Introduction

Well, sadly, the time to move on has arrived.  Besides Canberra, Sydney is the city we’ve both lived in more than any other city – clocking up almost ten years as on/off residents in between stints in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Vancouver and HangZhou.

Sydney is the city we’ve always returned to, and like it as not, we’re destined to return some day.  However, for the meantime, we’re heading south west to our origins in the nation’s capital, Canberra.  As such, and this being our last full weekend residing in Sydney, we’ve saved the best for last!

After many warm-ups, today we did the final leg – a walk across the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge, and mingling amongst the tourists in The Rocks.

Today’s Final Walkabout

Map of our Walkabout

Pulling the Beamer out of the garage, we swung down via Macquarie Street and then cut across onto Hunter Street, twisting through George Street and eventually to park on the west side of the famous “Argyle Cut”.

The Argyle Cut | View from the Freeway

From here we walked underneath the freeway and then up an old set of stairs to come out not far from the Bridge Climb facility.  We noticed right away that Royal Caribbean’s “Rhapsody of the Seas” was in port – a ship in the same class as the “Brilliance of the Seas” which we were on last December.

Admiring the view as we went, we tracked out way up onto the side of the expressway and then along towards the south eastern bridge pylon.  We passed under the pylon and continued on until we were standing in the middle of the bridge, shooting photos of the massive expanse of harbour and the always stunning Sydney Opera House.

The Sydney Opera House | Approaching the Harbour Bridge

We were going to finish crossing to North Sydney when we noticed a rather nasty storm coming in from the north west.  As the sun was rapidly being buried by clouds (poor lighting for photos), we decided to turn back.  Taking advantage of a break in tourists, I managed to snap a few photos of the bridge walkway with few people.

Fort Dennison | Circular Quay

A long way down! | Kirribilli

Circular Quay and the Central Business District

Retracing our steps back to the Argyle Cut, we descended into The Rocks to mingle amongst the cruise ship tourists.  We perused the Sunday markets and picked up some decorations for the Christmas Tree (for next month).

The Return Trek

Toni decided she wanted to look at the markets some more, so we split up and I went on my way to Dawes point, underneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  Here, I located the original foundations of Dawes’ battery which occupied the headland long prior to the establishment of the famous bridge.

Evidently much of the southern side is being revamped and as a result is under construction.  I continued to walk north, tracing the undercarriage of the expressway far above me.  I rounded the lower extremity of the pylons to emerge just west of the Opera House, beside the harbour.

Sydney Ferry and Luna Park | Spanning the Harbour

Here I managed to take a series of really interesting photos, as the sky started to take on a very different combination of storm cloud and blue sky.  Watching the many harbour vessels skimming by, I took a few shots of Luna Park in North Sydney, as well as several of the bridge span and the Opera House at distant Bennelong Point.

 
The Graceful Opera House | The Rocks Markets

Toni and I met up back at the car, and started our way back to Surry Hills.  A splendid finish to our Sydney Walkabout series.