My journey to Australia in 2018

[Fanat]

Short Introduction

Day 1
the City, SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium, the Domain, the Royal Botanic Garden

Day 2
the City, State Library of NSW, St Mary's Cathedral, Queen Victoria Building

Day 3
the Royal Botanic Garden, Woolloomooloo, Nielsen Park, South Head, Bondi Beach, Centennial Park

Day 4
the Blue Mountains, Jenolan Caves, Glenbrook railway station

Day 5

Day 6
Taronga Zoo, Blues Point, Chatswood

Day 7
Camp Coutts, Bronte Beach, Waverley Cemetery, Balls Head, house of Alex, Sydney panorama, former BP site, Gore Hill Cemetery, Royal North Shore Hospital, 'library' and its surroundings

Day 8
Sydney Tower, boat tour

Day 9
Manly, houses of Vicky, Kathy and Tony, Dobroyd Head, Rosehill and Strathfield stations

Day 10
Manly Dam, Narrabeen Lakes, Terrey Hills, house of Paul

Day 11
The Rocks, Sydney Harbour Bridge, one Riana location

Day 12
Port Botany, Roselands Shopping Centre, 'abandoned' house, house of the old lady, house of Katrina, Film Australia, road to Magnetronix

Day 13
Circular Quay, house of Tony, studio of Carl, yacht club

Day 14
Around Circular Quay and Harbour Bridge, Observatory Hill, Walsh Bay Wharves and its surroundings, one Riana location, Central station, hotel, former Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Fish Market, school and its surroundings, Glebe

Closing remarks

***
Discussion of this story

The filming locations are highlighted in bold in this post.

Please do not use the pictures from this story at any other websites (including social media)!

[Fanat]

I watched Spellbinder for the first time in 2000, when I was 10 years old. I was really fascinated by this series and, what is interesting, by Sydney. Since then, I have always wanted to visit Australia, to explore Sydney and the filming locations of Spellbinder there.

Unfortunately, Australia is really far away from my home (Russia) so it is quite expensive to go there. Moreover, Australia is quite strict when it comes to visitor visas for people from the low and middle income countries. Consequently, it is not easy to visit Australia if you’re Russian.

But I was lucky. In 2018, I managed to get a visitor visa to Australia. I booked a flight from Moscow to Sydney (via Singapore) and back. Also I booked an Airbnb accommodation for my stay in Sydney. The dream of my childhood was about to be fulfilled!

My journey to Australia finally took place in July and August, 2018. I spent two fantastic weeks in Sydney then! This forum thread is about that journey. For discussion and questions, please use the separate thread.

[Fanat]

I arrived to Sydney Airport from Singapore early in the morning, at about 6 o’clock. After a long way in economy class from Moscow, I was tired. But I was really excited because I finally reached Australia!

I quickly passed through passport and customs control and went to International Airport railway station. It was a winter morning. I realized that it was actually cold. I put on my jacket.

A ticket office was located right in front of the station turnstiles. I bought the Opal card to pay for public transport in Sydney and topped it up:



Look at the train directions! They are from Spellbinder!



Next, I went down to the platform:







The words Beware gap when boarding probably have their roots in the world-famous words Mind the gap in the Tube in London (UK):



Soon, my train arrived and I went to the centre. There were a lot of people in the carriage, but it was not overcrowded. Since the train was coming from a suburb, the passengers were mostly locals. The way to the centre took about ten to fifteen minutes.

At first, the train was going underground, in a tunnel, and made three intermediate stops. Then, right in front of the Central Station, the tracks came to the surface. On the left, I saw the tops of the City skyscrapers, familiar to us from Spellbinder. Of course, I tried to see the hotel where Ashka stayed in season 1, but I could not see it. I think it simply should not have been visible from there.

And then the train arrived at the Central railway station! Many passengers, including myself, got out there, and the train went to another suburb.

Right from the platform I took some pictures:









The tracks:



The platform:



The train is arriving:



The City:



Did you notice a clock tower?

Then I stepped down to the way under tracks and went to the station building:



I think you feel that this place reminds you something. Indeed, around there, Paul and others were looking for Riana.

I went to the Grand Concourse of this station:





The windows are magnificent:



Here I left my luggage:



After that, I took some pictures in and around the Grand Concourse:



Then I went outside and began walking around the City, moving towards Circular Quay. The feeling at first was very strange. On the one hand, everything seemed to be as usual: people, buildings, cars... On the other hand, I was in the Southern Hemisphere! In Australia!! In Sydney!!! It was very difficult to realize, and in addition I was a little not myself from lack of sleep.

This is near the Central station:







Now let’s look at buildings and streets:











This is a hotel in an old building:



Countless featureless buildings:



Here you can see the station tower:



And this building is quite nice:







There used to be Mark Foy’s Piazza Store in this building, and now it is the Downing Centre, a courthouse complex.

And this is Hyde Park:





In this area, one can find the memorial Yininmadyemi - Thou didst let fall. It acknowledges the service of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women in the Australian Defence Force:



The skyscrapers!





And this is the Odd Fellows memorial erected in memory of the members of the Odd Fellows Society who enlisted in World War I:



On the other side of the road, I saw the Great Synagogue:



Some other pictures:







The TV tower!





Then I walked inside the City:



The building with columns is State Savings Bank Building:





Currently it serves as the headquarters of Macquarie Group.

And I moved on.















Something in the colonial style:



Unfortunately, the vast majority of buildings in the City are not really elegant:



And this great building is the Chief Secretary’s building:





And finally I saw the Sydney Harbour Bridge!



I have been waiting for that moment for about 20 years!

I went towards the bridge between the skyscrapers:



Then I found myself near Circular Quay railway station:



I passed under that station to Circular Quay itself:



Here you can see the ferries that go to different parts of Sydney Harbour.

The train station:



The huge building on the left is the Museum of Contemporary Art:





Then I went to McDonald’s and finally had my breakfast. After that, I continued my walk.



What a wonderful view!













And this is a top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, with the flags of New South Wales and Australia:



Then I went to the Royal Botanic Garden. When I was walking to there, I saw something like ancient ruins:





Buildings around:





The flower:



Another view to the bridge:













And now I was standing behind the Sydney Opera House:







The gate to the Royal Botanic Garden:





Sydney Harbour:







The Sydney Opera House:



The sands of Sydney Harbour:



Then I went around the Royal Botanic Garden:









And this is a part of the New South Wales Government House complex:





Then I went back to Circular Quay.





From the station platform, I saw the bridge!





From Circular Quay, I went to Wynyard station, in the City. At Wynyard station, I noticed the so-called Wynscreen:



Then I went to the street:





John Sands, one of Sydney’s oldest publishing companies, occupied this building once:



I moved on:











Finally I reached Darling Harbour:







This place is quite popular: along the promenade, there are many cafes and restaurants. And the white building on the other side is the Australian National Maritime Museum:



I was thinking of visiting it, but it was not really important for me.

Look, the Qantas plane is flying!



I photographed this plane mainly because, in season 2, Sun saw a similar plane at the same low altitude. As you already understood, Sydney Airport is very close to the City, so you can often see planes at low altitude there.

In the next three pictures, you see something similar to a greenhouse. It seems that it is Wild Life Sydney Zoo.







People write that it is not really impressive, so I was not going to visit it. In Sydney, there is a much more interesting zoo. I visited it later.

More shots from Darling Harbour:







Then I went to Sea Life Sydney Aquarium:









































When I was walking around the aquarium, I began to fall asleep right on the go. If I sat down somewhere to rest, I would instantly fall asleep. Sleepless nights began to affect me.

Having gone outside, I went for a walk along the promenade.





















Then I went into the City:







In the next picture, you can see a part of the old building (with a dome), that is the Sydney Town Hall, and a more modern extension to it:









And this is the Hong Kong House:





Next to all this beauty, we see faceless buildings:



Opposite the Town Hall is St. Andrew’s Cathedral:



The old building:



Then I stepped down to Town Hall railway station, which is located directly under the Town Hall itself.



From there, I went to the Central station.



There, I changed trains.



From there I went to another station in the City, to St James. The way to it took about four minutes. In fact, it was possible to get there directly from the Town Hall station. I don’t understand now why I went so. Probably I took the wrong direction. But in any case, I did not lose much time.

There was only one station between the Central Station and St James, namely Museum (it is called so because of the Australian Museum nearby). I did not get off there, but managed to take a couple of shots:





This station is very stylish, as you can see. Here you can feel the influence of the London Underground.

A couple of shots of the train at St James where I arrived:





This station is no less stylish:









The exit from the station also looks very nice:













Then I found myself near the small St James’ Church:



The square:



Nearby are the monuments to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert:







A little further is the huge St Mary’s Cathedral:



Behind this cathedral, The Domain park begins. I went there:





On my way, I came across a memorial dedicated to New South Wales police officers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the execution of their duty:



And I moved on:





The TV Tower:







Here you see the Art Gallery of New South Wales:







Then I reached the shore of Sydney Harbour. From there, you can see Woolloomooloo:





In the last picture, the buildings from Spellbinder are visible. A long blue and white building is the Finger Wharf (also known as Woolloomooloo Wharf). A part of this building was shown in Spellbinder, but from a different point. And to the right of this building you can see blocks of houses. Josie and Ben (with Riana) went around them in search of their parents. I was going to visit this area another day.

Let’s move on:





Here we see HMAS Kuttabul, a Royal Australian Navy base:



Wonderful views everywhere!



The Finger Wharf again:















The ships:





The Finger Wharf:





I moved on:







The hydrant:



And this is Andrew "Boy" Charlton Pool:



More pictures:









The rock:





Let’s walk near the water:































It seems to be a white-faced heron:



Here you see Fort Denison:





More pictures:





















And now we see the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House again!





For the first time in my life, I touched the Pacific!



The Fort:



This is the well-known Mrs Macquarie’s Chair:



The "chair" was made in the rock by prisoners in 1810 for Elizabeth Macquarie, the wife of Lachlan Macquarie, Governor of New South Wales. Mrs. Macquarie loved to come here and enjoy the views of the harbour, sitting in the "chair":



Indeed, the views are fantastic!

I moved on.



This view of the bridge and the Opera House is considered classic. But the sun prevented me from taking really nice pictures because it was already evening. I decided to come here again early in the morning and take a good shot. Here, by the way, one of the scenes of The Girl from Tomorrow was shot.

I moved on taking pictures of everything:





















Around here, The Domain goes into the Royal Botanic Garden that I visited in the morning, but now I went to a completely different part of it:





































The bamboo grove!



Very nice!







And this is the Australian white ibis:



I saw these birds very often in Sydney. In Russia, you generally see sparrows and pigeons only. Imagine how exotic every meeting with an ibis was for me then! At first I was afraid of them (what a long beak they have!), but then got used to them. They do not pay attention to people.

I moved on:













Did you notice the Harbor Bridge in the last photo?













And here, in fact, a rose garden, but roses don’t bloom (it’s not their season):



Here you see the Sydney Conservatorium of Music:



And here something is still blooming:















I went closer to the Conservatorium:



Looks like a castle!

This is the exit from the Royal Botanic Garden:



Here we see the Chief Secretary’s building again but from another side, from Macquarie Street:



Next to it, there is a monument to King Edward VII:



And this is a part of InterContinental hotel:



The next building is the Transport House:



There used to be various offices of the Railway Department in this house.

Here we see another expensive hotel, Sir Stamford at Circular Quay:





I moved on:



And this is the building of the Royal Automobile Club of Australia:



Finally, the Opera House!



And the Bridge!



Circular Quay:





And this is a fast ferry to Manly:



Then I went to Circular Quay railway station and went to Sydney Central Station by train from there. Because I was really tired, I fell asleep in the train and missed Sydney Central so I had to return. But I did not lose much time.

This is the way under tracks at the Central Station:



At the Central Station, I took my luggage. Then I left by train to Beecroft. It is a Sydney suburb where I rented a room.

Beecroft railway station:



Note that the station building is very similar to the Glenbrook station building from Spellbinder! During my stay in Sydney, I saw the same buildings at other stations. Apparently, they are more or less typical for the suburbs of Sydney.

From the station, I contacted my Airbnb host and went to her home. It was already absolutely dark, and it was a bit difficult to go. When I reached the house, I was very cordially welcomed.

It was about six or seven o’clock in the evening so I finally fell asleep.

[Fanat]

In the morning, I woke up a little later than I was going to. Since I did not have any special plans for this day, I was not really worried about this.

Here is the street where I lived:









This is where I came from the night before:



This is the road to the railway station. The descent towards it begins here. The night before, I was walking in the opposite direction. With luggage, it was not easy.

But now I took a bus, from Pennant Hills Rd after Cardinal Ave bus stop, which is very close to my house. From there, I went to the City, Kent St after Druitt St bus stop. I took a couple of shots near this stop in the City:





Then I took a commuter train from Town Hall to Circular Quay. I wanted to take a sightseeing boat around Sydney Harbour. But the tour was cancelled that day for some reason so I decided to walk. But at first I could not help but make some shots with fantastic views of the harbour and the bridge!









I think I made them right from the station platform.

Next to this station, there is Customs House. Now it hosts the City of Sydney Library.



The old commuter train reminded me the ones from Spellbinder!



Then I went to the State Library of New South Wales in order to take a look at the book on season 2 of The Girl from Tomorrow which is almost impossible to buy on the Internet.

I went here yesterday:



And this is the library:





Some pictures from inside:









Very impressive, isn’t it? I like such large old buildings with columns and stained glass windows.

After I examined the book, I continued my walk around Sydney.











Again Hyde Park!









Then I walked to St Mary’s Cathedral.



























A service was going on inside so I decided not to go to the altar in order not to disturb people. I just took a few shots from the entrance:

















I really like stained glass windows in cathedrals, and these stained glass windows are no exception!

Then I moved on. In this old Registrar-General’s building, there are some government offices of New South Wales now:



In Hyde Park, there is a small monument to 19th-century politician William Bede Dalley:



Nearby, in the park, there is the Archibald Fountain:



I walked further through the park, took the picture of the cathedral again:



The TV Tower:



Hyde Park:



The ibis!



The City:



The road separates Hyde Park into 2 parts:







And this is the Australian Museum that I have already mentioned:



This is Australia’s oldest museum. However, I did not want to go there.

Nearby I found the monument to James Cook:



And this is Sydney Grammar School:



Again, Hyde Park:



And this is Frazer Fountain:



The City:









The ibis!



Notice the structure in scaffolding:



This is the Anzac Memorial.

I saw also the Hyde Park Obelisk in the Egyptian style:





Then I went further to the City.





It is still possible to see some old buildings:







The name of this restaurant, Sharak, is very important for Spellbinder fans!







The pub:





Again, the Town Hall:



The skyscraper:







I also took some pictures of St Andrew’s Cathedral from different points:







And more pictures of the Town Hall:





Then I visited the Queen Victoria Building:







The memorial to Queen Victoria:



Inside this building:









The railway layout!





The dome of this building:



Stained glass:









From outside:



Here you can see the Town Hall tower:



I found myself in a small quarter of old buildings:





The Town Hall:



The Queen Victoria Building domes and a part of the TV Tower:



Now it was time to return home. I went down to Town Hall station and took the train to Beecroft. At Epping, I changed trains.

This is Epping station:









And then I arrived home.

[Fanat]

In the morning I got up early, went to the City by bus and went to take pictures of the bridge and the Opera House. On my way there, I took other photos.

This is again St Mary’s Cathedral. In front of it, there is the second Frazer Fountain (I saw the first one the day before):



I am walking in The Domain:







And finally, this is the best view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House!





Undoubtedly, it was a good idea to wake up so early! In just a few hours, the sun will shine from a completely different direction and pictures would be worse.





Now I went on. Path in the park:



I could not resist and photographed all this beauty again, from a different point:





And this is the map of The Domain and the Royal Botanic Garden:



The park rules are very nice, aren’t they?

The park:

















Then I went to the Royal Botanic Garden again. It is quite large, and I have not yet seen everything there.









































From the Royal Botanic Garden, I went to Woolloomooloo. Many things were shot there in season 1.

Behind these houses, there were a lot of interesting things in Spellbinder:



The hotel in the old building (not from Spellbinder):



I moved on:



The Finger Wharf:



This building is parallel to this wharf:



It seems that this building is residential. Such a nice place to live!

Again that hotel:



And here is our first filming location! Here Josie and Ben walked in search of their parents; Riana also walked with them. Compare:





And you can see the TV Tower here.



The building next to which the camera man stood more than 20 years ago and shot the opposite side of the street:



And now I was standing there!





Again:





While I was standing and taking pictures of the houses along which our heroes walked, a woman came out of one house. Apparently, she lived there. She looked at me for a couple of seconds, and then drove away in a car on her own business. I hope she thought that I was some kind of municipal employee, and not something worse. After all, I had a tablet in one hand, in which I constantly looked to find corresponding Spellbinder screenshots, and I took pictures with my other hand. To any local, I would seem suspicious!

Generally, many filming locations in Sydney are in residential areas, where taking pictures is somewhat awkward. But I have never had a problem on this basis.

More pictures:







And more:





Note that the electric pole is still there, to the left of the tree!

Again:





I decided so far to move on, and then return here and go right on the side where our heroes walked.

The next filming location, just in a couple of steps from there, is where Ashka was!









A large white building with blue frames is the Finger Wharf. It is very good that it was restored.









Now let’s turn around and look at the place where a small street cafe was located:





Now there is nothing here, otherwise I would also buy a hot dog, just like Ashka did once! It is not very clear whether they put a hot dog cart here only for filming, or if it was permanently here. Anyway, the cart was at the farthest corner of this fence:





Again:





And again:





And again:





The most noticeable difference is that the fence is completely overgrown with greenery. But it’s good.



But the roof of the house behind the fence in this scene almost didn’t get into Spellbinder:



And Ashka eventually went to the street where I had just come from:





Again:



Nearby, there is another hotel in an old building (a small part of it appeared in Spellbinder):





More pictures:













Note that the same tile still lies on the road. Maybe it was changed over the past years, but the pattern remained the same.





More:







And here’s what’s behind the fence:



As you can see, it is a very nice place.

And here is a building that did not appear in Spellbinder, although Ashka was standing directly opposite it:



Compare that:





Again:



Then I crossed the road and took a picture of all that place:





Now I returned to the first place, but this time I went right where our heroes walked.



Note the small ball to the left of Josie’s neck:



There are several such balls on this street. Using, however, also the large triangular slope of the white roof at the end of the street as a reference point, I found the right place. Here is this ball, right in front of us:



Now I stepped back a bit to try to take the same shot as in Spellbinder:





I went too far away but the picture was quite fine.

And here is the view in the opposite direction:





Accordingly, our heroes knocked here:





Not much has changed!

Then I returned to the place where Ashka almost destroyed the hot dog cart. There, just across the road, there is another location, or even two of them.

Take a look:





Again:



And this view is to the right from the previous one:



And here are the houses along which Paul and Riana ran:





Compare:





After a second, our heroes ran onto the road:





Paul and Riana in this scene ran next to the place where the hot dog cart stood (note the fence). But now they for some reason ran onto the road from the opposite side in relation to the one from which they had just run out.

Similar views:





They took taxi here:









This is the same street that Ben, Josie and Riana walked along. Its other side is shown here. Earlier, I showed a picture of this side.

As you can see, the view at the end of this street has changed. In the nineties, when Spellbinder was shot, there was a lawn, and now they’ve built a lot of things there:



Now I went back to those neat little houses along which Paul and Riana ran. I walked along them, turned around and took that shot:



In the distance, behind the fence, there is a street that I already visited twice that day, and right behind it there is the place where Ashka smashed the summer cafe. Everything is nearby!

But these houses were also involved in another scene, when our heroes were looking for the parents of Josie and Ben:















Our heroes knocked here:





Again:



And again:



Now I went to another place.











On this street, Ben, Josie and Riana knocked on another house:



I will come to it a little later. In the meantime, note to the red brick wall on the right. Here it is from the reverse side:



It is around a filling station, as you can see. Next to it, there is a wide street:



In the distance, the Finger Wharf is visible, and in front of it, right on the road, there is Harry’s Cafe de Wheels:



This cafe was shown in Spellbinder:





This shot in Spellbinder was taken from the door where Josie knocked in search of her father. As you can see, then there was a wasteland. Now they built something there, including that filling station.

The old mailbox:



And here are the buildings and the filling station, which close the view of the cafe (it’s behind my back) from the house Josie was knocking on (it’s behind this building).



The TV Tower:



The Finger Wharf:



The cafe:



And this is, finally, the red door where Josie was knocking:







Compare:





Again:



In general, this street is very pleasant.





One more filming location is just nearby:













In the building next to Paul, Frisco Hotel is now:



Needless to say, Woolloomooloo is a real treasure for Spellbinder fans!

It should also be noted that all those houses that Josie knocked on were actually residential. It’s funny, of course, that all the possible addresses of her father are not just in the same area, but so close to each other!

In general, Woolloomooloo is a very interesting area itself. Many old buildings are preserved there.





Then I walked to Circular Quay, took a ferry there and went to Rose Bay.

This is the ferry inside:



Rose Bay:



Look at these yachts!



Cities of the world:



The grass:



Then I decided to walk along Sydney Harbour:





At one moment, I had to move away from the water because buildings and fences stopped me. So I had to go down the street:









Then I came back to the harbour:







And back to the street:













The harbour shore is somewhere behind the villa in the last picture.

The building with a tower on a hill is Kincoppal school:



Just look at the view of the harbour and the City from there!









I moved on:













All that is a part of Nielsen Park.





























































On this bench, I would sit with pleasure every day and admired the harbour panorama if I lived in Sydney:



However, the fence spoils the view a bit, but it is probably a security issue.









































Now I moved a little away from the harbour, towards Greycliffe House:



Then I went to the bus stop. I had to go there through the wildest part of the park:











Then I went back to civilization:



I reached Vaucluse Rd near Greycliff bus stop and asked the locals which way to go to South Head. They helped me so I caught a bus and went to Military Rd Terminus bus stop. There, I got off and went for a walk.

From here, I saw the City. The view is magnificent!







Then I stepped up and saw the Pacific for the first time in my life!



For several minutes I was just standing and looking at the ocean. It was absolutely fantastic, magnificent, and charming!

Strictly speaking, this is the Tasman Sea. But it is bounded by New Zealand only so it can be considered as a completely open ocean.

Let’s look to the left:



In the distance, beyond the strait, you see a cape, just like a table. This is North Head. There begins Manly, the suburb known to Spellbinder fans. The cliffs in the foreground are South Head. The strait between these heads is the beginning of Sydney Harbour. There are other heads in this harbour but they are not visible from here.

A slightly different angle:



To the right:





Berries:



Watsons Bay, another suburb:



The cockatoo!



It is absolutely astonishing:



A view to the south:



And some pictures of the suburb:





The City:



More pictures:















Then I went along the path to the north, closer to the beginning of Sydney Harbour:





North Head:



The Pacific:



Then I decided to go back.

























Dunbar Anchor Memorial:



More pictures:











When I reached the bus stop, I asked how to get to Bondi Beach. The bus arrived soon so I got on. I got off at Campbell St Terminus bus stop. From there, I took a picture of Bondi Beach:











Then I asked a municipal employee who was passing by (he seemed to be monitoring parking fees) about how to get to the Waverley Cemetery. There, as you know, some scenes of season 2 were shot. Looking ahead, I’ll say right away that for ethical reasons I was not going to photograph everything in a cemetery. I just wanted to look at it and take one or two pictures from afar. In a word, that employee told me the bus number, and I returned to the stop.

View from there (in the distance you can see Bondi Beach):



Soon my bus arrived. The driver said that there was a serious road accident and there was a big traffic jam, so it would be much faster for me to take another bus to Bondi Junction and change buses there to go to the cemetery. I thanked the driver and decided to do as he said.

So I caught another bus and went to Westfield Bondi Junction. By that time, I somehow changed my mind and, since Centennial Park (where Spellbinder was also shot) was much closer, I decided to go to this park.

Bondi Junction is a suburb. The stop where I arrived is in its centre. There is also the railway station there.

So I began walking to Centennial Park. Here is Bondi Junction:





Then, as I moved away from its centre, everything changed:









Some houses are very interesting. Look at this wonderful balcony fence:



The coach park:



While walking, I asked the way to the park. The locals always helped me. And finally I reached the park:





As you can see, many people walk with dogs there. I tried to stay away from them. I noticed one person without a dog and asked him how to get to a small pond with a bridge. He explained it to me, and his dog unexpectedly returned to him. I thanked him and moved on.







The Federation Pavilion:







I moved on.



Nearby, on a huge lawn, people were eating, playing different games and so on. It was Saturday.

The monument to Charles Dickens:



Behind the trees, you can see the bridge from Spellbinder!



I moved there.

The trees are impressive:



A back view:



When I reached the bridge and the pond, I instantly recognized the place where Ashka had arrived:





The big tree on the right is still here. It has grown up over the years, but it is still easily recognizable. In addition, on the left side of Spellbinder screenshot you can see the branches of the large tree that did not fit into this screenshot. This tree is no more here. A very small tree was planted instead, and it is on my photo.

In general, almost no one was in that place. So I spent about half an hour there taking pictures.

And here is the bridge!



A view to the right from there:



This tree grew next to the pond:



It seems to me that it didn’t appear in Spellbinder.

And this is a view of the pond to the left of the bridge:



Obviously, Josh and Kathy dragged the ship there.

Another view of the place of arrival of the ship:





Again, the tree not from Spellbinder:



The bridge:



To the right of the bridge, the pond is quite large and open, and to the left it is very narrow, slightly overgrown and entirely in the shade of trees.

View of the pond from the beginning of the bridge:



View on the other side (note the overgrown tree there, it was in Spellbinder!):





The bridge:



It seems to me that the trunk of that distant tall palm was in Spellbinder:





More pictures of the other side:







Now I tried to take photos of how two boys spied on Ashka. Apparently, they were hiding behind the tree that is no longer there. I already wrote about it. But a little aside, there is another big tree (which I also wrote about), though it didn’t appear in Spellbinder. So I took some pictures from this tree.





And the bridge:



Here is the place where that huge tree used to grow, behind which the boys were hiding:



And the bridge:



The car came from about there:









View to the other side:





Tree crowns:





Views around:





View from the bridge to the narrower and darker part of the pond:





And this is a view from the bridge to the main part of the pond:



Having crossed the bridge to the other side, I made this shot:





(The tree to the right of Carl’s car no longer exists, as I said.)

View to the bridge from there:



View to the trees from there:



Then I came back to the bridge. Look!









Now let’s look at the place where our heroes hid the ship. There you can see the fern and the coniferous tree that has grown over the years:





For a while I went again to the other side to look in there:





The stone:



Then I came back and took more pictures trying to keep the same perspective as in Spellbinder.







Views in the opposite direction:





And here is another recognizable shot!





Again:



The car was somewhere here:





This shot was made accidentally:



This bird is quite exotic for me:



And again, this is the tree, next to which the ship was located:



The bridge:





And this is an in memoriam table next to this young tree (I already wrote about it), planted instead of the old and large one:





More pictures:





View from the other side:



The dark part of the pond:



The light part of the pond:



Now I began leaving this place. I took a farewell look at the bridge:





I am walking along the pond:



Then I went to a much larger pond. See how many ducks are in it!









The park:















The exit from the park:





Then I went to look for a bus stop in order to leave for some railway station. I got lost (well, kind of), since I did not understand at all which side of the park I left. The things were a little overcomplicated by the fact that I was near the road on which there were bus stops, but they were behind the construction fence: tram tracks were being laid. Buses rushed past. So I had to ask the locals.

Finally, I caught a bus at Cowper St opp Mulwarree bus stop and went to the Central Station. There I got on the train and went to Beecroft.

When I was passing Strathfield station, I tried to take a picture from the window so it would be like from Spellbinder:





Apparently it doesn’t look as in Spellbinder but at least I tried!

And this is in the train:



At Epping station, I changed trains:









That day was absolutely great!

[Fanat]

On this day, I had a bus tour to the Blue Mountains and the Jenolan Caves. The bus departed in the morning from the City so I had to get there first. After some chaos with trains because of track works I arrived to the Central Station and ran to the meeting point. Fortunately, I reached it on time.

The tour bus was not very large. There were a lot of free seats.

And so the trip began! We were supposed to spend the whole day in the Blue Mountains!

First we drove out of Sydney. As we were moving, the houses became smaller and smaller. Then we drove through the countryside.



We are about to enter the Blue Mountains region:





This is the railway line via Glenbrook station used in Spellbinder:



As our driver said, this is the only westbound major road from Sydney.



We drove through Glenbrook suburb but I did not see the station because it was behind houses. I was going to take a train from Sydney later in order to visit it.

Then we drove to Katoomba. It is the centre of the Blue Mountains region. There we drove to Echo Point. It is an observation point. Just look!





The area around Echo Point:





It was extremely windy there. I didn’t expect that.

The views are fantastic!





And this is the Three Sisters, the world-famous sight:





And this is the Jamison Valley, the widely known picture from the Blue Mountains:



We were lucky that it was sunny and neither rainy nor foggy.





















There was another level for visitors there, just a few steps down. I went there.

Queen Elizabeth II visited that place in 1954:



The views from that level are roughly the same as from the level above:













Trees in the valley:



The observation point itself:





Then we moved on.



Now we drove to Govetts Leap:



The view are magnificent there!









The waterfall!



More views:







The parking place:



Some information:



More pictures:























Then we went to the Jenolan Caves.





The countryside:



Look, the kangaroo!



More views from the bus:





































And finally we arrived to the Jenolan Caves area:















The tunnel under the rocks:



From there, visitors enter the caves.





Since we had some free time before our cave tour, I walked around:



















Looks like a dam:







The water colour is very nice!

















Then our cave tour began.

This is the view from that tunnel:



At first, we went up:



Then we went through the cave.



We visited the Lucas Cave  only. This is the most famous part of the Jenolan Caves.





















































































This is just a surprise for visitors:



Then, the tour was over. We went back to the bus.

On our way back to Sydney, we took the same road through Katoomba. I realized that it would be great if the driver dropped me off in Glenbrook. That would allow me to visit the railway station and save much time.

Well, I asked the driver to drop me off at Glenbrook. He said it was no problem. He dropped me off there.

It was about 4:30 p.m. The sun was already setting. I had about 30 minutes to reach the station and take pictures there. After that, it would be too dark. So I rushed to Glenbrook station. Fortunately, it was very close.



There was no fence when Spellbinder was filmed here. Today, the parking is behind this fence. As far as I understand (considering the bridge in the background), parking was made at that place:





This is where I went from:



The nameplate tells us the name of the perpendicular street, it is Mann St. And here is the corresponding screenshot:



More pictures:





A familiar platform view:





More pictures:







Hopefully you recognize that small building:





Again:



Now I went to the bridge so I could step down to the platform:



The street:



The station:





This is from the beginning of the bridge:





This station view is widely known among Spellbinder fans:





Again:



I was lucky! There was no one!

The way down:





View in the opposite direction:





The station building:



The stairs:



The bridge:





The station building:



And this is where the missing poster was:





Take a closer look: even the heads of nails are still the same!

Again:



The stairs:



Riana was standing here:











The ticket machine is different today but it is still here!

I went further:





The rocks:





The ticket machine and the emergency point:





The nameplate:



In the window which is behind the white window blind, Riana got a ticket many years ago:



Since there is a bench just in front of it, the ticket office is obviously not here anymore.

Note that something like intercom is still to the right of the door (but today this intercom is different):



Let’s move on:











This is the view to the west:







The remaining part of the platform:



A view in the opposite direction:



I went there taking pictures of everything:











The ticket office used to be here:





It seems that the air conditioner was above that door many years ago, just like today.

And more recognizable pictures:









The nameplate:



The train information:



A view of the station from the other side:



The platform there:





The fence is probably still the same:





That building:





Now I moved to the other side of the platform. This is the train from Sydney:



It is very similar to the one in Spellbinder:



More pictures:









The station building:



Now I walked along it on that side:











And then I reached the stairs:



Then I walked to the eastern part of platform:











Towards Sydney:



The station building:





Then I went back here:







The stairs:





More pictures:











It was going to be dark in a few minutes:



I decided to walk on the platform again:





The benches:



The station building from the other side:





Behind the wall, there is the other toilet (it was closed):



More pictures:





The ticket office used to be here:





And the bridge:











Then I caught that train to Sydney:





I changed trains at Strathfield and went to Beecroft.

[Fanat]

In the morning it became clear that I caught a cold in the Blue Mountains. I had to stay in bed all that day. It was no good but I saved much time the previous day because I visited Glenbrook station. Otherwise I would spend about half a day to go there from Sydney and back. And anyway, I still had some spare days because I had planned my journey to Australia in that way.

[Fanat]

When I woke up, I felt much better so I decided to visit some other interesting places in Sydney.

I went to the railway station taking pictures all the way:

















I took this picture of Ray White, a real estate agency office:



Another Ray White office was shown in Spellbinder!

Then I took the train to the City.







At Circular Quay, I got off the train and took the ferry to Taronga Zoo.

The views from Taronga Zoo Wharf:





The City:











The Zoo entrance:



I began my visit to the Zoo.

The red panda:











I have no idea who is that:





The view from the Zoo:



Looks like a big cat:



The elephants!





The cable car:





Wonderful views:









The paths:



The small waterfall:



Note the net above:



More animals:





The pelican:



Again, the red panda:







The old nice scales:



Then I went to the platypus house:





The living space of platypus in the Zoo is kept in darkness. Consequently, I increased the light sensitivity of my camera. However, it was still very difficult to take pictures.

When I left the platypus house, I forgot to return the light sensitivity to its usual value so the next 25 pictures are awful. I edited them as I could, but they are still not really good.

This is the echidna:



And the koala!



The wallaby:



The emu:







Some birds:



The wallaby:









And the kangaroo!





More pictures:















The scales:



Fantastic views!









I left the Zoo from its other side:



There, I took a bus to the City, namely, from Taronga Zoo stop to Lang Park stop.

In my bus:









Finally I reached the City:





Then I went to Wynyard station, took a train and went to North Sydney station. From there, I walked to the place where Ashka had got a bike.

Some pictures from that walk:















Again, Ray White!











And this is that place!











Here you see the small cape where everything happened:



And this is the entrance to Blues Point Reserve:



Compare that:











A view to the left:



Compare that:









In the background, you see Luna Park Sydney:





And this is our place:





Ashka was standing here:





On the other shore, we see some wharves:





Somewhere there Ben and Josie had to live.

More pictures:





The road back to the station:









Again:



More pictures:









Then I went back to North Sydney railway station. Here it is:



I took a train to Chatswood railway station.

This is Chatswood:













This is the Orchard Hotel!



This name, Orchard, was used for a location in the land of Spellbinders in the first episode of season 2.

The old station building:



Now the station is at some distance from that.

And these are the skyscrapers I was heading to!





And here we see another filming location!













On the street, as you can see, now there is much more greenery, but everything is generally same as before.

Right in front of the skyscraper, I found those things:





It is probably some kind of installation.

The bus was here:





This view is not from Spellbinder:



The lowest part of the skyscraper:



This is a familiar place:











The escalators still look the same but I think they should have been replaced over these years.

In that direction, Kathy and Sun went away:







Following Kathy and Sun, I went in that direction and took some pictures there:







This view is not from Spellbinder:



And this is the space between the skyscrapers:





The bus:



The views from the lowest part of the skyscraper:





Ray White!



Then I went back to the station.





From Chatswood, I took a train to Beecroft. The day was great!

[Fanat]

In the morning, I took a bus to the City, walked to Town Hall station, and took a train to Waterfall station.

In the train:



From Waterfall station, I went to Camp Coutts. These are my pictures took on my way there:





Here you see two power lines:



One of them apparently was used in Spellbinder.

There is a path to Camp Coutts from the station:





Now, I was walking in the bush:





























































This is the car parking, just in front of the camp:









Here you see the gates from Spellbinder!













The construction is still the same but the nameplate was changed.

This is where I came from:





Part of the gates:











This is the road beyond the gates:



Apparently Ashka was walking here:



This is the territory of Camp Coutts.

Some pictures from there:

















This is towards the gates:



And here we see the familiar buildings!



There was no one in the camp.



Some information sheets:











The building:



To these familiar places, I will return just a bit later:





Then I went to another Spellbinder location in the camp:







As you can see, all three large trees are easily recognizable by the pattern of branches!

Now let’s look at the small river that Alex crossed using a zipline. Its one side is like this:



And its other side is like this:



More pictures:





It seems to me that the camera obscura scene and the second reading lesson were filmed here.









Just look how recognizable tree branches are!





Now I decided to walk to the transmission tower. Actually, there are many transmission towers around the camp. I did not know which of them appeared in Spellbinder. I decided to start with the tower to the west of the camp, on the way towards Mt Westmacott:





Soon it became completely impossible to walk: the bush became totally impassable and I would have to climb very high. I had to go back and take another way:





















And this is the tower:



And then I realized that I was mistaken. The tower in Spellbinder was completely different:



Such towers belong to the other power line, to the east from Camp Coutts. It is unbelievable that I did not understand it earlier.

However, I decided to take some pictures around that 'wrong' tower.

This is the power line with the transmission towers I should have walked to:



And this is the 'wrong' tower and its vicinity:































Then I walked back to the camp.









At the camp, I began looking for other filming locations.

These houses were rebuilt but the place is still recognizable (look at the steps and the plant on the left):











I walked to the centre of that place and took pictures in different directions from there. Many things are recognizable:















Apparently the windows and the wall were changed.



Compare that:







Then I found that chapel:







The house near the chapel:



Some pictures of the camp grounds:







And this is the filming location of the first reading lesson:









A view to the opposite side:





This is the place where Alex and others were sitting:





The tree on the left and the noticeable plant on the right are still here!



Then I went to the centre of the camp. This is a way down to the small river:









Then I walked towards the gates:



Now I walked to the transmission tower of the other power line.





And this is the tower!





I did not know whether the energy doorway was filmed near that tower or not. I decided to approach the tower.









The place did not look like in Spellbinder. Apparently they filmed the doorway somewhere else, probably at another tower of that power line. Unfortunately I had no more time to spend at the camp so I decided to leave.

Finally, I walked to look at the exit from the highway onto the road to the camp:













And this is the gate from the highway which is just behind me:





I did not find that place from Spellbinder:



As far as I know the highway was rebuilt in that area some years ago so this is probably the reason why that place from Spellbinder cannot be found anymore.

Then I walked back to the station.









And this is Waterfall station:







From there, I went to Bondi Junction by train. There, I took a bus to Bronte Beach Terminus.



So far, I reached the Pacific and, more specifically, Bronte Beach:











From there, I went to the Waverley Cemetery.







Here you see a part of the Waverley Cemetery shown in Spellbinder:





The ocean:





I did not took pictures at the cemetery for ethical reasons.

Then I walked to Macpherson St near St Thomas St bus stop and took a bus to Oxford Street Mall that is just next to Bondi Junction.

This is Bondi Junction area:



There, I took a train to Waverton station:







From there, I walked to the house of Alex.







Unfortunately, I was walking in a little bit wrong direction so I found myself at some other place.









But that place was very nice:



































Here the Balls Head Reserve begins.





And I finally reached the house of Alex!

In the next picture, this house is next to the brown waste container:





I decided to look at the former BP (British Petroleum) site. It was just next to this street, on the shore of Sydney Harbour. It was shown in Spellbinder:



Those tanks were demolished in 2002:







A view from this place to the street where Alex lived:



Now let’s admire the harbour:





A view to the left:



This is the place where a huge BP tank used to be:







And today it is the park:



This is what it used to be:



Fantastic views!



































Approximately from that place, the panorama of Sydney was shot for both seasons of Spellbinder:

































Then I went back to the house of Alex:



In the background, you see the huge building that appeared in Spellbinder:





The house of Alex is where this white fence ends:



The panorama of Sydney from the house of Alex:





The path next to this house:





Then I walked towards the harbour.





From there, I took some pictures of the house!





Something has changed since Spellbinder times but not so much.









Then I returned to the house. This is its garage:





They removed that trellis from the garage front wall and replaced a gate to the house:





The intercom was replaced too.

Look at that:











Then I went back to Waverton station. When I was walking, I took this picture with the street nameplate:



This house is interesting:







The station:















I took a train to St Leonards station.

This is next to St Leonards station:





This is the Pacific Highway:



Here, you see the Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH):



This building was built on the site of the old RNSH building that was shown in Spellbinder:



And I walked to another filming location:





Compare that:





The huge building in the background is different today but the benches along the road are very similar to the ones in Spellbinder:



And this is the tree!





Here you see the Gore Hill Cemetery.

More pictures:







This is where I came from:







Ashka rushed in that way:







Then I walked to look at the RNSH:





Today, nothing looks like in Spellbinder:



Then I walked back to the Pacific Highway and went to the building shown as a library in Spellbinder:





On the other side, under awnings, Ashka bought a car:





I will go there a little bit later. Now, I walked to the 'library':



Here it is!

















This is where Katrina was running:











More pictures of that place:





The red roof is still the same:





Today, it is the office building:



On the other side of this building, cash-in-transit guards were filmed:









The buildings across the road, as you see, were demolished, and now trees grow there. This street, where the robbery occurred, now looks like this:



And this is how it used to be:



The buildings were either demolished or rebuilt (only our 'library' remained the same), the road was expanded. One might even think that the robbery scene was filmed somewhere else. It is possible but I think that they shot it here.

The buildings along that street:



More pictures of our 'library' from that street:







Then I walked back to the Pacific Highway.

Here, they are building Sydney Metro:



I walked to the place where Ashka bought the car and took the picture of the 'library' from there:



That building appeared in that scene:



I noticed that high building:





It was built on the site of the demolished building that appeared in Spellbinder:



And I am standing here:



Many years ago, those awnings looked different:



The cafe:



Before I walked back to the station, I took that picture:



This is how it used to be:



Walking along the street, I noticed an advertisement for a residential building under construction. It shows some views of the City from the upper floors of that building:





Such views were shown in Spellbinder, from the hospital:





Then I went back to St Leonards station and took a train to Beecroft.

[Fanat]

On that day, I was going to go to the top of Sydney Tower and to take a boat trip around Sydney Harbour.

In the morning, I went to the bus stop:





I took a bus to the City and went to the observation deck of Sydney Tower. Funny but it was a little bit difficult to find the lift there.

These are fantastic views from Sydney Tower:



































































Woolloomooloo:



Another place:



The Anzac Bridge:





Then I moved back to the streets of the City.

This is the Strand Arcade:







More pictures from the City:













This the Cenotaph:





This is where the post office used to be:



Its tower:



Then I went to Circular Quay in order to take a boat trip around Sydney Harbour.









I bought a boat ticket there from a woman who advertised them. We talked a bit, and she was pleasantly surprised that I am from Russia.

View of the Opera House:



Circular Quay:







And this is our tour boat approaching:





And so our tour began!







The woman who sold me the ticket was actually our guide. She was very cultural and intelligent. It was very pleasant to listen to her. She had the most correct English pronunciation, just like Elizabeth II.

Now let’s just admire many fantastic views of the harbour:











































































































































































































































From here, you see the Pacific!





































































































Now we were heading back:



















































































And this is Admiralty House:

















Now we were going just under the bridge!









Somewhere there Josie and Ben had to live:

















This is where Ashka got a bike:







Again, the wharves where Josie and Ben lived:











The small blue house was shown in Spellbinder:





































And this is Darling Harbour:





The Anzac Bridge:





























The Sydney Harbour Bridge:







Now we were getting back:



















The tour was over. I went to Circular Quay, took a train and went to Beecroft. At Strathfield station I got off in order to take some pictures because this station appeared in Spellbinder for a second.







This is something similar:





And again:





However, I took the pictures from the wrong platform so I decided to return to that station again. And now I went home, to Beecroft.

The day was absolutely brilliant!