|
Nov 6
Today was
just another driving day. Sydney is our goal as we have a
meeting with our sponsor at Webasto who has agreed to install a
new air cooler on the expedition vehicle.
The
Webasto Bycool Camper is a high performance evaporative
cooler system that will work whether the engine is on or off.
It is a low maintenance, low water consuming product and is
perfect for our needs as it will run on our 12v electrical
system.
After
finding the area where Webasto is located, on the south side of
Sydney, we found a park in a residential area where we set up
camp for the night and set up the BBQ for dinner.
Nov 7
Today was
taken up completely with the professional installation of the
cooler at the Webasto headquarters. Luckily the Fuso could
drive into their building as it ended up raining most of the
day. We kept ourselves busy working online as we were able
to connect our computer to the Webasto network. At the end
of the day, we learned how to operate our new cooler and took
the opportunity for a photo-op with our sponsor, Christian.
We have
decided not to try to drive into the center of Sydney as it
seems that parking in the city is a major issue, and if we are
lucky enough to actually find a space then the parking fees will
be exorbitant. So we found a parking space in a lot next
to the train station in Sutherland where we'll spend the next
couple of nights and we'll ride the train into the city.
The parking lot was very centrally located as we could walk to
the grocery stores, the laundromat and cafes. What a find,
even if we get to listen to the rumble of trains during the
night.
Nov 8
We got up
fairly early so that we could use the laundromat before
exploring the city. Within a couple of hours we had all of
our errands completed and boarded a train for the 40 minute ride
into Sydney.
What a busy
day, we must have walked for miles. Arriving in Sydney, we
first took a tram to the Pyrmont Bay Wharf so that we could
catch a ferry for a "poorman's" cruise of the great Sydney
Harbour. The ferry made a couple of stops at points in the
harbour, then took us right under the Sydney Harbour Bridge and
alongside the Opera House. While we were on the cruise,
the sun came out and the views of the harbour, the bridge and
the opera house were absolutely stunning. This was a great
way to introduce us to the city.
After
exiting the ferry, we explored the quays at the harbour,
wandered through the alleys and streets of the old city in the
area of the Rocks, then stopped for lunch at a old hotel/pub.
After lunch we climbed up the hill and walked out across the
Harbour Bridge, enjoying the views and then looking up to where
more intrepid travelers were actually climbing along the spans
of the bridge up to the very top! After a long day
exploring the city we joined the masses of commuters for the
train ride home.
Nov 9 - 13
| The next few
days were spent exploring along the coast south of Sydney.
We stopped in the quaint town of Kiama to see if the seas were
high enough to spout up through a blowhole located at the edge
of town. Well no, it wasn't, we could just make out a bit
of spray being forced through it. The hole was really
large though and it must be an incredible sight during storms.
We did stumble across a pool built onto the rocks that is filled
by the surf crashing over the rocks. Many towns along the
coast have these ocean pools because the water is otherwise too
rough to swim in. |
 |
We continued
on to Seven Mile Beach National Park where we had wanted to
camp, but when we arrived we found the camping area closed and a
burned out car sitting in the parking area. Obviously the
area was no longer safe to camp in, so we had to drive further
on. We did find an excellent camping area in Shoalhaven to
spend a couple of days.
The camping
area at Shoalhaven was located at a point of land along the
ocean and at the silted up old mouth of the Shoalhaven River.
The old river mouth is now an estuary that is home to thousands
of wintering birds. Too bad for us that they hadn't
arrived yet. During our stay we gave the Fuso a thorough
cleaning, his first in months.
|
 |
We then
moved back up the coast stopping to explore the largest Buddhist
Temple in the Southern Hemisphere. The Nan Tien Buddhist
Temple was built here due to favorable feng shui. We
explored the temple, pagoda and gardens with the many cute
Buddha statues. We continued onto the municipal camping area at Windang,
just outside of Woolongong. Here we did some final
cleaning of the Fuso and prepared for our trip back to Arizona
for the holidays. |
|
