Happy Australia Day
Jan 26th 2007, 9:59 am
#1
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 2,225
Happy Australia Day
Sydney rocks!! I've just spent a stunning day at Circular Quay and Darling Harbour.
What an amazing country this is, it was wonderful to see such an outpouring of national pride and joy. Thousands of people in festival spirit making the most of all the free events, capped off by a spectacular fireworks display which climaxed with a fly past of a airforce jet with afterburners blazing.
I sincerely hope that next year I will be a resident of this fine country and carrying its flag with pride alongside all the others.
Thanx Oz and I love yah, lol!!
What an amazing country this is, it was wonderful to see such an outpouring of national pride and joy. Thousands of people in festival spirit making the most of all the free events, capped off by a spectacular fireworks display which climaxed with a fly past of a airforce jet with afterburners blazing.
I sincerely hope that next year I will be a resident of this fine country and carrying its flag with pride alongside all the others.
Thanx Oz and I love yah, lol!!
Jan 26th 2007, 11:31 am
#2
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2004
Location: Sydney, Australia - formerly Portsmouth UK
Posts: 938
Re: Happy Australia Day
Hi,
I'll second that. Just got in from Darling Harbour. Had a great day. Fireworks were superb and the Jet flypast just capped it off superbly.
The crowds were huge and no trouble to be seen anywhere.
I'll second that. Just got in from Darling Harbour. Had a great day. Fireworks were superb and the Jet flypast just capped it off superbly.
The crowds were huge and no trouble to be seen anywhere.
Jan 26th 2007, 11:40 am
#3
Victorian Evangelist
Joined: Sep 2005
Location: Melbourne, by the beach, living the dream.
Posts: 7,704
Re: Happy Australia Day
Sydney rocks!! I've just spent a stunning day at Circular Quay and Darling Harbour.
What an amazing country this is, it was wonderful to see such an outpouring of national pride and joy. Thousands of people in festival spirit making the most of all the free events, capped off by a spectacular fireworks display which climaxed with a fly past of a airforce jet with afterburners blazing.
I sincerely hope that next year I will be a resident of this fine country and carrying its flag with pride alongside all the others.
Thanx Oz and I love yah, lol!!
What an amazing country this is, it was wonderful to see such an outpouring of national pride and joy. Thousands of people in festival spirit making the most of all the free events, capped off by a spectacular fireworks display which climaxed with a fly past of a airforce jet with afterburners blazing.
I sincerely hope that next year I will be a resident of this fine country and carrying its flag with pride alongside all the others.
Thanx Oz and I love yah, lol!!
Another refugee from New Zealand!
Buzzy
Jan 27th 2007, 8:51 pm
#4
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 2,225
Re: Happy Australia Day
Lol!! would be refugee 
There was a lot of fuss when the organisers of the Big Day Out advised people to leave their Ozzie flags at home to avoid "tension". I'm sure it made people even more determined to use the flag to show their patriotism, it was everywhere: on faces, being used as cloaks, on hats, t shirts etc. The Olympic Park is a fantastic venue, we could do with something similar here.
Australians have a real pride in their country and rightly so, it was a joy to see and as YanH said there was no sign of trouble. We spent the first part of Australia Day in Darling Harbour just soaking up the atmosphere and listening to the live music then caught the ferry over to Circular Key to see what was happening over by the Opera House. It was very busy but so good humoured, there was such a lovely carnival atmosphere in the gorgeous sunshine. The bands were great and it was a real treat to get up close and personal with Diesel who gave an excellent performance.
We got the ferry back to DH for the evening and watched the fireworks from the roof of the hotel which overlooked the pontoon from where they were being launched, we were up on the 17th floor and still some were bursting above our heads.
So different to the Waitangi Day celebrations here, which are the nearest thing NZ has to a national day. They are a lot more reserved and more prone to distruptions, angst and protests. If there was ever a better way to demonstrate the difference between the 2 countries this was it.
The other thing that really impressed me was the integrated transport system in Sydney - it was so easy to use trains, buses and ferries. A day ticket for an adult giving unlimited journeys by all three was $15.40 and such good value for money. We caught a train and a bus out to Bondi without any problems and had some great trips around the harbours.
Bondi was a lot better than I expected, thought it would be a bit like Surfer's Paradise but it was more like a little English seaside town, the beach and surf were beautiful. As were many of the people there
Sydney just has to be my all time favourite city in the world, I loved it there and can see why it rates so highly in the popularity stakes as being a desirable location in which to live, work and play. Ok the property prices are steep but I can see why.
There was a lot of fuss when the organisers of the Big Day Out advised people to leave their Ozzie flags at home to avoid "tension". I'm sure it made people even more determined to use the flag to show their patriotism, it was everywhere: on faces, being used as cloaks, on hats, t shirts etc. The Olympic Park is a fantastic venue, we could do with something similar here.
Australians have a real pride in their country and rightly so, it was a joy to see and as YanH said there was no sign of trouble. We spent the first part of Australia Day in Darling Harbour just soaking up the atmosphere and listening to the live music then caught the ferry over to Circular Key to see what was happening over by the Opera House. It was very busy but so good humoured, there was such a lovely carnival atmosphere in the gorgeous sunshine. The bands were great and it was a real treat to get up close and personal with Diesel who gave an excellent performance.
We got the ferry back to DH for the evening and watched the fireworks from the roof of the hotel which overlooked the pontoon from where they were being launched, we were up on the 17th floor and still some were bursting above our heads.
So different to the Waitangi Day celebrations here, which are the nearest thing NZ has to a national day. They are a lot more reserved and more prone to distruptions, angst and protests. If there was ever a better way to demonstrate the difference between the 2 countries this was it.
The other thing that really impressed me was the integrated transport system in Sydney - it was so easy to use trains, buses and ferries. A day ticket for an adult giving unlimited journeys by all three was $15.40 and such good value for money. We caught a train and a bus out to Bondi without any problems and had some great trips around the harbours.
Bondi was a lot better than I expected, thought it would be a bit like Surfer's Paradise but it was more like a little English seaside town, the beach and surf were beautiful. As were many of the people there
Sydney just has to be my all time favourite city in the world, I loved it there and can see why it rates so highly in the popularity stakes as being a desirable location in which to live, work and play. Ok the property prices are steep but I can see why.
