Travel

A nautical day

Thursday 7th September, 2023. Day 2.

The sea is the theme of day 2 in Australia and Sydney. My normal waking hour of 4am rolled around on schedule and got some reading done before a good hot breakfast at 6am. The eight mile trek started this morning around 8am as the sun brought the temperatures above 50f and I joined the throng of Aussies on their way to work with a walk through the Circular Quay area where a number of ferries were disgorging passengers from north Sydney, Manly etc for their jobs in the city.

Probably best if I point out some landmarks. So here’s a short version. Just above centre of the image is my hotel where the blue dot is. That’s the Circular Quay area. Go up and right and you’ll see the Opera House, botanical gardens, art gallery, cathedral and ANZAC memorial I covered yesterday. Today we are going to The Rocks (from the hotel, up and a little to the left), the Maritime Museum (just over the bay to the centre left) and the fish market (bottom left bay).

First up, right around the corner from the hotel is the “first flag” location where on 26 January, 1788 Captain Arthur Phillip established the first European settlement in Australia at Sydney Cove. The location of the landing and first flag raising is today commemorated with a flagpole in Loftus Street, Sydney. Rather interesting to see it in person, especially since it’s surrounded by a cone and wheelie bins…. Anyway, here it is… I suspect it was tarted up a bit for the anniversary.

Next up, a walk over to The Rocks area of Sydney where we see a statue dedicated to the unfortunate Captain William Bligh of “Mutiny on the Bounty” fame. Poor chap, seems he was somewhat unlucky twice – seventeen years after the Bounty mutiny, in 1805, he was appointed Governor of New South Wales – his anti-corruption actions resulted in the so-called Rum Rebellion and in 1809, he was deposed and died not long after in London.

Next, a short walk to the Susannah Place houses (https://mhnsw.au/visit-us/susannah-place/) that show how parts of the city evolved since the mid 1800s. The website referenced has more info than I can add here since I didn’t go inside (you need to be on a tour to do that), but it’s an interesting insight into the way of life in late 19th, early 20th century living.

A walk over the Pyrmont Bridge and Sydney Harbour (not sure why it’s not called Darling Harbour) has nice views over the water.

After a walking past the maritime museum, one arrives at the Sydney Fish Market, a small but interesting location and both a retail and wholesale site. I didn’t venture into the wholesale side of the market since by the time I was there, most of the activity for the day was done and the staff were hosing the place down.


Lots of sights, colours, textures and (yes, Bruce) some lovely fish odours. Of course even though fresh fish doesn’t smell (bad), it does have a scent signature.

[After one of my UK friends responded to the bug thing above, thought I’d add this helpful link on what it is… https://www.sydneyfishmarket.com.au/Home/Seafood/Species-Information/List/moreton-bay-bug ]

After a quick second breaky there (some sashimi), I headed back towards the city, stopping off on the way at the piers around the Sydney National Maritime Museum to see the sights and enjoy a relaxing coffee.

There’s a wide variety of nautical history to be viewed here; some of which do go out into the bay during the summer months (September is winter, Down Under) so there’s a bit of something for everyone. Sailing ships, modern naval craft, historical vessels. I won’t go into details or bore anyone with a lengthy diatribe about sea power, but suffice it to say that the modern Australia of today wouldn’t be what it is today without naval capabilities, for right or wrong.

Finally, my morning mission came to an end with the fulfilment of a quest to get something opal for Claudia. Having done my research, I settled on the Australian Opal Cutters (https://australianopalcutters.com) on Pitt Street and visited their third floor studio. What a fun place and knowledgable staff. As I was wrapping up my transaction and getting the paperwork for export sorted out, the “opal grinder’ came in and was introduced. Jason and his wife are fourth generation family owners of the business (founded 1967, year of my birth) and we chatted about the skills of opal selection and preparation. Then went on to talk about tourism and my travel plans for the coming weeks. Kind of people you just instantly gel with and so he said “I should get you a hat and a shirt”, which he did. Feeling moved to reciprocate, I gave him my favourite Porsche hat I got when I bought my first (Macan). Grins all round.

A perfect morning.

One thought on “A nautical day”

  1. Pingback: Welcome to Sydney! – Sage's Musings

Leave a comment