Sydney bays and beaches

Staying with friends out on the North Shore gave us the opportunity to explore some of Sydney's many and beautiful various bays and beaches.



Collins Flat Beach

Little Manly Point is now a beautiful wee park with playground and recreation facilities where folk admire the views, fish and play, I suppose. The Manly Gas Works were constructed here in 1883 and operated until 1966. There are still remnants of the industrial site, and apparently it is popular with geocachers.


Little Manly Point





Gas Works remains



Him Outdoors has never been to Bondi Beach before and, as it is one of Australia's most famous locations, he thought he should. He also didn't think he would like it, and yet he couldn't help himself. With all that sun, sand, sea and surfing, what's not to like?


Bondi Beach



 

 

Breakfast at Gertrude and Alice

Bondi Market shopping doggy-style



Sydney and Darling Harbour - Vivid

Another trip to Sydney to see a couple of shows, involved walking through town to Darling Harbour. As usual, I looked at the buidings and artwork.

 

Bert Flugleman's Pyramid Tower, apparently known to locals as the Silver Shish Kebab

In Angel Place I saw these fabulous bird cages suspended across the alleyway. They are part of an art installation, fnished in 2011, which commemorates the songs of fifty birds once heard in central Sydney that were forced out by European settlement. The accompanying recording plays these songs and alters during the day to reflect the calls of daytime and night-time birds. It is a spectacular scene to stumble across.


Forgotten Songs by Michael Thomas Hill



The AWA Tower (designed by architects Morrow and Gordon)

And so we arrived at Darling Harbour where we refeshed ourselves at the Red Tape Brewing Company. The Canadian chap behind the bar was very chatty and friendly and we enjoyed tasting the goods. I had the Wood Duck Pale and Him Outdoors had the Single Batch Rye IPA, with interesting grainy but not wheaty flavours and a clear texture.



Whales x 2 - Terrance Plowright

 

Dancing Brolga Fountain by Terrance Plowright

Unbeknownst to us (we appear to be very good at turning up to things we didn't know were happening), this weekend is the culmination of Vivid Sydney - a festival of light, music and ideas. We simply sat back and enjoyed the show as fountains, lights and projections illuminated the harbour, followed by an explosion of fireworks.



The HMAS Advance, on permanent display as part of the Australian National Maritime Museum, gets in on the lighting act, with a chameleon-like display of changing colour.



As we dashed back across town to catch the last ferry 'home', the Opera House was also host to a spectacular diplay of projcted images.