Yes ok, they don’t really say that in Australia. Or maybe they do, who knows? I guess we’ll find out! First stop for us is the cunningly named Harbour City, Sydney.
The capital city of New South Wales is a sprawling waterside metropolis, home to around five and a half million people. Two thirds of the population of the entire state of New South Wales live in this city, and it’s pretty easy to see why. This was my first time in Australia, and I was staying in Circular Quay at the heart of the city, a five minute walk from the iconic Opera House. Wandering around this neighbourhood feels remarkably calm, clean and pleasant compared to other urban cities on this scale. The people don’t seem to be in a hurry, it’s not over crowded, everyone seems happy, the streets are clean – it’s a far cry from cities like London, New York or Paris. I guess the constant sunshine helps the mood, and having all those world beating beaches on your doorstep can’t hurt either. It consistently ranks in the top ten list of the most liveable cities in the world, and it shows – despite being one of the most expensive!
We arrived into Sydney totally knackered and jet lagged again. Our flight left Singapore at 1am, and we got in to Australia at around lunchtime after very little sleep. So after our taxi had located our hotel we had a group Power Nap before venturing out to find some dinner. We hadn’t walked more than three minutes before catching our first glimpse of the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge peeking through the lofty skyline. After a quick trawl through The Rocks, a well-heeled foodie neighbourhood by Circular Quay, we decided due to a lack of enthusiasm (mainly on the kids part, not at all mine or Kates, ahem) that it would be safer to grab some fast food and retire early in front of a movie to sleep it off, ready to start afresh the next day.
Before our day trip to the much hyped Bondi Beach, we managed to force our way through the obligatory days schooling before trying to figure out the local bus system. I say “figure out”, we did end up on the right bus, but we ended up only paying for two of us. I mean, as mistakes go, it’s not a horrendous one right. Not that I’m advocating cheating the public transport system in Sydney, or anywhere else for that matter, all I’m saying is that nobody checks, ever. I mean how can they? You tap in with a credit card! Anyway, small wins aside, we were off to check out Bondi.
It was as bustling and chaotic as you would expect from this backpackers haven. Full to the rafters with chic, surfy shops and cool places to eat. And not many clothes being worn. I’m not sure there’s such a thing as an overweight in Australia, certainly not here in Bondi anyway. We were literally swarmed by almost naked, perfectly tanned and ripped young men and women. And do you remember that pinup look sported by the likes of Jason Donovan and his ilk back in the 80s Neighbours heyday? I’m talking full on blond mullets and bushy pornstar moustaches. Well, I’m not sure if it has just come around again (like it has in the UK) or if it simply never left these shores, but every 20 year old has it! My dodgy blue mullet-hawk actually pretty much fits in here. My flabby abs and pasty colouring however, not so much!
Anyway, I digress. The beach is beautiful but extremely crowded, as is the water. We had a lovely day here mind you, underneath the scorching Ozzie sun. I always like to have a snorkel when I’m at the beach, and these waters made for an interesting hour of underwater perusing. Not so much for the animal life, more for the things that the crowds of tourists have lost beneath the surf! I mean, apart from the plethora of bracelets and goggles, the amount of clothes rolling around on the ocean floor was pretty impressive.
There was also a really good hand-made goods market in the grounds of the local high school. Unfortunately, due to the currently rubbish exchange rate, and the fact that prices here are fairly high anyway, everything felt massively overpriced. Nice to browse though. One more iced tea and we made the bus ride back to circular quay for a good nights sleep before our last day in Sydney.
The next day we wanted to have an up close look at the most famous Opera House in the world, having seen it at least once a year on the TV, every New Year’s Eve since I can remember. The first thing we noticed was the lack of crowds. Like I was saying, nothing here seems too crowded, and it was nice to not have to battle hoards of baying tourists to have a look at a city landmark for once. What can I say about it? Well, it looks impressive close up, and I didn’t realise it was tiled! Just over a million tiles actually, and they were all made in Sweden! It is a very beautiful building, and well worth a wander round if you get a chance.
We were also keen to visit the outlying suburb of Manly in the north of Sydney. Everybody says that Bondi is over rated, and the real star of the show is Manly, so we thought we should check it out. The best way to get there is by using the brilliant ferries from circular quay which whisk you through the harbour in around 20 minutes for around nine bucks. The best part though is you get to see Sydney from the harbour. You could pay five times that to sit on a tourist “cruise” and see the exact same things. You can then get an aquatic view of the Opera House, the Bridge, the historic dockyards, Taronga Zoo and loads of other sights. And if you time it right, you can get a sunset view over the harbour on your return trip! Bargain.
Manly was the quieter, more reserved and reclusive cousin of Bondi. The beach is every bit as perfect, but there are way less people. And the prices seemed ever so slightly lower than its famous counterpart. Manly apparently derived its name from the “confidence and manly behaviour” of its aboriginal inhabitants as described by Arthur Phillip, the governor in 1788. Good job they don’t always use that tactic to name towns, I shudder to think what some of the town names in the UK would have been called if they were named after the inhabitants!
After another afternoon of beach fun, and having narrowly avoided being stung by the armada of bluebottle jellyfish that had begun to wash up on the beach, we made our way back to the hotel for a late night swim and hot tub in the hotel before checking out the next day.
What a city, I feel it’s a shame that we only had a few days to spend here, we didn’t really have time to explore at all. I had also intended on catching up with an old friend of mine, Niall, from my days in London. He emigrated here some years ago and we lost touch. Alas, our calendars didn’t align in the few days I had to spend here and it wasn’t to be. But there’s so much more to see, and tomorrow morning we were to pick up our hire car and start the journey up the coast towards Brisbane. Maybe one day I’ll come back, but for now we had to say hooroo (cheerio).