Day 3-St. Hyde park/City bus tour-12/28/2017

Hyde park is a Hyde Park is a 40-acre urban park located in the central business district of Sydney and is the oldest public parkland in Australia.

 This is the Northern section of the park.

We are approaching the park.

In the center is the iconic Archibald Fountain named after J. F. Archibald, owner and editor of The Bulletin magazine, who bequeathed funds to have it built.

Archibald specified that it must be designed by a French artist, both because of his great love of French culture and to commemorate the association of Australia and France in World War I. 

Archibald selected François-Léon Sicard, who completed it in Paris in 1926 but never saw the sculpture be placed in Sydney, where it was unveiled on 14 March 1932 by the Lord Mayor of Sydney, Samuel Walder.  The large basin is decorated with six tortoises which throw jets of water.

Theseus vanquisher of the Minotaur (right). The spirit triumphs over bestiality. Theseus delivers his country from the ransom which it had to pay to this monster. It is the sacrifice of himself for the good of humanity.

The horse’s heads represent the horses of Apollo’s chariot. Out of the nostrils, water falls into the first basin, to fall there into the second and run away into the large basin.

Sydney tower view from the park.  There is also a wedding in progress at this time (look at your will see a bride and her wedding dress).

Welcome sign to the park.

This is the meeting point in the park for the Tour Bus

Our tour guide led the way and we are now walking to the bus.  The tour is about 3 hours and it will stop at a few places.

First stop is Kings Cross. The bus driver did not let us out of the bus but he stopped so we can take pictures of the famous El Alamein Fountain.

The El Alamein Memorial Fountain is a heritage-listed fountain and war memorial located at Macleay Street in the inner Sydney locale of Kings Cross. It was designed by the Australian architects Robert Woodward and Phill Taranto and was commissioned as a memorial to soldiers who died in 1942 during World War II in two battles at El Alamein, Egypt.  The fountain was built from 1959 to 1961. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 14 January 2011. The El Alamein Fountain

Woodward's Modernist design has been variously described as looking like a blown thistle, or dandelion. The sculpture is made of bronze with brass pipes. The small-nozzled spray heads make the sphere-shaped spray very fine, and sensitive to air movement.  The fountain sits on a hexagonal base, where the water cascades down three levels.

2nd stop Rose bay Warf located in the Southern side of Sydney Harbor.

The picture is blurry but from Rose Bay Warf you can see the Harbor Bridge in the distance (far right).

Huge mansion up the hill and in the background you can definitely see the Harbor bridge, the Opera house, and the Sydney Tower.

Third stop Watsons Bay a harbor side, eastern suburb of Sydney with great views.  The island in the distance is the tip of Manly.

This area is called the Gap, an ocean cliff on the eastern side with views to Manly at North Head and the Pacific Ocean. 

The Gap Look out is an Ocean Cliff, although the cliff is a popular visitor destination, it has an infamy for suicides.

Beautiful view of Manly from here but the tall cliffs have made it a location for those wishing to end their lives. Between 2008 and 2011 numerous measures have been implemented to dissuade those at risk of suicide, these include security cameras to monitor the area, several purpose-built Lifeline counselling phone booths, and information boards from the Black Dog Institute and Beyondblue.

An inward-leaning fence has also been erected to deter people from jumping.

The Don Richie Grove was established in memory of Don Ritchie who officially rescued 160 people from suicide at the Gap.

The grove is bordered by a low set structured wall which contians a quote from Don.

Plaque in memory of Don.

4th stop: Bondi Beach which is one of Sydney’s busiest beaches and the setting for more postcards and travel snaps than perhaps any other destination in Australia.

Bondi Beach is really beautiful.

It is popular because there are plenty of things to do in the area.  Visitors can swim year-round and even plunge into the popular ocean baths as soon as the sun comes up. Surfers can be spotted paddling through the waves each morning and several surf schools operate along the beach.

We were told that Hugh Jackman lives close by and can be seen once in a while on this beach.

Hall street located just in front of the beach is where you can find all the restaurants, bar, etc...

We only have 1 hour here for a quick lunch and walking around. 

After this our tour guide just dropped us back at Hyde park.

NEXT...The proposal