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Published: March 24th 2010
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Day 112: Friday, March 19th, 2010.
Port Stephens (Shoal Bay) to
Sydney, Australia. Per the Contiki Brochure, "This morning you can join our optional dolphin cruise tour and get up close to some bottlenose dolphins, or choose our sand-boarding optional and hit the massive dunes. It’s onto Sydney. From the high-energy downtown area to its popular beaches, Sydney has something for everyone. Get familiar with the city on a sightseeing tour with your Tour Manager. First up, we head into the historic district where
you’ll get an overview of the glistening harbour from Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, a famous sandstone seat carved by convicts. You’ll soon understand why this is one the world’s most beautiful harbour cities. See the sails of the UNESCO World Heritage listed Sydney Opera House and the iconic Harbour Bridge and maybe even get a feel for the sun and surf lifestyle of Bondi Beach. Then the tour ends here and it’s time to say farewell to your new friends."
I did the dolphin cruise excursion this morning but I really didn't have the energy to get too excited about it. Took a few pictures of the dolphins, and then sat down and read. They had a
boom net you could lay in in the back of the boat but I wasn't in the mood to get wet, so I continued with the book. My energy level really crashed this trip- I still enjoyed Australia, but I was done. I did make the unfortunate mistake of eating some greasy fries on the boat and about an hour into the bus ride to Sydney, they let their presence be known. I was sick for the 20 minute rest break we took and then they had to make special stop for me about 20 minutes later. Nice, that's not embarrassing. Just like it's not embarrassing to write about it now. I gotta get over this fear of getting sick in public eventually though- so maybe public disclosure is the first step. I'll just wait to see how many of you hit "unsubscribe" at this point though 😉
We get to Sydney and Shaz and Youngi take us on a quick driving tour before stopping at a park to get our group picture taken with the
Sydney Opera House and
Harbor Bridge in the background. Shaz gave us a small historical walking tour but between having been sick the past 2 hours
and taking a couple of anxiety pills, I don't really remember what happened.
We got to the hotel,
Holiday Inn Potts Point, I grabbed my bag and went to my room (sharing with a couple of girls from Boston this time). I dumped my bag, ran across the street, grabbed a kebab because I was once again starving, wolfed that down, then fell asleep in the hotel room for about 3 hours. I woke up in time to go to the bar next door that night to say goodbye to everyone since this was the end of the trip. Then, I went back to bed. An exhausting end to an exhausting, albeit fun, trip.
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Sam
non-member comment
Shoal Bay...
Hi! This is where my mother's twin brother used to live. He built his house there from scratch and it's been over ten years since I was there, sad to say... He recently sold the house and built another in Anna Bay, which is where he and his wife live now. His three kids, my cousins, live in Sydney. Wish I saw them more... Love all your pics, can't wait to get back there very soon!!! XOXO Sam