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Published: December 20th 2006
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G'day - Shame about the Ashes huh - its making headline news here with all the papers insulting the English!!! - Nevermind that though - back to the more exciting stuff...
Just got back from the beach, not that we want to rub it in or anything, but is lovely and hot here in beautiful Sydney - We arrived on Saturday night and the city was on fire - our hotel was just off Oxford Street where some of the nicest bars are located and not to mention is the gay capital of Sydney - oh and very central to the Harbour.
Our first day was fantastic, the sun was shining, people were smiling and two stops on the train we're in Circular Quay (this is where ferries depart from) and where the Opera House and Harbour Bridge are in good view. We started off visiting the Rocks, a little area of 19th century heritage, lots of historic pubs, courtyard cafes, church and art galleries, as well as a fantastic market selling australian soverniers - we picked up a boomarang (had to be done). Our next stop was Pylons Lookout where we were told would give us great views
Metro
Double decker trains! of the opera house and the rest of the city and they were right - wow amazing scenic views of the city and not too high (mukesh is scared of heights)!!! This was followed by a walk over the bridge (he dared not look down) to the Opera House - situate on the eastern headland of Circular Quay - its shell-like exterior loomed high above us - a true vision of brilliance - totally futuristic looking, this side of the harbour is kind of special and so we spent the rest of the day here. The atmosphere surrounding this area and Circular Quays is awesome - lots of didgeridoo players, street entertainers and even a big screen showing live cricket, so Mukesh was pleased, although we lost huh...!
We took the ferry over to Darling Harbour and spent the rest of the evening relaxing, taking a stroll through to King Street Wharf with waterfront bars, bistros and lots of contemporary restaurants!
Our next day was just as exciting as the last, another leisurely walk took us through to the enchanting Royal Botanical Gardens which led to one of Sydney's best harbour vantage points - a rocky ledge called
Circular Quay
Local Didgerdoo players Mrs Macquarie's Chair, very near the tip of Mrs Macquarie's point and close to Mrs Macquarie's Street (one lucky lady huh) Apparently her hubby arranged for this chair/point and street to be made so that whilst she waited for him to come back from work (prob worked abroad a fair abit I think) she wouldnt get bored and she could look over the harbour and await...ahhhhhh - Anyway from this point we got fabulous views across the harbour and beyond - spectacular!!!!
We also came across an Art Gallery (of New South Wales) holding a one off exhibition of Goddesses - A Divine Energy (or something like that) - not too far from the Royal Botanical Gardens - it was something that we both just had to see (felt like real travellers now)! Beautiful works of art from paintings to sculptures from India, Tibet and Nepal, we almost forgot where we were - bought some interesting books!!
Out last stop was the infamous Sydney Tower which takes you to the highest point above Sydney with breathtaking views - honestly, this was brilliant...
And from all the hustle and bustle of Sydney City, we jetted off by ferry of
Opera House
Spectacular! course, to Manly Beach the next day - surfers paradise - white sandy beaches, blue skies, we could go on and on about this - but wont bore you...Did I mention its very hot here...
Blue Mountains - not sure if anyone there has heard of them - but this was our last stop on our last day and what a day to end our trip to Sydney - glorious views overlooking valley's stretching for miles - honestly, this was one of the best tours we have ever been on. Blue Mountains is called blue mountains from the blue haze brought about the strong oil vapour emitted by the eucalyptus leaves - and these tress are everywhere!
We started our tour visiting the Featherdale Wildlife Park to see the infamous Koala's and Kangaroos - I had been looking forward to this for a while and a joy they were - we took far too many pictures - including some cute little penguins...We climbed back end gritty roads of the mountains through to Bell's Line of Road to a scenic mountain range and took a gentle trek to breathtaking lookouts and views of these immense western valleys - in
The Rocks Market
Lots of australian arts and crafts a 4x4 truck kinda of thing - we really managed to get close to the forested valleys, hearing native birds and australian wildlife - abit of a bumpy ride, but this was the fun part of it (although at times my tummy was feeling the brunt of it)...Oh and the lunch that was served up at Mt Tomah Botanic Gardens was scrumptious...with a panoramic view over rugged cliffs - we were loving every minute...
We also visited the Scenic World where we took a train through down the mountain side - its the steepist train in the world - abit scary! And trekked through the natural rainforest - very peaceful indeed...Obviously we took the cable back up - apparently, you can walk back though - but the idea of whizzing back to base in 3 minutes was far more attractive - dont you think...
Our last stop of this amazing 9 hour tour was Olympic Village where we saw all the stadiums, from seeing this I dont know how London is going to host the 2012 games - the Australians, like the Chinese have set the standard...
Anyway, hope you enjoy all our photos of Sydney (please
make sure you view all the pages of photos - wouldnt want you to miss out). We have had a great time here and now stop 4 is Brisbane - with all its glorious golden beaches...
Mukesh & Ash
xx
PS: Just a quick little hello to everyone at Tribal...x
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Hasmita
non-member comment
Weather looks good
Hi Guys, Its looks really great, the weather and all - hope you guys are having a fab time! I guess your not missing the cold damp old England! Have christmas and new year. Love Hasu, Narendra, Jamie and Ritz