Last stop in Australia

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Feb 16, Sydney

After arriving in Sydney yesterday afternoon, we only had to walk across the street from the train station to our hostel. This Central Sydney YHA is much nicer than the one we stayed in in Newcastle, but it also costs a lot more. Anyways, after checking in we wandered around the area, had a bite to eat and by then it was time to return to the hostel. A bit later we headed to the cinema - Darrel said it was only a couple of blocks away - he was right, except that each block must be four blocks long….anyways, the walk was good, as was the show.

This morning started with us taking advantage of the hostel’s cheap breakfast and then us donning our packs. We had to change hostels because this one didn’t have space for us for the next two nights, so we caught the freebee bus to the Quay and then walked to our new hostel, near Sydney Harbor. It took us bit of wandering to find the place though, because it is hidden up behind the main areas…but what a hostel. This is more like a five star hotel -clean, modern and great roof top views. Even from our 2nd floor, non view window we can see the opera house.
Then we set out to see the sites. Back at the Quay we boarded the Manning ferry and cruised over to Manning, across the harbour from Sydney. This was a great way to see the harbour without paying the tourist cruise rates. Got some great views of the opera house and bridge and Sydney in general. While in Manning we visited their Ocean World which showcases much of the sea life from around Australia, including sharks. This is also where you walk beneath the ocean to view the fish. It is a bit strange to see huge stingrays and sharks swimming over your head.

After returning to the Sydney side of the harbour we got the last tour of the day of the opera house. Pretty impressive place. The acoustics in the theatres could make even my singing sound good (in my dreams).
Then back to hostel to actually check in and to have a burrito dinner supplied by the hostel for a whopping $5.00. Just another reason why we like hostels.

Feb 17 Sydney - last full day in Australia

We have been told by a number of people that two day in Sydney would be plenty. Boy were they wrong. Our second day started with a hostel prepared breakfast (got to love this hostel) and then a tour of the archaeology did beneath the building. This building has been designed to ‘float’ above one of the original building sites in the city. The tour took us around the dig site and gave a bit of a lesson on what Sydney was like in the old days. We both enjoyed this glimpse into the past.
From there we headed into town to finish up our tourist package. We started with the Sydney Tower with its magnificent views of the area…no, we did not do the sky walk around the top ledge of this place. Then we walked over to the Wildlife and Ocean parks. I especially liked all the reptiles, including snakes and spiders because they were behind glass. Then the Marina had the usual display of ocean life, but their underwater tunnel was really good. Lots of sharks, turtles, and other creatures.
After finishing up with the parks, we caught a ferry from Darling Harbour back to the Circular Quay. This took us under the Bridge and past the Opera House.
To finish off the evening we joined the other hostel guests in a roof top barbeque where we got to taste kangaroo…too gamey for my tastes. Spent a good part of the evening sitting up there admiring the view of the opera house, bridge, and city. If you are ever in Sydney and want a decent and reasonably place to stay, try the Sydney Harbour, Rocks, YHA. It is easily the best one out there.
Because we leave tomorrow morning we will not get to wander through the city’s pedestrian market streets or get to see any of the surrounding area. Sydney is much nicer than I was led to believe.

What do we think of Australia? We both like this country very much and everything we have seen and done has reinforced our feelings. It is a country of extreme beauty, vastly differing landscapes, and extreme weather. We are already talking about when we will return to complete our trip through Queensland.

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Photos

Sydney Opera House
Teh colour is actually beige, not white.

Sydney
From Sky Tower

Sydney
From Tower

Old Salty
Safely viewed in the Aquarium

Sydney Bridge
From our hostel roof terrace

From Hostel
Ship is the Regent of Seas