Sydney, Australia - Part 2

The next morning I took a trip to the Sydney Olympic Park, home of the 2000 Olympic Games. I love visiting different Olympic parks or stadiums when abroad, and this was a complex that is still very well used today, and a great legacy of their games. I loved finding the little touches from the London 2012 games too!

That afternoon I caught the bus to Bondi Beach as it seemed like an iconic beach to visit! It's very nice by the beach there with lots of cafes around, however it was such a windy day there was no chance of sitting on the beach!

The next day was one of the best days of my trip, as I did the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb. In the morning I walked along the actual bridge (the path is pretty hidden, but near the store for the Bridge Climb). There are some beautiful views here over the Harbour.

Then it was time for my Bridge Climb. I was in a group of 9 which was a slightly smaller group than usual (I believe it's usually 14). We had a great guide who was very friendly and enthusiastic. My group consisted of a family from Perth, a couple from Canada, an American man and me. Everyone was very friendly and all thought it was a once in a lifetime opportunity!

The climb itself was excellent - the only negative of it is that you can't take cameras (or pretty much anything) on it with you. I did opt to purchase a couple of the photos our guide took as I wanted them to remember the climb! You are attached throughout at about hip height to a wire, and stay in your same order throughout. It starts with about 5 or so very vertical flights of ladders before a more gentle climb over the top of the bridge. You do feel so safe and secure on it that I didn't really think of the height at all, although it was slightly more scary on the ladders on the way down as you go over the train line! We had some interesting commentary throughout from our guide, and a nice couple of freebies included with the climb. Definitely one of my top two activities I did in Australia (number 2 comes later on in the trip!)

That evening I met up with Amy, one of my friends from back home who's currently working in Sydney using a working holiday visa. We had a great $10 steak down by Darling Harbour, which for Australia is a bargain!

The next day was my last day in Sydney and I went to the Blue Mountains with Chris, as fortunately he has a car. We had a great day hiking, and it was nice to see a different environment not far from the city.

That evening I went to see The Addams Family musical - as soon as I arrived in Sydney I saw posters for this and pretty much ran to get a ticket! It's never been on in the UK and is no longer on Broadway, so it was a pretty rare opportunity. I did one of the songs back in college which is why I was so keen to see it, and it was an amazing show!

The next morning I flew up to the Gold Coast, where I stayed at Surfer's Paradise. I absolutely loved Sydney, and it was my favourite place I visited in Australia and it was so great to catch up with friends there!

Sydney, Australia - Part 1

After Melbourne I took the short flight up the coast to Sydney, which was my favourite part of Australia I visited. There was a lot to see here and even with 5 nights and going out all day every day I didn’t cover a lot of the city. I was staying in a hostel very near the Central Station, which was a great location. I chose to walk most places and it was only about a half an hour walk down to the Opera House and Sydney Harbour.

I loved the two harbour areas, and Darling Harbour was a nice place to go in the evenings. My first morning I did the Sydney Opera House tour, which was one of the things I was most interested to do here in Sydney. I had a great guide who was very enthusiastic and entertaining, although did remind me of an old school teacher! She allowed us to take some sneaky photos in one of the theatres – the theatre which is mainly used for orchestral concerts was my favourite and beautiful inside. They were setting up in the other one for the opera that was being presented that afternoon and it was interesting to see the set being constructed.

That afternoon I met one of my friends who I met in Mexico last year and lives in Sydney. We went on a free walking tour of Sydney which was excellent, and once again had a very enthusiastic and informative young guide. They just rely on tips, but it was an excellent service and a great 3-hour tour ending at a beautiful viewpoint over Sydney Harbour.

That evening we spent at Darling Harbour – we first went to an incredible dessert buffet (very similar concept to Yo Sushi at home) where you picked off what you wanted to eat from the conveyor belt. Macaroons seem very popular in Melbourne and Sydney, so I had to try some – the popcorn one was delicious!

As it was a Saturday night they had fireworks in Darling Harbour. These were amazing and a great end to the day!