SteveDay 1
We arrived at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport at around 9 am after an almost 8-hour red-eye flight from Singapore. We didn’t sleep much on the plane, despite being in premium economy and having room to stretch out our legs and recline a bit. I guess we were still a bit jetlagged travelling from London to Singapore a few days before. Once we cleared customs and border patrol at Sydney we found the Airport Link at the end of the terminal and caught a train to Circular Quay. The journey took about 20 minutes and we walked from the train into the baking hot sun of Sydney’s summer (early December!). Now we could start our 3 days in Sydney!
We’d booked a nice hotel on Circular Quay for three nights, and to our surprise, we were able to check in mid-morning and go straight to our room. Not only that, but we caught an upgrade too that gave us views of both Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.
Once we’d unpacked and run through the shower we hit the streets around Circular Quay. The first thing that was apparent to me was that Sydney had a great cosmopolitan vibe to it. It didn’t feel too ‘Australian’, but multicultural. Circular Quay is where the cruise ships are docked, as well as the ferries to outlying islands. There are numerous cafés and restaurants, and a smattering of shops too. We had a lovely wander around and went to see the Opera House. We grabbed a drink and a snack at a café by one of the piers and enjoyed the sun. By mid-afternoon, I’d hit a wall. We went back to our hotel and I grabbed a few hours power knap and then felt much better ready for a night out in Darling Harbour.
Darling Harbour was pretty at night, with lots of bars and restaurants around the edge. There’s also a lot to do here, like the maritime museum, tour cruise boats, and a ferris wheel. Once we were suitable fed and watered, we staggered back for 15 minutes to our hotel in Circular Quay and had a late-night cocktail in the lounge.
Day 2
We started the day with a quick breakfast at one of the many cafés in Circular Quay in the sun. It was going to be another scorcher, but unlike Singapore, it was a lot less humid so walking about was no issue at all. We set off to walk through the Royal Botanic Garden, which is right by Opera House.
We saw some impressive gardens and plant life, and also some of the biggest trees I’ve ever seen. We followed a path that skirted the outer edge of the garden and went to find Mrs McQuarries Chair. I wasn’t sure what to expect here, except that I knew it was a popular attraction. I was slightly surprised to find it was just a stone bench carved into the rock that offered some views over the harbour. Despite this, there were hoards of bus tourists here so getting a photo of the bench was tricky.
On our return to Circular Quay, we decided to take a ferry over to Manly, as we had heard that Manly was a bit of a hidden gem. There are lots of ferry piers here going to a variety of destinations. Riding the ferry was an experience in itself because we got to see Sydney from a different perspective.
Once we arrived at Manly, we walked through a small shopping area and found ourselves at Manly beach. Lots of people know Bondi beach, but Manly is less well known. I get the feeling the locals want to keep it that way as well. The beach was pretty busy, with lots of people enjoying the sun and the surf.
We had bought beach towels from a nearby shop and decided to spend an hour or so chilling on the beach and going for a swim. That said, we did not do too much swimming as the waves were pretty big. We were also cautious not to go too deep into the water because of a concern for sharks. We saw a helicopter hovering over the bay on shark watch at one point, despite the fact that I believe the bay has shark nets in places to deter them.
The next thing I know, we are both a lovely shade of pink. We had creamed up earlier that day but had not realised how strong the rays were, so we thought best to move on and get out of the sun. It was 37oC after all!
After we caught the ferry back, we had a wander around the Rocks in Sydney which was close by to Circular Quay and right by the Harbour bridge. This area is full of cobbled streets, old buildings and pubs, and plenty of small shops too.
We then went back to the hotel to shower and change, before enjoying a night out at The Argyle. This was a great bar with an outdoor terrace and was pretty lively. The food and drinks were great, and they even had a live DJ on who was really good.
Day 3
Our third day in Sydney was a lot cooler and slightly overcast than previously, but still in the high 20s! Our adventure for the day was to go to Taronga Zoo, which meant taking another ferry from the pier at Circular Quay.
Once we landed at Taronga Zoo wharf, there was a cable car nearby that took us up to the zoo itself.
The zoo is Australia’s largest, and as we don’t often visit zoos we thought we’d take the opportunity. It wasn’t exactly sunbathing weather anyhow.
We spent the best part of the day at the zoo as there was so much to see and do. There are more than 4,000 animals on site, over 8 zones.
The zoo wasn’t too busy and is set high up on rocks, it had excellent views overlooking the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. As you would expect, there are toilet facilities and food outlets all over. The cable car back and forth to the ferry was a great touch too. Another nice touch was that there was quite a lot of zoo staff on hand to answer any questions you had.
After a full day, it was time to head back and check out an Indian restaurant I had my eye on for the evening. It turned out to be OK. Just OK. It seemed I’d have to wait a bit longer before getting a proper curry back home in the UK!
The next morning was an early start to catch the train back to the airport. We had a brilliant time in Sydney, and the good weather really helped. Having 3 days in Sydney was just about long enough, although I am keen to return one day! So that is how we spent our 3 days in Sydney – do you think 3 days is long enough to do it justice?
