Sydney - even the name sounds good… A city of four million (that's as many people as there are in all of NZ), home to the Sydney Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, incredible Sydney harbour and plenty of modern architecture. After spending two months in New Zealand, most of it in small towns, finding ourselves in a big city was a welcome change from the norm.
Our stay in Sydney was focused on Circular quay and the Central Business DIstrict as both were within walking distance of where we were staying, but before we could begin our touristic explorations we got the business of sorting out our Thai visas out of the way. Once we had all the paperwork in order we headed for Circular Quay and our first good look at the Sydney Opera House. This building is a masterpiece of modern architecture - plenty of curves and lines, wide open spaces, and an air of sophistication without being alienating or intimidating. Needless to say I went back to the Opera House at different times of the day to take photos in different lighting conditions.
Although we didn't attend any concerts in the Opera House (way too expensive!) we did get to listen to a Massive Attack concert that was being held in the Opera House forecourt for free. If you're ever in Sydney and concerts are being held in the forecourt don't fork out any money for tickets - just head to the sea-level promenade beneath the Opera House and you'll be able to listen in perfectly well and absolutely free of charge!
The high rises in the CBD create a very nice skyline, and walking in the city you don't feel crowded in by the buildings around you. This feeling is greatly enhanced by the wide roads and plenty of pedestrian zones that run through the city. A short walk from Circular Quay takes you to the Harbour Bridge, known as the coat hanger to Sydney-siders (the shape makes the name an obvious choice). At the time of its completion the Harbour Bridge was the longest of its kind in the world, and walking along the Bridge you appreciate what a feat it is to suspend all those tons of metal, concrete and tar over the sea.
On our first evening in Sydney I couldn't help but be amazed by the swarms of Flying Foxes taking off from the botanic gardens - Flying foxes are giant fruit bats - about the size of a small cat - that make the Sydney Botanic Gardens their home during the day. It is quite an unnerving sight to see all those huge bats flying overhead. When in the Botanic Gardens at dusk you can't help but notice the fracas being made by the Cockatoos - hundreds of these beautiful parrots also make their home in the Botanic Gardens, but they are out to play when the Flying Foxes are sleeping.
Sydney Harbour is world famous for its beauty and a ferry to Manly is a great way to go out on the water and look at the city from a different perspective. Manly is on the North Heads of Sydney, facing the Tasman Sea, so the ferry takes you along all the harbour from Circular Quay to the open sea. Manly started out as a seaside resort for Sydney-siders wanting to get away from the city, but as the city grew Manly became part of it, but that doesn't stop people taking the regular ferry out to Manly for a break from the city. There's plenty of sun-worshipping and surfing to be done on the beaches, but swimming isn't recommended due to the rips, the jellyfish and the pollution, so we stuck to sunbathing while we were at Manly.
There are plenty of interesting museums and galleries to visit in Sydney but as we were on a tight schedule we only got to see the Art Gallery of New South Wales, home to a varied collection ranging from European renaissance art, Far Eastern arts, and obviously a wide range of Aboriginal and Australian art.
Three days in Sydney fly by very quickly, but that's a recurring theme in our travels so far - we're trying to see as much as we can of this huge country in ten weeks, so as we boarded our plane for Melbourne we had quite a long list of things to be done in Sydney on our next visit!
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