Even This Cockatoo Shall Pass

Day: 388

Towns / Cities Visited: 294

Countries Visited: 31

Steps Taken Today: 19,517

Steps Taken Around the World: 6,037,734

For the first time since we’d arrived in Sydney, we awoke to an overcast day, the forecast appearing gloomy and destined for rain. That was, of course, a problem, given we were planning engaging in outdoor activities all day. If our travels had taught us anything, though, it was that: one - weather forecasts are questionable at best, and two - if you let a little rain stop you, you’ll miss half the damn world. As such, we put our jackets on, grabbed our packed lunch, and set off.

Of course, before we could enjoy the day’s first attraction, we had to get there first, and that was to be an adventure in and of itself. Taking a train into the city, we swapped lines to arrive at Circular Quay where we then transferred to a ferry. An hour and a half or so after leaving the house, we finally stepped off onto Cockatoo Island. Now, I know it sounds like some kind of wildlife sanctuary, but the island has a far less innocuous history.

You see, its first use after colonisation was as a gaol for secondary offending convicts: those being convicts who were sent to Australia for crimes then felt the need to commit a few more when they got here. As per usual, the convicts themselves were forced to construct the buildings that would hold them, hand carving the blocks of stone from the very island…