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As I've mentioned elsewhere, I'd always wanted to visit Australia and, when no one would send me, went ahead and sent myself...

New South Wales

Hank Shiffman
2003-11-29 14:55:13

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have ends, after all. At least they didn't when I was in school; who knows what's happened since.

Among many other destinations, ferries leave Circular Quay every half hour for Taronga Zoo, perhaps the most happily situated zoo in the world. It's a fifteen minute ride across the harbour, followed by a cable car to the top of the hill. All so I could get my picture taken with a koala. Well, maybe not all; I did stop for a look at echidnas, duck-billed platypuses (or is that platypi?), kangaroos, emus and the rest of the antipodean managerie. But there's just something about the koala. Maybe it's kinship; my friend Heather thinks she sees some resemblance between the two of us. As for the koala, he seems remarkably unimpressed with that idea.

Next to the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge (see, I told you I'd get back to it!) is the most instantly recognizable landmark of this city. (Sit on the left side of the plane on the way in and you're likely to get a fine view of both.) This trip, I had a special reason to note the bridge: my travel agent had signed me up to climb the thing. At right you can see a group of worthies approaching the summit; my turn would come the following day at dusk. Surprisingly, my acrophobia remained in check and I thoroughly enjoyed spectacular views of the harbour and the city. Highly recommended for those who don't mind a little exertion. And I do mean little; the welcome center's testimonials include a hundred year old woman, Australia's first heart transplant recipient and those world-class athletes, the Olsen Twins. If they can do it, surely I can!

Most everybody knows about the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. But the Queen Victoria Building is the sort of landmark you pretty much have to visit Sydney to discover. Described by Pierre Cardin as the most beautiful shopping mall in the world, the ...