Saturday, January 07, 2006

January Jaundice

The month of January seems akin to the summer months of July and August back in the states. School is out of session, the weather's good and most people are out on holiday.

In Australia, the month of January is bookended by two public holidays, New Years Day (which encompasses both the 1st and 2nd) and Australia Day, which falls on the 27th. This gives people good reason just to skip the entire month and head out of town. Many shops are closed, the trains are empty and the business district seems relatively deserted. Contrastingly, the beaches are packed and it is difficult to find any discount flights domestically, given that its the high season.

posted by ncawthon at 1:23 PM

Sunday, January 01, 2006

Happy New Year

Hello from 2006 all of you date-liners, we've been in this year for a few hours now and let me tell you... it feels about the same. As father midnight rolls around to your portion of the world, you'll see what I mean.

Last night was a rude awakening returning from Alice Springs. We had thought that being in the desert under the sweltering heat was going to be rewarded be the cool tradewinds of a coastal climate zone. Wrong. Sydney pushed 110 degrees this weekend, making it much hotter than anything we experienced in the outback. Upon arrival back home, the city was buzzing with anticipation. It looked as if it was a mass exodus to the harbor for some good gawking positions. We were fortunate to have our friends Greg and Ellen out of town for the occasion, getting to nap / shower / eat / decompress at their prime location.

Getting in at 4pm, police barricades and security checkpoints were set up to ensure that none brought their own alcohol down to the waterfront, so that the city council could charge a hefty price from their vendor booths. Never have we seen a more ineffective means of screening, at one point the gate attendant was seen sitting down with an open container. As a result, the legitimate beer trucks were deserted.

The harbor itself was packed with boats, all dressed up with Christmas lights, some holding the 'heart' theme this year in decoration. With the main heart glowing brightly from the bridge, it was fun to see these mobile versions of similar sized hearts ducking in and out of the inlets of the harbor. It made for more of a show than just the fireworks themselves.

Down by ferry terminals, the crowd had the feel of a rock concert - everyone seemed to be 18-25 years old and completely inebriated. This seems to be a recurring theme here in Sydney, we often wonder if it is just the events we are choosing to attend, or is the entire city just full of the young, tan and intoxicated. It makes for a raucous atmosphere when wanting to participate, but is intimidating (especially given the race riots a few weeks earlier) when trying to keep a level head.

Peggy, Cici and I did some 'light trespassing' in order to find a secluded spot that we had, for the most part, all to ourselves. There was a children's show at 9pm, then the main show at midnight. Rockets went off at two different locations on either side of the harbor, then for the finale they incorporated the bridge into the sequencing. The Sydney celebration was easily the most impressive show I've ever seen. The country has two days off for the 1st and 2nd before heading back to work. Given the weather, most saunter down to the beach in order to shake the hangover before going out and doing it all again.

posted by ncawthon at 7:28 PM