More good progress was made overnight on a flat, calm sea. At 12:30 a.m. we rendezvoused with the pilot at South Head, the outer entrance to Sydney Harbour. By 01:00 we were on approach and slowly passed Potts Point, the Opera House and under the Harbour Bridge at what was then low tide.
At 07:00 we were two of the first off the ship and after a swift taxi ride and check-in we were eating breakfast on the waterfront at Darling Harbour by 08:15.
Darling Harbour is the redevelopment of Cockle Bay, which was the commercial harbour for Sydney, with shipyards, many cargo wharves and quarries that were transformed for the 1988 bi-centenary of the country.
We launched into a ‘big walk about’ along the waterfront, passed the redeveloped wharves to the Harbour Bridge. Affectionately known as the ‘coathanger’ the Sydney Harbour Bridge is the world’s largest arch and the widest made in steel. Construction began in 1923 taking 8 years, 53,000 tons of steel (from Teesside, UK) and 6 million hand-driven rivets. It has eight lanes for road traffic, two railway lines, pedestrian and cycle paths. It opened in 1932
Passing the Circular Harbour Ferry Terminal, and with a quick stop for an ice-cold beer, we reached the Opera House.
Sydney Opera House is described as a modern masterpiece. It was designed by Jørn Utzon and was given the go ahead in 1957 but it did not officially open until 1973. The Concert Hall is the biggest room seating 2,679 people. The roof is formed from ten concrete sails covered with over 1 million ceramic tiles. It stands on Bennelong Point named after the first Aboriginal man to visit Europe. He was a translator for Governor Arthur Phillip. In 1792 he travelled with Phillip to London and was presented to King George III. After returning to Sydney in 1795 he settled with his own community on the Point.
Our return to the hotel was through the Art Deco streets, unfortunately, many had seen better days. Throughout the morning there was plenty of evidence by plaques in the footpath of land reclamation. The not so spectacular view from the hotel room illustrates this. Building work has revealed the glacial sands and large cobbles carried beneath and eroded by the ice. However, from the room it is impossible to determine the origin of the rocks, but they are again evidence of the Southern Hemisphere Ice Age that Northern Hemisphere people ignore. The walk totalled 7.8 miles and meant that we deserved a good Indian meal at Manjits restaurant, open since 1950 overlooking Darling Harbour.