Paramatta Ferry

One of the "day out" things mentioned in the guides is to take a ferry up the Paramatta river to, you guessed it, Paramatta. So we did. The ferry, fast and modern and decked out to accommodate daily commuters to the city, was much less than half full and the passengers were mostly a few tourists and kids. The view starts out nice enough as you pass under the harbour bridge from Circular Quay. The worst of the winter has passed it seems (the locals are casting off the oppressive shackles of their long sleeves and light jackets) - lots of people with pleasure boats out on the river, cyclists and joggers out, and the shore was lined with expensive apartments. After a while though the river started to narrow and unfortunately the banks became lined with factories and rubbish. Overheard an elderly guy explaining to a couple of tourists that the river used to be blue and full or wildlife until the factories moved in. We reached Paramatta in a little over an hour and the place seemed like another city. Not much to see though - another Westfield Shopping centre, a few old 19th century buildings.