North Head

I like going to see where movies have been made. Even though Mission Impossible II wasn't that great (although I still rather liked it), it does take place partly in Sydney and, I think, was filmed partially on North Head of Sydney Harbour. Sydney is located on the south east coast of Australia. It has a large natural harbour that extends inland a long way. I took a harbour cruise tour on my first visit and I remember looking at the lavish mansions on the harbour in the far inner reaches. Sometimes I wish I had the kind of money that would be involved in having a place like that.

The harbour opens out to the east on the Abel Tasman Sea (between Australia and New Zealand). The two ends of the opening of the harbour to the sea are called North Head and South Head. One of the walks that the man in the information booth had told me about was the hike to North Head. I could take the Manly Ferry to Manly Beach and then follow the hike trail to North Head. I decided that would be a good way to spend my day, now that I felt much better after my illness. I headed out from the hostel. But damn, my leg hurt. It only hurt for the first couple of steps after being stopped or sitting down though, so I figured it was just sore. Maybe I had banged it against something, or it was just especially sensitive from whatever illness I had contracted. I thought it would get better.

The ferry ride across to Manly Beach was quick and the day was beautiful. I was able to get a nice photo of Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge as we went by.

Later, the opening of the harbour out to the Tasman Sea came into view. The seas seemed to be quite rough through there and the waves were crashing and bashing into the South Head area with ferocious violence. It also made for a bit of a rough ride as we sailed past the harbour mouth.

From Manly Beach, there was a short hike up to the cliffs, and these provided a nice view up the coast along the dramatic cliffs overlooking the sea. But with my leg, it was a bit difficult to climb. It was becoming more painful as the day wore on. I wasn't sure what was going on and, although I couldn't figure out how it could have happened, I was beginning to wonder if it had possibly been broken somehow. But I was on the other side of the harbour and in the bush now, so I couldn't do much except continue.

I arrived at a visitor center in the middle of a former artillery training site. Right up until the 1990's the armed forces conducted artillery drills on North Head, sometimes firing shells into the sea outside Sydney Harbour. Eventually somebody decided that this might not be the best idea with all the ships and such involved with a busy harbour like Sydney. So they moved. The people in the area banded to thwart what must have been drooling developers. They formed a society to transform the military buildings and the area as a preserve, open to the public for public enjoyment. It's quite a nice area.

From the military buildings, there is a walk into the bush from where there is a really nice view of downtown. It is also a really nice place for a little rest to take in the sounds and atmosphere of a natural area very close to the city. I was actually strongly reminded of Calgary from this vantage point. It looks very like the view across the Bow River to downtown Calgary. But maybe it's just me.

From there the path ran down past a former quarantine cemetery. Sometime near the beginning of the last century, there were a number of epidemics including smallpox, flu, and even the plague. (Yes, the same plague as the one that struck Europe in the Middle Ages.) In order to protect the citizens of Sydney, the dead were buried well away from the populated areas of the city, here at North Head. The graveyard is still there and houses around a hundred bodies. It's a bit somber.

From there, I headed over to the observation point at North Head. The woman in the information center for the nature preserve told me that if I were lucky and watched carefully enough, I might be able to see some whales passing by. I guess the annual whale migration to warmer waters near the equator occurs in June and July. It was early in the season yet, but some had been spotted. I sat there for about 45 minutes, but I only spotted the boats taking tourists out on whale-watching tours. Oh well.

I walked back to Manly Beach, in increasing discomfort, and returned to Circular Quay. While I was on the ferry, I thought that conditions were going to be very nice for the sunset that evening. I remembered sunset from all those years ago at a place called Mrs. McQuarrie's Point. It had been a very good place to watch the sun set past the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. I decided to rush to the spot in order to try and catch the sunset this night. Only I misremembered exactly where the point was. I took a wrong turn and ended up getting to the viewpoint after the sun had set and with only the afterglow remaining. It was still quite nice, but I was annoyed with myself for not getting there in time.

By the time I returned to the hostel, my leg hurt quite a bit and I decided to ask the desk staff what they thought it would cost to seek medical attention. They thought that, because I am Canadian and Canada is a member of the Commonwealth, I might be seen by a doctor for free. I thought that I might go the next day, if my leg didn't seem to be any better. Then the people at the desk reminded me of something that I had forgotten. I was in Australia. The same Australia with 6 or 7 of the deadliest spiders and 5 or 6 of the deadliest snakes on the planet, not to mention all manner of other nasty creepy crawlies. It began to seem really reasonable to suppose that I had been bitten by something. But it had been three days earlier that I had gotten bit (if that is what had happened), and I was still alive, so another few hours wouldn't likely make much difference.

One of the reasons I came to Australia was also to visit another friend of mine, Momo. I met Momo in China when I was travelling there a few years ago. Then she was passing through Korea a year or so later and I saw her then. A couple years ago, my mother and I were seeing Peru together and Momo was travelling around the world. She happened to be in Peru at the same time and we met again. Last summer she was finishing up her world travels and passed through Korea again on her way home to Australia, and we met once more. So after meeting four or five times in the past five years in three different countries on two different continents, it seemed only fitting that I pay her a visit here in Australia as well. That would also make a third continent and fourth country.

When I first met her, Momo had recently finished studying eastern medicine and acupuncture (among other herbal treatments) en route to becoming a practitioner. We had agreed to meet that evening and so I also asked her opinion of what was happening to my leg. She agreed that it seemed I had been bitten by something, but thought I could wait until the next day before seeing a doctor if it was worse.

So I decided to go see a doctor in the morning if I was still the same. I hoped, fervently, that I would be feeling better in the morning. I didn't need that kind of complication.