Saturday. January 5 - Sydney

      With our week-long transport passes still valid, we decided to explore Sydney on Friday.  We divided up to start the day, with Diana and I visiting the Government House and the kids checking out the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
    The Government House sits in the Royal Botanical Gardens, and was built in 1843 to replace a small wooden house that the first governors used. It's a grand old heap of stone and wood, very much a piece of England.  (Interesting fact, William Bligh, captain in the Mutiny on the Bounty, became the fourth Governor of NSW.)

The Government House of NSW.  I half expected to see
Lord and Lady Grantham walk out

Ah, could it be ... Lady Mary Crawley?

      After touring the house we took a bus to the Chinese Garden of Friendship near Darling Harbor to meet up with the kids.  They were excited to inform us that if we hurried, we'd be able to see the arrival of the Giant Rubber Duck into the harbor.  Who wouldn't want to see that?
       The harbor thronged with people quivering in excitement.  Serenaded by a live band and chorus and with acrobats tumbling across a floating stage, the hyperactive MC whipped up the crowd.  Then, with stately poise, the Giant Rubber Duck slowly swam through the open traffic bridge into the confined inner harbor.  Oh, the moment was glorious!  As the choir sang a solemn Wagnerian ode to the Duck, he approached with regal dignity, all 50 feet of him towering above his well-wishers.

The Giant Rubber Duck

We have become Rubber Duck groupies

Even the heavens smiled

     Well, with all that excitement out of the way, we made our way through the crowd to go check out Paddy's Market, a large brick emporium filled with hundreds of small retailers and fruit and vegetable sellers.

An impromptu way to beat the heat

Can't you see the thrill of shopping on their faces?

Inexpensive fresh fruit, now that is something to grin about

     We ate lunch at the food court, which had an impressive selection of mostly Asian takeaway food.  After sating ourselves, we took a bus up to the Circular Quay on the main harbor and took a ferry out to Cockatoo Island.  Diana and I had visited the island back in September when we were first in Sydney to see the contemporary art exhibit.  That had ended, but the island has a huge remnant industrial infrastructure from the days when is was a major shipbuilding facility.  Now, the entire island is open to the public, and it's fun to poke around in the old buildings.

During WWII warships were built and repaired here

Dozens of cavernous old buildings still remain and are
open to the public to freely explore

Some of the old machinery is still here

Oh oh, maybe we've gone a little bit too far snooping around

Aha, an escape tunnel

Kelly celebrates freedom by tottering dangerously close to the water

     After riding the ferry back to the city, we took the train to where we'd parked the LC, then made the drive back to the campground, tired and hungry from our long day.  We threw some beef burgers and mushrooms and onions on the barbie and ate our last Australian camp dinner.  We've come to really appreciate cooking on the Australian barbie, and hope New Zealand has them too.