My First 3 Weeks in Sydney

I have been in Sydney for just over 3 weeks now and it has been amazing. In my first 3 weeks in Sydney I have seen tons of incredible things and meet some awesome people. This was initially going to be about my first week but I have been so busy that here we are at week 3.

I arrived in Sydney around 8:30 AM on December 31st. New Year’s Eve. It had been 22 hours since I left Charlotte and about 32 hours since I had gotten a nights sleep…and I still had at least 16 hours to go before the New Year’s fireworks.

Things I Did In My First 3 Weeks In Sydney

• Visit Circular Quay to see the Opera House and Harbour Bridge
• Saw the Christmas decorations on George St and in the Queen Victoria Building (QVB)
• Watched the New Year’s fireworks from the rooftop of the hostel I was staying in
• Took the ferry to Watsons Bay and walked to Hornby Lighthouse
• Walked across the Harbour Bridge to North Sydney for lunch and a stroll through Luna Park
• Took the ferry to Olympic Park, the site of the 2000 Olympic Games
• Walked through the Botanical Gardens and saw Mrs Macquarie’s Chair
• Had Strawberry Watermelon Cake from Black Star Pastry
• Visited the Museum of Sydney
• Attended a Silent Disco
• Spent the day getting sunburnt at Coogee Beach
• Visited the Newtown suburb to view the street art
• Had drinks at the Opera Bar underneath the Opera House while the sails were lit for the firefighters fighting the bushfires
• Watched the Badu Gili light show on the side of the Opera House
• Took the train over the Harbour Bridge to North Sydney to visit Wendy’s Secret Garden and Taronga Zoo
• Spent the day at Bondi Beach
• Did the Spit to Manly coastal walk and spent the afternoon on Manly Beach
• Did the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk
• Watched the sunrise from the Opera House
• Went to the Dodecalis Luminarium as part of Syd Fest 2020
• Played a round of mini-golf at Holey Moley in Newtown

New Year’s Eve in Sydney

Once I had gotten settled into my hostel and gotten all of the administrative things worked out i.e. bank card and sim card, the obvious first thing to do was visit Circular Quay to see the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. When I got there they had a security checkpoint set up for the New Year’s Eve festivities so I was not able to get up close to the Opera House. No big deal, I’ve got 364 more days to see it up close. After taking a couple of pictures from across the harbour, I set off on a random walk through the city. I came across some beautiful Christmas decorations that were still up. After my walk, I grabbed a bite to eat and a 6-pack to drink while we celebrated New Year’s. The hostel I stayed at the first week I was in Sydney had a wonderful view of the Harbour Bridge so a lot of us watched the New Year’s fireworks from there to avoid the crowds. It was an absolutely spectacular view. I finally got to go to bed around 1:30 AM, a whopping 49 hours since I was last in bed.

Taking in the Sights

Now that the New Year’s festivities were over it was time to really see Sydney. Sydney has a wonderful public transportation system, including the new Light Rail that had only opened about 2 weeks prior so I decided to take a ride. I ended up at a place called the Queen Victoria Building, or QVB for short. This was a place I had heard of as somewhere that I should check out while in Sydney so I went in. The QVB is basically a large, 4-story mall originally constructed in the late 1800’s. It has stunning architecture, and when I was there the Christmas decorations were still up, including a beautiful tree that went from the ground floor all the way to the top of the third floor (the fourth floor is underground).

Later that day I took the ferry to Watsons Bay where they have amazing cliff side views of the Pacific Ocean. At Watsons Bay there was also a coastal trail that lead to a lighthouse that was supposed to be nice. There were some decent views along the walk but the lighthouse was a bit underwhelming as it’s only about 30 feet tall.

North Sydney

I was checking out the base of the Harbour Bridge one day and decided to walk across it to get some better views. The views of the Opera House from the bridge are nice since they give you a slightly different perspective. You can climb the pylon of the bridge for only A$19 but it was kind of hazy the day I was up there, as it has been most days due to the brushfires, so I didn’t think the views would be worth it. On the other side of the bridge is North Sydney. North Sydney is home to Luna Park, a type of permanent carnival. Luna Park is free to enter, you just have to pay if you want to ride any rides or buy anything, so I went in to look around. You can also get great views of the harbour for here.

North Sydney is also home to Toronga Zoo but more on that later.

Olympic Park

In Sydney your public transportation costs are capped at A$2.80, anything over that is free. Since it was Sunday when I went to North Sydney, I decided to then take a ferry to Olympic Park. This is the site of the 2000 Summer Olympics, the XXVII Olympiad. At Olympic Park you can see several of the venues that hosted events as well as the Olympic Cauldron. Around the Cauldron they have Gold/Silver/Bronze strips that list every person that got a metal during that Olympiad which I found interesting.

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Indoor Day

Most things to do in Sydney are outside activities since the weather is usually so nice. However, the bushfires have really been making the weather pretty bad this year. One thing to do when the weather is bad is to visit a museum. On one of these days I visited the Sydney Museum which illustrates the history of Sydney. It is not a very big museum but it is interesting and has some interactive displays. It only costs A$15 to get in. There were a lot of kids there when I went so it certainly isn’t a relaxing museum.

On the way to the museum I stopped at a place called Black Star Pastry to try the Strawberry Watermelon Cake. This cake has been called the “world’s most instagrammed cake” so of course I had to try it. The cake has two layers of a light almond cake, two layers of rose flavored cream, and a slice of watermelon in the middle. It is topped with sliced strawberries, pistachios, and dried rose petals. At A$9 a slice it is a little expensive to have on a regular basis but I would definitely recommend trying a piece if you are ever in Sydney.

Beach Days in My First 3 Weeks in Sydney

After a week and a half in Sydney, there was finally a warm sunny day so some new friends from my hostel and I went to the beach. The first beach day was spent at Coogee Beach. I got sunburnt. Pretty badly. When they say the sun is more intense in Australia, they aren’t kidding. Coogee Beach was nice, the waves are not too bad but the water gets deep really quickly.

The next week I went to the world famous Bondi Beach with a different group of friends. While the beach at Bondi is very nice, the waves are rough and they come in rapid succession so it is not a great place to relax in the water. We went back to Bondi the next week as well and discovered a nice little bar/restaurant where you could sit and people watch.

The other big beach is Manly Beach. We went here after completing the Spit to Manly Coastal Walk. This is a 10 km hike starting at the Spit Bridge and ending at Manly Beach. There are lots of spots along the way with beautiful views as well as a couple of small beaches. Once we got to Manly we got some fish and chips then went to the beach. The waves at Manly are not as bad as the ones at Bondi but the current is incredibly strong.

We also did the Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk. This is similar to the Spit to Manly Coastal Walk but a lot shorter.

Taronga Zoo

Taronga Zoo is on of Australia’s largest zoos. It is a not-for-profit and very conservation focused. With its own ferry wharf, it is very easy to access. They have all of the usual zoo animals: tigers, giraffes, gorillas, elephants, etc. as well as many Australian specific animals such as kangaroos, koalas, and wombats. It is A$49 to get in plus the ferry costs so it is a bit expensive but worth a visit if you like animals. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time as it is a large zoo.

Opera House at Night

One Saturday night was a friends last night so several of us went out for drinks at the Opera Bar which is right under the Opera House. It has incredible views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. The night we were there they had the big sails lit up with pictures of the firefighters in order to raise money for fighting the bushfires. Every night at sunset, 9 pm, 9:30 pm, and 10 pm there is a light show on the small sails called Badu Gili. This show is a 7 minute projection that celebrates Australia’s First Nations culture. It is a beautiful display and I would highly recommend it if you are in Sydney at night.

Newtown

Newtown is a suburb of Sydney that is well known for its street art. There is graffiti everywhere including beautiful sanctioned works. There is also a cemetery with graves from the mid-1800s which is something that I personally find interesting. I went to Newtown twice. The second time was with a couple of friends and after viewing some of the art we went and played mini golf at an interesting indoor venue.

Sydney Fest 2020

Sydney Fest is a yearly festival every January to celebrate the art and culture of Sydney. One of the exhibits is called Dodecalis Luminarium. It is a giant inflatable exhibit that uses sunlight and different colored panels to create artistic designs. To add to the atmosphere, some rooms are air conditioned while others are not in order create different temperatures to go along with the different designs. As you can see in the pictures below, there are different designs that appear to be made of lights but are actually 100% illuminated by the sun.

A Great First 3 Weeks in Sydney

All in all it has been an incredible 3 weeks. I really don’t think I could have asked for anything more. I met some amazing friends who I am going to miss dearly, I saw some incredible sites that can’t even be described, I had a lot of unique food, and got to spend several days enjoying the weather at the beach.