Location: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Just like Nemo, I found myself in Sydney, Australia the other day. When searching for flights between New Zealand and Southeast Asia, they all seemed to transit through Sydney, so I decided to spend a couple of nights in the city. I figured that I shouldn’t miss the opportunity to visit such an iconic city, especially considering how close I was to the country. I have to confess something though: I wasn’t actually excited to visit the city, but was going more or less out of some sort of ‘backpacker obligation’. I knew it would likely be quite some time before I ventured to this part of the world again (there’s so many places I have yet to explore!), that I did not want to regret not visiting Sydney. So that’s how I found myself ‘surfing the eastern Australian current’. (ok, that was the last Finding Nemo quote… maybe!)
Sydney has a ‘colonial British’ feel to it, with its very own Hyde Park to boot.
By a random and happy coincidence, a fellow traveller I met weeks ago in Wellington, New Zealand was on the same flight to Sydney as I was and staying in the city for the same amount of time. We met up on the first day, ready to explore the city. The perfect way to do that: a free walking tour! Score, just what I like best. Our guide was a delightful theatre major and kept us quite entertained with stories for over 3.5hrs.
We soon started to notice that many things in Sydney have the name “Macquarie” (Macquarie Park, Macquarie St, Macquarie University, etc). Turns out, Lachlan Macquarie was the governor-general in the early 1800’s and left a lasting impression on the city, as evidenced by the amount of things named after him. It also helps that he commissioned the statue on the left himself, pointing down the street that he also named after himself. Clearly, no humility issues here.
Sydney has some quirky and fun areas. One such area is Angel Place, home of the art installation ‘Forgotten Songs’. This reclaimed alleyway has empty birdcages suspended over it, each programmed to play a different bird song, depending on the time of the day that the specific bird would be active. It’s meant to represent the fact humanity and globalization has overtaken the native’s birds habitat. It’s an interesting example of how Sydney utilizes its public spaces.
There’s also lots of cafes, pop up coffee shops and tons of outdoor seating.
The highlight of the tour, of the city, really, are the two iconic structures located on the waterfront: the Sydney Harbour Bridge & the Sydney Opera House. It was definitely a treat to lay eyes on these larger-than life landmarks. A real ‘pinch me, I’m dreaming’ moment! And of course, we had to explore the Opera from both sides!
And luckily, both live up to the hype. They’re so impressive in person!
This is likely the most iconic view of the city
On our last night in the city, my new travel buddy and I headed to one of the best bars in the city, located right next to the Opera House. Seriously, can it get better than sipping some chardonnay on an outdoor patio that overlooks both the bridge and the Opera House? I don’t think so! It was the perfect ending to a perfect couple of days in Sydney. What I thought was going to be a humdrum visit to Sydney turned out to be a ‘ripper’ (Australian for really great) of a time.
As I stood in line, waiting to board my flight, I found myself sad to be leaving this seriously fun city. Sydney, I’ll see you on the flip side!