Robot Claw – Page 419 – “Life In The So-Called Space Age”

Last Day

January 15, 2015

As I set out this morning I wasn’t sure exactly what my plans were. I had some idea that they may involve a museum or gallery or maybe a ferry.

I caught the bus to Circular Quay since I feel a trip here is incomplete without the bridge and Opera House. I was there somewhat early (before 9) and the crowds were thin.

I was tired. I had woken tired. Plus the heat was back, and after only a brief amount of walking I felt myself running out of steam. I headed over to the rocks and walked under the bridge toward Darling Harbour.

Turns out this was a fools errand, and rather than a waterfront shortcut I quickly found myself in a concrete maze with no breeze. The heat was overwhelming.

I eventually found my way to Darling Harbour, but when I arrived I was just too tired and skipped the maritime museum. I’d been walking for hours and headed back to Randwick for packing and a rest.

I ate so much today! This is unusual since I try my very best to eat little before the trip but I was just so hungry. The apple slice you see above rekindled my engines, and in the mid afternoon I visited a nearby mall (Eastgardens) to check it out and get some AC.

I never dispelled my exhaustion entirely though, and when Adam got back later in the day he found me asleep on his couch.

We played some magic (the squirrel deck is fun!) and watched Robocop (a nothing film). And so ended my last full day on this trip.

Beach Cricket

January 14, 2015

I’m extremely tired as I write this, falling asleep mid sentence. Today was a long, hot summer day.

I walked to Coogee beach (above) from Adams place. I knew the coast road to Bondi started there and wanted to (finally!) walk the whole track. I didn’t anticipate the incredibile heat though, and was sweating like a pony not ten steps from his door!

That’s Gordon’s Bay, north of Coogee. Note the ancient boat ramps! There was a sign that it was an underwater nature preserve, with all sorts of fish and invertebrates. A lovely place.

The path continued along the coast past Clovelly and Waverly Cemetary, which is surely one of the highest appraised cemeteries anywhere with its hundreds of metres of pristine seaside views.

It took more than an hour to reach Bronte Beach, at which point I knew there was not much to go before Bondi. But that last twenty minutes or so was agony since I was tired, hot and hungry. When I got to Bondi I ninja’d onto a waiting bus without even taking a photo and was quickly on my way to Bondi mall.

Lunch was the usual Ambrosia, and I spent a good long time at the mall wandering around like an amnesiac. Truth is the exertion of these past weeks is definitely catching up with me…

After an afternoon packing my bags and resting, Adam returned and we shortly set out again for the cricket down at the SCG. A cat on a fence was happy to pose for a snap as we walked past.

The cricket was great! We had excellent seats, the (extremely overpriced) food was delicious, and the teams (Sydney vs Adelaide) put on an exiting game that wasn’t decided until the last over.

We didn’t get back home until about midnight. As I said at the start: a long day. I only have one more full day here, who knows what I’ll get up to?

Back To Sydney

January 13, 2015

Today I left mum and dads and headed down to Sydney. The rains were drying up in Newcastle but the forecast in Sydney remained gloomy.

I headed down to Darling Harbour since I wanted to visit ‘Wildlife: Sydney Zoo’, the new name for what used to be called Australia’s Wildlife World. I’d been here many years ago and wanted to see how it had held up.

That’s a whistling duck, one of the animals on display. The ‘zoo’ is a linear walk through several displays mostly concentrating on the big hitters like koalas and kangaroos.

It took me about 90 minutes to see everything, including the (brief) ‘outback show’ and ‘kangaroo show’, which isn’t much for $40. Also most of the animals enclosures are behind glass, so you don’t feel as close to them as you do in a place like Blackbutt (which is free).

That said, they have some nice reptile, amphibian and insect exhibits. But I think the reduction in size (due to the building of Madame Tussaud’s) had been detrimental to this park, and if you’re interested in seeing Oz animals just take the time and visit Taronga.

That’s a giant octopus attacking a sub berthed at the maritime museum. I was a bit worn out today, but I may visit later this week.

After Wildlife I headed into the CBD for some shopping. At Kinokuniya they have an astonishing display of paper flowers that I hope Bernard got to see before he left.

Yes they’re all made of paper.

The rest of the day was spent with Adam watching TV, laughing and (much later) collaborating on a series of unique postcards…