This morning, we were up relatively early to head ashore for Elaine's pathology appointment and to do some provisioning. Once we were back on Paw Paw we weighed anchor and headed to the fuel dock at the Birkenhead Point Marina to fill up with diesel and water. Although Roy had the unfortunate experience of an extremely rude individual putting the phone down on him when he called the marina earlier to cofirm that we could indeed obtain water, if we purchased diesel and neither of us really wanting to give the marina our money after the incident, it was still the most convenient dock to approach. Of course, when this same individual decided to be rude to Elaine while we were on the dock, he received far more than he bargained for. Afterwards, while Elaine simply continued with what she was doing, Roy said the individual was so astonished that someone had dared to retaliate, he was completely speechless and just stood on the dock staring.
With that, we motored the 12NM from Birkenhead Point, Drummoyne, in Sydney Harbour to Killarney Point in Middle Harbour, fortunately making the opening of the Spit Bridge with 15 minutes to spare. It was complete chaos as we passed under the Sydney Harbour Bridge en route with traffic going in every direction and no one really obeying any "rules of the road". In all the mayhem, we spotted Raya (Ros and Rick) heading in the opposite direction to us, slip-streaming a huge cargo ship which was motoring diagonally across everyone.
We are now on a swing mooring out in the "burbs" of Killarney Heights and Castle Cove, boarding on the Garigal National Park, amongst our millionaire neighbours. At least we no longer have to worry about Paw Paw getting another Notice of Removal "pink sticker" for some or other arbitrary transgression and, if we happen to need a taxi into the Sydney Opera House, there's one that passes right past our "front door". A note to other cruiser, however, who may be reading this article - Do not come to Sydney unless you have a swing mooring or berth reserved, since there is literally nowhere decent to anchor and, if you happen to find a spot, you are not permitted to stay for more than a few days before the authorities will order you to move.
For now, we're going to enjoy the peace and quiet of our new home and everything the Garigal National Park has to offer, as well as the amenities of the Cammeray Marina, albeit that we have to dinghy about 3NM back to the marina. A small price to buy for peace of mind!
Now for some fun facts. The 5,440-acre Garigal National Park is situated in the North Shore region of Sydney, approximately 12 miles from the central business district.
The word "Garigal" is a derivation of the word "Carigal" or "Caregal", used to describe the indigenous people who lived in Guringai country, translated in modern English as "Ku-ring-gai".
The Guringai people are the traditional custodians of the land now reserved as the Garigal National Park and there is considerable evidence of past Aboriginal activity in the area, with over 100 Aboriginal sites recorded to date, including shelters, cave art, occupation sites and rock engravings. Many of the sites are undisturbed and are important surviving examples of Aboriginal occupation of the Sydney region.
Garigal National Park is home to a wide range of fauna, including snakes, birds, such as the Black Cockies, the Sulphur-Crested Cockies and the Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoos, as well as a wide range of native mammals, such as bandicoots, koalas and wallabies and a number of threatened species, including the Southern Brown Bandicoot, the common Bent-Wing Bat, the Tiger Quoll, the Osprey and the Glossy Black Cockatoo.
The park also contains two significant places of historical interest. One is Bungaroo at the tidal limit of Middle Harbour Creek,
where Governor Phillip camped for two nights in 1788 on his first expedition.
Bungaroo is the only site described in the journal of this expedition which has been accurately identified. It is now possibly the only location directly connected with very early European exploration that remains in the condition seen by Phillip and his expedition.The other is the former Bantry Bay Explosives Magazine complex which was used for commercial explosives storage. It is the only example of an explosives magazine complex in New South Wales and has historical significance for its role in urban and industrial growth.
