Day 38

Start:  Sutherland Train Station

Finish:  Sydney Harbour

Distance:  18

Total:  628

Today is a milestone in this Australia walk. I’m officially halfway, both in distance and walking days. Let’s hope the second half goes as smoothly as the first. 

Today’s weather forecast called for rain through the morning and a few hours of no rain in the afternoon. At 6:00 this morning it was pouring down. At that point I was thinking I would be taking my day off today and walking tomorrow. I needed at least six hours to cover the distance I needed to walk and I really didn’t want to split it up and not get a day off at all. But by about 7:30 the rain here in Sydney where my hotel is located began to lighten and the radar looked promising, so I got packed up and headed to the train station to ride south to my starting point. Unfortunately, when the train pulled into the station there about 8:30, it was raining right down.  I looked at the radar again and it looked like it would stop where I was soon. So rather than walk in the rain covered with my parka, I elected to sit tight in the dry at the station and wait for the rain to stop.  That took 45 minutes. 

Once I started walking, I basically went through one residential and business district after another until I got within about five miles of downtown Sydney. That’s where the Sydney airport sits in relation to the city. From there on it was continuous high rise apartments and condos and office buildings. It never rained on me while I was walking but it was very windy today. The local weather said the airport had gusts today of 78 KPH (48 MPH). Once I got right downtown the wind was crazy between the buildings. 

I made it to Sydney Harbour and the Sydney Opera House about 4:00. The area was somewhat crowded with tourists but not too bad. I hung around for a while and took some pictures, then went to the nearest train station to head to my hotel. I don’t mean to sound flippant, but I’ve been to Sydney at least three other times that I can remember, and I’m by myself this time, so it was cool and all but I already have the tee shirt. 

Tomorrow is a much needed day off. But I’ve got some things I need to take care of; #1 being I need to buy a new pair of walking shoes. My shoes usually last about 600-700 miles and since Sydney is my best chance to find the same shoe I always wear, I’ll replace them now if I can find a store that sells them. I have a few other supplies to buy and then I’m going to prop my feet up and rest. 

That’s it for Day 38 and that puts a bow on the first half of this adventure. Thanks for following along. JB.