Reflecting on my entries from the past few weeks, it dawned on me that those of you reading this blog could be mistaken for thinking that Sydneysiders do nothing but frequent bars and restaurants and swim at the beach in their spare time. (And of course lets not forget overcoming ones irrational fear of art galleries – see last week’s post). And while that has indeed accounted for a large portion of my blog, it’s not a true reflection of life in Sydney, just a reflection of the silly season.
In an effort to give those of you considering a move to Sydney a broader idea of what this city has to offer, I thought I’d tell you a little about my life in Sydney and the varied week I’ve had.
The week began with meeting Pig and Wuru, the newest housemates at Sydney Aquarium. Pig and Wuru are Dugongs, a large grey marine mammal which in my opinion look like a cross between a shark and a dolphin. Until their arrival at Sydney Aquarium I had never heard of a dugong so was excited to visit the aquarium to see what all the fuss is about.
Within moments of walking into Mermaid Lagoon where Pig and Wuru have taken up residence, I feel like a kid again, squeeling with glee as the dugongs swim past in all their glory. They’re odd looking creatures, but there’s something undeniably cute about them. I notice them munching on what appears to be lettuce and ask our guide Andrew if we’ve arrived at feeding time. As it turns out, feeding time runs all day. You see, Pig and Wuru eat a combined total of 180 kg of cos lettuce each day. Yes – each day! Andrew tells me that the lettuce is similar to the sea grass that dugongs feed on in the wild and due to their size (approx 300kg each), they’re graze for most of the day. It’s an impressive effort, particularly from the aquarium staff who spend the day washing and cutting the lettuce, before threading the leaves into special weighted racks for the dugongs to feed from.
I’m surprised to learn that despite never hearing of the dugong before Pig and Wuru arrived, there are an estimated 80,000 dugongs in Australian waters. Even more interesting is that dugongs are considered to be the ‘original mermaids.’ The logic goes that lonely, disorientated sailors would see the elegant dugongs swimming below with their graceful tail fin and in confusion believed them to be some supernatural creature. I’m not sure if I understand the logic but who knows what tricks the mind can play once you put a lonely man out to sea for an extended period of time.
Pig and Wuru are two of only six dugongs in captivity worldwide, so a truly rare sight. If you have the chance, I highly recommend being a kid for the day and stopping in at the aptly named Mermaid Lagoon at Sydney Aquarium to pay Pig and Wuru a visit.
My next encounter this week was with a mammal of a different sort – the rock ’n’ roll band! In recent years, Aussie band Wolfmother were the toast of the music industry, winning a Grammy in 2007 for Best Hard Rock Performance. Then at the height of their success in 2008, the group split citing the old standard of “irreconcilable differences.” Since then, front man Andrew Stockdale has decided to continue performing as Wolfmother, recruiting new band members.
And it’s this reincarnation of Wolfmother that brings me to the Oxford Art Factory, one of Sydney’s newest live performance venues. The OAF is a funky underground venue, not just in the crowd and line-up of artists that it attracts, but in the literal sense that the venue itself is underground. A friend has gotten word that the band is performing a secret gig under the moniker White Feather so we decide to venture out on a Sunday night handing over our $20 to the guy on the door and hoping for the best. We’re not disappointed as the Andrew and the boys arrive and rock the intimate crowd, playing some new music as well as old favourites like Woman. I make a mental note to get to more gigs here in future. (and to improve my ‘rock’ wardrobe – skinny leg jeans and a metal t-shirt seem to be wardrobe staples).
As Monday rolls around and I head back to work, I’m still sleepy from being out at the gig but excited to visit one of my favourite summer haunts, the St George Open Air Cinema at the Royal Botanic Gardens. It’s obvious from the name of this blog that I love Sydney, but you don’t get much more of an ‘I Love Sydney’ moment than taking in a flick on a warm summer night while gazing at the Harbour Bridge, Opera House and city skyline.
This week the St George Open Air Cinema played host to the Sydney premiere of the movie He’s Just Not That Into You. “Movie premieres happen all over the world” I hear you say, “what’s so special about this one?” Well the great thing about Sydney and the St George Open Air is that you don’t have to be rich and famous to attend. $28 is all it will cost you. Not bad value for a movie, great views and a brush with celebrities. I had my own brush with celebrities that night, meeting the stars of the movie, Justin Long and Ginnifer Goodwin. They too were amazed with the spectacular view of Sydney and I couldn’t help but feel chuffed that our fine city continues to impress the world.
The St George Open Air Cinema runs to Saturday 21 February and although the pre-bookings have sold out, there are still tickets available. If you’re in Sydney this week, why not hightail it there after work, buy a ticket on the door and enjoy the cinema before it closes again til next year.
So as you can see, there’s always something to do in Sydney. To find out more about what's happening around town this week visit Sydney.com and Time Out Sydney.
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