Stu's Travels

Friday December 15th, Sydney.

What a wonderful week in a wonderful city! I've loved every minute of Sydney- a city littered with history, national icons, and of course, thousands of backpackers.

My hostel was friendly and vibrant, and proved to be a great base from which to explore the city. Even on a relatively quiet first night, we tucked into some infamous 'Goon' (dirt-cheap box wine) while getting to know each other a little better!

Then there was a big, debauched night out on the town before a day of recovery and an evening listening to Christmas Carols on the picturesque Darling Harbour. despite it being nearly 30 degrees and feeling absolutely nothing like the cold, dark Christmasses I'm used to, it certainly made me realise just how lucky I was simply to be there.

Finish this off with a walk around the shoreline of the famous Sydney Harbour, with a first (albeit gloomy) look at the iconic Harbour Bridge and Opera House by night, and it was fair to say that I'd had an unforgettable start to my time in Sydney.

The next day was spent seeing Sydney on foot with an epic walk around the city centre- taking in Hyde Park with its' ANZAC war memorial and Captain Cook monument, Sydney Cathedral, the Royal Botanical Gardens and Macquire's Point, Circular Quay, a walk accross the Harbour Bridge, and Sydney Aquarium. I finished feeling exhausted but rewarded as I looked back on a mammoth day around one of the world's great cities.

Later in the week, I took a ferry to Manly and its' beach, which afforded some stunning photo oppourtunities of the harbour, and also took a day out to visit the famous Bondi Beach.

My week-long stay in Sydney ended with another crazy night out, before it was once again time to say my goodbyes and move on, this time to Melbourne. Christmas and cricket are just around the corner, and I can't wait!