18/3/18 Big Smoke part 2

 Some more from Sydney , we were given a Red Balloon voucher for christmas , so decided to use it here - a helicopter flight over the city , harbour & eastern suburbs .
 The weather was looking overcast and dismal as we made our way down to Botany Bay for some lunch prior to the flight . We watched planes come and go and some blue sky appeared , not much though .
 Lunch done we headed back around to the heliport and waited for our flight to begin , only 4 of us at a time , I managed to get the front seat , and the other couple that were with us were there for a birthday present - she'd never been in a helicopter before and didn't want the front seat - worked for me !!
  Briefing done and life jackets attached , we headed out to the chopper and got organised - it was bloody hot - the sun had come out and was belting in on us through the perspex - we were never so happy to get moving so we could cool down a bit . Being at the airport , we headed north toward the city - this is a view that supports our dislike of cities !!

 Next we crossed over The Lakes Golf Course - this part should have been called The Beach .

 Next was The Australian Golf Course .

   Shortly after there was Sydney Cricket Ground and Allianz Stadium with the harbour in the distance.

 Passing east of the city buildings we emerged out over the harbour .

  Views back toward the city , parliament house , the Domain and Botanic Gardens .

 The flight was then down the harbour over Middle Head then out to the entrance to the harbour then south along the coastline . Here's Bondi Beach .

 Waverley Cemetery is a very large one and has prime ocean views .

 This is Wylies Ocean Baths at Coogee - our pilot told us this was a womens only baths - not sure whether it still is or not ??

  This is Maroubra Beach .

   This is looking over Matraville to Botany Bay .

  And lastly back at the airport - north east to south west runway .

  And then it was over , we were back on the ground and getting tangled up in the traffic again , another reason to steer clear of cities , but having said that , the views of Sydney and the coastline have been great and we've had a great time .
  Our main reason for being in Sydney - we now have a grandaughter !! Mum , Dad & bub are all doing well , and we are over the moon .

11/3/18 Big smoke

  We've moved on and now find ourselves entrenched in Sydney . Only about 8klms from the centre and all the action and excitement that it provides . Now our idea of action & excitement is to get on the bikes and have a look around - not quite into night clubs etc etc etc anymore , so we'll stick to Lane Cove National Park for a while .
  Just down the road from us is the parkland it has roads & picnic areas , all in and around the Lane Cove River . These are photos from River Avenue and it's native bush & sandstone .

 Here's the river - not sure I'd like to swim in it , but there are plenty of fish of all sizes - you can fish from boats only and it's catch and release above the weir .

 The weir separates the fresh from the salt water , there's a fish ladder on the side as well .

 While we were sitting enjoying the day , a sky writer was busy above us . It was a bit hard to figure out what they were writing until they'd started the 2nd part . This was first .

 Looked like an x with an extra bit , but then they started the 2nd part and it made some sense .

 It obviously meant something to the recipient , whether it was a birthday or anniversary who knows ?
  We made our way back up the road and back to the van , sitting down to a nice cold beer .

 Whilst hanging around in Sydney for our grandchild to be born , we decided to do a few things that we'd wanted to do for some time but hadn't had the chance . So another day dawned and we headed to the Eastern suburbs and to Bronte Beach to do the Bronte to Bondi coast walk . The weather wasn't sparkling , overcast and occasional drizzly rain , but we still wandered off after finding some parking. We certainly aren't used to Sydney , and the ute isn't the most ideal city car , but the parking fees - $4.10 for an hour and you could only park for an hour - for 6 months of the year , and 2 hours for the other 6 months . So an hour it was .
 This is Bronte Beach , surrounded by parkland and also sandstone cliffs at the northern end - also some caves for shelter !!

  From Bronte a wander along the cliffs takes us around to Tamarama Beach .

The park at the back off the beach has a huge retaining wall that forms the edge of the roadway , and the beach is down below . Not a large beach by any standard , but has the memorable surf club from the Dulux paint ad .

 Continuing on around the cliffs , views out into the ocean and more cliffs .

 Lyn continued on to Bondi , as I went back to get the ute and pick her up at Bondi Beach where we had some lunch .
  Another one of those things I wanted to check out was The Gap - South Head , the southern side of the entrance to Sydney Harbour . After a short drive we'd arrived , parking down below near the shops was impossible so we parked up on the hill at the top . Views up to North Head and across to Manly then all the way round back to the city .

 All the cliff edges are fenced off and under continuous CCTV coverage , it was a very popular suicide spot in years gone by . The sandstone cliffs are spectacular , weather beaten , grooved and also unstable - chunks have been known to separate from the main rock crashing to the ocean below .

 There is a monument to a ship - the Dunbar sank 500m from herein 1857  and from 122 people on board , only one survived . The anchor was recovered 50 years later .

  That's it for this adventure , back to the park for us .
 We were organised to have lunch at Manly , so this was another opportunity to cross another of the list - a trip to Manly on the ferry . Well after a walk to the station , 2 train trips and a walk to Circular Quay , we boarded the ferry and found most of the outdoor seating up the front had been taken , so we settled for a spot inside until we got moving , then went outside for the views . Here are some of the classic Sydney tourist shots .

 Still they are great shots of the city & harbour .

 This is the finger wharf at Garden Island .

 There nearly needs to be traffic lights in the harbour as there are so many motor boats , sailing boats , tourist boats , ships , navy and ferries going all directions .
  We weren't aware of how close you go to the heads on the way to Manly , you can see how the trip over would be hazardous in big seas - it was a reasonably calm day but the swell certainly rocked us around a bit on the way .
 North Head stood out with it's near vertical cliffs .

 I mention earlier about unstable cliffs , here is a chunk that collapsed recently - only about 50 or 60 metres of it .

 This is the view back to South Head and the lighthouse we didn't know existed .

 Over on North Head is the old Quarantine Station - views from there look straight back up the harbour to the city .

 We arrived at Manly and walked down the Corso to Manly Beach , before wandering around toward Shelley Beach . There was a dramatic cloud over Manly & the beach .

 And this is Shelley Beach and a tidal pool along the way .

   Back toward the ferry wharf , we found our friends and had some lunch before going back to the park .
 Well there you have it , all caught up , here's a map link :- https://drive.google.com/open?id=13P5qwiPFqOOY3tCA8g8kGcdtjzjQXQGG&usp=sharing