BEAUTIFUL SYDNEY - DAY TWO

CIRCULAR QUAY, FERRY & TRAIN TERMINAL

SAIL-A-WAY

Wednesday, February 12, 2025, 6 AM, 68 Degrees, 89% Humidity, W – S 8mph

As mentioned before, we awoke this morning to a beautiful view of the Sydney Opera House and Circular Quay. For a long time, the Circular Quay (southern section of Sydney Cove) was the main port for shipments coming into Sydney. In 1830 it was reconstructed as the commuter ferry wharf as ferries had taken over and the commercial shipping moved to another area. The area became the transportation hub for ferry and tram service. Under “everything old is new again”, in the 1960’s the city removed all the trolley tracks in the city and stopped service, now they are putting in new tracks for commuter rapid transit. Planning for a railway station at Circular Quay began in 1909 and construction began in 1915 with tunnels to link the surrounding station to the projected Terminal. Work was halted several times, and it wasn’t until January 1956 that the station was opened, completing John Bradford’s original vision for the City Circle Railway. Chief Engineer John Bradford is best known for designing the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the largest steel arch Bridge in the World. Today, the Bridge climb experience is one of Sydney’s top tourist attractions. For $190. US Dollars, you can take a guided climb to the top of the structure, 440 feet above sea level at its highest point.

No tour today, we were on our own! We walked around the Quay, through the Ferry Terminal filled with many shops and food stands. We proceeded back to the Sydney Opera House so I could buy the Official Souvenir Guide. I should have bought it the day before when we were on tour. I am not the most decisive shopper, but John was very patient, and I got a second chance. We spent a very pleasant hour sitting on benches in the shade of the palm trees on the Quay. We watched the ferries and people came and go. As the sun and the temperature rose, we moved back to the coolness of the Zuiderdam.

The Zuiderdam had planned a big Sail-a-Way as we left Sydney Harbour. 200+ new passengers had come aboard in Sydney (many people are on board for “segments” rather than the full World Cruise). There is a Sail-a-Way from every port, but HAL wants every passenger to have the whole World Cruise experience, so a special Sail-a-Way was planned on the open areas of Decks 9 and 10 with live music and complimentary wine & cheese. We were scheduled to leave the Harbour at 5:30 PM. We were finishing dinner in the Dining Room when we heard the Azipods (engines) start and then stop. Start again and stop, and again and again. Then silence. Afte half an hour, the Captain came over the PA to say they had replaced a fuse box (like home only bigger) and we're working on some other technical issues. The Sail-a-Way Party was still going on, he said, we just weren’t sailing away as scheduled. We went up to the 10thDeck so we could look down on much of the action! The party was in full swing, and everyone seemed to be having a great time -especially since they had already been enjoying free wine for 1 1/2 hours! The ship’s DJ was holding court from the pool deck. There were many tables loaded with all kinds of cheese, olives, fruit and nuts. The Cruise Director announced the delay to the crowd who hadn’t been able to hear the Captain’s earlier announcement. There were cheers of “One more day! One more day!” The party hours were extended to 8 PM. Shortly before 7 PM, the Azipods started, and we were off!! The harbor pilot was aboard for several miles until we cleared Sydney Harbour. Although the water seemed relatively calm from our vantage point, looks apparently were deceiving! It took 8-10 minutes and several attempts before the pilot boat could come along side for the 3 harbor pilots to make the leap from the Zuiderdam to their small pilot boat. The Captain gave a Thank You salute on our horn as we sailed away.