Sydney-The Iconic City Down Under

For all those who have visited Australia or planning to visit Australia, a trip minus a peek into Sydney is simply incomplete. Sydney portrays Australia to the world with its 2 main monuments
1. The Sydney Harbor Bridge
2. The Sydney Opera House

The above are shown every year when Australia welcomes the new year with its blast of fireworks.

To travel to sydney you could take one of the cheap flights available from Jetstar, Virginblue from Melbourne/Adelaide/Perth/Brisbane.
I think that this is the best option. Please avoid the Inter City Train services as they are terribly slow and always late. In addition, you would be ruining your nights sleep in one of these and become tired. Shouldnt you be at your energetic best when at sydney???

Day1: Sydney Aquarium/Widlife Park/Tower


When you are in Sydney, you are mostly in the CBD where all the High Rise buildings and Harbours are so busy with people and action. Sydney has 2 CBD's one on either side of the Harbour Bridge. Sydney Skytower is the tallest point from which you can take a 360 view of the entire city. You could also take a "Skywalk" above where you would be in the open with all sydney down below separated only by a glass floor.

There is a combination ticket (provides entrance to the three attractions) and if you are short on time and money, this is your best value. You could buy it at any of the Visitor Centres located near Darling Harbour/Circular Quay.

You could see the Sydney Mono Rail a serpentile rail system, that snakes its way around the CBD Streets. I am not sure if people use it that often. Maybe the professionals use it.
Sydney when compared to Melbourne appears to be a lot more busy and the huge number of flyovers all around indicate that this is a port city, that has adapted itself.
Sydney was initially a convict settlement and over the years it has evolved itself as the Business Capital of Australia.

Sydney is the capital of New South Wales State of Australia and sport is an integral part of this city as well.
1. Cricket: NSW Blues home at the SCG
2. Rugby: Like Melbourne's AFL Teams, Sydney is famous for its Rugby teams
3. Rowing/Cycling
4. Soccer: Sydney FC
5. Boxing

The Sydney olympics is testament to that.
The olympic park is situated in the West of the city built actually in a previously wasted area used for dumping. Now the Park boasts a number of stadiums and solar panel fitted light towers.
All its facilities are state of the art and are being used every week to host footy/rugby matches.

Sydney is also home to a number of immigrants from all over the world. Notably a lot of immigrants from Lebanon, Italy, Greece, Turkey apart from the immigrants from Ireland/England/Scotland/Wales. Walk around the CBD and the number of Restaurants state that fact..Turkish Cafes/Kebab stores, Italian pizzerias, South East Asian Cuisine and a number of Irish pubs.

There are 2 main streets that form the main artery of the Sydney CBD. George Street and Pitt Street and most of the City based accommodation would be on these 2 streets. Getting to any of the attractions by taxi/walk is easy from here.
In sydney you can buy the "Day Tripper" pass that gives you unlimited access to the Trains/Buses/Ferries around the city. If you are on a 2-3 day trip, you can buy that from any of the stations in the CBD notably Central Station or Town Hall Station.

There is a main Chinese Entertainment Centre that includes a china town/monastery/garden where a number of cultural events are hosted by this immigrant community all over the year.

The Aquarium and Wildlife park introduce you to the host of Animal Species in Australia.
Koalas/Kangaroos/Snakes/Sharks/Great Barrier Reef greet you here...
The park in sydney in my opinion are much better than their counterparts in Melbourne.
If you are short on time, you should visit these 2 attractions to ensure that you have seen the diverse wildlife of australia.




Sydney is beautiful in the night rather than during the day. When the lights come on, you simply are stunned by the beauty of this city. The harbour is busy with ferries and taxis porting people across the waters..Plenty of People walking along the wharf and a number of restaurants with people all trying to eat slowly to get a view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.

The harbour bridge and the opera house is a great sight by night. Make sure you walk along the sydney harbor bridge by night, so that you can catch a glimpse of the Opera house from the top.
The Opera House was built by a Danish Architect and its shape resembles a Cut Orange. Some say that it represents the fins of a shark, but it all depends on how you perceive it.
You can buy a ticket and take a guided tour of the opera house, but i simply am not that kind.
The view from outside appeals better to me..

Make sure you walk along the harbour side from Darling harbour to the opera house and catch the beautiful glimpse of the Sydney harbour Bridge. A Round around the Opera House makes you feel the enormity of this building.
From here, you can catch the night view of the sydney CBD as well with its tall buildings sparkling in the night sky and the Sydney tower being the center .



Day2: Blue Mountains- Three Sisters/Wentworth Walls

The blue mountains are an hours drive away from sydney. You can rent a car and drive up to here. Alternatively, if you are the backpacking kind low on budget, you can take public transport i.e train to the blue mountains from the City Central Station.
The third option is to take a guided tour which i did and it was a good choice. our tour guide Hayden was very knowledgeable about World History/Culture and Australian Wildlife/Flora.
He showed us the Sydney Olympic park where the olympic games were held and then off we proceeded to Katoomba, the entry point to the Blue Mountains.

The Blue mountains are a weekend getaway for most sydneysiders as its offers a tryst with nature for most of the local folk. Many of the rich have got a house up here and it still maintains its pristine outlook.
These areas have been formed due to tectonic activity millions of years ago. Also a number of Aboriginal settlements had been here before the arrival of the immigrants from England and other countries. The local natives had then been rounded up and displaced into settlements like the Native Americans in the USA.
One can see a number of rock carvings/engravings of kangaroos on trees and cliffs.
The local native tribe also had a custom of engraving a sign on a tree every time one of their own departed this world. There are a number of National parks here where you can take your camping gear and stay overnight.



The three sisters are natural rock formations and the legend goes like this.
Long long ago, there was an powerful Native Shaman who had 3 daughters. Now a rival Shaman had 3 sons and he wanted to overpower the chief shaman by hijacking his daughters. When his sons had almost got to the 3 daughters, their father cast a spell on them making them Rocks and promising to revive them back once he was done with the intruders. However the intruders also cornered him and he was forced to convert himself into a rock to escape from them, thereby making sure that his 3 daughters/sisters would forever be stone formations.

There is a steep rail line out here which was used before to ferry coal from the katoomba mines. This Rail line now has been converted into a tourist attraction and boasts itself as the worlds steepest railway line. Take a ride on this and experience the valley.
In addition there are cable car rides that take you down to the valley from where you can take a walking trek to experience the flora.

Wentworth Water Falls is mostly devoid of water but this natural spring formation is a sight to see. We returned back from the blue mountains and boarded a ferry back from the Western suburbs back into the sydney harbor.

Day3: Bondi Beach/Manly Beach/Ferry Rides

Of course, the world famous Bondi Beach is a sight to see for any visitor. Catch the local train from Town hall station to the Bondi Junction and then board the Bus 333 to the Bondi Beach.
Sydney Rail has double decker trains and this explain to you that sydney is a populated city of 4-5 million people. The view from the top of Bondi Beach is splendid and one can see the surfers at work here. A number of people are also playing football and beach volleyball as well.



Take a walk along the Bondi Coast up and until the other end where a number of Rock formations greet you. The other beaches in Sydney are Manly, however this beach is more a family oriented beach with all kinds of activities.
Take the Manly ferry from Circular Quay to here and walk till the beach promenade.
If you are interested in learning Beach Volleyball, there are number of people who can teach you that here.

Manly beach is a wholesome family entertainment venue for most sydney locals.
You can take a number of ferry rides in all directions from the circular quay and different views of the harbour side.
Luna Park is a major attraction for children in sydney with its roller coaster rides,etc.
You can see a number of aboriginal performances as well along the harbour line with natives playing the Didjeraou.

Visit Sydney