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Published: March 20th 2012
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We arrived in
Sydney after a very early morning flight from Wellington with Air New Zealand. Almost at the same time (20 minutes later) our friends from New York, Luke and Dana, were coming in from LAX. It so happened that we actually met right before crossing immigration!
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people. The site of the first British colony in Australia, Sydney was established in 1788 at Sydney Cove by Arthur Phillip, commodore of the First Fleet as a penal colony. The city is built on hills surrounding Port Jackson which is commonly known as Sydney Harbour, where the iconic Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge feature prominently. The hinterland of the metropolitan area is surrounded by national parks, and the coastal regions feature many bays, rivers, inlets and beaches including the famous Bondi Beach. Within the city are many notable parks, including Hyde Park and the Royal Botanic Gardens.
In 2010, Sydney was
ranked 7th in Asia and 28th globally for economic innovation in the Innovation Cities Top 100 Index by innovation agency 2thinknow. Sydney also ranks among the top 10 most liveable cities in the world according to Mercer Human Resource Consulting and The Economist.
After a very efficient immigration and customs process we shared a taxi to our hotel in the center of the city. As we arrived quite early, we were not able to check in so we stored our luggage and went to explore Sydney. Our first stop – a known local brunch place at Bondi beach called Brown Sugar. The weather was beautiful – almost too sunny for my taste!
"Bondi" or "Boondi" is an Aboriginal word meaning water breaking over rocks or noise of water breaking over rocks.
Bondi beach was very impressive and full of people, especially surfers. I don’t think we have ever been to a large metropolitan city that has a beach of such quality. It seems like Sydneysiders love to enjoy it on their weekends. We did the boardwalk trek from Bondi beach to Bronte beach which led through a pathway between the cliffs
and the ocean. After the walk we headed to the hotel to refresh after the flight as well as prepare for the La Soiree show at the Sydney Opera House that night.
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957. Utzon received the Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest honour, in 2003. The Pritzker Prize citation stated: “There is no doubt that the Sydney Opera House is his masterpiece. It is one of the great iconic buildings of the 20th century, an image of great beauty that has become known throughout the world – a symbol for not only a city, but a whole country and continent.” The Sydney Opera House was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 28 June 2007. It is one of the 20th century's most distinctive buildings and one of the most famous performing arts centers in the world
Before the show at the Opera we went to a famous seafood restaurant right by the opera
and located on the harbor front and enjoyed very fresh oysters, clams, shrimp and fish and chips. The show itself was an amazing treat, it was the last night the show was playing and it was sold out. The energy of the crowd and performers was high. The show was a mix of acrobatics and other tricks and stunts. It included two brothers that could balance on 12 chairs raised on the platform, climbing lamp posts. There was a guy who was double jointed that put his entire body through the frame of a tennis racquet. There was an impressive juggler that loves music from Queen, and a woman who could keep 10 hula hoops going all at once. It was just the high energy impressive show we needed to help us all fight the jet lag and get on Australia time right away.
The next morning we woke up early and ventured out to explore the city. We were really impressed with the Sydney aquarium, which houses one of the largest collections of sharks in the world. We enjoyed lunch at a very old pub in the historic ‘rocks’ section of Sydney – the first place inhabited
by European immigrants. We took a ferry out to Manly beach and walked the corso from harbor to beachfront. The views leaving Sydney’s circular quay and coming back at night with the harbor front lit up was spectacular.
The next day we ferried to Sydney’s Taranga zoo. The weather was amazing and we spent about a half day seeing the exotic animals. The seal show and exotic bird shows were both highlights. Also unique was an Australian walkabout, where you were in a closed off area to walk around with kangaroos, emus, and wallabies (very similar to a kangaroo but smaller). It was great to be amongst the animals.
Our time in Sydney was too short, but the four of us really made the most of it!
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Linda
non-member comment
the great outdoors and great city
lots of great views and fun creatures (kangaroos and turtles in particular)!