Sydney, Australia
Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog! Long time no speak that’s unless you have been keeping up with me over on my instagram. So I am finally back in Cornwall after just over 2 months away. I think the longest time I have ever been away for. It’s safe to say that Sam and I have had an absolutely incredible trip. I can’t urge people enough to know the value of travelling and what it can do for your mind. I will be talking more about this in my next ten or so blog posts all about my travels. However, today’s is specifically on Sydney, Australia, our first stop on the tour.
Sydney is an absolutely incredible place. We both fell completely in love with it and it’s honestly one of the only cities I could ever imagine living in. You have everything: the city, the beaches, the weather, the friendly people, the laid back way of life. It was honestly a favourite and that’s saying something when we were incredibly jet lagged and unfortunately ill for a part of our stay here.
In total we stayed in Sydney for 7 nights all of which we stayed in the Regents Court hotel at Potts Point, Kings Cross. The hotel was an aparthotel which meant we had a kitchenette so we could save money by cooking our own meals. But, it meant we only had room service once in the middle of our stay. However, this didn’t bother us because let’s be honest who needs clean towels every single day?
Day 1 – Exploring
We arrived in Sydney at 10 am which meant in the UK it was night time, so it was safe to say we were pretty jet lagged. We had a 3 hour nap and woke ourselves back up with an alarm (as I think it’s worse if you don’t force yourself to stay awake to adjust to the new timings). The only way to stop us from falling back asleep was to get out of the hotel and walk around. We decided to go on a lovely walk to the Sydney Opera House via Mrs Macquaries Chair, the best place to get a view of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge together. We then had a wonder around the beautiful free botanical gardens near by and had a bite to eat and then bed.
Day 2 – Bondi beach to Coogee walk
On the second day, (first full day) of our trip. We were still pretty jet lagged. We decided to head to Bondi for a relax on the beach followed by a lovely walk to Coogee, a must do while you’re in Sydney. On the walk you follow the beautiful coastline and can see the famous icebergs swimming pool on the way (see the video above.)
Day 3 – Whale Watching
On the third day we went whale watching which was fantastic. We decided to go on the smaller boat which was the adventure cruise. It was a shorter amount of time on the water but, because it was a speed boat it meant we got to the whales a lot faster. Which in turn meant I had
less time to feel sea sick, hooray. It was also really fun jumping the waves! We saw a humpback whale with its calf and we even got to see it do a ‘trick’ or two. (The whales were completely wild, they were migrating.) See the two videos above for some footage.
Day 4 – Blue Mountains
The next day we then booked a trip to the Blue Mountains, I wont recommend the company we went with as I do not think it was the best. The day we had with our eccentric Korean bus driver and tour guide was something you couldn’t even make up… At one point we were pulled over by the police, yep really. However, the Blue Mountains themselves are something definitely worth seeing. It is important to remember that it is about an hour and a half outside of Sydney and although there is a train you really need to go on a tour bus or drive to be able to see anything. The three sisters themselves (as you can imagine) were a massive tourist hotspot so it isn’t exactly peaceful.
Day 5 – Watsons Bay
We caught a bus to Watsons Bay which is a harbour side in the Eastern suburb of Sydney. We spent the day walking around South head which gives you scenic views of Sydney harbour, the city skyline and the historic hornby lighthouse.
Day 6 – Museums
While in Sydney we visited a few museums and art galleries which was perfect for an overcast/rainy day. The few we visited were: The National Maritime Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, Art Gallery of New South Wales and we were suppose to see The White Rabbit gallery but it’s shut on Monday’s and Tuesday’s? If you’re looking to see Aboriginal art then the Art Gallery of New South Wales is your best bet. However, unfortunately there just isn’t a lot Aboroginal art that exists.
Day 7 – Manly
We concluded our stay in Sydney with a trip to Manly which for us consisted of a boat and and a bus journey. Manly has more of a relaxed vibe as it is a distance from Sydney’s CBD. Manly is well known for its tree fringed beach and surf. We did a walk around North head which gave us spectacular views of the city and a lovely bush walk to Shelly beach, which is slightly more sheltered.
Well that concludes my round up of Sydney. If you’re booking your own trip and have any questions please feel free to email or message me on one of my social media channels, I would be glad to help. My instagram stories on Sydney, (click opposite) also might be of some use to you.
Tune in next week for a post all about Port Douglas and the Great Barrier Reef.
Lots of love, Melissa x
Videography credit – Sam Gill
