My Australia Travels : Passage 2: Sydney and The Great Barrier Reef. nguptatravelscrapbook.blospot.com 14/07/2021

Blog number 33 14/07/2021   nguptatravelscrapbook.blogspot.com

My Australian Travls : Passsage 2 : Sydney and The Great BArrier reef.

The UK is approaching the end of a long and weary lockdown( seven months) on 19/07/2021( called Freedom Day) in the face of increasing cases of Delta variant! As I publish this blog, the probability of an extended lockdown in Sydney looms with the rise of cases of the same variant. 

Australia introduction:

Sydney Harbour Bridge

I intend to describe my travel experiences in Australia, here in Passage two, mainly covering The Great Barrier reef and travels to Sydney and around. To build up a basic introduction of Australia, the following two paragraphs are a repeat of my description in Passage 1 (My Australia Travels) 

Australia is massive, matching in size with the USA but only with a current population of around 25 million. Australia is the driest, flattest, hottest, infertile and climatically aggressive of all the inhabited continents. Yet, it abounds with life in numbers unaccounted. The cities, in contrast, consist of the younger generation with exuding energy, with most cities founded as late as in the mid-nineteenth century. Australia has become a coastal region country, with the most population living within twenty Km of the ocean.

Australia is very much an outdoors country with a laid back lifestyle. The sunny climate also contributes to this outdoor living with a thriving beach culture( celebrating Xmas at the beach)and the backyard's bright barbies( barbecue). It is challenging to develop an itinerary suiting individual budgets, the number of days in hand, and visiting family members. A very famous and fundamental principle to follow is Reef- Rock-Harbour packages covering Australia's must-see. We safely omitted the Rock, a vast, overpowering monolith of Ayres Rock( Uluru). We formed our itinerary of just under three weeks of travelling covering the famous southeastern arc extending from Queensland to Adelaide, including The Great Barrier Reef, Sydney, and Melbourne.

Near Sydney Harbour Bridge

Mysteries of Australia

For most people, Australian history starts from 1770 CE when Lieutenant Jame Cook arrived at Botany Bay in his ship named HMS Endeavour. The Australian story starts from here. Not that no European had set foot in Australia before. Lt Cook ( Englishman) confirmed Australia when he touched the South-East corner of Australia and followed the coast 1800 miles north to Cape York. He described it as an inverted nation ( or upside-down nation), with seasons back to front. He described the kangaroos as creatures who didn't walk or run but bounced across the landscape. But in fact, Australia is old, as far back as nearly 60 million years ago. It has been silent geologically, allowing it to preserve many of the oldest things ever-present on earth, the most ancient fossils and rocks, river beds, mountains and wildlife. Along with these were Aborigines, who had no clear racial or linguistic relationship to their neighbours. I gathered from my research that Aborigines invented and mastered ocean-going craft approx 30,000 years ago, but then the people and their craftsmanship got lost in the evolutionary process.

Night views of the Bridge from the hotel room.

In-Line with the British desire to occupy territories as legal colonies, Captain Philip arrived in Australia in 1787 with about 1500 British men to set up a little colony along the east coast of Australia, a virtually unknown place. Generally, the term of posting here was for seven years with few ever returning to the homeland; passage to Australia in time became a life sentence. As a result, Britain started sending the culprits to Australia on a one-way journey across continents, taking nearly a year, covering more than 15,000 miles of seas. 

Among the many small and exciting mysteries of Australia in its early days is where the different names come from? It was Captain Cook, who called the Eastern Coast New South Wales; why? 

Likewise, Sydney is a curious name. Captain Philip wanted to use Sydney only to name a cove. He wanted to call the town Albion, but the name never took off. Captain Philip discovered the worlds most beautiful Harbour of Sydney, where Circular Quay now stands and started a new city on 26th Jan 1788, the day marked as Australia Day.

Darling Harbour, Sydney

How was the Canberra name selected? 

My research revealed that once the site of present-day Canberra was selected, politicians, clergypersons and local residents were invited for recommendations of a name for the capital of Australia. The submitted names ( unusual) included Shakespeare, Myola, Emu, Wheatwoolgold, Eucalypta, Opposum, Gladstone, Thirstville, Kookaburra, Cromwell and finally Canberra, which was already in use!

Self-driving in outbacks in Australia was great fun; most highways consisted of two lanes with practically empty roads, no one to follow, no one following you. Speed was not of the essence; you didn't want to drive fast lest you miss the fun of being so near to the side of crop fields and animals grazing. 

Outback scenery

As above

The daylight used to be gleaming, intense and illuminating as it shined on the attractions and provided an arresting glimpse of even insignificant buildings. Most of the time, the landscape flushed with unusual golden radiance. Did you know that Australian radio in the outskirts and outbacks often played the fifties and sixties classic hit music, with DJ announcing ( for example)that Que Sera Sera, that just was played was sung by Doris Day! I loved that.

Sydney Metro Life

On a Harbour cruise

The famous Bondi Beach

Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, is the largest Australian cosmopolitan city with its world heritage sites ( Sydney Opera House and The Sydney Harbour Bridge), the iconic beaches (e.g. Bondi Beach), and many acclaimed wine regions, including the Hunter Valley region. that we visited. In Sydney, the two Scotsmen, namely Macquarie and Darlington, managed to get their names all over Sydney in the roads, harbours, avenues, groves, terraces and shopping centres. The leftover names are, then, either Hunter or Murray! As I read during my researches!

Reaching the Blue Mountains 

On arrival in Sydney, we first made our way via a self-drive car to the Blue Mountains, the scenic and long-impassable mountains lying to the west of Sydney. The Blue Mountains are so-called due to the blue haze affected by light impinging on the Eucalyptus oil particles emitted from the immense Eucalyptus trees in the region. As we drove along, the Blue Mountains ( UNESCO World Heritage Site) looked gorgeous and artistic, surrounded by the blue mist. As described above, inter passed with treacherous gorges and bouldered canyons. The Great Western Highway followed the way into these mountains, often thru narrow roads and bends, small passing villages like Blaxland, Springwood and Wentworth waterfalls, before reaching Katoomba village for a stay in a lovely hotel named Lilianfels resort. 

Blue Hazed Mountains

Three Sisters Monument 

The Blue Mountains cover nearly 600,000 acres of area, springing more than 1000 meters above sea level. The region has numerous walking trails, waterfalls, rare plants, but with vast vegetations of Gum trees and innumerable Eucalyptus trees, along with dizzying heights of cliffs and lookout spots. I found the whole valley filled with vast and accompanying imposing silence. After enjoying the spectacle of The Falls and Three Sister's upright sandstones, in the Jamison Valley, we returned to a local restaurant serving Fish and Chips! Were we missing the famous and cheap British food? Not really, but few other food options didn't appeal to us. Katoomba was a popular retreat for noblemen in the 1930s and 40s, offering a cooler climate with refined pursuits like walks in the woods, hydro pools, hunting of animals and fresh air on the whole. 

Attempts for Sustainable and regenerative travels in Australia. 

From wildfires in Australia to the ongoing pandemic, the world in 2021 has been in a constant state of emergency. After suffering a double whammy, bushfires in 2019 wiped out most of the 70000 acres of Blue Moutain vegetation before being forced down to close due to pandemic in 2020. Australian tourism is determined to take active initiatives in restoring and healing their environment hence producing a new blueprint for tourism. Some of these measures are for the tourists to participate in active conservation efforts by planting trees, setting up camps for the education of visiting children, consuming only locally grown food with minimal food mileage attached to the ingredients, and using local supplies seasonal produce only. A new breed of conscious travellers has emerged from the unpredictable state of affairs, keen to heal and regenerate their visiting destination. This includes sustainable tourism to minimise the negative impact of mass tourism, aiming to repair the harms that have already been done.

Stay in Sydney

On a scorching day, outside the iconic Sydney Opera House.

Nearly 3 to 3.5 million people visit Sydney each year. We drove back to Sydney for a three-night stay in a hotel with unconditionally stunning views ( from panoramic hotel windows) of the Harbour and its famous occupants, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House. Life could not offer many places more acceptable than Circular Quay representing the world's great views, with Sydney Opera house to the right and gigantic, overbearing Harbour Bridge to the left. 

I couldn't stop staring at Sydney Opera House, an Australian icon in the real sense, enduring on a ground where there was a cheap, derelict municipal tram garage in 1953. The famous Danish architect, Jorn Utzon, then aged 37 years, was selected for his Sydney Opera house design, who unfortunately never saw his prized creation on completion. The Opera house was inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth 2 in October 1978. Its shell-like structure is more pinky dusky in colour rather than white as it comes in the photographs. We took an interior tour of this famous Opera house, admiring its flawless acoustics when a short concert was conducted during this tour. 

At Circular Bay

At Circular Quay, Sydney

Outside, in the Circular Quays, the premises of restaurants, pubs and pavements were full of tourists eating, drinking, taking photos and enjoying ice-creams on that hot day when temperatures reached nearly 38 C. However, not taking anything away from the Sydney Opera house in terms of my choice, I found that my heart was with Sydney Harbour Bridge. I thoroughly enjoyed the uninterrupted views of the bridge from my hotel room during the daytime, evening and at night. One can see the bridge frame from every corner of the city, commonly called a coat's hanger! From a distance, it appeared like the heaviest structure on the earth. This bridge was built by people bringing in an industrial revolution, an overall arch weighing more than 30,000 tons, completed in 1932.

The same as above

There is a glimpse of the Blue Harbour at every turn in the city, Sydney being full of stately houses and enriched with the flowering trees of Jacaranda and Frangipani in December. A Royal Caribbean cruise liner ( Essence of the Seas) was docked in the Harbour at the most strategic position offering great views. Bondi Beach is another famous touristic spot, which was not of many appeals to us as that day weather turned more relaxed and very windy. Bondi is an Aboriginal name meaning water crashing on the rocks; the beach is very popular with surfers, not suitable for swimmers. Enroute to Bondi beach, we came across beautiful suburban Sydney with palatial houses in Rose Bay, Double Bay and Watson Bay, Surrey hills, etc. 

Hunter Valley Australia

The Hunter Valley wine region, in the state of New South Wales, was a two-hour drive from Sydney, along the eastern edges of the country, taking in lush greenery and attractive beaches. This is an area of outstanding natural beauty. Its 150 plus wineries are most famous for spicey Shirazes and elegant citrussy Semillons, making an ideal accompaniment with shellfish as we discovered dining in the local restaurants. In the same area, a bushwalk in the Yengo National park ( UNESCO World Heritage site) has tree-shaded paths, dramatic water gorges, falls, and several sites are featuring Aboriginal rock art and surrounding countrysides.

Queensland

Views of The Great Barrier Reef from a sky ride

Queensland is the true place to enjoy the wizardry of Oz. Here one can relax on the best-known beaches, meet kangaroos, koalas and parrots, swim with exotic fish, enjoy ancient rain forests and discover the vast skies and sweeping horizons of outbacks. Of the 500 or so sites on the planet that qualify for World Heritage status, only thirteen satisfy all four of UNESCO's criteria for listing and of these, four are to be found in Australia. Moreover, the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics of Queensland are in Queensland; these two environments are adjacent to each other. 

Views of Kuranda village( Queensland ) and around

The city of Cairns was very humid; we felt like a blanket of hot towels has been laid over our heads in terms of excessive humidity, heat and mugginess. Cairns is a small metropolis of nearly 80,000 inhabitants. The stunning views comprise manicured golf courses, beaches, swaying palms, seaside marinas, new posh hotels, and red-roofed houses with abundant foliage everywhere. More than three million people visited Cairns in 2019. It has become a hugely popular stop-off point for backpackers and other young travellers for whom it has a particular reputation for great tropical loveliness. 

Cairn

The next day, The Great Barrier Reef at the Portman Bay was a smooth bus ride; the full-day tour included the bus to and fro from the hotel, tour of the reef in a powered boat with explanations etc.) and snorkelling in the local waters. Depending upon which sources are researched, The Great Barrer reef covers approximately 280,000 square kilometres, stretches 1600 miles from top to bottom and area-wise, is more extensive than UK or Italy. And it is an immensely vital oceanic habitat equivalent to the Amazon Rainforest. The Great Barrier reef contains at least 1500 species of fish, 400 types of coral and 4000 varieties of molluscs. But these are just estimated guesses; no one has ever attempted a comprehensive survey. Too big a job, I guess! It consists of some 3000 separate reefs and over 600 islands, advising that it is the enormous creature on earth? Thanks to trillions of diminutive coral polyps working with dedicated and microscopic diligence over 18 million years, it was natural yet looked so unnatural! Fabulous it was! Off the leading boat, into the far sea, we also switched over to a semi-submersible vessel in which thirty people at a time could crowd into a viewing chamber below the waterline. The pilot took us into a shimmery world of steep coral canyons and razor-edged defiles, fabulously colourful and teeming with circles of fish of incredible variety, shapes and sizes, like butterflyfish, damselfish, angelfish, parrotfish, and other gorgeously colourful Harlequin tuskfish and Pipefish. Of course, I didn't know the names of any of these fish, but the guide helped us and correlated the rest with a picture diagram later on. 

Current Demographic features of Modern Australia.

Australia is currently the leading and popular migration destination for young entrepreneurs and professional degree possessors exploring a promised lifestyle. I have summarised a few surprising and recent demographic facts for Australia after conducting my research thru several BBC documents. With the increasing population of Australia, the country's image is changing rapidly; one can forget Crocodile Dundee to begin with. Suffice to say; we are not dealing with someone on an outback field, raising a glass of ice-cold beer in one hand and slapping away flies with the other or shaking his cork hat to disperse off flies.

Scenes in Sydney

In the years after British settlement in 1788, the sex ratio here was six men to one woman because the majority of the convicts and their guards sent here were males. In the late 19th Century, the gold rush maintained this significant excess of males, as did the early waves of post-war immigration because of an influx of men from southern Europe. The high ratio of males to females started balancing out beyond the mid 20th Century, so much so that women occupy high and notable positions in Australia now. Any attempt to define a nation by one person is bound to be met by scepticism. But in a country where the prime minister, the governor-general and the richest person - the mining magnate, Gina Rinehart - are all women, the latest data confirms what demographers have long known.

 At the same time, an average Australian is now becoming exceptionally global in every aspect. For example, in this polyglottic nation with such a rich multicultural flavour, the national cricket team has players born abroad, like Pakistan, who have become cricket heroes in this country. More than a quarter of Australians are already born overseas. The top-rated Australian Master Chef programme is contested by super famous chefs who are immigrants from the Indian subcontinent but won the trophy in 2018 and very recently in June 2021.

Australia, after all, is a country where one in five people speak a language other than English in their homes. Of these, the most common are Mandarin, yet another reminder of how China specifically, and immigration more generally, is continually changing the character of Australia.

Indian Migration to Australia

In 2017-18, India was the largest source of the new and the permanent annual migrants to Australia and overall third-largest source nation of the cumulative total immigrant population behind England and China. ABS( Australian Bureau of Statistics) revealed that Indian migration in Australia increased by 12% in 2019. Indians now represent 2.6% of the Australian population with a median age of 34 yrs of skilled immigrants. Most people have migrated from India to live on the Eastern coast. The number of Indian students studying in Australia has too increased exponentially. Hindi came up as the top Indian Language spoken at homes in Australia, with Punjabi coming close in second place. All this amounts to a realisation that the future of Australia is inextricably connected to migration from India. Significantly Indian diaspora is the second-highest taxpaying group after the British, making it apparent that it is advancing notable contributions to the Australian economy on the whole. Hence there is a reason that Australia stations around 35 or more diplomats in New Delhi, executing it in one of their top-tier posts.

I wrote in detail my travel journals during Australia travelling consisting of nearly 55 pages!. A showcase of some pages is enclosed here. Please feel free to contact me via contact form or thru blogs' web links for your most welcomed comments etc. Many thanks for browsing thru my blogs.