Our original plan was to take the train back to Circle Quay to catch Captain Cook there, but when we arrived on the ferry yesterday, we saw the cruise we would be taking leaving Darling Harbor. We found out that yes indeed, we could leave from Darling Harbor, didn't have to go anywhere AND got to get on 1/2 hour before Circular Quay and hopefully get a good table.
We headed for breakfast at a little cafe because we got free coffee with breakfast. Suzan had lovely poached eggs on toast, I had avocado, roasted tomatoes and feta cheese on toast. It was delicious. They also served a grilled tomato on the side with what I think was italian spices. Quite good.
Breakfast down we went on to our next task - shopping. A few souvenirs and we were off to the Captain Cook offices to check in. We were early, but it paid off, we got a very nice table that had a great view.
The boat had 3 levels with dining rooms on each level. We were on the middle deck. There were two buffet tables on each level. The first buffet opened when we boarded; the second opened when another group was picked up at Central Quay so the new passengers got a fresh buffet as well.
The bar had a nice selection. Margaret and Suzan bought a bottle of wine; I got a mojito that was stuffed with mint and limes. At home, getting mint in a mojito is like an after thought. I have found in Australia they put MINT into their mojitos - like have a glass full, it is awesome. It is especially nice since I like to drink my mojito then add water to the mint and lime, which makes for several glasses of really nice, flavored water.
The buffet included a chicken and vegetarian curry, rice, steamed baramundi, steamed mussels and clams, raw oysters, prawns, salad and bread. I don't raw seafood so I skipped the oysters but everything else was very nice. The curry was quite spicy, which was nice. The prawns, like all the prawns I've had here, were served with the head on and were very good. Salad was salad but very nice and fresh and the bread was delicious.
There was a dessert bar with fresh fruit and different little cakes. The chocolate cakes (tasted like a flour free cake) was very nice. The vanilla cake was very bland and not worth the calories.
The tour itself of the harbor was very nice. We heard a nice commentary on the harbor area and got a nice view of the area. We had noticed while we were waiting lots of small boats from the Captain Cook fleet coming and going with what looked like cruise line passengers. Sure enough at the far end of the harbor were two cruise ships. Suzan said the locations were more industrial and there was no nice area to board/disembark like at the international terminal where we boarded/disembarked, so instead passengers disembarked and boarded boats that brought them over to Darling Harbor. The King Street Wharf #1, where we and those small boats were located, was about 30 yards from the Barangaroo Ferry stop that connected with Central Quay and the main train system.
The following is a compilation of entries in Wikipedia about Port Jackson, Sydney Harbor, the Opera House and the Sydney Bridge:
Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (part of the South Pacific Ocean). It is the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. The location of the first European settlement and colony on the Australian mainland, Port Jackson has continued to play a key role in the history and development of Sydney.
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the 20th century's most famous and distinctive buildings.
Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, the building was formally opened on 20 October 1973 after a gestation beginning with Utzon's 1957 selection as winner of an international design competition. The government of New South Wales, led by the premier, Joseph Cahill, authorised work to begin in 1958 with Utzon directing construction. The government's decision to build Utzon's design is often overshadowed by circumstances that followed, including cost and scheduling overruns as well as the architect's ultimate resignation.
The building and its surrounds occupy the whole of Bennelong Point on Sydney Harbour, between Sydney Cove and Farm Cove, adjacent to the Sydney central business district and the Royal Botanic Gardens, and close by the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Though its name suggests a single venue, the building comprises multiple performance venues which together host well over 1,500 performances annually, attended by more than 1.2 million people. Performances are presented by numerous performing artists, including three resident companies: Opera Australia, the Sydney Theatre Company and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. As one of the most popular visitor attractions in Australia, more than eight million people visit the site annually, and approximately 350,000 visitors take a guided tour of the building each year. The building is managed by the Sydney Opera House Trust, an agency of the New South Wales State Government.
On 28 June 2007, the Sydney Opera House became a UNESCO World Heritage Site; having been listed on the (now defunct) Register of the National Estate since 1980, the National Trust of Australia register since 1983, the City of Sydney Heritage Inventory since 2000, the New South Wales State Heritage Register since 2003, and the Australian National Heritage List since 2005.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district (CBD) and the North Shore. The dramatic view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic image of Sydney, and Australia itself. The bridge is nicknamed "The Coathanger" because of its arch-based design.
Under the direction of Dr John Bradfield of the NSW Department of Public Works, the bridge was designed and built by British firm Dorman Long and Co Ltd of Middlesbrough and opened in 1932.[4][5] The bridge's design was influenced by the Hell Gate Bridge in New York City. It is the sixth longest spanning-arch bridge in the world and the tallest steel arch bridge, measuring 134 m (440 ft) from top to water level. It was also the world's widest long-span bridge, at 48.8 m (160 ft) wide, until construction of the new Port Mann Bridge in Vancouver was completed in 2012
The waterways of Port Jackson are managed by the Roads & Maritime Services. Sydney Harbour National Park protects a number of islands and foreshore areas, swimming spots, bushwalking tracks and picnic areas.
The land around Port Jackson was occupied at the time of the European arrival and colonisation by the Eora clans, including the Gadigal, Cammeraygal, and Wangal. The Gadigal occupied the land stretching along the south side of Port Jackson from what is now South Head, in an arc west to the present Darling Harbour. The Cammeraygal lived on the northern side of the harbour. The area along the southern banks of the Parramatta River to Rose Hill belonged to the Wangal. The Eora occupied Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), south to the Georges River and west to Parramatta.
The first recorded European discovery of Sydney Harbour, was by Lieutenant James Cook in 1770. Cook named the inlet after Sir George Jackson, one of the Lord Commissioners of the British Admiralty, and Judge Advocate of the Fleet. His ship's log notation states "at noon we were...about 2 or 3 miles from the land and abrest of a bay or harbour within there appeared to be a safe anchorage which I called Port Jackson."
Eighteen years later, on 21 January 1788, after arriving at Botany Bay, Governor Arthur Phillip took a longboat and two cutters up the coast to examine Cook's Port Jackson. Phillip first stayed over night at Camp Cove, then moved down the harbour, landing at Sydney Cove and then Manly Cove before returning to Botany Bay on the afternoon of 24 January. Phillip returned to Sydney Cove in HM Armed Tender Supply on 26 January 1788, where he established the first colony in Australia, later to become the city of Sydney.
In 1942, to protect Sydney Harbour from a submarine attack, the Sydney Harbour anti-submarine boom net was constructed. It spanned the harbour from Green (Laings) Point, Watsons Bay to the battery at Georges Head, on the other side of the harbour. On the night of 31 May 1942, three Japanese midget submarines entered the harbour, one of which became entangled in the western end of the boom net's central section. Unable to free their submarine, the crew detonated charges, killing themselves in the process. A second midget submarine came to grief in Taylor's Bay, the two crew committing suicide. The third submarine fired two torpedoes at USS Chicago (both missed) before leaving the harbour. In November 2006, this submarine was found off Sydney's Northern Beaches.
The anti-submarine boom net was demolished soon after World War II, and all that remains are the foundations of the old boom net winch house, which can be viewed on Green (Laings) Point, Watsons Bay. Today, the Australian War Memorial has on display a composite of the two midget submarines salvaged from Sydney Harbour. The conning tower of one of the midget submarines is on display at the RAN Heritage Centre, Garden Island, Sydney.
There are several islands within the harbour, including Shark Island, Clark Island, Fort Denison, Goat Island, Cockatoo Island, Spectacle Island, Snapper Island and Rodd Island. Some other former islands, including Bennelong Island, Garden Island and Berry Island, have subsequently been linked to the shore by land reclamation. Exposed at low tide is Sow and Pigs Reef, a well-known navigation obstacle near the main shipping lane.
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| Darlling Harbor |
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| Australian Navy |
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| Australian Navy |
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| Darling Harbor |
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| Hard Rock Darling Harbor |
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| Darling Harbor |
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| Sail boat passing by - that's the life! |
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| Amazing mojito |
We disembarked from the lunch cruise around 3 at Central Quay and took the train back to Minto, our stop, then an Uber back to the house. It was a lovely couple of days.
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