Saturday we were up bright and early (b/c we fell asleep around 7pm the night before) and headed into the city to hit the bank (which wasn’t open) and the Sydney Visitor’s Center. On the way, we cut through Hyde Park, which is a large park in Sydney’s CBD (Central Business District) with interesting art/architecture and huge, beautiful trees. We saw the Anzac Memorial (their Veteran’s Memorial equivalent), several neat statues and a very cool fountain (all of which I’ve posted pictures of in my slideshow on the blog). There was a triathalon going on with the finish line right in the park so there were tons of people around and lots going on. We stopped by St. Mary’s Cathedral, a stunning building located right off the park. The Church was huge, taking up the better part of a block, with all kinds of alcoves and interesting details everywhere, from the ceiling beams and the stained glass windows to the tile work on the floor and the exterior porticos. Then we continued on our way to the Visitors’ Center, which we didn’t realize was located in Darling Harbor. The Harbor turned out to be a great place to spend the day as it had TONS to do. There was another smaller park, a Chinese friendship garden, kids’ play area, shops, places to eat, the Sydney Aquarium and Sydney Wildlife Adventure Park. After hitting the Visitors’ Center for maps and tips on things to do, we explored the park then went to the Aquarium. By far the coolest part was the shark exhibit! They were up close and personal and super scary (even though they were harmless Nurse Sharks). We spent a few hours there then enjoyed a very late lunch on the water before heading back for the day. Not too bad for our first full day in Sydney!
Sunday we decided to walk to Bondi Beach (the most famous of Sydney’s many beaches). We moseyed that way, enjoying all the sites we encountered on the way and making time to stop to purchase a a much needed cell phone. It took a few hours so it was already noon by the time we got to the beach, which was perfect as we’d packed a picnic lunch. The beach was busy but is huge so it didn’t feel too crowded and there were tons of surfers in the water along with kids and adults alike frolicking in the surf. After we ate, Alex & I went down to play in the water but that was short-lived once we dipped our toes in and realized it was FREEZING cold. Not sure how all these other folks were in up to their waists or out on boards like it was nothing because there was NO WAY either of us was going in that water. So we sat on the beach playing cards and people-watching for a few hours before taking the Coastal Beach walk to Bronte Beach. The Coastal walk was awesome and took us over the cliffs along the water and through one other beach on our way to Bronte. After checking out Bronte briefly we began the long, uphill trek home. By the time we got halfway back, my feet and muscles were starting to hurt so we caught a cab the rest of the way. We checked it out online when we got home and realized we’d walked nearly 10 miles! Needless to say, we didn’t get up to much after that…
Yesterday we spent the morning taking care of a few important errands (such as getting bank accounts) then went to Sydney Wildlife World. We’d bought a package of tickets at the Aquarium which included Wildlife World and we had pretty low expectations but it ended up being one of the coolest places we’ve been so far. There were all kinds of critters and most of them you could enter their enclosures with them. We got to see Koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, cassowary, a huge crocodile & many other indigenous animals. The koalas were my favorite, they were cute and sweet-looking and mere feet away with no fence or glass wall in between us and them. Plus we got to see them at feeding time so they were awake and active (which they aren’t most of the day). As much as I cringed while we were in it, the spider exhibit was really interesting and the lady stationed there provided a lot of useful information on what species to avoid while we’re here. The crocodile was pretty cool too – it was amazing and intimidating to see how large they are in person (and this guy wasn’t even fully grown). Let’s hope we don’t encounter any of those in the wild! After that we headed back to Kings Cross and enjoyed a few well-deserved happy hour cocktails before calling it a day.
This morning we’ve already taken a short run in a torrential downpour (seriously, monsoon-esque) and are just deciding what to do today. It’s calling for rain the rest of the time we’re here (2.5 more weeks) so hopefully the weathermen here are as inaccurate as they are at home or we’re in for a wet few weeks… Either way, we’re going to get out and continue enjoying Sydney and I’ll keep you all posted with what we’re up to.
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