Day 2 - Adelaide Central Market, St Kilda, Semaphore and Largs Bay

Saturday 16^th March

Awoke at 6.30 did a bit of journaling and chatted with Step-mum. Everything from criminals to cats and Hubby's late father and the new house. Hubby didn’t sleep very well, and ironically, dropped back off to sleep when I got up and then didn’t get up until after 8.  More chatting then with a reminder about the time we had a tour around the garden in daylight.  It is Hubby's first time here. Everything has suffered in the heat of summer. Step-mum says she’s not planting anything any more because the conditions are so harsh. It’s sad to see because she has always loved her gardening and got a lot of pleasure from it before moving back to be near her siblings and their families after over thirty years living in Sydney.  Everything was looking so much happier when we were here in spring 2009.  Very few of the houses around here have lawns. Just bare parched earth or brown crisp carpets of grass that look like they’re in a very bad way.

Casper the cat is still going strong. Getting pretty old now though.He is HUGE. Everyone says that. Step-mum reminisces about Hubby's dad and how although he rarely swore he did when she brought home a kitten. "Not another f-ing cat!" He'd been very upset when a previous adopted stray had met a sticky end. Run over by a car and found in the gutter. None the less, he promptly went out to buy it some food and would also bring him home tasty treats all the time. Step-mum laughs as she tells about how Joe would bring home a whole chicken. "Casper can have the breast and we'll eat the rest". Casper's getting pretty old now. I think it will be a fresh blow to Step-mum when Casper passes on. The loss of a link to the love of her life.

We slowly drag ourselves off to the car and set off for Adelaide Central Markets. We’re both pretty tired though.  I was overtired before leaving home and not really preparing for the trip all that well really. Had a persistent feeling I was forgetting things. Seems Adelaide brings out the incompetent nincompoop in me.  It is soon apparent that one of the things I was forgetting was my hat of all things. GRRRR. .. and my SA road atlas… GRRRR.  Step-mum makes up the shortfall and also kits us out with a silver chiller bag for transporting our purchases.  I need to go back inside to get the charge cable for my phone as I’m finding the internet access on my phone exceedingly useful but it will suck the juice out of it if I keep it up. Eventually we  are done with the dithering and are away.

It’s about half an hour into the central markets and we find our way very easily with the aid of the Tom Tom. I love the stone buildings which to me characterize South Australia. I can’t wait for Hubby to see the Barossa Valley and Kapunda. I wonder what it will be like after all the heat. Probably very different from when I last saw it in early Spring.

On arrival at the markets the car park is quite full, but we have no difficulty finding a spot. We make a b-line to the piroshki shop.

The piroshki shop has a lot of different fillings available.  I recommend we just get the potato and leek one but Hubby insists he wants to try the beef one. I repeat my warning to no avail. Oh well. I on the other hand have already learned by experience so we all know what I ordered.  We also got some tiny round morsels labelled cheese patties or something like that. They were 2 for $1. We find a spare table among the many people gathered at the markets for brekky and commence our feasting, carefully recording a feast for the eyes that we can enjoy for years to come.

the cheese patty

mmmm piroshki

The little cheese patties seemed to be made from ricotta and sultanas and were only very slightly sweet. I’m glad to have tried them.  Hubby, predictably, agrees the potato and leek piroshki is much nicer than the beef.  Yes. I know. He suggests that we buy more. I resist. I have been here before. I know that these are just the beginning of endless food temptation. I am determined to pace myself.

We decide, or mainly Hubby decides, that we will proceed around the entire market in a systematic fashion, so we begin wandering the lanes admiring this and that. I am tempted by some peacharines that are only $3 a kilo. They are not yet ready to eat though and I’m not sure what the rules will be regarding taking fruit onto Kangaroo Island so I get some grapes and a couple of nectarines instead that we can eat quickly.  We move on.  

We resist the Mettwurst shop. We can buy that online if we choose. I patiently wander the avenues until we get to Say Cheese. 

Hubby doesn’t want cheese L  But he’s not putting me off getting dips and bread. Mmmm yummy skordalia… we complement that with a tub of baba ganoush and of course we get a small loaf of Turkish bread.  The baguettes in a box near the fridge look awesome but we resist. I’m wandering past a beautifully set out fruit vendor and spy something I’ve never tried. 

Jujubes. I photograph and purchase.  This display is beautiful so I can’t resist a broader shot and the  colours of the dragon fruit are so rich and vibrant.

 I spied some jars of Quandong syrup for sale. Mmm that sounds tasty. Can’t resist delicious quandong stuff. Jam too. Mmm. And lookie here. They have real egg shells filled with chocolate truffle and painted beautifully for easter. Let’s get some for the kids. Haha look at that. They have heart shaped lamingtons. Lovingtons.  That’s COOL.  So cool Hubby insists we get one.

I can’t resist a sample at a store spruiking delicious light rye bread with a beautiful pattern on it.. and peach slice. Mmm.  Yes Please. Hubby, would you like a leek and gruyere tart? No? I would .. mmmmm.  Loitering here gives us an opportunity to sample the debrecziner from Barossa fine foods which a lady is walking around handing out from a tray…mmmm yeah… fruit, dips, bread and debrecziner.. that will make an awesome picnic.  Some special maple and cinnamon bacon for brekky won't go astray either. We take a ticket and make our purchases. 

Just the yoghurt shop to go now. We have some fun chatting with the various young ladies serving. We buy three small tubs. One tub half apple crumble and half caramel crumble; another berry and muesli and one cappuccino  We resist the honeycomb one.We’re getting pretty loaded up by now and we’re regretting not getting  a small loaf of the rye bread. We head back to get ourselves better organized in the chiller bag and head back down to get the bread... and some cultured butter to go with it. Oh and Hubby has decided he should have got the honeycomb yoghurt so we go back for more, raising much merriment and chat from the friendly girls there.

Ok now we’re out of here. We decide to head home to put stuff in the fridge and perhaps eat lunch. I admire the beautiful avenues of native vegetation which are a delightful feature of Paralowie.

Step-mum's not well, and looks it, so there's no point having lunch here and making her feel obliged to play hostess. We've been thinking of maybe heading down to explore Glenelg. She kits us out with all manner of things for a beach picnic. Towels, rug to sit on, ice packs, plates and cutlery. The works. Off we go. Step-mum has recommended we head to Semaphore, but first I decide I’d like to see this other place on the map that is close by also. St Kilda is only 15 mins away. 

We find ourselves outside the St Kilda Mangrove Trail. Before we eat, we decide we’ll go in for a look. We loiter about with comfort stops and while I'm waiting for Hubby I admire a small raptor hovering over the reserve. We wander in, towards the visitor centre, encouraged by a passing ranger. 

The visitor centre is not operating at the moment but we are welcome to take a walk.  I hesitate because it’s the worst time of day to be in the sun. I feel that my cap is inadequate and bird watching would surely be better in the early morning. However Hubby assures me it won’t be open in the early morning. The padlock hanging on the gate backs him up. We head in.  

We’ve not gone far before we come across a dangerous looking snake sunning himself on the path. He’s felt the vibrations of our approach and is moving rapidly away when I see him and stop excitedly exclaiming to Hubby to check it out. No more vibration, the snake stops too. Long enough for me to get photos, then I move forward and snakey scurries off into the vegetation. We wonder what species it was. It was a brown snake but I mean that as a descriptive term not as identification. We guess it could have been anything and I would say definitely dangerously venomous. Hubby laughs at us because we’ve just changed out of covered shoes into thongs before we came down the path. We didn’t expect to meet any snakes on a mangrove boardwalk excursion.  I’ve never seen a dangerous looking snake in the wild before so this has been an exciting encounter.  I’m really glad we decided to come in.

We wander along in the sun reading the interesting interpretive signage here and there. Initially there are large expanses of quiet salt water. It’s very peaceful and there are occasional bird hides providing shelter.Not a sound of any birds now in the middle of the day. I’m kicking myself we didn’t bring our lunch in here.  We decide that if there is a good seat at this lookout we will go back and get our food.

Hubby stops me for a photo and complains that I’m shaded by my hat. With considerable relief at the observation I reply… yeah… that’s the idea.  I’m quite distressed about not having my usual hat with me. I’ve been regularly checking that my hair covers my ears as I tend to brush my hair back behind my ears. I'm sure I must look even less photogenic than usual at the moment.

There’s a nice hint of aroma in the air. It changes periodically. A sign tips us off that it is the mangroves flowering. I had seen the flowers but not really registered them for attention. We look around for a nearby flower and sniff.  Hmmm. It’s a sort of beery smell.  Sort of a mix of beery, yeasy, fruity. Interesting.  I’m enjoying this walk much more than I expected to.

The boardwalk passes under the canopy of the mangroves and is pleasant and shady, another surprise. I stop Hubby to retaliate and get a photo of him. He stands looking at me hands by his sides.  I meant a more informal spontaneous sort of pose. He makes a move, laughing.. Like this?

I laugh and snap, suspecting the result will probably look something like Dr Frankenstein’s monster. Perhaps a more zombie like facial expression would be required for full effect. Hubby does a fine line in iconic monster photos. I also have a great picture of him at Standley Chasm looking for all the world like a Yeti on holiday.

As we near the board walk we start to notice strands of sea grass festooned on the mangrove branches quite high up. The board walk has great swathes of grass over it. We run into the ranger again and he confirms that this area of the walk is under water at high tide. He’s been thinking perhaps he should clear the grass off the board walk because it can be slippery, but we probably noticed that.  Yeah. LOL A large section of the walk is closed due to damage by a king tide.  We have been careful and there’s no way he could have cleared the whole thing before we got here anyhow. It’s not bad and it will just be same after the next tide anyway.  We are just approaching the lookout and he says when we go up we will see that it looks like we might get rained on.  We engage in a mutual rain appreciation session. It’s very hard to get sick of rain after so long in drought. He has a property in Tassie that gets 1.8 m rain a year and still he never tires of it.

As we are approaching the lookout, signage describes the feeding of the black swans in the sea grass meadows of Barker Inlet.  We climb up about 20 stairs and into some powerful wind for an expansive view.

There are thousands of black swans feeding away in the distance. We employ the binoculars and the full extent of the zoom on the camera for a better look. I’ve never seen so many black swans in one place… except in Rotorua in New Zealand where they are not particularly welcome given that they are not native species there. Hubby surprises me and agrees to have a go on the binoculars.  He checks out the swans and the industrial installations across the water.  He’s impressed by the detail he can see and comments that if we can see so much with our measly equipment it's no wonder the paparazzi get long distance shots.  The mutual tsk tsk about the outrageous intrusions of privacy committed by the paparazzi inevitably follows but is short lived.

Time to head back. We climb down the stairs and take our time. It’s a really pleasant walk and the nice little bird hides provide some lovely scenes as you round gentle corners. The wood of the walk and the hides is nicely weathered to a pretty silvery grey. You wouldn’t find better in an open garden.

As we walk I notice a particularly nice mangrove flower and stop to sniff. Stop says Hubby. I’ll photograph you sniffing them.  We laugh. I’d asked earlier did he photograph me sniffing the flowers when he had the camera … "Well! That was a missed opportunity wasn’t it?" I teased.  Now he returns the joke… Not any more!  I imitate a world leader… head human meets official representative of the Mangrove Flower Federation and hold my pose for the paparazzi. Images of me wearing something other than my white hat will be one for the books!

I look around for snakey as we pass the area where he was seen and I silently regret his absence. We admire the pretty hues of the samphire as we pass the areas where they make such a lovely contrast to the rich green of the mangroves. I wonder if I photographed them earlier. Not to worry. Snap. Snap.

Back at the car it’s lunch time and I decide it’s time to have my little leek and gruyere tart… mmmm. So good.  

Before we head down to Semaphore we will do a little exploring around the rest of tiny St Kilda. Across the huge car park there is a shop – Tackle and Tucker.

I’m thirsty so I request a stop to buy some cold water. Hubby grabs a coke and we skip on the worms… and the live cockles they are selling.

I request a detour on the directions Tom Tom is suggesting, to head across for a photo of the adventure playground. It’s quite busy here. There’s a lot of cars.  Hubby parks and we get out. I wander across to the large castle structure. We’re blown away by the quality of this free playground. It’s huge and the equipment is truly superior.  We wander about recording the details to show the kids when we get home.

I notice some honeyeaters flitting here and there. I employ the zoom in maximum extent and manage a shot. It’s so windy it’s hard to keep the camera steady. However the result looks pretty good on the camera screen. I LOVE this camera. I’m so glad we upgraded.  

It takes us a while to get a good handle on everything there is in the playground. Slides, a huge long flying fox, see saws, round-about, special options for the smaller kids too. This has to be the best kids playground we’ve ever seen.  Very well worth going out of your way for.  I wish we had some kids with us!!  WELL DONE St Kilda Lions Club!! As we turn to leave I notice that this is where the local tram museum runs to on Sundays and public holidays. That would make a really fun day out. Historic tram to the adventure playground.  There’s also a swathe of green grass and covered picnic tables.  Sometimes you find some really great stuff when you venture off the beaten path. This is definitely one of those occasions.

I decide it’s time to break out my next morsel from the markets. I did the right thing succumbing to temptation at that shop.  Now… to Semaphore. Tom Tom is duly instructed.  Step-mum was right. Semaphore is lovely.  Lovely natural dune reserve, avenues of Norfolk Island pines, long silvery jetties stretching out over the gulf.  Despite the high wind the area looks inviting. Further to the north the sky is full of para sails and it looks awesome. 

We head up again and pull up near the Largs Bay Jetty. Largs Bay is even nicer than Semaphore.  What a beautiful spot. This is my favourite of all I've seen of Adelaide’s seaside.  There’s a bike track, playground, food outlets. The Largs Bay Hotel is very large and striking. It’s a navigational marker the street directory tells me.

We head out on the jetty intent on capturing something of the para surfer action.

The pier crosses over the beautiful white sands and when we emerge from the protection of the dune area  the wind is fierce. Quite incredible. There’s an amazing performer running back and forth alongside the jetty. He goes screaming past and whoah UP UP he goes raised skyward by his para sail. What a master. This is AWESOME to watch.  I snap a still photo, trying to capture as many of the sails as possible and this fellow in particular.

"Take a video. Take a video." Hubby says.  I press the button and the camera dies just as he leaps airborne once more.  Oh bugger.  Never mind I have a spare battery in my pocket. Learned my lesson after going sailing last week.  With difficulty I install the new battery into the camera. The wind is so strong I’m worried about it blowing the battery out of my hands.  Oh shit. This battery is dead too. My other batteries are back in the car. Oh shit.  Oh shit.  Oh well. We walk all the way back. Not really hurrying. I enjoy the BBQ smell that is on the air as we reach the protection of the dunes once more.  I’m trying to remember where on earth I’ve put my bag… then I realize… I’m wearing it. Oh shit.  I can’t believe that. I had another spare battery on me all the time. Gees. I confess. Hubby smiles. That brain scan is getting closer. LOL. I photograph the damn thing for posterity. Stupid.

We walk back out, stopping mesmerised by a super nifty starry ball racing around casting shadows on the sand.

Back out in the howling gale our favourite guy is way further north now. We watch him leaping and somersaulting off in the distance hoping he’ll come back this way again to no avail. The guys near us are wizzing back and forth, but gosh, when you’ve drunk Brown Brothers Zibbibo the house wine doesn’t seem so impressive.  Time we made a move. We’ve really enjoyed our stop here at Largs Bay. Way to make the most of the weather today. In fact all things considered, it’s hard to say there was anything wrong with the weather. It was fine and very very windy.. just what you need for para surfing apparently.

The avenue looks inviting to the north but we decide to come back that way to go home and head down southward to check out Glenelg as originally planned. We’re looking for nice views while we eat, such as we had a fews years back when we ventured down to Port Noarlunga.

I’m too lazy to order another stop to get a decent image of the stone tower at Semaphore… is it perhaps a semaphore tower? I snap some dreadful quick tries as we wiz past…yeah... really dreadful actually.

We wander along in no particular hurry, not finding anywhere that compares to Semaphore and Largs Bay. There’s more para surfers and also sail boarders down around Fort Glanville and we note the visitors centre at Fort Glanville. That might be worth a stop some time in the future..  We head on, past protected Boat Lake with what looks to be lanes for rowing races or something.

Past avenues of palm trees of various ages. I think of the many parks a hundred years or so ago where these palms were planted. Its so unusual to see young ones and I think of what those parks must have looked like for the people who chose to do the plantings all that time ago.

Eventually we get to some extreme ocean front at North Glenelg(?) where we can park with a view. Here at last we indulge in delicious Skordalia and Turkish bread along with slices of debrecziner. Mmmm. The baba ganoush isn’t as good as my brother makes, but its nice. Not nearly as nice as the skordalia. Mmm.. Skordalia.

We are both getting pretty tired now and our enthusiasm for heading further is waning, but we’re so close we decide to make the effort.  We seek Tom Tom’s assistance before again just following our noses around the seaside areas. Tall apartment blocks. Modern development.  Hmm. This is the Gold Coast of Adelaide we comment.  Don’t like this much. Too developed.  It’s no hardship to turn back towards the east and program Tommie for Largs Bay. Take us the quick way Tommie.  Our quick route is very pleasant and lined with Norfolk Island Pines. The penny drops. THIS is a beachside scene. I’m a NSW girl and these trees are extremely popular there for shading the sea side promenades. They like sand, they like salt winds.  Is it this element of NSW style that makes me appreciate this area so much? Perhaps a little bit. There’s plenty in the scenes that is not at all like NSW though. The lack of surf, the colour of the sand, the general landscape and arid zone vegetation. We regain the coast at Lady Gowrie Drive and turn to the north, forgetting to turn into check out the historic town centre. Oh well, we’ll be back here again some time when we come to visit Step-mum again.

Heading north the pretty pine avenue continues until we come to an area of more modern development. Ho hum. Then it's around past the passenger terminal big blocky freighters are moored. It’s a wonder they don’t just get blown over.  On home where I have an early dinner of  more market morsels.  While we've been out today, Step-mum has taped us Mercurio’s Menu because today’s episode is focused on the Adelaide Hills where we are heading tomorrow. We enjoy exploring the foodie delights of the area vicariously then Hubby helps Step-mum with her Galaxy tablet and we send test email s back and forth.  I can’t get into the journal in the noise of the living room so adjourn to the quiet of the bedroom after a (hopefully) reviving shower. I get a bit done but in the end am too tired and it’s too late, so I call it a day with the intention of finishing it off in the morning.  Nighty night.

Day 1 - The Plan and Off to Adelaide

Hubby and I are taking a short break to Adelaide to visit his stepmother. We're going to kill several birds with one stone and spend a couple of days in the Adelaide Hills and 4 nights on Kangaroo Island while we're in the area. Because time is short we have opted to fly over, frequent flyer points getting us a pretty good deal with Qantas.
Movie options on the plane included Argo and a number of other recent releases.  It’s a fine line for what is viewable within the time available. I toy with watching a shorter period drama, but in the end just strike out boldly and have a look at Argo. Hubby takes a conservative approach and makes a start on Woody Allen before changing his mind.  I think he’d forgotten to allow for the taxiing and waiting to get off etc in his calculation. I got to the end, but Hubby didn’t.

Off the plane I feel some alarm when the Europcar counter is closed in the baggage claim area, but it is just a matter of heading over to their office in the car park where we collect our Camry and have a laugh with the lady serving us. Michael was being a grumpy old man about manual cars. Quite bizarre because he made this booking and its an Auto...  Tom Tom couldn’t find a signal until we got out under the open sky and we headed off.  I chastise myself for not thinking of taking photos at the aiport. I couldn't on the plane because I'd stowed the camera in the overhead locker and figured it wasn't worth disrupting the woman in the aisle seat.  Completely forgot in the terminal too and now the darn thing is is the boot. Pulling over to retrieve the camera I take some insurances shots before we move away again.  Our route to Paralowie wanders around via detours through industrial areas, along the construction zone for a “Southern Superway”.  I fuss about with the various setting options and I’m too late figuring out a mode that seems to work and miss a clear photo of this magical mystery tour of industrial Adelaide.

It’s only about a half hour drive or so to Step-mum's place. As we did last time we were here we searched up and down the street trying to find the address.  Finally arrived. Hubby gets a quick tour and we talk until quite late viewing photos of the grandchildren and Daughter1's wedding. It's great to be off again on a new adventure.

Sailing Sydney and photo obsession

Today is a special day. Hubby and I are going sailing with Son 2 and Son 1 and his Girlfriend. The outing originated as a birthday present for Son 2 who was keen to try sailing as it is something he’s never done before. We got a great deal on Living Social and because we had the required number of purchases from our referral, Hubby and I got ours for free! Can’t complain about the value!

Our sailing is not until the afternoon. I am currently working on converting my blog articles into a hard cover book format as a personal backup. We're thrilled with our first volume so it's spurred me on with the project but I need some additional photos. Accordingly we have decided to head into town early and take a jaunt across to Manly to kill the time in the morning.  By the time we complete our essential errands it is almost 20 past eight before we are off and messaging Son 2 to be ready to go when we arrive at Coogee.  By this time we’ve missed the ferry I was hoping to get but never mind we’ll have just enough time to continue on with the plan.

We decide we'll base ourselves at the Opera House Car park. I'm playing with a new camera and I've got a moment or two to kill while Hubby returns to the car for the tripod. I snap a close up of Luna Park, that should test the zoom.

And an extra photo of the Opera House and Bridge never go astray! LOL I don't think I've ever captured this angle down along the Opera Bar before. It is challenging conditions today so we'll see how we do. If I want to put them in the book they'll need space around the edges. It's amazing how the different format impacts your choices of what to photograph and how to compose the shots.

We are JUST in time to race onto the ferry, the ticket queue is long and almost succeeded in causing us to miss it.  The day is heavily overcast and in the morning some shots I want are heavily backlit which is frustrating.  The ferry is quite busy and I zip around shooting this or that. All sorts of angles on the harbour views I've never bothered with before. Elements of our day to day environment that are just context and taken for granted, but change over time, and I figure they might be interesting to see in a couple of decades or so. 

Admiralty House - Sydney home of the Governor General 

Garden Island Naval base and the huge hammer crane

Farm Cove and the Opera House over on the edge of shot.. perhaps that might make a nice two page spread.

Or looking back at the city behind HMAS Sydney on the point.

I try the zoom again on Shark Beach and Neilsen Park behind. If the name puts you off you'd be reassured by the large netted swimming area! It's a long way from the ferry lane. This large capacity zoom is proving very handy.

I'm snapping away like crazy trying to get a decent shot of north head, but with the overcast sky and back-lighting I don't really get the image I want.

I keep it up on the approach to Manly.

The view across to Q Station.

 The south eastern side of Manly Cove.

 

Or the skiff club and the moorings around Manly Cove.

The ferry is really crowded and we alight with the hordes from the ferry at 10.30. We've only got 45 mins before we need to be back on the ferry, so it’s going to take some concerted effort to get round where I need to be.  I start by aiming directly for the record exchange in Whistler Street.  It’s gone. It was here in 2008 when I did my walk down memory lane article.  The Inn of the Sixth Happiness is still there though… I'm sure that’s from way back in the 1970s. Sahibs Indian Restaurant has a small group of tables facing the lane here. That’s new. We wander through to Sydney Road and decide to turn across to Belgrave Street and the park for a snap of the aviary.  We pass the hairdresser in Sydney Road. There’s been a hairdresser in that location as long as I can remember, though it may have changed hands. It’s where I had my hair done for my wedding.

The grass is long at the park and it’s all looking a bit ill kempt now. The aviary is there, but I don’t notice birds in it. Looking across the road Sahibs larger shopfront seems to have gone.

Back in Sydney Road where these days they have made an extension of the pedestrian mall, the market is in full swing. I use the zoom from a distance to discretely photograph the expensive photograph stall I had admired on our last trip here.

Time has raced past and we now have only 15 mins to get back to the ferry. The South Steyne Hotel. Snap. Manly Seafoods. Snap.

Humphries Newsagency. Snap. Malouf’s Chemist. Snap. St Matthews Church. Snap. I go looking for Wishbone Chicken. Gone.  Fruit shop. Gone.  I walk up to the school. I don’t remember the statue of Sir Roden Cutler, but it was definitely here in 2008.

Manly Village Public School… that’s changed a great deal. It’s a challenge finding an angle that fits the memories. I cross the road almost giving up.. but then.. yeah.. that angle is a bit more like it. Snap.

The Coles shopfront here is new too.  As I walk around back into the Corso I think the scales have tipped. In 2008 Manly was still the Manly of my youth. Enough has changed now that it’s gone. I feel like Manly has lost its soul to some extent. Nothing that would bother a visitor of course, some might even say Manly has improved from a visitor's point of view, but there is less of the village feel now. There’s still a couple more authentic local features. The Corso Bakehouse. Snap. War Memorial. Snap.

Having developed a new appreciation of the mundane elements of a landscapes of the past I snap a photo of the approaches to the wharf as we wait at the lights

As I walk down to the gangway I spy a beaut angle on Manly Wharf Hotel.  Nice. I like that shot.

....and pause as we walk onto the ferry to capture the scene. It may seem un-necessary today, but how I wish I had a photo of these places and experiences back 30 years ago.  Preparing the Walkabout Books has given me a different appreciation about what to bother with.

The quickly moving people will probably be blurry... No! I can't believe how much camera technology has gone up, and prices down in the last 3 years. Definitely worth upgrading.  The light is better on the way back to the quay, so I revisit some of the shots of this morning. I still don’t get quite the images I’m after though. I experiment with the zoom by taking a photo of the Bather's Pavillion at Balmoral.  I’ve done that before on 3 times optical zoom, so it will make a good test. It's almost not visible with the naked eye. Love this camera!

Back at the quay we have a little gap before our ferry around to King St Warf. Hubby is horrified to find that we don’t have our jackets in the manbag he’s been toting around all morning, and although the weather has been clearing and I suspect we won’t need them, he insists on heading back to the car to get them. Somehow he seems to think that this will justify his carrying the bag to Manly.  Son 2 and I go to get what additional tickets we need for the ferry, then head over to photograph and admire and photograph the Anish Kapoor sculpture outside the MCA. That's for this year's photo journal. I missed it when we came to the exhibition.
I’m starting to stress about where Hubby is, and frustrated when attempts to ring each other aren’t successful, but we meet up at the wharf and set off on the ferry, enjoying the sights and photo opportunities. That's a nice angle on the MCA as we motor out from the wharf. Snap.

I quickly compose a photo as we approach Luna Park. The ferry is moving quite quickly.  Hmm. Not bad. Luna Park is one of my favourite elements of the harbour landscape. I guess I'm not alone in that. It's heritage listed. They've even changed the law so that people living in the more recently built apartment blocks round about are not allowed to complain about the noise. Took a while but the years of whingeing by some of them really started to get up everyone's cruet. Don't ask me for an explanation of that saying by the way.. I've got no idea where it came from...I am sure you get the drift. The "new" law applies broadly for things, like pubs in the suburbs etc as well.

A phone call from my Aunty on the boat. Hubby takes over the camera duties and later asks if we’ve ever been to the restaurant at Macmahon’s point.  Not so far. Sails. Fantastic Sydney view from here. We must try it.  I wonder if Hubby has taken this shot to capture the phone number.. I live in hope.

It’s a pleasant ferry ride but it’s running a little later than the timetable indicated. We pull up at Balmain and I admire the lovely honey coloured sandstone in the landscaping and old buildings by the foreshore. I'm getting increasingly concerned about the time and it's a relief to see King St Wharf approaching. 

We walk briskly to wharf 9. I can’t resist a photo of the Maritime Museum and the various vessels moored in front.  Tsk. There’s a boat passing, should I wait? Hang on… that’s the boat we’re going on. Excellent. The focus of my efforts shifts. Snap. Such a tall mast. Wow.

Son 1 and Girlfriend are waiting at the wharf and we manage to be first on board after signing the usual waiver. Yeah, OK it's not your fault if we die. There’s about 24 or so passengers.  It feels a bit crowded actually. All bags are stowed below. So we leave our gear were indicated and take a seat down the back a bit, where some of us are obliged to vacate when we get underway.  I’ve already applied my own sunscreen, but the boat supplies sunscreen for anyone who needs it and people mill about passing the bottle around and smearing creamy white fluid along arms and across noses. Then we’re shuffled up together for the safety briefing. This boat is built for speed not safety and various opportunities for losing fingers or suffering other significant damage are pointed out to us. Our instructor holds a life vest. Who has flown recently? I put my hand up. Not only have I flown, I've crossed several bars down the coast. I put my hand up and am snaffled as volunteer to demonstrate how to put on the life vest. Very good. A little bit of briefing on the need to always be on the high side of the vessel and we’re off. Almost. Great timing. The cruise ship that has been moored at the International terminal has chosen this moment for departure, so we do a few manoeuvres stalling our passage under the bridge, while the crew and passengers discuss the means by which the big ships are now operated. Tugs will soon be a thing of the past.  The cruise liner now setting off down the harbour we make our own way eastward. The engine has been assisting us until the mainsail is raised. Volunteers are called to man the grinders for this purpose. 

I’m proud to see Hubby take a turn so early in the piece when so many were hanging back and deploy video and stills to capture the moment. It takes a while and it's heavy work, the assembled crowd calls encouragement. Keep going.. keep going... but I am definitely more camera happy than anyone else on board. 

As the wind fills the sails and the jib is raised the boat leans with the wind and the water washes over the lower decks. Periodically the direction is changed and the people on the grinders are changed, the rest of the passengers racing to the other side of the boat when instructed, increasingly able to anticipate when this will be. The whole thing is a blast. There are a lot of sailing boats out today due to state championships and the harbour is decorated with abundant sail. 

Our crew is James (who his colleagues call Jimmy) who leads the charge with the passengers most of the time , Bruce (bearded and America’s cup sailor), Mouse (sailing veteran and of course known to most people in the sailing arena, longest serving crew member of this boat) and ??

We sail down and around Shark Island and past the western wedding cake. Mouse tells us about these characterful harbour lights and their age. One is fairly new having been rebuilt after suddenly disappearing overnight.  The victim of some passing shipping no doubt, but noone owned up. 

The breeze stiffens and the swell rises slightly as we cross the heads. The crew count down to the people on the grinders as we approach a patch of darker water that indicates an area where the breeze is stronger and the grinding will be harder. We're heading north across the heads to Manly and some passengers are taking a hand at the tiller. The breeze today was forecast as 18 knots or so at midday.  This is towards the upper limit the boat can handle (20 knots) so ideal conditions for us.  

This vessel, Spirit21 is an America’s Cup veteran featuring lots of carbon fibre, titanium and such. It's not an ocean going vessel, can't take that sort of action.

 We cruise back from Manly with the wind.. a calm steady upright mode of travel, and not as much fun as the action of the outward trip, Mouse entertains us with stories of sailing in times past when we pass a replica (18ft skiff).  Back in the old days these sailing boats were manned by rugby players in the off season. You need the crew when heading against the wind, but on the return leg of the racing they’re not really needed so they took to jumping overboard and swimming to shore and catching a bus back to the club. So expecting that one day that was going to end in tears (Dad’s attitude to swimming to shore from boats and likelihood of shark attack springs to mind) they had to change the rules. It became that you had to finish the race with the same number of people you started with. No worries. A slight innovation, the wives of the footy players would travel out to the boat and swap with their heavier hubbies. Hmm. Ok, now you have to finish with the same people on board. This rule has permeated sailing competitions the world over but it started here in Sydney. The exception is the current America’s Cup where due to the sharp bow on the vessels, picking up crew is considered a too dangerous, so if you lose a crew member you get a time penalty.

Along the course of the day we've each had a go on the grinders. Towards the end I swap with a lady when Son 1 stands up for his second go, but from that stage the front sail is on auto and we’re not actually needed.  Everyone’s batteries have died in the course of our trip. I should have thought to keep a spare battery in my pocket. I retrieve a spare battery later in the trip and get a few extra photos. Too late for the camera to be used against me though.. a situation about which I have rather mixed feelings.

Son 1 and Son 2 are together on grinders for a bit and to my amazement Son 2 agrees to an action pose, for a photo when requested by Hubby, and embarrassed I guess he wears a beaming grin. One for the books. It's rare to capture a smile from this photo shy individual.
The breeze drops away as we pass under the bridge and the motors are engaged for our last short passage. We are back at King St Wharf bang on time at 3.30, greeted by a crowd who have assembled for the next trip. Belongings are retrieved and thanks offered all round and we're clambering off Spirit 21. It's been a great way to experience the harbour and we've been given a bit of a peek inside the world of racing yachts.

Our trip provides us with a discount and a free drink at the Cargo Bar - they mix a very nice Lemon, Lime and Bitters..so we adjourn there to a nice shaded indoor table. Hubby, Son 1 and I had very nice chicken parmigiana (should have photographed it!!! Grr) Girlfriend had a nice steak sandwich. Son 2 has brought an esky with food supplies and has periodically been munching away during the day.  He’s on a very restricted diet at the moment so he just has some steak fries. 

The footy season has just started and a game between Parramatta and Auckland is playing on the tele in the bar. It's the lower grades and Auckland is getting slaughtered.  We had been planning to stay in town and maybe see a movie or something and take some night shots with the tripod. There’s fireworks in Darling Harbour every week too, but Son 2 needs to get out and visit our new grand - daughter for the first time so we reluctantly call it a day in time for the next ferry and narrowly miss getting our parking for $15, arriving back about 15 minutes later than required. Grrr.  Sailing has been fun. I can’t wait for a shower though, and a quiet sit. Something it seems I will have to wait to get in South Australia!

During the week, we finally get a fine day. Better light and colour on the harbour and more like the day I'm trying to illustrate in 2008. I'm still not happy with my shots of North Head, it really is a challenging subject, so I take a long lunch and utilise the MyMulti 3 in my pocket by taking another jaunt to Manly.  The ferry heading over was even more packed than it was on the weekend. We might have to stop recommending Manly as a Sydney must do ;-)

Manly Cove is looking gorgeous today. It wouldn't be unpleasant to join the people swimming. It's a lovely spot. That's what makes Manly so special, so many beaches to choose from. There's a stiff breeze today, but the harbour side beaches are protected from the north easterly which is so reliable in Sydney on a summer afternoon.

It's quieter on the way back to town though. I try again to capture a reasonable shot of the lovely stripey light house on South Head.

If I don't have the shots I need for the book now it's just not possible.
We stop in town after work, see a movie, enjoyed another lovely meal at The East. Salt and pepper soft shell crab, Beef in black bean sauce and fried rice. mm. Great atmosphere dining along Opera Quays in the evening. It's getting dark now and time for us to get to work. The Opera Bar is absolutely humming. After so much showery weather it seems like half the world has emerged to enjoy this, more typical, glorious Sydney night as the blues deepen to black and the likes sparkle.  We wander around experimenting with the tripod and finally get a shot I think might do the trick for my book.  This is it. This is Sydney in the evening. Bridge, Opera House, and live music at the Opera Bar. Fantastic.

We walk slowly back towards the train. The pink lights of the bar above The East restaurant cause another delay as I stop to capture one of our favourite city dining spots. 

On the spur of the moment, I think I'll snap a shot of the platforms at the train station. Pretty mundane, but what the heck. One day I might be glad I have it. Turns out that day is today. Surprising how photogenic a train station can be at night.

We settle in on the train. I pull out my knitting and continue working backwards. Sigh. It's been another wonderful Sydney evening. I don't think anywhere on earth can surpass a perfect Sydney night.... no... not even Paris... and my goodness, isn't that saying something!

So what about Ned Kelly...

I am moved to write this entry due to a confluence of recent events:
1. Ned Kelly's body (sans skull which is still missing believed to have been souvenired at the time of his execution) was recently laid to rest in an unmarked grave  with his mother and other family members.  This prompted some opinion pieces and commentary among one of which raised the question of whether it was time to lay him to rest in the icon/hero stakes as well.

2. I have just finished reading Ruby Langford's autobiography "Don't Take Your Love to Town". Ruby was writing during the time of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody and Ruby relates in her book a couple of case studies considered by the inquiry.  Integral to Ruby's own story is the experiences of her family and friends including her son Nobby. This is in the days of police verbals and corruption exposed by the Wood Royal Commission. Ruby tells of savage retribution and bashings and just plain persecution by the Police and the justice system. Of a young boy, who tragically comes under the attention of a system which clearly had adopted a zero tolerance to a child making an error of judgement. Sure, this is the perspective of a mother but the events Ruby relates ring all too true. Indeed at this point in history, what may have seemed confronting and hard to accept when she wrote her story, has now assumed a monotonous predictability. A shameful predictability.

I was struck by two things
1. That we really have not made the progress we should have in the last 25 years. It seems like not much has changed. For all that the Royal Commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody found that Aboriginals do not die at a higher rate than other inmates, just watching the media,  the circumstances of some deaths just beggar belief.  An indigenous man transported for hundreds of miles and many hours in the poorly ventilated back of a paddy wagon without water or response to his cries for attention and assistance. Or the case of Cameron Doomadgee (Mulrunji) on Palm Island which continues to attract headlines and is the subject of one of Australia's landmark books - The Tall Man. These are not isolated cases. Indeed deaths in custody is not an issue unique to Australia.

2. How relevant Ned Kelly's story is to these more recent injustices.  Ned Kelly is famous as an outlaw. Sure, he's famous for the armour and evading a big manhunt for so long. But he's just as famous and perhaps even more famous as someone who a large proportion of the population felt was a victim of the system and a hero. That what crimes he did commit he was driven to either by poverty, in self defence or out of desperation. That he was not given a fair trial.  Some of the early crimes Ned committed were also committed by the large land holders of the day, the difference being that the "establishment" had the Police in their court. For example poddy dodging and cattle duffing etc was par for the course. Unless you were poor and/or Irish. The social context is most easily understood by reading The True Story of the Kelly Gang

Ned Kelly's iconic status is mostly about maintaining an awareness of the contribution of "the system" in social outcomes for individuals. In that respect it is absolutely clear that Ned Kelly is as relevant to Australians today as he has ever been. Far from being time to lay him to rest as an Australian icon we need an icon for the underdog as much as ever.