Sydney, Australia

We were only in Sydney for five days during the middle of their summer – and it was cold and rainy each and every day. The locals told us this was not normal. We really didn’t mind, though we didn’t see quite as much as we would have if we weren’t dodging raindrops along the way. Next time…

After checking into our hotel we put on our rain coats and headed out to see the city. Despite the cold and rain, we had a great time and were able to see quite a bit. We began with a walk around Sydney Harbour.

We walked through a small section of the Royal Botanic Garden and took some stairs back down to the harbor. We could tell they were old by how worn the steps were. We found this sign about halfway down the stairs.

We stumbled upon Cadmans Cottage Historic Site while walking around. It was interesting to read some of Sydney’s history.

“Cadmans Cottage was built in 1816 on the shoreline next to the Government Dockyard for the Superintendent of Government Boats. His job was to manage the Government Boats and the coxswains, boat crews and labourers, most of whom were convicts.” – National Parks and Wildlife Service NSW

“John Cadman was the last and longest serving Superintendent of Government Boats and lived in this cottage from 1827 to 1845.” – National Parks and Wildlife Service NSW

Interestingly, he began his life in Sydney as a convict.

We also stumbled upon this old building.

“Customs House was built on the site where the local Eora people watched the First Fleet land and raise the British flag in 1788. The landing led to the first significant interaction between Aborigines and Europeans, which had a dramatic effect on the traditional indigenous owners of the land in recognition of this, the Aboriginal flag is now permanently flown at Customs House.” – City of Sydney

“Customs House served as the control centre for all customs activities in New South Wales for 145 years. With Port Jackson the first focal point for maritime trade, it played a powerful role in shaping the economic and social life of the new colony, regulating shipping and raising revenue from tariffs.” – City of Sydney

We ended our mini-tour of the Sydney Harbour at Macquarie Place, a very small park next to our hotel. Here we discovered the Obelisk of Distances, an Anchor and Cannon from the HMS ‘Sirius’, and a sign explaining the historical significance of this park.

“Erected in 1818 as an official starting point for measuring all the road distances in NSW, the Obelisk of Distances continues to perform this function today. The NSW State Heritage Inventory listing for Macquarie Place notes that, “With few exceptions, roads emanating from Sydney, particularly the ‘Great Roads’ continue to be measured from the Macquarie Place Obelisk”.” – City of Sydney

On our second day in Sydney we took a tour of the Opera House. It was interesting to hear about the architecture, although we wish the tour had included some behind-the-scenes views. We heard there is another tour that does that, however, we were here just after New Year’s Eve and we didn’t see it offered at the time.

The Sydney Opera House is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, “based on its unparalleled design and construction…and its position as a world-famous icon of architecture.

Inaugurated in 1973, the Sydney Opera House is a great architectural work of the 20th century…The Sydney Opera House comprises three groups of interlocking vaulted ‘shells’ which roof two main performance halls and a restaurant…In 1957, when the project of the Sydney Opera House was awarded by an international jury to Danish architect Jørn Utzon, it marked a radically new approach to construction.” – UNESCO World Heritage Centre

Later that night we went back to the Opera House to see a play in one of their smaller venues. The play was an interactive game of Dungeons & Drangons with lots of audience participation. Everything we know about this game we learned from watching The Big Bang Theory on TV, which means we know almost nothing about it. Needless to say, we were a bit lost during the show. But it is fun to say we’ve been to a show at the Sydney Opera House.

On our third day we took a wine tour out to the Hunter Valley. This is Australia’s oldest wine region. It is about three hours north of Sydney, inland from Newcastle, near the town of Cessnock. It was interesting to learn about Australian wines (they are best known for varieties of semillon and shiraz).

On the way back our tour guide pulled over and pointed out some wild kangaroos. It was quite an experience to see this little guy hopping around in the field (his mom was resting nearby and we kept our distance).

On our last full day in Sydney we took another tour, this time to the Blue Mountains National Park to see the famous Three Sisters rock formation.

Here is how our day started –

As part of our Blue Mountains tour we stopped at the Sydney Zoo. Joel and I were most interested in learning about the Australian animals.

A few fun facts about kangaroos from Australia.com –

• – Baby kangaroos, called joeys, weigh less than two grams (less than an ounce) at birth. That’s about the size of a jellybean! 
• – Because of their long feet and large tail, kangaroos can’t walk or hop backwards. This is one of the reasons the kangaroo appears on the Australian Coat of Arms, representing a nation that is always moving forward.
• – Powerful hind limbs help kangaroos hop huge lengths with incredible efficiency. In fact, kangaroos are the only large animals that move by hopping. The biggest kangaroos can clear 8m (25ft) with one jump. 
• – Kangaroos are social creatures, and they live in groups called mobs, troops or courts.
• – One kangaroo climbs trees – While most kangaroos keep their extra-large feet on the ground, tree kangaroos spend their days in the rainforest canopy. They’re specially adapted for a life in the treetops, with a long tail that helps them leap from branch to branch.

A few fun facts about the Tasmanian Devil from Australia.com –

• – They are screamers – In fact, the first Europeans to enter Tasmania imagined demons lurking in the bush when they heard the blood-curdling shrieks and growls. Hence being dubbed ‘devils’.
• – Tasmanian devils deliver the strongest bite-for-size of any mammal in the world! They can open their jaws up to 80 degrees and chomp down with enough brute force to crush bone.
• – Like all marsupials, Tasmanian devils store fat in their tails, which thicken up like a human’s waistline. A particularly plump tail is a sign of a healthy devil and, considering they can eat up to 40% of their bodyweight in one day, their tails can get mighty plump!

Despite not being native, Australia has a larger population of feral camels than Egypt, with these camels being introduced in the 1800s to help with exploration. They now roam freely across large parts of the country, causing them to be considered a pest in some regions; they are primarily the single-humped dromedary camel variety.

We ended our tour with a ferry ride back to the Sydney Harbor. During the ferry ride the sun came out and we had a great view of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.

After five days in Sydney we boarded a Quantas flight heading for our next adventure. We met Stephanie and Martin on our flight and they were so great!! They made this trip one of our best flights ever!