Saturday, June 06, 2009

The Rip Bridge

Took me a lot of walkies to get all the angles I wanted on this landmark. Here they are all in one go.


The Rip Bridge from Guyra Street Booker Bay

The Rip Bridge from Guyra Street Booker Bay. My favourite view.

It's called The Rip Bridge because it goes over The Rip, which is a bit of fast-flowing water in the narrow bit between the Woy Woy peninsula and Daleys Point. When the ferries go through it their engines have to strain a bit and a kayaker can paddle as fast as they like on The Rip and get nowhere.


The Rip Bridge & environs

Where it is.

The Rip Bridge is a Brisbane Water landmark. You can see it from all the way up Brisbane Water Drive as far as Point Clare. It's one of the busiest bottlenecks on the Central Coast. And when the big fires in 2006 closed the F3 motorway, the fire trucks had to come down the eastern side of Brisbane Water and across the bridge to get to The Bays next to Woy Woy.


The Rip Bridge Daleys Point end

Daleys Point end of the bridge. The road that goes over it is called Maitland Bay Drive on the Woy Woy side and on the bridge itself, then it changes its name to Daley Avenue, then at the roundabout at the top of the St Huberts Island ramp, it changes its name again to Empire Bay Drive. This takes some explaining when giving directions to lost tourists.


View From The Rip Bridge Looking North

Just behind the railing about the middle you can see a bit of The Rip. The ridges in the background are the western side of Brisbane Water. The two mangrove islets in the left middle are nameless. St Hubert's is the island on the right (houses) and behind that is the hill of Saratoga.


Fishermans Bay & Hardys Bay from The Rip Bridge

Fishermans Bay, where the moving speedboat is, and Rileys Bay. Looking east-north-east from the bridge.

Booker Bay & Hardy's

Booker Bay from the Woy Woy end of the bridge. Money lives in Booker Bay. It didn't used to.


Rip Bridge from Blackwall Mountain

The Rip Bridge from Blackwall Mountain. Orange Grove Road in the foreground. The houses at the left end of the bridge are at Daleys Point.


The Rip Bridge from Daley Avenue Daleys Point

Thar she blows. The Rip Bridge from Daley Avenue Daleys Point.


Bloody idiots

There's been a spate of bashings of foreign students of Australian universities. Bashing foreign uni students is a fucking stupid idea. Particularly in a recession. They bring a shitload of money into the country.

International students (what uni's call foreign citizen students) pay around three times the money an Australian citizen pays to go to uni. So if a B.A. costs a citizen 20,000 it costs an international student 60,000. If a medical degree costs 60,000 it costs an international student 180,000.

They pay higher fees which means the uni can afford to stay open to educate Australian citizens when the government is taking shitloads of funding from education to spend on wars. (Former Prime Miniature John Wanker Howard, this means you).

They pay for accommodation. This is money into the local housing market.

They eat. This is money into the local shops.

They phone home. This is money into the local telephone companies, the same phone companies you use.

They go places on buses and trains. This is money into the local bus-drivers' pay packets.

Think you're doing Australia a favour bashing international students? You're doing it an injury. Grow a brain, numb nuts.


Right! I'm off for the long weekend. Running a mere 24 hours late and with a premature case of title="Ducktionary">shagger's back. Argh.

Have a good one, Straylya.

12 comments:

Frances said...

Hi Spike
Love your photos.

Can you tell me what brand of camera you use and does it have a special panoramic setting or do you crop for the banner look.

formerly a Woy citizen
Frances

michael said...

I have actually climbed up underneath the bridge

Ron Bloomquist said...

Have a great "long weekend"!

And I too wonder about your camera. You get great photos and the color always seems to be "perfect"!

Inexplicable DeVice said...

Hello Spike, darling! Sorry it's been a while.

Love the photos of the Rip Bridge. In fact, I love the bridge - so simple & elegant.

Spike said...

Hi Frances, I use a bog standard Kodak point-n-click. Seriously. The trick is to learn a few basic tricks and take a shitload of photos and pick the best ones.

Plus I crop a lot.

Michael, sounds rather fun!

Ron, thank yer, I did.

Yeah but I take maybe half a dozen shots per photo you see. And taking them in such a beautiful area it's hard to stuff up :)

Device dear, I forgive yer.

It is rather pleasant. Particularly when you consider it was built in the 70s and so could have been quite hideous.

By the way, do you have an elderly antipodean aunt? I saw a drag queen of a certain age in Sydney who walked like her name was Inextractable Device.

Spike said...

Bugger. Here's what the empty link didn't point to: http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2008/07/how-to-take-decent-photos.html

michael said...

it was rather fun but you could only get to it when it was low tide

Inexplicable DeVice said...

Inextractable DeVice? Why, I haven't seen him/her in years!

Spike said...

Will bear that in mind, Michael

Device dear, s/he's probably been spending all that time trying to extract it.

michael said...

I forgot to mention that it was on the daleys point side I dont know if you can still access it these days or not but you could 20 years ago

Spike said...

Michael, from hazy memory I think you still can.

Unknown said...

thankyou for this post - great photos & great info on the area & the bridge