South Africans visiting Sydney - costs

For a South African visiting Sydney, here is an idea of costs. The rand is between R5,80 and R6 per Aussie dollar.

• coffee $3 (if you're lucky $2,80 but can go up to $4,40 for the shmancy ones)
  
• train from inner west into city, after 9am, return $4.40
• meal in a food court $6 to $11, without drink usually
• meal in a cafe $12 to $19
• breakfast with all the bits in a cafe about $10 - 12
• ferry tickets - best to buy a pack of ten for inner harbour ferries - $27 for 10
  
• swim in a public pool - between $4 and $5,50, book of 10 about $37
• $1.80 for the Sydney Morning Herald
• tango milonga $15 - $20
• tango lesson $15 - $20 (combine a group lesson with a milonga to save costs)
• RSL Clubs (no, not Rosemary Shapiro-Liu clubs - these are Retired Servicemen Leagues) offer cheap but often good meals, often in an eat-all-you-like format - about $12 - 15 for lunch and $15 - $18 for dinner (if you join, usually for $2, those meals will cost a few dollars less)
  

3 memorable cities, one address

Cape Town, Buenos Aires, Sydney: three cities, one Southern address. Once visited, they never leave you. I was born in Cape Town, and have lived there 40 years. Both Buenos Aires and Sydney now occupy a special place in my life - they say life begins at 40, and for me it did - all over again. I visited Buenos Aires, at 34 degrees South, soon after my 40th birthday to pursue my passion for tango, and then moved to be with my loved one in Sydney, also 34 degrees South. It was in Spain that we met, while I traveled the world at the start of my new life-begins-at-40. Three cities I love, three places that represent home.

These photos offer a glimpse into the three cities: the Majestic Table Mountain, in the Mother City, Cape Town. Devils Peak at sunset from Woodstock, near my Cape Town home, at the dog-walking field. Bar Chino in Buenos Aires, and the tango salon, at Conf Ideal. And finally Sydney, the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge from the air, from a small plane.

Three cities, all 34 degrees South, all wedged in my soul.

Devils Peak, Cape Town (from Woodstock)












Conf Ideal, Buenos Aires