Sydney
My first glimpse at Sydney was… another line. Our 7:30 arrival was through a bunch of cloud, so I didn’t see much until we were in the funnel on our way to Customs.
My first thought was that the Australians are serious about plants. Every hundred meters or so there was a large picture of several foods and plants and a message to declare it for quarantine or throw it out in the bin below the photo. One question on the customs sheet asked if we were bringing food of any kind (“cooked or uncooked.”)
As it turned out, I was bringing some food: three rolls, two brownies, some chocolate chip cookies, and a new bag of Double Stuf Oreos. I dutifully checked the “yes” on the sheet and was told to go through the “Goods to Declare” line.
There the woman was far more interested in my large pack. Was I bringing camping gear? Haha, no. Shoes? Yes. Any dirt on ’em? Nahh. Fine. The food’s fine. Welcome to Australia.
And with that, I stepped out for my first look at the country that would be my home for the rest of the year…