And then there were four!

It was finally the big day: the 10th annual bushwalkers' 42km Marathon Walk.

I thought it was going to  be a record turnout at first. The scenic and relatively flat course produced 12 enrollments. We were walking from Circular Quay to Maroubra, via South Head and Harbourside and coastal tracks. Lots of public transport around, easy food and drink availability, interesting sights galore.

Come Sunday morning there were seven starters. Five others had become suddenly unwell, or decided hard pavement walking just wasn't for them. It was a fabulous day for walking. A break in the rains we'd been having, clear blue skies, and beautifully cool.

We took lunch in a shady spot at South Head. You can see North Head in the background of the top picture.

Soon we were at the Gap, and the anchor of the wreck, the Dunbar.

Still seven of us as we arrive at the two-thirds mark: Bondi Beach. A lot of buses pass by Bondi Beach.

And sure enough there's only four of us after that.

Unusually, it's still daylight as we arrive at the destination beach: Maroubra.



All a bit too easy really!





Photo credits to unknown kind tourists for some images

Vivid again

It's Vivid time again. Better go and check it out, I thought. I never could quite decide what Vivid's for, but it's been getting bigger year by year, and the punters are liking it. The crowds are big.

Rather than the prime Circular Quay venue, this time I went to see some of the newer, more peripheral sites. Like Martin Place, Central Park, The Galeries, and Pitt St Mall.

Messing about on the river

On the Parramatta River, to be precise. I took the classy option yesterday for the journey into the city: the Parramatta River Rivercat.

Most of the other passengers were tourists, and didn't they just love it! None of the discomforts of train, bus or car travel, none of the uninspiring scenery of the Parramatta Road or the main western line corridor. Just  clear blue skies, clear blue water, fine views of boats, bridges, Olympic stadiums, parks and bike tracks. And some rather well positioned and expensive real estate here and there too.

The Rivercats all seem to be named after famous female athletes. I found myself aboard the Betty Cuthbert. Betty was a world champion sprinter in the 1950s and 60s. She grew up in the nearby suburb of Ermington, and is still alive and living in Western Australia.

The cabin is warm, roomy and comfortable, but the location of choice is the front deck, where the views make up for any cold winds or stray sea spray. As you approach the Harbour Bridge, everyone vies for a good position, and the selfies and group pictures all get taken. Then it's the equally scenic Circular Quay and Opera House.

One of the highlights of the trip is the first leg, from Parramatta to Rydalmere, where you negotiate a narrow passage through the mangroves. A lowlight is that at low tide the vessel - a flat bottomed catamaran - nevertheless can't actually make it through this part. The service terminates then at Rydalmere, and passengers pile onto a bus for the rest of the journey.

I understand the Parramatta-Rydalmere leg will be withdrawn altogether soon, so use it while you can.

Harbour Bridge Pylon Lookout & Museum

Lonely Planet recently spruiked the wisdom of forgoing the expensive Bridgeclimb walk over the Harbour Bridge, in favour of the somewhat more modest attraction of the lookout and museum located in the bridge's southeast pylon.

For a mere $11, against $200 or more, you get almost as good a view, you get to take all your own photographs, you get to spend as little or as long as you like there (and to spend a penny if necessary too!) You also learn quite a lot about this iconic bridge and its construction.

I've been telling my visitors all of this for a long time, and the other day I reacquainted myself with the place. It was still a nice little visitor experience.

You do indeed look down on the Bridgeclimb people for much of their journey. You get great views of Circular Quay and the visiting cruise ships. You can see the Blue Mountains far to the west. And you almost get to swing on the scary cables used by the construction workers, unencumbered by any safety harnesses or anything, while they positioned the various meccano bits together eighty years ago.