Sydney 2013: Australian National Maritime Museum

I was in two minds about whether to blog about my London holiday or our current Sydney adventures. Really #firstworldproblems huh!

It’s going to be Sydney first so that the kids’ and this blog’s biggest fan, aka my husband, gets to see what we get up to.

So first up is the Australian National Maritime Museum at Darling Harbour. This wasn’t on my list of things to do, but Aunty Jud suggested it, and the prospect of being able to board some actual vessels to take a look around sounded really tempting. So off we went.

The museum is at Darling Harbour, and really pretty hard to miss, with the ships parked outside! You have to get the Big Ticket (A$25 for adults, A$15 for children aged 4-15) to get on the ships, and this includes entrance to the galleries of the museum, as well as to the lighthouse and a kids’ programme. Unfortunately the lighthouse was closed when we wanted to visit, and the kids programme only runs on Sundays and in the school holidays (which is this week!). So check before you go if you want to maximise your ticket value!

We decided to just buy the ticket and go tour the ships since we were there anyway. We started with the warship, the HMAS Vampire.

In front of the warship, the HMAS Vampire, the last of Australia’s big gun ships.

One for the camera before we start exploring.

We sped through this ship because Noey didn’t like it much. It was relatively quiet when we visited and I think he was a bit spooked by the narrow, silent spaces and kept wanting to find people to follow. Can’t say I learnt very much about this ship!

With some of the big guns.

“Look, it’s a steering wheel!” said Meips gleefully when she chanced on this pipe valve. That’s her pretending to drive. She can really be insanely cute.

Look who’s the captain? Really chilling it in the Captain’s chair!

After that experience, Noey didn’t want to go on any more boats, but we managed to persuade him to visit the submarine, enticing him with the opportunity to look into a periscope. I’m glad he went because the submarine, the HMS Onslow, was really interesting.

About the HMAS Onslow. i didn’t get a good pic of the actual sea craft!

There is a minimum height requirement of 90cm for entry into the submarine and Naomi just scraped by. I almost immediately regretted taking her on board when I realised we had to enter through a narrow porthole and descend down nearly vertical steps to get in! The sub was also really narrow. Maybe about 8-10 feet across? I could never work on one – it’s really pretty claustrophobic. Plus, just the description by the guide of how a submariner was to escape from the submarine in the event of an emergency made me panic. I’m definitely not level headed enough under pressure for the job!

Climbing through the doors to each chamber. They are barely a metre in diameter. Noey can’t even stand up straight in one!

In the really narrow engine room. We were told that it gets really noisy too if the engines are running! Though of course, they only run for short periods. Submarines do need to be silent!

Taking a peek through one of the periscopes.

After visiting the submarine, we trekked across to the other side to visit a ship from another era: a replica of Captain Cook’s ship, the HMB Endeavour. We’d hoped to visit Cape Bowling Green Lighthouse, which was just next to it, but we got there a bit late and the lighthouse was closed.

Cape Bowling Green Lighthouse. Originally at Cape Bowling Green (yes, that’s the reason for the name!) it was dismantled and re-erected at the museum in 1994. 

With the HMB Endeavour. They don’t make ships like this any more!

Even though this ship was a replica, you could still see what a fine piece of work the original ship must have been. Touted as one of the world’s most accurate maritime reproductions, you can catch a glimpse of a sailor’s life onboard one of history’s greatest maritime adventures – the epic expedition of Captain Cook between 1768-1771. There are a number of guides onboard to tell you tales of the journey and the uses and occupants of the rooms. While I generally dislike being on ships, I enjoyed this visit.

Climbing amidst the ropes on the lovely timber deck. There’s almost 30km of rope and 750 wooden blocks or pulleys on board.

Can he see like that, you think?

Noey the helmsman at the wheel!

The mess deck tables where the crew had their meals.

The midshipmen’s/mates’ mess, with officer’s cabins around the sides. It was super low, and we all had to sit down to listen to the guide. Except the kids of course. Noey was very pleased he didn’t have to bend down. 

We stopped for a late lunch after visiting the ships before we continued with the rest of the museum. There are many different exhibitions on an plenty to see, but here are the two that the kids liked best. 

Elysium is an exhibition of photos and short video clips from a scientific and artistic expedition to Antarctica. There are many beautiful photographs of the incredible icy landscape and the wildlife. The kids loved the cute seals and penguins! The short clips really show you the size of the colonies — soooo many penguins! Incidentally one of the photographers whose work is showcased in the exhibition is my father-in-law’s friend too.

The Elysium exhibition along the corridors of the museum.

Meips looks upon the icy landscape. 

The children’s favourite part of the museum had to be the Rescue exhibition. A hands-on exhibition specifically designed for kids, think video game rides, consoles, a ball pit, a rock wall… Quite obvious why it was their favourite, isn’t it? And it was educational too, exploring rescue scenarios from air to sea to land, and imparting knowledge on rescue techniques, emergency supplies and equipment.

Jet-skiers on the way to rescue persons stranded in the sea.

Here comes the helicopter rescue team! This is a flight simulator.

Ball pit! Actually it’s supposed to be the sea and the square in the middile is a life raft that you’re supposed to climb onboard (and discover that it’s not very easy at all!) The kids loved the ball pit though, and were busy putting the balls into the hole where they get shot out over their head.

Noey the newscaster. Read the news and watch yourself in TV.

We spent over an hour at this exhibition, and it got a big thumbs up from Noey. “That was REALLY fun,” he said, as we were leaving. And it was.

I want to be a rescue worker!

Both these exhibitions are temporary ones, so do check the Australian National Maritime Museum website to see what’s on before you visit! It sure was a fun day out for the kids.