Sydney & Surrounds

Arrived after a three hour flight to 32 degrees celcius and high humidity. Luckily it cooled to a great 26 degrees a couple of days after we arrvied.

OK transit hotel. Wouldnt want to spend more than a couple of nights though.

Congratulations Jinxiu and Mel. We had a great time at your wedding and loved meeting your families and friend. Best wishes for a long, lucky and happy future together.

Great Location. Our room was brilliant, nice decor and a good size. Definitely value for money. The only downside was the room was on the 5th floor and miles from the lifts. Wouldnt worry most people but for smokers it was a long trip to get outside.

We bought an all day pass. This was excellent value as we hopped off and on all day. Missed our stops a couple of times! Luckily it only takes about 10 minutes to go right round again to the stop you want.

Amazing old mall built circa 1889. You can either just go for a wander like we did or take a tour.

Massive market but not as cheap as we thought it would be.

Great wee park in the CBD. We strolled through here most days getting to and from things. The fountain is absolutely magnificent.

This was an added bonus as we didnt realise it was the 75th Birthday until we got here. All day 200,000 people walked the bridge. We werent able to as it was booked out way in advance. During the day all walkers wore yellow caps and at night they had orange ones with little lights on the front. We went down to the Opera House Quay at night to watch the light display on the bridge.

We are both terrified of heights but went up the tower twice to have a look at the view. Once first thing in the morning and the second time on Tuesday evening to see all the lights. Well worth overcoming any fear of heights.

This was really interesting. The museum has displays showing the different uses for the Barracks over the years and the conditions the inmates lived in. One room has been excavated out. What the rats got up to was really amazing.

Loved the aquarium. The sharks were brilliant and the colours excellent.

Spent an interesting morning wandering around looking at the variety in the Australian wildlife. Couldnt believe how many different snakes there were and how dangerous a lot of them are.

Enjoyed wandering around the naval ship and the submarine was fascinating. Sat and had a beer at the harbourside cafe. This would be the most expensive beer we have ever purchased but it was so damn hot.

Wandered down through the gardens on our way to the Opera House.

Joined a tour. Thought it might be a bit boring but it was one of the highlights of Sydney. The opera house is amazing and the history of the design competition and the controversy and cost overruns interesting. Definitely do the tour if you are ever in Sydney.

Dropped in for some information. Wherever we went in New South Wales we found the staff at the Information centres really helpful. Especially while we were travelling they were great at pulling free maps out and highlighting the roads so we could get to our next destination.

This area is so old and soaked in history. Hopefully will get back to Sydney one day so we can spend some more time wandering around here.

A bit of a walk out on the bridge to the Pylon and then all those steps. Sweat was poring off us by the time we got to the top. Great view of all those brave souls doing the bridge walk.

Climbed down from the Pylon Lookout and then across the road to this amazing old pub. A couple of long tall G&T's did the ticket after all that exercise.