The past month we have been doing a work exchange as managers of an amazing backpackers in Turangi (central North Island) and really it is more like a home with only 5 rooms and 14 beds. After the tough life of relaxing, fishing, slightly working, cooking, and cleaning we took a few days break to see the sites of Sydney. We drove up to Auckland on Monday August 5th and stayed at a dodgy motel close to the airport since we had an early flight and needed to check in at 4am. Our screaming baby neighbor did not help us sleep, but we were up and ready for the shuttle to airport, with hopes our car wouldn’t get stolen from the hotel parking lot while we were gone. The flight to Sydney was smooth, had movies, a meal, blankets and pillow, and even arrived early. We got there just in time to stand in the mile long customs line for nearly an hour, which at the site of the line was incredible it only took that long. Now it was time to get on the train and make our way to meet our friend David. David is from Sydney and stayed at the backpackers we are managing a few weeks ago and was nice enough to invite us to stay with him and show us around his great city. Growing up I have always had stereotypes of Australian’s, just like everyone has of Texans and southerners. He says “mate” as much as Tony says “ya’ll” and the only thing that could have made David more “Australian” would have been a leather hat with crocodile trim, because his Aussie boots, plaid shirt, and warm smile certainly fit the bill. Our friend met us at the train station and shuffled our bag to his house so we could get to the Sea life Aquarium in time for our pre-booked morning tickets, where he later met us to enjoy the day. The Aquarium was filled with fish of all colors, sizes, and shapes. There were at least 4 under water tunnels filled with sharks, manatees, and so many fish! We then headed through Darling Harbour over to the Sydney Seafood Market. For a Tuesday afternoon this place was busy and I can only imagine what the weekend foot traffic must be like. We ordered a giant seafood platter to share and headed to the park for a picnic in the grass and ate grilled baramunda, BBQ octopus, squid, shrimp skewers, scallops, oysters (covered in cheese and bacon) and of course chips (French fries).
Then it was onward to the Rocks, a historic area where the city was started. After I took a quick walk through the Contemporary Art Gallery, I met the guys for a beer at a traditional Australian pub, and then off we went to the Sydney Opera House at sunset. It was amazing how many people come out to see this beautiful city and the iconic opera house. Next stop was china town, where we parted ways for the evening with our “tour guide” and chowed down on some Pad Thai.
The next morning we woke up early and made our way down to Bronte Beach where there was green grass, sandy beaches, people jogging, dogs walking, a guy walking on stilts, and plenty of surfers. We then made our way into the city inadvertently hitting the morning commute. In the US most office jobs start by 8am, but in Sydney it is 9am, and the subway and buses are PACKED at 8:30. Tony and I looked like homeless travelers (which I guess we are!) compared to the nice suits that surrounded us. We jammed ourselves to the left of the escalators as hoards of people skipped passed us to join there daily routine. Everyone kind of looked like ants flocking to sugar, but I have a feeling the reward is less sweet. None the less we thoroughly enjoyed our people watching morning commute as the extreme outsiders that we were. Next stop was more food and we met David in Chinatown for Yum Cha (or Dim Sum). I can only describe this as Asian tapas, lots of little dishes that I can’t begin to pronounce or describe, that pack a huge amount of flavor. I just know there was some kind of hot pork dumpling thing that was so delicious I cannot get it out of my head!
Onward to the Taronga Zoo on the other side of the harbour. We made our way through the Queen Victoria building (stopping for chocolate) and to Circular Quay where Tony and I boarded a ferry for our animal experience. The ferry ride was beautiful and the zoo was so much fun. Seeing wildlife in a city enclosure can be slightly depressing, but all these animals seemed pretty happy and the zoo has some wonderful programs and does a lot to protect native wildlife. We were able to see koala’s, kangaroos, elephants, giraffes, and so much more.
After hours of touring through the animals, we hopped on the ferry to Manly beach and then back to Circular Quay. Tony and I stopped off at the Lindt Chocolate Shop for a hot cocoa and sweet tooth fix on our walk towards Chinatown, where we met David and his girlfriend Alexandra for dinner. It was another delicious mix of all kinds of food including fried tofu, an eggplant dish, honey chicken, dumplings, rice, and even more. Tony’s bottomless pit of a stomach led us to the Gellatismo ice cream parlor across the street and we headed home for the evening.
Our last full day in Sydney came with rain, but luckily we still had the Art Gallery of NSW to stroll through. After a relaxing morning we made our way to the bustling downtown and stopped off at Bondi Junction to stroll through the outdoor market, where we ate a Lebonese chicken roll and Cronut (a croissant fried like a donut and is AMAZING). The rain continued and we made our way to the Art Gallery, which had some beautiful works and took a few hours to explore. We then walked through the Strand Arcade where we got another hot chocolate and tasters at one of the many chocolate shops in Sydney. Tony and I spent the afternoon strolling through the Rocks and taking in the views, delicious food smells, and history of the city. We then went back to David’s apartment for a true Aussie dinner with lamb, sausage, potatoes, salad, and even some Australian Moscato wine that Tony would drink.
Friday morning we woke up and made our way to the airport and said goodbye to our gracious hosts. We flew home with Virgin Australia for $10 less than our previous flight and were delayed an hour, had no blankies, movies, snacks, and the only thing free was water or coffee. Back in Auckland we made it to our car, which to our relief was just fine, and drove 4 hours back to our “home” in Turangi. It was a face paced, but wonderful trip to Sydney and we hope to make it back to Australia to explore the rest someday. The people extremely friendly, the lifestyle was fast paced but relaxed, the chocolate was amazing, and it was truly a trip to remember.
