Northie, thanks for the correction. They looked like the red hot pokers to me. So many interesting native Australian plants!

Yestravel, it�s so nice to hear from you! Your report on the Great Ocean Road, Melbourne, The Blue Mountains, and Sydney was very helpful. I will finish up with Sydney after Christmas, and then start on New Zealand.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah or whatever you're celebrating .... We wish you all the best! This from Outback Australia

Fabulous report KarenWoo, really enjoyable read paired with fun photography. I'm jealous of the beautiful looking weather you had. Back in 2008 we spent close to 3 weeks in Melbourne, the Great Ocean Road area, and Tasmania, and had nearly unrelenting wind, lots of rain, and even snow in Tassie. In February. Even the locals said it was a bit unusual to last that long.

We'll have to keep an eye on your travels plans and go at the same time. Hope I didn't just jinx the NZ portion of your trip! Thanks for posting.

Hi Nelson!
Thanks so much for your kind words! I feel really bad for you that you had such awful weather, and in February! Their summer! We had equally awesome weather in New Zealand. Only a couple days of rain, but those days did impact our itinerary, and we had to make last minute changes. But it all worked out in the end. I hope I am not jinxing myself for future trips but we have managed to have perfect weather for so many of our travels. Including Scotland in 2023 when we only had one morning of misty weather. The rest was all sunshine!

I will be posting Sydney today, and that will end our Australian portion of our trip.

OCTOBER 27 TO OCTOBER 30: SENSATIONAL SYDNEY!!!

Our drive from Katoomba to the car rental agency in Sydney was much easier and faster this time because we set our GPS to toll roads. We went through a very, very long tunnel at one point. Returned the car with no issues. Very easy. Uber picked us up within minutes and drove us to our home for the next 4 nights, The Grace Hotel in Sydney. The Grace is a posh hotel located in the heart of Sydney’s CBD. We were able to walk almost everywhere. Our rate did not include breakfast, but we decided to have breakfast here each morning so we could get an earlier start sightseeing. We chose the cold breakfast buffet for an additional 25AUD. A hot buffet was offered for 35AUD.

SIGHTSEEING IN SYDNEY:

Darling Harbour

After checking into our hotel, we walked to Darling Harbour which was very lively and bustling with people. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and everyone was out eating gelato, having drinks and people watching. Because it was close to Halloween, there were a lot of people dressed in costumes. It was very festive and fun.

Sydney Harbour Bridge

This bridge is the largest and heaviest steel arch in the world. It really is majestic. There is a popular and expensive Bridge Climb that people can do, but we chose the easiest and cheapest method: We walked across the bridge in both directions. The views of Sydney Harbour and the Sydney Opera House are fantastic!

Ferry to Manly

I don’t remember if it was someone from Fodors or Trip Advisor who told me they considered the only must-see in Sydney is to take a ferry from Circular Quay through the harbor. So we decided to take the ferry to Manly. What a treat this was! This was definitely one of the highlights of Sydney! And it’s so cheap! The ferry was 66 cents one-way! And the views are even more spectacular and more magnificent than from the bridge. You get awesome views of the bridge, the harbor, the Sydney skyline and close-ups of the opera house!!

It's a 20-minute ride to Manly. When we arrived, we went to the Tourist Information Center next to the terminal to get a map of Manly. We walked along Manly Beach before stopping for lunch at the Steyne Hotel overlooking the beach. We ate at the hotel’s Beach Bar. I had a delicious shrimp and avocado salad, and Ed had chicken wings. Then we continued on our walk to Shelly Beach before heading back to the ferry terminal.

We had an unexpected adventure on the ferry ride back to Circular Quay. We sat on an outside deck so that we could take more photos while entering Sydney Harbor. Almost as soon as the ferry started moving, it became very windy and very cold outside and very choppy. I knew I couldn’t sit outside for 20 minutes, so we started down some steps to get inside. At this moment, the ferry tilted a bit and a wave washed overboard and drenched me from head to toe! I couldn’t believe it! I just stood there not knowing what we should do next. The deck was very wet and I was worried that if we continued, we would slip and fall. So we headed back up the stairs, across to the other side, and were able to go down those stairs because it was dry. Once inside, we sat behind some women who turned to me and said “We were watching you and we were so afraid you would go overboard.” Anyways, when we returned to Circular Quay, we ordered an Uber ride, who came immediately to bring us back to our hotel. I took a hot shower and washed my hair, and I had to send my jeans out to be washed. I was able to handwash my blouse in the sink because it’s lightweight, and I knew it would dry quickly. So that was our ferry adventure!

Circular Quay at night

After I warmed up, we ventured back out to Circular Quay in the evening. This is another highlight of our visit to Sydney. The views of the bridge, the harbor, and the opera house are absolutely stunning at night!!! Awesome photo opportunities galore!

Australian National Maritime Museum

We visited the Australian Maritime Museum which is outstanding! In addition to exhibits in the museum’s building, there are quite a few ships docked outside. On any given day, the visitor can tour 5 of these ships. The ships available for touring aren’t always the same depending on which ones are being refurbished, or out to sea for an event. We visited 4 of the 5 ships open for tours that day: Ena, a 100-year-old ship used for fun and personal travel; a submarine; a destroyer; and a replica of James Cook’s ship, the Endeavor. We spent so much time touring the ships that we didn’t have time to visit the indoor exhibits.

Art Gallery of NSW

This is an outstanding art museum that includes amazing art by Australian and aboriginal artists. And the galleries themselves are works of art! Beautiful galleries painted in bold reds and beautiful blues. The museum consists of two buildings: The North Building and The South Building. We had time to visit only the South Building. I wish we had more time to spend in this outstanding museum.

Australian Museum

Another fascinating museum is the Australian Museum, which includes science, culture and nature exhibits. We didn’t have enough time here. We spent most of our time in the Westpac Long Gallery, which is filled with interesting artifacts from various Pacific cultures.

Queen Victoria Building

We struck up a conversation with a woman on the street who suggested we visit the Queen Victoria Building. I don’t know why this gorgeous building wasn’t on our radar. The Romanesque architecture is exquisite! The QVB was built in 1898, and replaced the original Sydney markets on the site. I wish we knew about this place sooner so we could have made time for coffee or drinks here.

Chinese Garden of Friendship

This very peaceful and lovely garden symbolizes the friendship between Sydney and Quangzhou, China. There are meandering pathways, lovely pavilions, peaceful ponds, and lush flora. And there is a Tea House where you can stop for lunch or snacks and a drink. It’s a very nice respite from busy and bustling Sydney!



RESTAURANTS IN SYDNEY:

The Sanderson

We had an amazing dinner at The Sanderson! This was an anniversary gift from our youngest daughter and her husband. A bit belated, since our anniversary was in May, but this special dinner made our visit to Sydney even more special! We ordered a seafood set menu for two. First, we ordered raw oysters which weren’t included in the set menu because we love Australian oysters. Our set menu included scallops, tuna tartare, spanner crab, grilled cod (perfectly cooked), potatoes and salad. For dessert we ordered Bombe Alaska. The food is delicious and expertly prepared, and the service is stellar! I highly recommend The Sanderson to make your dining experience in Sydney extra special.

The restaurant was a little difficult to find, however. The address is 285 George Street, but the entrance is through a back alley. We went there in the morning to find it so we would know where it is when it was time for our reservation. We walked up and down the alley but didn’t see a sign. So I asked someone nearby who pointed out the door to me. There is a locked gate at the entrance, with a small foyer, and there was a small sign inside the foyer. Not easily seen from outside the gate. When we returned in the evening, there was an illuminated sign spotlighted on the ground, and of course the gate was now open. So, easier to find at night but not during the day. This was our best dinner in Sydney!

Emperor’s Garden BBQ & Noodles

We had lunch here one day. This restaurant is located in Chinatown on Thomas Street. We enjoyed our lunch here. I was getting lax at this point and didn’t write down what we ate.

Nanjing Gourmet Restaurant

We had dinner here one night. This is one of the few restaurants that serve food from the Nanjing region in China. Don’t let the “gourmet” in the title fool you. This is a very casual small restaurant. We dined in an alley at a small table. Not fancy at all but very good food. Also located in Chinatown.

For the most part while in Sydney we found a place to eat that was convenient to our sightseeing, and I didn’t make note of the names. By far, our best meal in Sydney was at The Sanderson!

Darling Harbour


Darling Harbour - a lively and bustling harbourfront

Darling Harbour - I love the architecture

Another view of Darling Harbour

Darling Harbour

They disembarked from a Halloween party boat

More friends joined them.

They posed for some pretty young women in slinky dresses . . . so I snuck in a photo, too!


A couple Sydney street scenes, Sydney Harbour Bridge, and the ferry to Manly


Sydney street car - near the Grace Hotel

Sydney street scene

The start of our walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Sydney skyline from the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Sydney Opera House with the humongous Princess Cruise Ship.

Front view of the Opera House from the Bridge.

Another frontal view

The iconic Sydney Opera House

Milson's Point from the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Beautiful Jacaranda Tress

And getting ready for Halloween

View of the skyline and harbour from the Manly Ferry

View of the Sydney Opera House from the Manly Ferry

Skyline and Opera House

Front view of the Opera House from the ferry

Sailing past the iconic Opera House

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Another view from the ferry

Manly street scene

Manly shops

Store display in Manly

Colorful store display in Manly

My delicious shrimp and avocado salad

The Steyne Hotel where we had a nice lunch overlooking Manly Beach.

Manly Beach - the Steyne Hotel is across the street.

Another view of Manly Beach

There is a walkway along Manly Beach that ends at Shelly Beach.

Swimming pool along the walkway.

Shelly Beach - the end of the line.

Nice! Your report and photos of Sydney brings back so many happy memories for me; thank you. Looks like the Crown is finally done. It was under construction the last couple of times I was there, as well as much of the area around Circular Quay. Did you visit Bondi also?

tripplanner001, what is the Crown? We didn't have time to visit Bondi. The Bondi to Coogee Clifftop Walk was on my list of things to do but we never made it there. I think 4 nights is a minimum stay for Sydney, and more would be better as is usually the case. I would have enjoyed another ferry ride, visiting Bondi, and more time at the museums. We didn't visit the Botanical Gardens either. I could easily spend a week in Sydney.

Sydney at Night


Sydney Harbour at night - Stunning!

Sydney Harbour/Circular Quay at night

There are photo opportunities wherever you look!

The Sydney skyline at night! Everything glitters and sparkles!

The stunning Opera House at night!

It's impossible to stop taking photos!

Sydney Harbour Bridge

A magical evening at the Circular Quay! And you don't have to spend any money!

More photos of the gorgeous Sydney Opera House at night

And another one!

The illuminated Sydney skyline - magical!

The Australian National Maritime Museum


The Australian National Maritime Museum is located on Darling Harbour. This view of Darling Harbour is taken from the museum.

The Steam Yacht Ena. This is a pleasure yacht built in 1900, and it has been beautifully restored.

The Steam Yacht Ena.

Another view of Darling Harbour

and another view of Darling Harbour from the museum.

Aboard the HMAS Vampire II. This is a Daring Class Destroyer. It is the last of Australia's big gun ships. These are the largest destroyers built in Australia. There are volunteer guides aboard all the ships who will answer all of your questions.

The HMAS Vampire II

A replica of Captain James Cook's Endeavour. This ship will be attending a wooden boat festival during the summer in Hobart so it won't be available for a tour.

View of Darling Harbour from the bridge across the harbour.

Some of the vessels of the Australian National Maritime Museum.

Aboard the HMAS Onslow, an Oberon Class Submarine. This is the quietest class of submarines in Australia. I could never be a sailor on a submarine. The spaces are very tight and narrow. If I didn't have claustrophobia before, I would definitely suffer from claustrophobia on a sub. How does anyone contort their body to get into the bottom bunk???

I have arthritis, and I was pretty sore after touring this submarine. Lots of narrow corridors and tight spaces.


......And the Art Gallery of NSW

The Art Gallery of NSW - an outstanding art museum

The Art Gallery of NSW

Alice's feeling of landing in a foreign country - falling down the rabbit hole. I forgot to note the artist's name.

This painting is part of Sidney Nolan's famous Ned Kelly's series. The history of Ned Kelly reminds me of the wild west days in the United States. Kelly and his gang were bushrangers (outlaws) in Victoria's Wombat Ranges.

Some history about Ned Kelly and his gang of bushrangers.

Another painting from the Ned Kelly series.

This painting caught my eye.

I love the gorgeous galleries at the Art Gallery of NSW

Love the bold red walls!

And the dark blue!

These columns, created by the artist Tayou from Cameroon, are made from 140 ceramic vessels.

The artist uses discarded materials to create his art.



The Sea Hath Its Pearls

Another stunning gallery! The galleries are just as beautiful as the paintings.

The Crown is the glass-clad tapered building to the left of your Darling Harbor photos. It's a hotel and residential building, the tallest in Sydney I believe. I am 100% with you on how much there is to see and do in Sydney. Combined, I've been there for 25-30 nights and haven't done everything I want to do there.

The Crown Casino is known locally as Packer's Pecker! Originally as the brainchild of James Packer.

Hi Karen,
Thanks again for another fascinating chapter in your Australian trip reports.
I'm glad you made it to the Art Gallery of NSW. I prefer the old (Southern) Gallery and I see you spotted some of my favourites, too.

The "hold up" of the coach above is by Tom Roberts & has a few titles, the official one of which I think is, "Bailed Up".

Tom Roberts – Bailed Up
https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/833/

Alice in Wonderland is by Charles Blackman.
His wife Barbara was losing her sight, eventually going blind, and the Alice in Wonderland series referenced her changing world, as noted in the link below.
Charles Blackman – Alice in Wonderland
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-...ed-90/10139388

You're right about lots to see & do Tripplanner1. I lived in Sydney for 40+ years and figure I've only given the surface a good scratch yet!

I'm late to the party, but I just spent an entire evening catching up on your Australian adventures! The photos of the scenery, the food, the buildings, plants, animals, and art--it all spoke to me! You've given some great tips that I'll keep in mind if I ever make it to Australia. The evening photo of the palm trees lit up against the bridge--wow! I chuckled that teenager boys in Australia have the same "alpaca" hair style that's popular here in the States too. And that is a wild story about the wave that splashed over you on the ferry. I'm glad you didn't get hurt. It makes for a good story! Every dish you posted looks phenomenal. Where I last traveled, Santa Barbara, CA, is well-known for sea urchins and they are served all over the city. I didn't try them though! Spooning raw orange fluff into my mouth doesn't sound appealing. Hope you had a nice Christmas. Looking forward to your NZ report!

Thanks to everyone for your kind words! I really appreciate it.

Bokhara2, thanks for the clarification about the stagecoach painting. The painting style is different from Sydney Nolan’s but my notes were confusing, and I think the 2 paintings were either side by side or near each other, thus my error. Maybe the theme was “Australian Outlaws”?

Magsrose, yes, that was pretty wild on the ferry! It’s a good thing my husband was holding my hat for me so it wouldn’t blow away. So at least it was dry and I could cover my dripping hair!

Our delicious dinner at The Sanderson


The Sanderson Restaurant where we celebrated our anniversary - a gift from our daughter

Raw oysters on the half shell

Oysters, with scallops on the left and tuna tartare on the right.

Delicious spanner crab!

Perfectly cooked grilled cod!

And our delicious Bombe Alaska . . . set on fire with liquor!

The exquisite Queen Victoria Building! The QVB was built during dire times when Sydney was in a severe recession. The elaborate architecture was specially planned so the Government could employ many out-of-work craftsmen, such as stonemasons, plasterers, and stained window artists, for a worthwhile project.

The QVB is now used as a retail space with stores, small shops, cafes, bars, and restaurants.

A gorgeous place for drinks, coffee, or a meal

Splendid architecture throughout the building

Intricate tiled floors

The QVB stimulates your senses with its many stunning details!

Everywhere you look there is something beautiful!

Exquisite stained glass windows

So beautiful!

The Queen Victoria Building fills an entire city block

The QVB surely is a work of art and beauty. My favorite times there have been when it is all decked out for Christmas. Good spot for afternoon tea too.

Too funny!