Sydney

The night before our flight to Sydney we checked our documentation through one last time. Then we rechecked it against the various Australian government and airline websites. Then we checked it again. I can’t remember ever second guessing my organizational skills more! We had our four assessed Australian travel declarations required to enter Australia; two full regimes of COVID vaccinations (US CDC paper cards, EU digital COVID certificates, and the UK booster jab cards); four negative PCR COVID tests from 66 hours prior; Lisa’s visa grant letter; Lisa’s visa travel facilitation letter; six passports; and a partridge in a pear tree. We arrived at the airport the requested four hours prior to take off and – insert sigh of relief here – whizzed through check in and were through security less than 30 minutes after we set foot at Heathrow. We overheard and saw quite a few other travelers who were not so fortunate, however: one traveler who had neglected to fill out her Australian travel declaration, another family who had a visa with passport number that didn’t match the newly issued passport they presented at check in, another gentleman who was going to be transiting Qatar for two hours longer than the government allowed during COVID… The airlines were absolutely doing everything by the book. Such a mess.

It was the first time any of us had flown on one the behemoth double decker A380, it still amazes me that such a huge hunk of metal can get off the ground. The thrust power as we departed from Heathrow was incredible, the steep pitch had as all feeling as if we were flying straight up. It was a very memorable flight over the mountainous deserts of northern Iraq on our way to Qatar, clear skies over the Middle East afforded us some incredible views from 42K feet. The couple of hours we spent in Hamad International Airport was an exercise in people watching, with travelers from so many different cultures transiting through Qatar on their way around the world. Indian women strolling around in beautiful saris, Middle Eastern men with their traditional white dishdashas and kanduras, Africans in dashikis, there was so much to see.

When we finally landed in Sydney everyone was a little giddy. Wild Man was so excited he almost shed a tear. An Australian customs official came over the loudspeaker to read us the riot act before the seatbelt sign was turned off, and much to our relief the COVID entry rules for Australia had all changed while we were in the air. When we took off from London we were going to be required to take PCR tests in Australia on day one and day six, with self-isolation required until the results of the day one tests were returned. Not too onerous, except for the fact that the Omicron wave engulfing Australia had resulted in waits of up to 100 hours for test results. Thanks to the pressure on PCR test labs, whilst we were in the air the New South Wales government changed the PCR requirement to a lateral flow/antigen test. Thelateral flow/antigen tests were hard to come by in New South Wales, but fortunately I had eight of them in my bag from London (thank you Deirdre!) so shortly after landing we swabbed our noses, smiled at the four horizontal red lines and self-certified ourselves COVID negative (making sure to take a photo of the results on my phone just in case…). Freedom!

It felt so good to be in the sub-tropical warmth of Sydney as we exited the airport. We all enjoyed our time in the UK and Ireland, but I don’t know how they handle so many months of overcast skies and frigid temperatures each year. We all had our sights set on Sydney’s beaches after we’d caught up on some sleep and welcomed the New Year with sounds of fireworks, making sure to spend some time in the ocean on every day bar one during our time in the New South Wales capital. Sydney has such excellent city beaches, from iconic Bondi next to the city, to surf breaks along the Cronulla Strip, to more secluded coves like Little Bay closer to our digs in Oyster Bay. Everyone was very jazzed to be back in the water.

When we traveled through Sydney during the first chapter of Our Walkabout we never managed to venture into Royal National Park, which is located only a short drive south of the city. With the whole country on vacation over the Christmas/New Year break and perfect summer temperatures, the beaches along the Sydney coast were pretty packed during our time in town. We headed into Royal National Park early one morning before the parking lots filled and they closed the roads, enjoying a picturesque (albeit sweltering) hike along the Coast Track to secluded Little Marley Beach. We all had a blast throwing ourselves into the shore break before heading back to the car above Wattamolla Beach, a waterfall-fed waterhole on the way back providing some respite from the midday sun. Max was very jazzed to see the first of what will be many Australian lizards as an Eastern Water Dragon shared the swimming hole with us. The snorkeling back by the car atWattamolla Beach was superb, such an amazing array of colors under the surface and a lot of sea life close to shore. Awesome to be able to access such an untouched and stunning stretch of coastline so close to one of Australia’s largest cities.

The kids had visited central Sydney with us back in 2017 when we stayed with ET and Sally for a few days, but neither of them really remembered it. We couldn’t have them missing out on some of Australia’s most iconic landmarks in their new country, so took the train into Circular Quay one morning for a gander at the Opera House and Harbor Bridge. Lisa and I would struggle to count the number of times we’d visited Sydney over the years, but the cityscape from Circular Quay with the Harbor Bridge and Opera House visible in one sweeping panorama never gets old. With no tourists in the country as a result of COVID, Circular Quay was sadly devoid of its usual hustle and bustle, but it was fun for us all to stroll around the wharves and The Rocks, all the same.

Our arrival in Australia was made all the more memorable by the Newbys, who welcomed us into their home in Oyster Bay with such generosity. Sue was one of Lisa’s mum’s roommates at UC Davis all those years ago, and along with her husband John have been like extended family to us over the years every time we’ve passed through Sydney. We’d initially planned to spend a couple of days in self-isolation waiting for our PCR test results to come back post-arrival, and were so touched as we walked into the Newby house to a fully stocked fridge, beer fridge full of local brews, and fresh fruit and vegetables galore. The kids were in heaven with a pool at their disposable for some marathon Marco Polo games. John and Sue returned from their holiday house in Lake Conjola a couple of days into our stay, it was so nice to see them and chat about our travels and the state of the world. Also great to catch up with their daughters Jill and Linda, and nice to meet Jill’s boyfriend Jason one night over a batch of homemade carnitas. Touching to be welcomed to Australia in such grand fashion as we get close to the end of this journey of ours.