams for the future or perhaps another lifetime. In the meantime, I’ll summarize the highlights of my week in “a Land Down Under”.
Doing the Tourist Thing in Sydney
I thought the setting of Auckland, New Zealand was superb, but Sydney also has a fantastic scalloped coastline with communities jutting out into the Tasman Sea and estuaries crossed by numerous bridges extending several miles inland. The most famous span across is Sydney’s estuaries is the Harbour Bridge, completed in 1932, connecting the northern and southern portions of the city.
 |
| Sydney Harbour Bridge viewed from the Manly Ferry |
Upon my arrival in Sydney on my very early flight from Auckland, I checked into my hotel then took the CityRail train down to the Circular Quay where the first English settlers landed in Australia in 1788. Along the quay, I found the pier for the Manly Ferry. My Australian IECA colleague, Doug Wimble, had told me this regularly scheduled ferry would give me more bang for my Aussie dollar than one of the pricy harbour cruises. Doug was right on the mark as the Manly Ferry took me past the iconic Sydney Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, and on out through Sydney Harbour to the community of Manly, a journey taking about an hour round trip and providing the requisite number of photo ops of the city along the way. After returning to Circular Quay, I made my way through “the Rocks” neighborhood and up the steps to the Harbour Bridge and followed the pedestrian walkway along the east side of the bridge which faces the opera house. I crossed the ½ km arch of the bridge then turned around and walked back finding the busy Sunday afternoon traffic a few meters to the west and a protective chain link fence along the outer edge of the bridge somewhat diminished the experience. I passed up the popular but expensive climb by catwalk over the top of the arch because I’m scared of exposed heights and really didn’t think the view would be all that much better than what I could get from the areas with gaps in the chain link fence. Besides, I’m a cheap bastard.
 |
Downtown Sydney and the Opera House:
I had to include this photo to prove I was really there, right? |
 |
The walk across the Harbour Bridge is spoiled somewhat by the chain link fences.
|
Riding the Urban Rails and a Trip Back in Time
After a good sleep that night in Sydney, I was still feeling a bit jet lagged from my early morning flight the previous day. I dragged my weary bones a couple blocks to the closest CityRail station for a long train ride to meet Doug in the rural community where his erosion control and landscaping business is located. CityRail sends its network of iron tentacles radiating all over the city, its suburbs, and even to some distant towns more than one hour from downtown. The trains run on time and are reasonably priced. Local rides cost a couple bucks and you can get way out of town for about five or ten. The trains make up in part for Sydney’s woefully inadequate system of expressways where traffic snarls to a crawl during rush hour as I found on a couple car rides with Doug. I’ll talk more about my get-togethers with Doug in a separate erosion control-oriented post.
 |
| Sydney has an excellent system of electrified commuter rail lines. |
The train made its way through suburbs with English-sounding names like Wentworthville and more authentically Australian names like Toongabbie. As we passed little houses with red-tiled roofs my memory travelled back 40 years to the time my girlfriend, Genie (later my spouse), and I applied for immigration to Australia. At the time, Australia was paying “assisted passage” and guaranteeing employment to college graduates and people with technical skills who wanted to immigrate. Genie and I were idealistic students at the University of Montana where she was finishing her B.A. and I, my M.A. We felt a strong urge to get out of Richard Nixon’s American and were drawn by the adventure of moving halfway around the world. We got as far as an interview with a travelling representative of the Australian embassy. She warned us that Australian salaries were low by US standards and services (like opening hours for stores) were more limited than we were used to. We told here truthfully that we weren’t all that materialistic and would adjust our expectations. A few months later we received a letter from Australian immigration advising us that economic circumstances had resulted in a cut back in the assisted passage program. We were welcome to immigrate but we would have to pay our own way and there would be no guarantee of jobs when we arrived. Being relatively broke at the time, we opted to postpone immigration which, of course, never happened. Ah, one of those roads of life not taken.
The “Big Smoke” is a mixed bag
There are a couple downsides to Sydney that I observed. First of all it’s expensive which is partly due to the abysmal state of the US dollar which is now worth a few pennies less than the Australian dollar. That’s a big switch from about 10 years ago when the Australian dollar was worth about 55 US cents. Of course, Sydney is a big city and no more expensive than New York and cheaper than many European cities. But it’s interesting to note that I paid slightly more for a tiny room in a YMCA hotel in Sydney than the US$80/night I paid at a 4-star hotel in the huge city (13,000,000) of Chengdu, China a couple weeks later.
 |
There wasn’t even enough space in my little room
at the YMCA Hotel to do yoga! |
I found another aspect of Sydney somewhat depressing and I really noticed it on the trains. Graffiti is rampant and so is trash. Doug attributes this part to unemployed elements of the immigrant community who get stipends from the government and have little pride in the country. Apparently, if you are on a rickety boat that makes it to Australian territorial waters, you get asylum.
 |
| Graffiti is a blight on Sydney’s public spaces |
Still, Sydneyites seem to be rather friendly for big city folk. A couple short anecdotes about my encounters with them: The first time I was on a CityRail platform, I snapped a couple photos of an incoming train. The driver opened his window as he brought the train to a stop next to me. For a moment, I thought I was going to get yelled at for photographing trains (for example, it’s illegal to take photos in London Tube stations). Instead, the driver smiled and called out to me, “Hope you got my good side”. Later, while riding a train to the suburbs, a skinny, 30-something guy with a scruffy beard turned to me and asked, “Cobber, was that you I saw earlier looking for the train to [some station I’d never heard of]?” I told him it wasn’t me and wondered if“cobber” was some kind of insulting name. I checked later with Wikipedia and learned that “cobber” is an informal Australian-ism meaning “friend” or “mate”.
Winds Make for a Rough Ferry Ride but a Photogenic Sea
The following day, I had planned to head south from Sydney to Royal National Park for the hike I mentioned at the beginning of this post. Doug’s Business Development Manager, John Wood, had told me about a bushwalk (hike) along the cliffs facing the sea at the northeastern corner of the park. It sounded delightful but I awoke that morning to rain and the forecast on TV called for showers and clouds along the coast for most of the day. So instead I stayed in my room and tried to catch up with my blog for you loyal followers as I was now falling hopelessly behind with my posts. By mid-afternoon, the skies cleared somewhat so I was able to take the CityTrain downtown and took a long walk along Darling Harbour, The Rocks, and back to my hotel through the financial district with its modern towering skyscrapers.
 |
| View of downtown Sydney from The Rocks neighborhood |
Clear skies arrived the following day so I caught a CityTrain to the coastal community of Cronulla as per John’s instructions. I walked from the train station down to the dock to catch the ferry to Bundeena at the north end of Royal National Park. I waited and waited until the ferry showed up from Bundeena about 15 minutes late. “It’s pretty rough out there today,” the captain announced to a small group of us waiting at the dock. “I wouldn’t make the trip unless you have to. We may not be able to land at the dock anyway. This is probably our last trip for the day so you’ll be stuck over there if you go.” Well, not exactly. Further inquiries revealed there would be a bus to bring us back way around the bay later in the afternoon. The other perspective passengers seemed game and remembering a harrowing boat ride I’d taken with Jude in Iceland 10 years earlier, I figured this one couldn’t be any worse. This would be my only remaining chance to do the hike as I had plans with Doug the following day. Thus, I jumped on board and headed with the others into the unknown. When we got out of the harbour and into the part of the bay which was open to the sea, the wind was blowing a good 25 knots and swell was at least three feet. It felt like we were going to become airborne after riding over a couple big waves. But the worst was at the unprotected dock at Bundeena. The swell kept smashing the little ferry against the dock and the crew broke a couple ropes before they were able to get us tied up. “You better jump now if you’re going to go,” a crewman shouted. We hopped off the ferry and on to the dock quickly in succession knowing that bad timing could crush a leg or worse.
 |
The little Bundeena Ferry quickly steams away
before another big wave can smash it into the dock. |
I had met Bill, a retired Quantas Airlines mechanic, on the dock in Cronulla. After we were safely ashore in Bundeena, he suggested we do our bushwalk together as we were both planning the same route. Bill proved to be a helpful guide as he had made the walk several times before. He was also good company as we shared interests in the outdoors and railroading.
 |
Northeastern tip of Royal National Park
|
 |
| The Tasman Sea attacking a rocky headland at Royal National Park |
On the following day and prior to attending to some IECA business, Doug drove me up to the Blue Mountains west of Sydney where we joined a throng of tourists at the Three Sisters overlook. These three pinnacles were impressive as was the vast protected forest and mountain landscape below the overlook, all part of Blue Mountains National Park. I fantasized about spending several days on a walkabout following the trails through this wilderness.
 |
| The Three Sisters rock formation at Blue Mountains National Park |
Alas, my time in Australia was way too short but it was only meant as a sampler. Having spent some time in Sydney, I would feel no need to visit other Australian cities in the future except to pass through them on my way to experience the other 99% of this vast, mostly wild continent.
Next: Visiting an old friend in beautiful, but blemished, Bali.
Comments
Post a Comment