Sydney by Water

So now that I've doomed myself by actually sharing my blog with you, my lovely audience, I should actually put some content on here. At least regularly enough so you keep coming back. And trust me, Google Analytics will tell me if you stop coming. Remember, I'm basing my self-worth on how many people continue to read my middling, juvenile attempts at a general interest blog. Do you really want me to retreat back into a livejournal?


A co-worker told me, soon after my arrival, Sydney really is a place you have to view from the water. Walking through it, driving around, even flying over it just doesn't do it justice. At first, I didn't really understand this sentiment, but as I've slowly made my way around the city, it's beginning to dawn on me, Sydney isn't a city built next to or around the water, it is a city built nearly on the harbour. Every nook and cranny is a small bay and environment unto itself, unique and beautiful in it's own way. Even this isn't quite enough for this city as housing and buildings are stretched ever further into the water via piers and struts constructed as far out as possible; it's as if Sydney-Siders would rather on top of the water rather than next to it.

At the center of this orchestration is the Harbour Bridge. A monument to industrial design and construction. It is quite unlike any bridge I've ever been used to. Most of the places I was familiar with growing up, bridges lead in and out of the city. Philadelphia is laid out this way. As is Manhattan. San Francisco particularly so. Pittsburgh is built at the intersection of three rivers, but the water and bridges serve to separate the neighborhoods instead of serving as their arteries and passageways. Transit across the water in Sydney is not a chore but a given, almost an adventure to be enjoyed; my manager takes a regular ferry from Manly to city center with regular 10-ft ocean swells known to wash away tourists and wet the feet of locals.


The bridge, a mass of steel and concrete doesn't so much connect North Sydney and South Sydney as much as staple them together, forcing them closer through brute strength. You get the impression the harbour may open up like the mouth of a crocodile if it weren't there.

One of the best ways to explore the jaws of this magnificent beast is to take a ferry. Regular ferries transport office workers from a multitude of points during rush hour to and from the commercial hubs in both North and South shore. Even better is to take a free ferry, like those offered during the Biennale of Sydney, a contemporary art festival being held now. I did this last Saturday, taking the ferry out to Cuckatoo Island (Sydney's Alcatraz and former shipyard) where they had converted some of the old buildings into art installations. Perhaps I'll have another update talking about this particular show, if and when I ever figure out what some of the art means. Here are some photos