Tokyo Fox (東京狐)

Australia 2012 Pt VII: Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb

Posted on April 22, 2012 by tokyofox

Even though I spent a whole year in Australia 11 years ago there were still many things that I didn’t do for various reasons usually related to money and this trip was intended to bring almost complete closure to what I wanted to do Down Under. Having been to Alice Springs and Ayers Rock for the first time my mind turned to doing something in Sydney for the first time. I set my mind on climbing Sydney Harbour Bridge and thanks to the better half of my mate Andy I even got a 25% discount which made the final price (about A$150 instead of A$200) a lot easier to swallow.

Not wanting to waste time in my day I decided to do the 9am climb which involved introductions, a video, getting breathalysed, signing disclaimer forms, changing into the suits provided and being equipped with all kinds of things which might be needed. Of course they attached everything in some way and we even had a scan and walked through a detector thing like you do at airports to make sure we had no loose coins or were trying to sneak our own camera on to the bridge with us. We did an indoor practice run of climbing up and down the ladders to prepare us for the ones we’d have to do on the real thing. There’s more to this climbing lark than meets the eye……or so they say anyway!

So after about an hour of all the pre-climb stuff we finally got outside with me leading from the front apart from our female leader Ed (as in Edwina) who was followed by our all-male group. We all had earphones and a kind of walkie-talkie pack so that we could hear her instructions and information about the bridge, harbour and so on. For once I actually took in most of what a guide said which is very rare where I’m concerned.

As for the actual climb it was fairly easy starting off with a few ladders and then a gradual incline of steps leading up the to the top where we then crossed over the bridge before descending on that side of the bridge. I thought it was great but it didn’t exactly quite give me the adrenalin rush I hoped it would other than a slightly nervous shaking leg at the times when I really did stare down on to the road and water below. The highest point of the bridge is 134 metres which is exactly the same height as my biggest bungy jump but as I looked down into the harbour I was sure that I couldn’t do such a thing again!

Of course the “free photo” in the climb package was always going to be the group one which no one really wants. I think we all had three individual or small group photos taken at different points of the climb but the only one that I really wanted was the one above and it didn’t come cheaply at A$26 but it’s not as if I am going to ever do such a climb again is it?!

Part of the Bridge Climb ticket also included entrance to one of the towers which we learned on the climb do not support the bridge structure in any way but are just there for design and to give ease of mind to many people. As we had finished our ascend of ‘The coathanger’ it started raining and quite hard too which was fortunate for our group but it did mean that I got quite wet making my way to the tower where I could actually take my own photos of the Opera House and the rest of the Harbour from up high.

There was a little museum up there with the construction photos and the simple Question & Answer cards being of most interest to me.

Bonus: I’ve still never been inside Sydney Opera House and to be honest I don’t really have any interest in doing so. On another day I was more than happy to spend a lovely sunny afternoon walking from Circular Quay to Mrs Macquaries Point and back via the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Unlike Melbourne I really don’t know my way around Sydney so well despite spending two weeks there at the start and two weeks at the end of my years working holiday in 2001. Obviously its a more beautiful looking city than its rival due to its harbour setting and famous landmarks but I can’t say I’m too keen on its Central Business District (CBD).

Two of the most notable films to have been made in Sydney are ‘The Matrix‘ and ‘M:I-2‘ (a.k.a. ‘Mission Impossible 2‘) and they will have their own separate entries soon. One other movie to have been made in part in Sydney is ‘Superman Returns‘ (2005) and its just ahead of the hour mark (58 mins to be a bit more precise) that Superman is ‘distracted’ by an out-of-control car which was all part of the diversion plan from his nemesis Lex Luthor.

Superman saves Luthor’s henchwoman Kitty Kowalski by the circular fountain (below) on Martin Place in the middle of the CBD.

Posted in Action & Adventure, Australasia Travel | Tagged $208, 134 metres, free photo, mrs maquaries chair, royal botanical gardens, superman returns martin place, sydney bridge climb, sydney harbour bridge, sydney opera house, the coat hanger | 1 Comment

Australia Filming Locations #1 – Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)

Posted on April 19, 2012 by tokyofox

‘M:I-2‘ as it was officially titled is probably the worst of the ‘Mission: Impossible’ films but that’s not to say that it’s bad. It’s just that John Woo’s direction of the sequel grates with me a bit because of all the ridiculous acrobatics, somersaults and slo-mo action scenes.

A lot of the movie was filmed in New South Wales (NSW), particularly in Sydney and it starts straight away with the camera panning over the Opera House (below).

Next is Biocyte Pharmaceuticals which in reality is Governor Phillip Tower (below). It can be found in the north-east area of the Central Business District (CBD) at 29/1 Farrer Place, Sydney NSW 2000.

Argyll Street in The Rocks (below) doubles up as Seville in Spain and is where Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) meets Nyah (Thandie Newton). During filming the street was totally transformed with dust added to the streets and passionate music playing whilst a religious procession took place.

The Spanish driveway scene in “Seville” on 17 minutes was shot at Boomerang Mansion (below) at 42 Billyard Avenue in Elizabeth Bay. This three storey mansion has been described as the oldest and finest example of Spanish architecture in Australia and is private property so the only view I could really get of it was from Beare Park.

On 34 minutes the beautiful Nyah is driven under Sydney Harbour Bridge on the boat which takes her to villain Sean Ambrose’s apartment which was located at Bradley Head on Mosman and can be seen again on 36 and 42 minutes. The apartment was just a set prop so I didn’t feel it too necessary to take a boat over to Mosman instead settling for a long distance view of it taken from one of the towers on the bridge.

Broken Hill in the far west outback of NSW appears on 35 minutes as the remote sheep station where Hunt meets up with his team; the Aussie pilot and the computer expert.

46 minutes in and we see Royal Randwick Racecourse. This is the type of place I wouldn’t bother with usually when hunting down filming locations but as I was staying five minutes walk away at my friends house I jumped at the chance of seeing it. The course is undergoing a bit of reconstruction at the moment which probably worked in my favour as it meant it was open and I could just walk in and take the photos below.

The screenshots (below) are of Darling Harbour; the location featured on 86 minutes where Ambrose parks up and shows the virus in the test-tube to Nyah leading her to slap him and is then left to wander the streets of Sydney in a daze having previously injected herself with the virus to stop him killing her to get it. I had planned to go here but ultimately ran out of time and considered it low priority as it was a little out of the way from all the other areas of Sydney I was concentrating on on this trip.

The most interesting filming location from ‘M:I-2‘ has to be Bare Island in La Peruse down in Bottany Bay which makes its big screen debut at the 87 minute mark. The place where Cruise climbs up the cliff face is on the left side near to the back and is usually just a place for fishermen to dip their tackle in and see what bites. The tower with all the satellite dishes on it was a prop added to the island by the producers.

This island fortress is Ambrose’s bunker headquarters where his transition with Biocyte’s CEO takes place. Cruise rides his motorcycle through balls of fire in what is perhaps the most iconic scene from the whole movie. Its certainly the one which is seen on most posters or pictures relating to the film. The little castle looking building (above) can be seen 104 minutes in as a fairly lengthy motorcycle chase seemingly goes round in circles and doesn’t actually go as far as it would appear on screen. It can be seen in the top of one of the pictures below which shows how close it is to the point where Hunt escapes from the fort.

The film ends in the Royal Botanic Gardens (below) by the Opera House on 117 minutes with the two heroes kissing and walking off arm in arm through the place as we get a final aerial view of Sydney’s two most famous landmarks.

Click here to read ‘London Filming Locations: ‘Mission: Impossible’ (1996)’

Click here to read ‘Prague Filming Locations: ‘Mission: Impossible’ (1996)’

Click here to read ‘Shanghai 2013: Mission Impossible III Filming Locations’

Click here to read ‘Italia 2009: Mission Impossible III Filming Locations’

Posted in Australasia Travel, Movie Locations | Tagged argyll street, Bare Island, boomerang mansion, M:I-2 sydney film locations, mission impossible 2 filming locations, the rocks, tom cruise | 22 Comments

Australia Filming Locations #4 – Muriel’s Wedding (1994)

Posted on April 16, 2012 by tokyofox

One of the places I was most interested in seeing in Sydney was not the Opera House, nor the Harbour Bridge. Instead I really wanted to see the church where Muriel Heslop (Toni Collette) got married in ‘Muriels Wedding‘ (1994) which admittedly is a bit sa-a-a-a-a-a-d but that is what I do. Following google’s directions on my iPad, I walked there in about an hour from my base in Randwick on the final day of my three weeks in Australia.

Luckily it was nice weather although the glaring sunshine did ruin my shot of the church a bit.

Its located on 53 Darling Point Road and is known as the not-so-snappy St. Mark’s Anglican Church Darling Point.

Click here to read ‘Australia Filming Locations #1 -Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)

Click here to read ‘Australia Filming Locations #2 – The Matrix (1999)

Click here to read ‘Australia Filming Locations #3 – Melbourne Special

Posted in Australasia Travel, Movie Locations | Tagged 53 Darling Point Road, Australia movie locations, Muriels Wedding church, Muriels wedding darlinghurst, muriels wedding filming location, St. Mark's Anglican Church Darling Point | 14 Comments

Australia Filming Locations #3: Melbourne Special

Posted on April 13, 2012 by tokyofox

It may not have been featured as much in international movies as much as its rival Sydney but Melbourne has had its moments on the big screen albeit in lesser known productions.

It was way back in 1959 that ‘On The Beach‘ was filmed in parts of Frankston including the beach seen below. Needless to say that the place looks very different but I guess I have just said that! Its first screen appearance is on 16 mins.

A much more famous landmark used was Melbourne’s iconic central railway station, Flinders Street Station (below) which serves over 100,000 commuters every day. It also appears to be very busy when its seen after 57 mins.

Russell Crowe is a famous actor now but when he filmed ‘Romper Stomper‘ in 1992 around Footscray Station (below) he was just starting out in the acting world. This film is quite a hard watch due to its strong violent and racial content. You have been warned! Following the movies opening title credits we see the station appear with skateboarders going along its platform. However, I have since read that it was actually Richmond station filling in for Footscray but given that its 20 years on now and the screenshots are very dark I really can’t tell if theres any validity in that statement.

Singer Alliyah was tragically killed in a plane crash in 2002 shortly after filming ‘Queen of the Damned’. It was released six months later and just as tragic is how awful the film is! Small things like that don’t deter me from hunting down some of its locations but I sure wasn’t gonna bust a gut to do so. Below is RMIT University on Swanston Street which doubled up as a Warner Brothers Records HQ in London.

The bar below is on 95 Flinders Lane and it became the vampire nightclub.

Just round the corner from that is Duckboard Place (below) where Jesse can be seen walking around the streets of “London”.

‘Mad Max‘ is one of Australia’s most famous exports and this 1979 film which brought Mel Gibson to fame was filmed around Melbourne and Victoria. My primary goal was to locate the car park within Melbourne University but I left empty handed on that one due to the sheer size of the place and possibly the fact that it was a Sunday when I was on site and a lot of it was closed. However, on the way home I did get off at South Yarra station where I walked round the corner to Claremont Street which was the car park setting (below) where Goose burns rubber on his exit. Thanks to this Mad Max site for the info.

My favourite Bollywood film has to be 2005’s ‘Salaam Namaste‘. Oh Ok its the only one I’ve ever seen but I found it enjoyable enough, even the parts where they break into typical Indian song and dance. As well as Bourke Street Mall there were three other such scenes taking place at the following:

* Yarra Bridge (below) – The screenshot on 66 mins with Nick in it features Flinders Street Station in the background whereas my shot was taken from the other side of the river.

* Federation Square – I couldn’t find a clip from the film featuring this place but I did come across the behind-the-scenes shot below.

* St Kilda Beach – I didn’t actually go to St Kilda on this trip (apart from the F1 Grand Prix) but I used to live there and returned five years ago to take a trip down memory lane. The beach you see in the ‘Salaam Namaste‘ theme title song after 28 mins is St Kilda (below) though it looks far more impressive on screen than in reality. I can only presume it was filmed over the other side of the pier but I’m really not sure.

Posted in Australasia Travel, Movie Locations | Tagged federation square, footscray, mad max filming locations, melbourne filming locations, on the beach frankston, queen of the damned filming locations, romper stomper filming locations, salaam namaste filming locations | 8 Comments

Australia 2012 Pt VI: Neighbours Filming Locations

Posted on April 10, 2012 by tokyofox

For a lot of British people their images of suburban Australia life are based solely on how the residents of Ramsay Street spend their lives in ‘Neighbours‘. This soap opera has been on the air since 1986 and I saw almost all of the episodes from the first nine years before taking a five year hiatus. I haven’t seen a moment of the show since 2005 but it will always have a place in my heart.

For those wanting to know what my first ever filming locations were then Ramsay Street in fictional Erinsbrough is the answer not that my obsession with locations started till many years later. In reality the street is known as Pin Oak Court in Vermont South (Melbourne) and I first went there in March 2001 with Chris and Dave who I was travelling with at the time. I then returned to the street with Richard Richard in January 2002 as he wanted to go with someone and may have even offered to pay for my train ticket in return for accompanying him. Mind you, he did only buy me a children’s train ticket!

Just days after my nephew Eifion was born my sister Ruth and I went with him to the street for my third visit. I wasn’t really planning to go there this time but when we didn’t bother to go to the ‘Meet the Neighbours’ night as we had planned I thought I should get my ‘Neighbours’ fix by going to the street yet again.

There are only six houses in the street which are used for filming outside from time to time even though in the show the house numbers are known as 22, 24, 26, 28, 30 and 32. These are real houses and people do live there and have to put up with people like me taking pictures and hanging around the street all the time. I lived in a similar style cul-de-sac when I was younger which was great as we could play in the street without trouble but that probably wouldn’t be possible or certainly not advisable here with all the visitors to the street. The pictures of the houses below are in the order you find them on the street going from left to right. The interiors you see on screen are not the same as in these houses and are of course all set in the Global Television studios.

The photos below show how the street looks from the bottom and the top.

Bonus: Three of the above photos were taken back in 2001 and 2002. The above one is the ‘Neighbours‘ kitchen from 26 Ramsay Street which is in the Melbourne Museum. The two pictures below were shot at the ‘Meet the Neighbours Night’ in St Kilda in January 2002 featuring actresses Dee Bliss (Madeleine West) and Steph Scully (Carla Bonner).

Posted in Australasia Travel, Movie Locations, TV Shows | Tagged glen waverley, harold bishops house, meet the neighbours night, neighbours street melbourne, pin oak court, ramsay street, south vermont | 10 Comments

Australia 2012 Pt V: Kings Canyon

Posted on April 7, 2012 by tokyofox

“I have always wanted to travel to the center of Australia, climb Kings Canyon as a queen, in a full-length Gaultier sequin, heels and a tiara.”

No, they’re not my words but the ones uttered in the 1994 comedy ‘The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert‘ which brought this canyon to my attention many many years after its release. I had to get up super-early to be ready for a 4 am departure so that we would be at the canyon early morning to do the walk. There were two walk options which were basically down below (canyon creek walk) or up top (rim walk) of which I chose the latter.

I did have my reservations though as foot blisters were making it quite painful to walk in my sandals and apart from one other woman in our group I was the only one wearing such footwear. On top of that I was also the only one carrying my 1.5l water bottle and my backpack was also bigger and almost definitely heavier than everyone else’s. Anyway, you can’t go all that way and not do it so I went for it and I’m glad I did as it was fairly easy starting with 500 steps up of which I led the way.

The walk took about three hours and was done by a guide who was a nice chap with a clear accent and who kept to the point in an informative and interesting way unlike the previous days drivers/guides who felt the need to talk the whole time even if it was about nothing much. We were told that due to recent rainfall in the area it was as green as it had ever been which I guess none of us tourists were expecting to see.

We walked down to the Garden of Eden and marvelled at the shear north and south walls (according to their pamphlet!) which was a nice break in the shade from the heat on top which in itself was cooler than normal. As a survivor of Tokyo’s hot and humid Summer conditions it was fairly easy for me to deal with.

After 88 mins of ‘The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert‘ the three drag queens begin their ascend of Kings Canyon starting off on the same steps and going on through some fairly nondescript parts before they reach the area below where there is a gap between the two rocks.

We then see the strange dome shaped rocks below for a brief second or two.

After that we see some helicopter shots looking down at the three characters from above so I wasn’t quite able to replicate that so you’ll have to settle for the one above!

Posted in Action & Adventure, Australasia Travel | Tagged adventures of priscilla queen of the desert, alice springs to kings canyon, alice springs to kings canyon day trip, filming location, kings canyon | 5 Comments

Australia 2012 Pt IV: Ayers Rock (Uluru) & Kata Tjuta (Olgas)

Posted on April 4, 2012 by tokyofox

“It’s just a f***ing rock” are the words I have been quoted as saying in the past regarding this amazing specimen in Australia’s red centre. Of course that was when I was young, stupid and immature but now I’m slightly older and wiser (but still stupid and immature!) I have seen the error of my ways and thought I should visit one of the worlds wonders in the heart of Australia.

My bus departed Alice at 6am and the first stop was for a quick photo opportunity of Mount Conner which from afar could easily be mistaken (as it is indeed by many) as Uluru itself. Kata Tjuta (below) was on the agenda after that and this really was an amazing sight, one which at the time felt more impressive than my pre-conceived impressions of its much more famous red brother. Everyone has seen pictures of Uluru but far less know about Kata Tjuta (or the Olgas as they’re more commonly known as) and its large domed rock formations which I considered to be really impressive.

As Ayers Rock came into view more and more it soon became apparent that my words from 11 years ago were perhaps said in vain. From afar that view could be understandable but as you get nearer and see the rock up close it soon becomes apparent that it is far more than just a rock what with all its holes, markings and erm, bird poop!

Wind conditions on the day meant I didn’t have to make a difficult decision on whether to climb or not though I’m sure I still would have climbed it. Luckily I didn’t have my heart set on climbing it as I wasn’t even aware that you still could but it seems like they can’t just stop people climbing it without having some alternative activity to replace it. We took one of the walks around the base which was very interesting and where the phrase “you have to see it to believe it” became more true than usual as there are parts of the rock which you’re prohibited from photographing as the aborigines strongly believe that you should only see it with your own eyes and not in photographic form.

Sunset was great as the tour company cooked up a fantastic BBQ dinner with white wine whilst we watched the changing colours of the rock amongst the many other tours companies who all congregate in the same area. Some of the photos below do actually look a bit fake but I can assure you they are all real and that I was there. For the record I put on my Leicester shirt just for the photo below. Within five minutes of sunset happening we were on our way but thankfully I was staying at a nearby resort ready for the following days trip to Kings Canyon whereas the rest of the bus had a five hour plus drive back to Alice Springs.

Posted in Action & Adventure, Australasia Travel | Tagged alice springs to uluru one day trip, ayers rock, climbing ayers rock, kata tjuta, mount conner, olgas, ulura & katja tjuta 2 day tour | 2 Comments

Australia 2012 Pt III: Alice Springs

Posted on April 2, 2012 by tokyofox

Back in 2001-02 I spent a year travelling around Australia with the emphasis very much placed on the word ‘around’ meaning that I never bothered to go to the centre. With the exchange rate half that of eleven years ago it gives one even more reason to not visit Alice Springs as its so expensive to leave the coast, get to the middle, do some tours and then get back to the coastal cities. However, as it was the only major area I hadn’t covered I decided to cough up the money as there would be no greater time to go given the time-off which I’d been granted by my work.

Arriving in Australia’s centre just before midday I took a bus from the airport before ending up at ‘Annies Place’ backpackers and then I was out fairly promptly to book the following days tour. After that I walked up to Anzac Hill which may have been a very small hill but it was one which offered some great views across the small town of Alice.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service followed after that which was very interesting and brought back memories of the late 1980s when the BBC had on a show called ‘The Flying Doctors‘ which I vaguely remember watching. Amazing to hear about how this unique non profit organisation provides routine medical services to the isolated areas of the outback.

Across the road from there was the Reptile Centre. I popped my head round the door more out of curiosity than anything else almost hoping that I’d missed the last session of the day so that I didn’t have to spend $12 on the entrance. However, the lady said I was just in time. Only a day or two later did I realise how lucky I’d been to experience it as there are only three demonstrations a day. We got to hold three reptiles; a blue tongued lizard, a snake and a gecko…..I think! Anyway, it was an entertaining afternoon and really good fun as we were able to hold on (if we wished!) to them for more than the usual five second photo opportunity which often exists for such an activity.

Despite my feet suffering from a few blisters caused by my sandals I took a fairly long walk early evening to Lasseters Hotel Casino but not to gamble. No, I went there purely and solely because it featured briefly in ‘The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert‘ in 1994 and was the place where the trio of drag queens put on a performance at.

Posted in Australasia Travel, Movie Locations | Tagged adventures of priscilla queen of the desert, alice springs, anzac hill, filming location, flying doctors, lasseters hotel casino, touching reptiles | 1 Comment

Australia 2012 Pt II: F1 Australian Grand Prix

Posted on March 31, 2012 by tokyofox

The 2012 Formula One season got under way at Albert Park in Melbourne a couple of weekends ago and I just happened to be in town to see my first live race. I’ve often had slight regrets that I didn’t attend the 2001 Grand Prix whilst I was so close to its location in St Kilda.

From booking my trip to Australia I always had in mind the idea to go to the race on the Sunday but I’d never given a thought to attending the qualifying session the day before that too! However, my brother-in-law Carl thought it would be nice to take my nephew Eifion to the day of events and so my sister Ruth and I joined them for a family day out whilst my mum and dad got to spend a day with Anesta.

The great thing about the Australian Grand Prix is that you can Continue reading →

Posted in Australasia Travel, Sport | Tagged albert park, Australia, Australian Grand prix, F1, how to get tickets for the Australian Grand Prix, melbourne, St Kilda, Victoria | 6 Comments

Australia 2012 Pt I: Family Affairs

Posted on March 28, 2012 by tokyofox

The idea of returning to Australia for a holiday was far from my mind until six months ago when my parents told me that they would be visiting my sister and her family in Melbourne this month. That got me thinking that it would be a nice idea to meet up with everyone for a bit of a family reunion. After that everything fell into place and I managed to get the time off work and on March 16 I met up with them all.

The main reason my parents go to Australia every year is to see their grandchildren and having seen sister Lorna’s son George over Christmas I was eager to get acquainted with elder sister Ruth’s kids for the first time. Of course I had seen my nephew Eifion just after he was born in 2007 and again at Lorna’s wedding one year later but that was before he could talk or walk so didn’t really count so much in the scheme of things. My niece Anesta had only been seen previously on Skype and I hadn’t spoken to her in any way. Its fair to say that that didn’t change too much during my time in Melbourne as she was very wary of me and my dad too albeit to a lesser extent with him. That’s not to say that it was bad but it took her a while to warm to us though she was curious about me from the start and did often ask of my whereabouts after that. By the end of my time at their house she had just about got used to me.

A fair bit of the time I was in Melbourne was spent playing with the kids in the house with their many toys as well as some of the ones I bought for them with the whoopee cushion (and its fart sounds) being the inevitable favourite. On top of these juvenile things we also did a few things as a family which included:

* Taking a walk in the woods somewhere down on the Mornington Peninsula – I never bothered to visit this area during any of my previous visits to Melbourne not that we really saw too much of it on this first family trip of the holidays.

* Watching ‘The Wiggles‘ live in Frankston – This is a very popular group of ageing children’s entertainers who wear coloured jumpers and dance and sing. Their show was a slick production which kept the many children and the grown-ups entertained for its 75 minute duration. We went to a nearby park after and then onto lunch by the beach with some of their songs sticking in my head way beyond this one day!

* Riding on Puffing Billy Railway in the Dandenongs – This is in the very northern part of Melbourne and was a good place to take the kids due to the amount of ‘Thomas the Tank Engine‘ related stuff on show. We took a short ride amid on-off showers on what is one of the worlds most popular steam heritage railways. Thankfully the weather improved afterwards for our picnic in the park.