I was fortunate enough to travel to Sydney, Australia this year to attend a wedding with my boyfriend. We spent one gorgeous week here in the warm sun and away from the Canadian winter. Although is was a short but sweet trip we did manage to fit in quite a lot. Here’s what we got up to and what I’d recommend while in Sydney.
Beach Front Property
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| If possible I'd reccomend you stay near the beach. I mean how could you travel all the way to Australia and not experience to ocean to the fullest potential. We stayed at the Sands Quality Hotel in Narrabean. This area was gorgeous. Not only was it away from all the tourists and city life but it was full of locals, surfers, coffee shops and little ocean front beach shops. Staying here truly made it feel like a vacation but it also required us to rent a car in order to get access to the tourist things within the city. Although that meant spending a little more money it was worth it. We spent nearly every morning getting coffee next door, grabbing a sausage roll or meat pie, and then heading across the street to watch the sunrise. After a day of touring it was relaxing to come back here and spend the evening basking in the sun and cooling off in the salt water. We, more so I since Matt was used to it, were even lucky enough to witness some local surfers catching some waves in the mornings! Safe to say I was excited about that. |
Koala Park
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| Could not go to Australia without cuddling some koalas and kangaroos! Rather then going to the busy (and pricey) Tarongo Zoo we decided to visit the Koala Park animal sanctuary. It's a small, quiet park that allows you to interact with some of the animals while also saving yourself a few dollars in the process. We came first thing in the morning and it felt like we had the entire place to ourselves. Here they housed Australian Native animals including koalas, kangaroos and wallabies, wombats, dingos, various birds, bats and even goats and sheep. Not only were we able to see them close up but we were able to interact with the kangaroos freely and the dingos and koalas at various viewing times. If you get the chance I would highly reccomend stopping by here. |
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| This is one of the most beautiful national parks that Sydney has to offer. Here there are a combination of rocky cliffs, rolling hills, waterfalls and eucalyptus plants for miles and miles. I'll warn you that there is a lot of tourists here, including a large number of tour buses, however once you step off the viewing platform and venture into some of the trails you get not only some piece and quiet, but you get views of all angels of the three sisters (the three rock towers in the picture). If you plan on hiking in the area for a while I would reccomend lots of water and comfortable shoes, however we just strolled around on the paths and were perfectly fine in sandals. Regardless these are a must see. They may not be the Canadian Rockies I'm used to but the green hills with the blue eucalyptus hue around them were stunning. |
Vegemite
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| I feel like this one is obvious but to be honest if I didn't go with someone who is in love with this stuff, then I probably would not have tried it. So if you get the chance to sample some then give it a try. However I'll let you decide whether or not you want to take any home. |
Manly Ferry
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| If you had to chose one thing to do while in Sydney I would reccomend taking the Manly Ferry. From here you get your classic tourist views of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge all while enjoying a leisurely boat ride. At the dock you'll have the options to ride the classic ferry which takes about 30 minutes from Manly to Circular Quay. This cost us $8.90 each one way. Your other option is the Fast Ferry. This option takes the same route but only takes 18 minutes one way. For the Fast Ferry is is about $9 one way or $18 round trip. Once here you have access to gift shops, local stores, markets, the aquarium, Sydney Opera house and overall the city of Sydney. |
Sydney Opera House
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| This was a must see considering it is one of Sydney's most famous attractions. We got here using the Manly ferry and managed to make it just in time for the sun to be peering over the opera house peaks. One thing about this area is that it is definitely a tourist attraction. You'll find classes on field trips here, all sorts of tourists and guided tours as well. The beauty of this place alone is definitely worth the visit. |
Sydney Harbour Bridge
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| The Sydney Harbour Bridge is something you won't be able to miss while in Sydney. You'll either see it from a distance or be driving across it at some point. We were able to see it while on the Manly Ferry and crossed over it several times throughout our trip. In addition to admiring it's structural beauty you can have the option to climb the bridge itself with a guided tour. We didn't have time to experience this but I would definitely consider it next time I visit. |
Sydney Aquarium
Fish & Chips by the Sea
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| If you don't have the time to experience the aquarium I wouldn't stress too much about it. For starters it was expensive. When purchasing our tickets we had the option to purchase just the aquarium ticket at $44 each or various packages including the aquarium, Madame Tussauds, Sydney Zoo and the Sydney Tower Eye all at various prices depending on what you chose. Seeing as the cost to enter was high, I had high expectations for the aquarium but was disappointed. The aquarium was very spread out which lead to lots of walking on ramps without any sea life to look at. In addition, the variation of sea life wasn't that broad of a spectrum. All in all I don't think I'd visit here again. |
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| If you want to indulge in some true beach-side cuisine, go for some fish and chips. Or any sea food for that matter. We looked up a local fish and chips place, made an order, and took it to the beach where we sat and watched the sunset while enjoying some fresh fish. This was the perfect way to not only end a day of touring, but end the trip before flying back to Canada. |
