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Published: February 4th 2008
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My time in New Zealand had come to an end and it was with a little sadness I boarded the flight to Melbourne via Sydney thinking that NZ has now set the benchmark for all of my future travels. I arrived in to Melbourne after a pleasant flight chatting to Naomi who lived and worked there and sang its praises telling me as many more Melbournites would that it’s a much friendlier place than Sydney and that I would enjoy it more.
My Lonely Planet guide book said there was no need to book ahead and accommodation was plentiful however I expect when that was written it wasn’t Australia Day weekend and the Australian Open Tennis Championship wasn’t in town. I spent 2 long hours walking the streets looking for accommodation and when I finally found somewhere it didn’t look very classy and the big fight outside which was attended in abundance by the local constabulary made me wish I was back in the land of the long white cloud.
Over the next few days I visited the sights, the National Gallery of Victoria which had some great galleries, the Eureka tower with a viewing platform
on the 88th floor which is apparently the highest one in the southern hemisphere and the Melbourne Cricket Ground with its Hugh 100,000 capacity. I rode the quaint old trams around the city and furrowed through the lanes and arcades that make Melbourne what it is however I never felt like I made friends with the city, I met plenty of the locals and had a few good nights out but for me there was something missing and I never felt in tune with the place which is a pity because I can see why so many people do rate it.
So after four nights and just three days I decided to cut my losses and booked a flight to Sydney which at just $20 more than the bus I thought was great value. I had also been offered free accommodation by Maria who I had met at Beachcomber in Fiji. The flight took just over an hour and from the airport it was easy to get into the city using the excellent train/underground network. Maria’s place was located in Elizabeth Harbour which is a ten minute walk from King’s Cross station. King’s Cross itself is the red
light district of Sydney with countless strip clubs and prostitutes bidding for your dollar and its fair share of down and outs littering the streets. Elizabeth harbour on the other hand is a upmarket residential area which overlooks one of the countless bays within Sydney Harbour. I dropped my bags at Maria’s place which was right on the water with a superb vista.
We headed down in to the town and to the Opera Bar which has to be one of the best located bars in the world. You sit in the foundations of the Opera House which towers above you with its fantastic form and shape, sat right on the waterfront with the views of Circular Quay and the impressive city skyline to one side and the fabulous Harbour Bridge to the other. This has to be one of the best looking cities in the world thanks to these two iconic landmarks. Maria headed off to a meeting so I took the opportunity to have a look round the Opera House and the Botanical Gardens. The gardens back on to the Opera House and are home to Government House and thousands of bats come dusk.
The Melbourne Cricket ground!
100,000 seater cricket ground! The free accommodation that Maria had promised went a little bit pear shaped when it turned out that her flatmate had already got a couple of friends staying for the long Australia Day weekend. That made their two bed flat a little full to say the least so I booked into a hostel which at just $21 per night represented great value.
The next day was spent at Bondi beach, yet another iconic landmark that adjourns Sydney. I must admit that I am not too much of a beach person however it was great to relax for the day and not think about which sights you have to cram in. Back to the sightseeing for the next day and I first went for a walk over the harbour bridge and climbed the two hundred steps to the top of one of the pylons for some excellent views over the harbour and city. From there I had a walk around the Rocks which was the first European settlement in Sydney and this once squalid, raucous and dangerous place has been turned in to a quaint area full of cobbled streets and colonial houses converted in to tea rooms. After
walking around to Circular Quay I jumped on to a ferry for a trip across the harbour to Mosman bay and back. That night I met up with Gemma, one of the girls from the Kiwi bus who was now in Sydney looking for work.
My plan for the next morning was simple, get the train down to Circular Quay and the ferry round to Darling harbour. The reality was that I caught the wrong ferry and ended up on a two hour return ferry ride up to Parramatta. Darling Harbour is a former dockland area that has been developed to provide an excellent waterfront leisure park and is home to museum’s shops and restaurants. When I did finally get there I headed for the National Maritime Museum and took a tour of the impressive replica of the Endeavour which was the ship used by Captain Cook on his historic trip in 1788. The other two boats at the museum were the HMAS Onslow, a submarine taken out of commission in 1999 and a destroyer built in the 1950’s. The museum itself is quite impressive set in a sail like building it tells the story of Australia’s relationship
with the sea over the years. Later I met Maria for a few drinks at the Roof Bar which strangely enough is located on the roof of a building. There we got chatting to a couple of Sydney-syders and proceeded to have a really good night out.
The following day started after a long lie in and when we finally got going I caught the ferry to Manly with Maria who had taken the day off work (due to the fact we didn’t get in until 5am the previous night) The beach was great and we enjoyed some great fish and chips (just like Blackpool - NOT) before heading back and finishing off the night with an Indian and just a couple of drinks.
I had to check out of the hostel before 10am and then had the full day to kill before the overnight bus to Byron Bay. I had a walk around the centre of Sydney and did a little shopping before heading for the bus station.
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Andrea
non-member comment
Well well well
Greetings and salutations, wow we are having fun. Nice to see you experiencing life to the full he he Hows the foot? Keep up the good work old chap lol Love reading your blogs. Enjoy and taker care Andrea xx