May 22, 2007
We are still in Sydney, where we have been for the past few days (33 parallel for those who like the GPS). Nearly a fifth of all Aussies live here, and I’m beginning to realize why:
1) Setting of the city. Sydney is on a spectacular harbor. Lots of seashore 
property, with a view of the Opera House (probably the best-known view in Australia) and the harbor bridge, which I remember from my old stamp collection. It really is an attractive place, clean, and well maintained, rather like Toronto, for those who have been there.
2) Climate. It’s finally fall here, but you would not know it. Cool temperature, but the local trees do not change colors. They are evergreens, with one or two exceptions. The oaks etc. in the cities that change are transplants. I guess it gets warm here in December (that is summer!), but there are great beaches nearby. We are going to one this morning (Manly beach, so called because the British landed at it and were met by naked aborigines, who looked, well, Manly!).
3) Culture. We did (some of us anyway) get tickets to the Symphony in the Opera House, which was spectacular. Great sound and a piece that was new to me–Rossini Stabat Mater. When we left, there was a Japanese wedding (there are many Asians here, resident and especially tourists) which had purchased a firecracker boat, so the harbor was lit up. 4th of July.
4) Proximity to the mountains. We went on an eco-tour (tourism is the biggest business in the world) to the Blue Mountains, about an hour, 25 degrees, and 3000 feet away. With a guide, we went through a rain forest (not tropical–it can snow), a hanging swamp, and about for our five other eco environments. It was like scout camp, but the plants were unfamiliar, and we had a glimpse of a dinosaur footprint. It was good to realize that Australia is mostly NOT big cities, but great expanses of emptiness, much of it desert. We were told you could go one-hundred miles in either direction and not see anyone. That’s wilderness.
5) Great wines for those of drinking age. Australia is a large producer of wine (not enough population to drink all they produce, so exports are important). We talked with the senior winemaker at one of the farms, about two hours from here as one of our visits. He said it sometimes gets up to 52 C (about 115 degrees). No wonder one of the Australian football teams is the Cowboys.
6) Interesting history and neighborhoods. Sydney was settled by convicts who could no longer be shipped to the United States (interestingly, the country is younger than the US, first settled in the 1780s by convicts who used rum as currency). There is also a fabulous aquarium where I took all the pictures I should have been able to take at the Great Barrier Reef.
The economy here seems to be healthy. Its biggest export is coal, mostly to East Asia (Korea, Japan, and China), and we were told that the Korean government has purchased some of the coalmines. The stores are familiar–there is a Target, and the Woolworth is one of the largest food retailers in the country. There is no Wal-Mart. Yet.
Funny story. Someone here purchased the name Burger King in the hope of shaking down Burger King when the company tried to come here. BK offered $3 million for the rights. The guy held out for $30 million. BK here is known as Hungry Jack consequently. There is a scoutmaster minute in that.