Sydney and Adelaide Revisited

I am quite happy that I got to go back to both Sydney and Adelaide, to take care of some unfinished business. Much fun was had.

Sydney

The visit to Sydney was primarily for New Year’s Eve. Now, of course, everyone who was not from Australia was quite adamant about going to see the fireworks on Sydney Harbour. Everyone from Australia pretty much discouraged it. “If you’ve seen it on TV, you’ve seen it.”

I, however, chose a compromise. My mates Adam, Drew and Scott and I headed down to the harbour to try and see the 9pm family fireworks. Here’s what we got to see.

Our view of Sydney Harbour and the Fireworks

What you can see behind me is a bridge. Yes, the Sydney Harbour Bridge. In front of that, however, is the City Loop train bridge that brings the trains by Circular Quay. I think we saw like 4 bursts in total.

After that, we went to a New Year’s Eve party on Oxford Street. All I will say is that a good time was had by all.

Me and Michael, early in the evening.

Over the next few days in Sydney, I went to a few more places I hadn’t been yet, including my walk (finally) over the Harbour Bridge.

Me on the Harbour Bridge

I did this tour around with my mate Scott (who, incidentally, found out today his work papers for Canada came through. Watch out Vancouver! And take care of him for me) and we had a really lovely time.

Scott at the foot of Harbour Bridge

We also went to the Sydney Observatory, which was a nice, fun short trip out. Lost of cool stuff on the stars and planets, and on the location itself. Most importantly:

This was the weather on my birth day in Sydney =)

It was lovely to get to spend more time in Sydney with Scott and Drew and everyone else.

Adelaide

Adelaide at night

The trip back to Adelaide was brief, and only as a layover on my way up to Alice Springs (where I am now). I did, however, get to spend a great few days with Phil and Trav, a lovely couple who very graciously took me in. It was nice to have a few days to just unwind with great people.

Travis, Phil and me

While I was there, Travis took me to Glenelg, a pretty little village on the ocean that is, to my knowledge, the only place whose name is a palindrome. It was nice.

Glenelg from the pier

We also went into Adelaide city for a night out, and ended up, much to Phil’s chagrin, at Adelaide’s only gay bar. I dunno, I liked it, but I was in a dancy mood.

At any rate, it was a lovely few days, and then I experienced my first LAN party. (thanks Phil for the editorial authority 😉 At least I got to reorganize my music.

Thoughts

So I’m over halfway through the Australia portion of my trip, which is sort of… odd. Just under 7 weeks until I fly back to North America. And I have started that process of saying goodbye to people and places. I won’t be back to Sydney or Adelaide, and it’s up in the air whether or not I’ll be back to Melbourne (as much as I want to).

Just a bit of a wake-up call, I guess.

Onwards…

Special thanks

Shout out again to Scott. You rock.

Thanks so much to Phil and Trav. I’m so happy to have met you. Come see me in Canada!

Sydney

Sydney is the city most North Americans know in Australia, primarily because of its iconic Opera House and Harbour Bridge. And truthfully, when I saw them for the first time, I really felt like, yes, this is Sydney, this is Australia.

Opera House and Harbour Bridge from Mrs. Macquarie's Chair

And then I got over it.

I had an interesting encounter at the Tourist Information centre in Darling Harbour. I went to ask one of the agents for help, and told her I wasn’t into the more “traditional” touristy stuff. Surprisingly, she said “Well, I guess you’re out of luck.” We then went over the the brochure wall, and much to her surprise, (but not mine), there were plentiful options when it came to non-“touristy” stuff to see and do in Sydney.

The one huge snag in my first Sydney visit was the weather – it rained nearly all week, and so it kind of sucked my will to go out and do or see anything. Still, I did get to go and see a lot, and there’s still a lot more to see when I get back in December… and January.

I’m Free Walking Tours

I don’t often rave about tours I’ve been on, but this one deserves a raving, for sure. And I almost missed it, because of the “There’s nothing like that here” at the Tourist Info Centre. But I digress.

Every day, at 10:30 and 2:30 in fromt of Town Hall, the “I’m Free” walking tour of Sydney assembles and begins. I was on the 10:30 tour with Justine, and I have to say that I have not enjoyed a city tour as much as I did this one. Justine, the guide, was bubbly, friendly and knowledgeable, and most importantly (in my opinion) she made the effort to speak with everyone on the tour individually, and checked back with everyone throughout the tour.

Diorama of Sydney City under the floor of the Customs Building, Circular Quay

The walking tour lasted nearly 3 hours, which I also really appreciated, primarily because it was so comprehensive and thorough. She walked us all around the CBD, into the cool little nooks and crannies, and showed us not only the major tourist attractions, but the smaller places we might not know to look. She was also keep to point out what was either free or inexpensive, and seemed to have a good grasp on what was going on in the city.

How much did I like this tour? I almost took it twice.

Also, the tour is free… if you’re an ass. This is Justine’s company, and she makes her money from tips. I wish I could have tipped more, to be honest, because it was that good.

Bondi

Bondi, one of Sydney’s suburbs, is probably the most famous beach in Australia. It’s not hard to understand why.

Bondi Beach

(Note to Canadians: It’s pronounced bon-DYE, not BONdy)

meta.

It’s a stunning beach, and while I would love to get to go for a swim, I didn’t go there for that purpose (plus, when I was going to go back, it was raining. Go fig.). My first weekend in Sydney was also the last weekend of Sculpture by the Sea, an exhibition of sculptures installed on and around the cliffs at Bondi. It was a fantastic show, with some 88 sculptures spread across two beaches. The best part was seeing the art set into the rocks and cliffs, which were pretty spectacular in and of themselves.

Art Installation, Bondi

Historic Sydney

Sydney is one of the oldest cities in Australia, and has done a good job (either on accident or on purpose) of preserving their history. One of the places we visited was the Hyde Park Barracks, which was home to many of the convicts in Sydney back in the day. Now a “museum about itself,” it chronicles the lives of the convicts who were transported to Sydney in the early 19th century, and how the city evolved over time. It was a good visit, with lots of interesting information and stories. The Barracks is part of the Historic Houses Trust, a conglomeration of 12 historic properties in Sydney, and if you’re a history nut like me, you can buy a pass that covers admissions to all of the properties.

Just down the road from the Hyde Park Barracks is the Rum Hospital, now the Sydney Hospital, which was founded using money from rum sales in the colony.

Inexplicably, the New South Wales state government is based in a former wing of the Rum Hospital. It is truthfully, one of the most unassuming parliament houses I’ve ever seen – you’d never know it was a parliament house. It was also quite disappointing. There was no guided tour, we were let into the House and the Senate by guards, and other than a few brochures, there was not much information about the house proceedings. Very disappointing.

Another nerdy but cool place I visited was the Currency Museum, which is on Martin Place (be warned: every Aussie who takes you to Martin Place will tell you that the fountain is where they filmed The Matrix). It chronicles the evolution of Aussie money. It’s better than it sounds.

Walkabout

Besides specific locations, I’ve done a lot of walking around the CBD. There is a lot to see on the harbour, just by walking around.

Me and Adam and the Opera House

There is, of course, the Opera House, which is of course, a stunning landmark. From there you can walk to Circular Quay, where all of the ferries leave for other points in Sydney Harbour, and from there into The Rocks, which is an historic district with lots to see and do. And of course, the Harbour Bridge.

Another cool area is the Pitt Street Mall, where most of the shopping in the CBD is. There’s also historic Town Hall and the QVB, a beautiful old shopping centre that was saved a while back. It’s a stunning old building, and while it leads into the Pitt Street Mall, it’s also designed to get one lost, so be careful.

The Botanic Gardens are also beautiful, and well worth the walk.

Next to the Botanical Gardens is the Art Gallery of New South Wales, which is a wonderful gallery, that oddly works its way down from the main floor rather than going up. I was a bit disappointed to see many of the same pieces as I saw at the QAG/GoMA in Brisbane, but I rather liked the Modern and Contemporary galleries, and the Australian collection was beautiful as well. There was a Picasso exhibition on at the time, but at $25, it was a bit more than I was willing to pay at the time. The main collection is free.

Transit

Transit in Sydney is a misture of Bus, Train and Ferry service. I found the trains service confusing, as there are suburban and city services, but they’re not really obvious as to where they are going, and some of the stations, such as Town Hall station, make no sense at all. But the service is quick and goes fairly often throughout the day, and it was a reasonable price – $41 for a 7-day pass.

Accommodation

My first two nights in Sydney were spent at the Bounce Budget Hotel, a hostel sitated directly across from Central Station (which was super convenient). The hostel was fine, very clean and bright and all that, but I found that since I am neither in my early 20s nor very, very pretty, I was a bit out of place. It’s not your YHA.

When Adam arrived, I moved to the Holiday Inn in Potts Point, which was much, much nicer. I know Holiday Inns aren’t really upscale or posh, but it was still a nice change. Also very well located – right above the Kings Cross train station – literally.

Photo Album

To see all of my photos from Sydney, click on the link above.

Special Thanks

To Adam for being such a great travel buddy

To Khrys for being so lovely at dinner

To Ian and Jason for bringing me my passport from Brisbane

To Scott for showing me around