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mistybleu Sydney - A travel report by Amanda
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Sydney,  Australia - flag Australia -  New South Wales
13376 readers

mistybleu's travel reports

A Brave New World

  24 votes
Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6
Australia is truly a vast country and every territory is completely different; whether it’s the cool climes of New South Wales, the subtropical feel of Queensland, or the red hot desert of the Northern Territory - Australia stuns the imagination.


Sydney Harbour
Sydney Harbour
I couldn't help smiling flying over Port Jackson (aka Sydney Harbour), as the pilot ushered me into Sydney. I sat on board the aircraft reading about the sights that would captivate me for the next seven days.

To be honest I didn't know which feeling was greatest; the fact that I arrived safely after a very turbulent journey, or that I was being welcomed into a country so far around the world, that if the world was flat I would have dropped off.

Sydney is the oldest and biggest city in Australia; whose first European settlers came on convict ships to give birth to a nation. The heart of the city surrounds the harbour and the 240 kilometres of coastline. It is the home to the famous Harbour Bridge, Opera House, the Rocks, the Royal Botanical Gardens, the Taronga zoo, Darling Harbour etc, and the closest beach to the city in Manly which is only a 30 minute ride from Circular Quay.

The funny thing about being in Sydney is the number of English people you meet along the way. Everywhere I turned, every waitress, bartender or the person I sat next to on every tour – was a Brit, but in the end this only enhanced the charm of Sydney.

For more information on Sydney (and the whole of Australia) try this website, www.aussie.net.au; it’s run by the tourist commission but provided some useful information.

Favourite spots:
Three Sister's Rock
Three Sister's Rock
We weaved through heavy traffic to the suburbs and the Blue Mountains; after two hours we stopped for brunch and enjoyed throwing boomerangs. Being a lefty, I couldn’t quite get it back but I was close, well 20 yards, not bad for the first try.

Then onto Featherdale Wildlife Park, although I’m not entirely sure why they call it wildlife because the animals were kept in cages. But nonetheless it was nice seeing indigenous animals; I saw Wallabies, Tasmanian Devils, Wombats, Dingoes, etc; I fed kangaroos and petted Koalas, an incredible experience.

We finally arrived at the Blue Mountains and was greeted by the blue hue of the eucalyptus trees near the Wentworth Falls. Inside the valley we walked through the woods, looking at all the plants, trees etc, where we came across a 4ft high termite mound – not your regular ant hill.

On the way back up we boarded a train in the horizontal position, as the chasm was so steep and narrow that once we were moving we were sat upright.

What's really great:
The Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House
After flying all night to wake up, look out of the window and see the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House is wonderful, I was in awe and it seemed to have homing device which summoned me to see its façade up close.

I walked through the Royal Botanical Gardens down to the Opera House and bought a ticket for the evening performance (it’s not good enough saying I saw it), I wanted to experience a production. Unfortunately the main auditorium didn’t have anything scheduled, so I compromised and saw a period piece entitled ‘The way of the world’.

It was great; and as the hot evening gave way to night time coolness I strolled beneath to covered walkway back to Circular Quay to get the train back to the hotel, I watched the coloured lights dance across the water.

Sydney is a fun city, where everyone seems to be enjoying life and their surroundings. They seem to have the correct work/life balance and the Sydney culture is perfect for foreigners to just tag along.

Sights:
Bondi Beach
Bondi Beach
The main attractions to Sydney should not be missed:

The Sydney Harbour Bridge - (an interesting fact: it takes 30k litres of paint to paint the bridges and this usually takes 10 years to do so).

Sydney Opera House - (another interesting fact there are 1.056million ceramic tiles that cover the ‘sails’ of the Opera House).

Darling Harbour (for great restaurants and be sure to ride the monorail and stop off at the Chinese Garden).

Royal Botanical Gardens (walk through Palm Cove at dusk and listen to the bats, it’s really eerie).

The Rocks (the most historical part of the city and really enjoyable to explore).

Bondi Beach (the closest beach to Sydney and the place to see and be seen).

Manly Beach (a popular local beach, small in comparison to Bondi, reached by a water bus).

AMP Tower Centre (has a 360 degree panoramic view of Sydney and is the tallest building is Australia).

Three Sisters Rock (make sure someone tells you the fable).

Accommodations:
Potts Point
Potts Point
I stayed in Potts Point – well, it was across the street from Kings Cross and even though Kings Cross train station was on the same corner it was still call Potts Point, simple because Kings Cross is a seedier part of the city with lots of clubs and bars.

I don’t recall whether the hotel has internet access, but the great thing about this area is that there is an internet café or travel shop on nearly every street corner.

Along the street were some hostels located in Victorian houses, they looked fun, everyone was just sitting and chatting, it had a great communal feel. (A helpful association is the Backpackers Resorts of Australia 07.3268.5733 or www.backpackers.com.au).

Restaurants:
Harry's
Harry's
Around the city there are some great restaurants, but I found Harry’s’ by chance; I know it doesn’t qualify as a restaurant, but it was a nice place to get a late night snack. The steak pie, mash potatoes and mushy peas was incredible, not to mention the chilli dogs. I found it quite amusing seeing the amount of cars stop get some food and then drive off. There weren’t any clear cut class lines.

But the most fashionable place to eat is Darling Harbour; there are quite a lot to choose from, many with alfresco dining; however you can also catch a big Mac there as well.

Other recommendations:
Featherdale Wildlife Park
Featherdale Wildlife Park
Highly (pardon the pun) recommended is a bridge walk over the infamous Harbour Bridge, this is an awesome experience and if you are relatively fit it's one of the most exhilarating ways to see Sydney. It takes about three hours as you climb up one side, across and then down the other side (U-shaped).

Also, if you are into Australian wine or wine in general, a trip to Hunter Valley is designed for you. The patchwork vineyards define Hunter Valley, the oldest commercial grape-growing area in Australia. There are lovely wine tasting trips on offer as well as purchasing gourmet cheeses.

Whilst it seems everywhere is Australia is far apart, it’s only 30-minute flying from Sydney or about 4hours by train, the capital Canberra is great for an overnight stay.

Published on Sunday May 29th, 2005


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Tue, Feb 20 2007 - 12:02 AM rating by travler

This was a super perfect review.

I wish you had seen Melbourn it's my favorite city.

Thu, Nov 09 2006 - 03:41 PM rating by maehof

hello Amanda, great job, i couldn't done it better even after reading few good books -guides, well done , now i love my sydney even more, martin

Wed, Jan 04 2006 - 04:04 AM rating by jarome

Hi Amanda,
Loved your report on Sydney. A fantastic job and the kick I need to get on the train and have a look at my city myself. Well done.

Mon, Oct 24 2005 - 03:30 PM rating by nedkelly

I sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cant wait to get there..great job Amanda.

Sun, Oct 23 2005 - 07:50 PM rating by toribio

YOU WERE COUNTRIS I WANT TO GO.

Fri, Jul 22 2005 - 04:55 AM rating by berliner-au

hallo amanda
this is a open and informative report about sydney.
i couldn't do it better if i tried.

Sat, Jun 04 2005 - 09:17 AM rating by britman

Lovely writing & great pictures......keep the ***** reports coming!

Thu, Jun 02 2005 - 06:28 PM rating by magsalex

Pots of information. Liked the pics - all i saw were grey skies, rain and cloud!

Tue, May 31 2005 - 08:55 AM rating by gloriajames

mmm...makes me miss sydney! great report!

Mon, May 30 2005 - 09:41 AM rating by davidx

Even coming from you this is something special. Terrific!
Best wishes, David

Mon, May 30 2005 - 09:01 AM rating by bear495

Misty, tis is another wonderful report. Thanks for all that you do.

Russ

Mon, May 30 2005 - 12:39 AM rating by ravinderkumarsi

nice report

Sun, May 29 2005 - 09:14 PM rating by rangutan

Another fantastic report full of information and experiences. I like the style its written in particularly.

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