SYDNEY SIGHTS

 Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. It is on Australia’s south-east coast, on the Tasman Sea. In 2016 the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 5 million people. Inhabitants of Sydney are called Sydneysiders, comprising a cosmopolitan and international population.

The site of the first British colony in Australia, Sydney was established in 1788 at Sydney Cove by Arthur Phillip, commodore of the First Fleet, as a penal colony. The city is built on hills surrounding Port Jackson, which is commonly known as Sydney Harbour, where the iconic Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge feature prominently.

The hinterland of the metropolitan area is surrounded by national parks, and the coastal regions feature many bays, rivers, inlets and beaches including the famous Bondi Beach and Manly Beach. Within the city are many notable parks, including Hyde Park and the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Sydney is a high-ranking world city and has hosted multiple major international sporting events, including the 1938 British Empire Games (now known as the Commonwealth Games) and the 2000 Summer Olympics. The main airport serving Sydney is Sydney Airport and its main port is Port Botany.Sydney is the top tourist destination in Australia, most international tourists spending some time there if nowhere else in Australia. In the year ending 2012, Sydney received a total of 10.5 million international and domestic visitors, which injected $11.7 billion into the state of New South Wales’ economy. The most well-known attractions include the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Other attractions include Royal Botanical Gardens, Luna Park, Darling Harbour, some 40 beaches and Sydney Tower.

The New South Wales Government operates two programs relevant to Sydney as part of the NSW Tourism Strategy, they are: Brand Sydney ( to revitalise and strengthen the image and appeal of Sydney) and Visit Sydney (to increase promotion of Sydney as a tourist destination through a strengthened dedicated business unit within Destination NSW). Sydney also has several popular museums, such as the Australian Museum (natural history and anthropology), the Powerhouse Museum (science, technology and design), the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Australian National Maritime Museum.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

MY SUNDAY BEST MEME #64 - QANTAS

Welcome to the meme, "My Sunday Best", which is a photographic and creative meme that allows you to showcase your talents in imaging. Every Sunday, you can post here showing an image you have created using your camera, (and/or) image processing software, and/or painting and drawing in the conventional way and have scanned in.

The rules are simple:

1) Create your image and post it up on your blog;

2) Put the "My Sunday Best" logo image link somewhere on your post so people can click and come by here;

3) Leave a comment here once you have posted;

4) Visit other posters' blogs and be amazed with their creativity!

Please do not use this meme to advertise your goods or services. This is a creative meme and any inappropriate links or comments shall be removed immediately!

Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an acronym for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, New South Wales, with its main hub at Sydney Airport. It is Australia's largest airline, the oldest continuously operated airline in the world and the second oldest in the world overall. Qantas headquarters are located in the Qantas Centre in the Mascot suburb of the City of Botany Bay. Qantas still retains a 65% share of the Australian domestic market and carries 18.7% of all passengers travelling in and out of Australia.

This post is part of the My Sunday Photo meme,

and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

FLYING TOWARDS MELBOURNE

Coming back home after an interstate flight.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Friday Photo Journal meme.

SATURDAY SILHOUETTES #4

Welcome to the Saturday Silhouettes meme. This is a weekly meme that looks at SILHOUETTES in photography.

SILHOUETTE |ˌsɪlʊˈɛt| noun The dark shape and outline of someone or something visible in restricted light against a brighter background.
ORIGIN - late 18th century: Named (although the reason remains uncertain) after Étienne de Silhouette (1709–67), French author and politician.

Escaping Winter...

Please join me by linking your photo in which a silhouette plays a prominent part in the composition of your image:

BRISBANE SUNSET

Taken from an airplane window as I was flying out of Brisbane one evening.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

SUNSET 10 KILOMETRES UP

Snapped this on a flight from Sydney to Melbourne some time back. Sunset high up in the sky is quite amazing!

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

FLY AWAY

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

SUNSET

"I like that time is marked by each sunrise and sunset whether or not you actually see it." - Catherine Opie

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

FLIGHT TO PERTH

On a flight from Melbourne to Perth - the advantages of a window seat...

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

SYDNEY SKIES

View from an airplane just before take-off. Port Botany is seen in the distance.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

ADELAIDE TO MELBOURNE FLIGHT

This post is part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

AIRPORT

Not very good weather for flying as a storm is approaching... Nevertheless, we made it safe and sound, if somewhat bumpy.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

FLYING TO SYDNEY

Approaching Sydney from the South, one can take is some great sights weather permitting. I was lucky enough to get these shot looking towards Homebush and the Sydney Olympic Park. The two bridges seen are in the vicinity of Rhodes, one a railway bridge, the other a road bridge (Concord Rd becoming Church St).

This post is part of the Weekly TopShot meme,

and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme,

and also part of the Sunday Bridges meme.

FLYING OVER MELBOURNE'S WEST

This post is part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,

And also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

FLIGHT

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

SKIES UP HIGH

Flying to Sydney and enjoying the view of the clouds from high up.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

SYDNEY SUBURBS FROM THE AIR

On a recent trip to Sydney I was able to take some photos from my window seat. The map helps identify the features seen int eh first photo. The Parramatta River and its banks are seen well, looking up towards the West (upper right)  in the first photo, towards Ryde. The Concord Rd road bridge is seen and close to it the railway bridge leading towards Rhodes station. These bridges (in red on the map) are seen in greater detail in the following photos.

This post is part of the Scenic Weekends meme,
and also part of the Sunday Bridges meme.

SKY, 10 KM UP

A recent trip to Sydney allowed me to take some photos again. Here is the sky from 10 km above the earth. There's an interesting, weak rainbow effect on the left side of the photo.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

TALBINGO DAM

Talbingo Dam is a major ungated rock fill with clay core embankment dam with concrete chute spillway across the Tumut River upstream of Talbingo in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's main purpose is for the generation of hydro-power and is the largest of sixteen major dams that comprise the Snowy Mountains Scheme, a vast hydroelectricity and irrigation complex constructed in south-east Australia between 1949 and 1974 and now run by Snowy Hydro. The impounded reservoir is called Talbingo Reservoir.

Commenced in 1968 and completed in 1971, Talbingo Dam is a major dam on the Tumut River, within the Snowy Mountains, approximately 5 kilometres south of the village of Talbingo. The dam was constructed by Thiess Bros Pty Limited and, at the time, the project was the largest dam ever built in Australia. The dam is the largest and last of the sixteen dams completed as part of the Snowy Mountains Scheme. I flew to Sydney for the day today and these photos were taken from the plane.

The Google map image is the first image below to identify the location. The last two photos show that the "Snowy Mountains" are true to name!

This post is part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme.

STORMY SKY

Flying in to Perth in a recent trip, we flew into some stormy clouds as we were approaching the airport. Sure enough, when we landed, the heavens opened and the big wet came. I didn't think this photo would come out as it was all quite dark and the plane was moving, but it seems to have captured the moment.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.