In and around Sydney

  Sydney, Australia
Friday, September 21, 2007

So we left Byron Bay and opted to take an overnight bus down to Sydney to save money on a nights accomodation (always thinking me) and it turned out to be quite a comfortable journey. We even got the chance to stop at The Big Prawn restaurant in Ballina for fish and chips. This restaurant literally has a big prawn on the roof which i thought was  amazing but what we didnt know at the time was that it is a major tourist attraction!!!

The Big Prawn, Ballina

We arrived in Sydney at sunrise and James woke me up just as we passed over the harbour bridge and the view of Sydney and the Opera House was amazing. A perfect time of day to arrive in the city.
We settled into the Pink House hostel, a friendly and cosy place recommended in the guide book and became familiar with our surroundings that was Kings Cross. I can only describe this place as 'an experience'. Its almost like they've gathered all the prostitutes, drug dealers/addicts, homeless people and odd bods and plonked them on this one street. Very bizzare but great at the same time! Strip clubs, night clubs and a 24hour McDonalds are the highlights of Darlinghurst Road and was just a stones throw from our hostel. We loved every minute of it!
The city itself is a 5minute train or bus journey away but is far more expensive to live in.
So for the next week we did the touristy thing, went sight-seeing and crammed as much in as we could before our flight back to Brisbane.
We began our week with a walk around the city soaking in the hustle and bustle that is Sydney. We took a stroll through the gorgeous Botanic Gardens which features plant life from the South Pacific and witnessed the unusual sight of big Flying Foxes (bats) hanging from the trees in the blazing sun! We also visited the New South Wales Art Gallery which holds some impressive art!

James posing in Gallery

We ended the day with a walk up to the Opera House and a ferry ride out to Manly. The main reason we did this ride was to make the most of our day rider ticket but it ended up being well worth it when we sailed back into Sydney harbour at sunset. The views were amazing.

Opera House at sunset

The next day was my 25th birthday so we visited Sydney Aquarium as a treat for me. This place was amazing, dispaying every bit of marine life you can think of. The highlight had to be the glass tunnels you walk through that houses massive sharks, rays, sea turtles and other weird and wonderful fish!

Jaws

We ended my birthday with a meal in the citys China Town and a night out in Kings Cross. We also met up with an old school friend of James' and a lad i did my diving course with in Thailand. (small world)

Birthday night

Whilst in Sydney we took the opportunity to check out the historic area of Sydney known as The Rocks and the market that is held there on the weekends.  We had tea and scones in a lovely traditional irish cafe and watched an irish band in the nearby pub.

Irish Cafe at The Rocks

As the day drew to an end we walked over the Sydney Harbour bridge at the perfect time: sunset.
This amazing structure was completed in 1932 and unites the city, it of course provides lovely views of the Opera house and the city harbour. The end of the bridge lands you at Milners Point which is also a favourite view point in order to admire the city.

Sydney by night

On a gorgeous day and towards the end of our stay in Sydney we took a ten minute train ride over to to the well known and loved Bondi Beach. Ive seen more spectacular beaches in Byron Bay but for a city beach it certainly was beauitful and offered a lovely scenic 2hr walk right along the coast to a place named Coogee. Me and James thought that we would indulge in this walk and what should have taken 2hrs actually took us 5! This was mainly due to James walking at snails pace but however, it was a gorgeous and worth while walk with plenty of photo opportunities and enabled us to see Tamarama Beach, Bronte Beach, Bay Beach and finally Coogee Beach.

Bondi beach

Probably our favourite sight-seeing place was on the tour we did on our last day in Sydney. We visited a place called Katooba, home of the Blue Mountains. Its only two hours inland but feels a world away from the city. The Blue Mountains, rightly named due to the blue-ish oily mist that is given off by the Eucalyptus trees, are part of the Great Dividing Range.
We began our day by visiting Glenbrook National Park which enabled us to see wild Kangaroo's jumping in the grass and Cockatoo's flying above our heads.
We were then driven to a great lookout point where you are surrounded by the vast forest and mountains that reach 1100m. From there we went over to Echo Point which gives you an amazing view of the Three Sisters Rock formation and the valley below.

Three sisters, Blue Mountains

We decided again to do the 'long' walk and as usual this took us an hour longer than it should have. It was probably a combination of me stopping to try and spot snakes and James stopping for a fag. 
This walk consisited of us scrambling down 1000 steep steps (and i emphasise 'steep'), walking through the forest until you reach the scenic railway which then takes you back to the top. Now this railway is the steepest in the world reaching an angle of 52degrees..very scary...

Blue Mountains

All in all it was a great day made better by our mentally ill tour guide and was a nice way to end our time in Sydney. So it was time to wave goodbye and fly back to the place i now call home: Brisbane.
It was lovely to have James with me to enjoy this trip and now he's gone i have been joined by another friend Tia. We go to Frazer Island tomorrow and to the outback next week so keep up with the blog.
Bye for now

blue mountains

Love Faye and James xxx