In the Garden

On Monday we all got on the ferry again for another trip to the city. This time we really lucked out because the regular ferry was delayed and they allowed us to take the jet ferry for no extra charge. The thing moves like a bat out of hell and covers the same distance in half the time. With Ronald as our trusty guide, we headed past the Opera House to the Botanical Gardens, a fantastic public park with the widest variety of vegetation I have ever seen. There were native and non-native plants and trees, with lovely open fields and harbor views. Some of the native trees are particularly weird looking, with tangled roots and massive spreading branches that look as if they each weigh several tons. Once we got to the center of the park we stopped for a rather expensive lunch which was served at outside tables besieged by hungry ibis birds and "flying foxes" (gigantic fruit eating bats.) I always thought these animals only lived in Java or some other remote Pacific location, but apparently they have really taken to this park and they roost in the trees by the thousands.

Our next stop was the art museum of New South Wales, a short walk just beyond the gardens. The interior of the place was massive, with exhibit halls that were large enough to fit about five Museum of the Rockies! I particularly liked the nineteenth century art, including a dramatic painting of the battle of Rourke’s Drift, made famous by the movie "Zulu." Benjamin and Jayne explored the galleries dealing with modern and Aboriginal art, and Fred and Ronald wandered around all over the map. (Jacob stayed home on this trip; he wasn’t feeling well.)
One exhibit of particular beauty was a collection of Indian art, both Hindu and Moslem. At the entrance to this exhibit was a statue of Ganesh carved from volcanic rock and someone had placed a fresh lotus flower in his lap. This was pretty cool, because we had just seen a huge lotus pond in the gardens and were taken by the strange plastic-looking center of the blossom. Of course we could not do this museum justice during the hour or two we spent exploring because it was simply too big. We will be back, especially since the New South Wales library is also in the vicinity.

On the way back to the ferry we paused and watched an Aboriginal music group playing drums and the digereedoo to the accompaniment of pre-recorded instrumentals. It sounded great, and Ronald purchased their CD. One of the Abbos was in full native regalia and obligingly posed for photographs while making those strange, almost voodoo-like, hand gestures. Then it was off to the ferry for a return home where we cooked dinner, played Scrabble, and went to bed pretty darn tired.