Hi Again:
It’s Friday evening in Sydney at the Marriott downtown. Wow. Driving into this city of 5 million plus was, as expected, a thrill. We’re on the top floor of the hotel – 32nd in a nice suite. Trying to decide where to walk to and what to do.
Left Brisbane two days ago. Really liked Brisbane. We “enjoyed” sweltering heat. We thought we were in St. Louis in August.
Drove one hour south along coast to the Gold Coast, which is a destination resort area for Australians and folks from other countries. It was dramatic, with a few high rises in the 40+ stories range. It reminded us of a combination of Miami Beach and Waikiki. Some good, some bad. Great beaches, but nothing extremely redeeming.
Yesterday drove south from there, and terrain was interesting. Endless beaches. Road went inland and we went through two sugar cane villages (active sugar mills). Looked just like Hawaii of 50 years ago. Went through flat terrain with cattle ranches, which reminded us of driving through parts of central Florida. Ended up in a resort city of 60,000 (nothing like the Gold Coast). Beaches and terrain that reminded us of the best of Hawaii. We’ve frequently seen areas that remind us of Kaneohe on Oahu, with the type of homes, the rolling hills, and the lush terrain.
Drove today to Sydney, five hours for most people, but more like seven hours for us. Generally, the terrain has been really pretty. Gold Coast was sort of flat and very Florida-looking, but moving south it got more lush like Hawaii. Just north of Sydney there are more rolling hills, almost like the area south of Medford on I-5. Driving into Sydney on a surface street, it seemed very much like being in Vancouver, BC.
I would say this place is very much like the United States, but with the British influence that you feel in Canada. Things are more expensive than we’re use to, and more expensive than Hawaii. How about a Krispy Kreme donut for $3.25. There are KFCs everywhere. More than you see in the US. Also, lots of Subways and a good number of McDonalds. That’s it for US restaurants. Only US autos are Fords. Very few of them, and very few dealerships. Probably more Toyotas than anything, but the typical mix of Nissan, Subuaru, etc.
Learning as we go. Austaralia’s economy is tied in part to the US economy, but more importantly tied to the Chinese economy. The largest industry in Australia is mining, especially goal. We diverted today and went to Newcastle, population 300,000, and the largest port exporting coal in the world. It looked like any industrial city you’d see in the US. The biggest political football here is the mass migration by boat of refugees from Sri Lanka. Obama and the Newton murders have been front page here. Lots of coverage of the US fiscal cliff. Like Canadian newspapers and TV, here in Australia they cover real issues and countries other than their own. No real coverage of fires, car accidents and murders. It’s all about issues and being somewhat cerebral. Oh, it’s cricket season, and I keep watching and reading about it, but I’m still clueless. Lots of cricket, rugby, horse racing and sports we don’t pay much attention to.
Hope all is well. Miss you all.
Ken, Marlene, Sophia & Keaka
