Warships, Prince Harry and Fireworks: Just Another Day in Sydney

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One thing that I love about Australia is how the country celebrates its heritage, traditions and birth.  One example of this is the International Fleet Review.

This is an event that over fifty nations around the world partake in.  Around 40 warships and 16 tall ships line the iconic Sydney harbour and get involved in the activities over the long public holiday weekend.



Purchasing tickets for a private tour, we got the opportunity to navigate around some of these magnificent ships (albeit around a heavily policed exclusion zone), but with a beautiful day it was still magnificent.
Out on patrol protecting the visiting fleet
A couple of rowers getting caught in the exclusion zone.

 For me I only wanted to see one ship.  The British Royal Navy's HMS Daring.
The crew on deck on HMS Daring.






















Those not that familiar about HMS Daring, it's the most advanced warship in the world and the 7th to bare the Daring name (since 1804).  It's called a stealth ship as conventional radar has trouble picking it up, however its radar is something special.  It is capable of tracking hundreds of targets over 250 miles away and can track objects the size of a cricket ball travelling at twice the speed of sound.  Pretty cool.




 The day was filled will some impressive fly pasts of military helicopter and aircraft.  Though trying to capture these on camera was a little tricky!


Helicopters in the distance towards

 The day was also the first official engagement for Prince Harry and trying to get a picture of him wasn't the easiest thing to do!
Harry's Boat

One of the best views of the show 
Not a yellow submarine... 
Navy photographer kneeling down taking a picture of the view

 As the day turned to night we headed to the Opera house to get a good view of the final fly pasts and the biggest firework displays in the world.  We were not alone.

Visitors queuing for food and beer, whilst a cruise ship pulls out of the harbour.
Two planes fly past the Opera House... 
Whilst climbers on the harbour bridge met with a military helicopter fly past.
Harbour in lock down...
Unique to other firework displays in Sydney, this one had the warships getting involved as well as the air force.  One incredible display was when a military aircraft, reenacting an event from World War 2, flew low across the harbour and dropped 'bombs' (which were sound effects) onto the bridge which lit up in a blaze of explosive fireworks.  At the same time the warships simulated firing at the incoming aircraft.





3 comments:

  1. Anonymous30 October 2013 at 17:56

    Hi GA, your info has been invaluable. Please could you tell me where you got your silk pillow case liner from? Many thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dave30 October 2013 at 21:32

      HI! Thanks for the feedback, really glad it's helping. If there's anything particular you want me to write about then let me know :)

      Now the silk liner I purchased actually came from eBay. It's made by a company called Lifeventure - they're such a good brand I inadvertently purchased quite a lot of their stuff! Depending on where you live you should be able to to pick one up from your local outdoor store or check out eBay/google shopping. The other item I really liked to was the silk liner sleeping bag. Great for sleeping in hot climates and like the pillow case it keeps the bugs away too!

      Delete
  2. Nemo Taylor6 November 2013 at 03:18

    great post gibs. now that i'm back to blogging i need to catch up on all my friends blogs! fun to read

    ReplyDelete

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