Sydney is surrounded by national parks, bush farms and spectacular beaches which are loved by its people and engrained in their lifestyle. A stunning city which definitely should be on anyone's bucket list who loves a good city vibe, wildlife & national parks and a dip in the great blue oceans.
There are tons of things to do when in Sydney but one essential things is to head out early. Locals start their day early and wind up also earlier in the evening. The suburbs are lush green a lot of which are bush fringed and have great parks. You can hear possums running through the rooftops and a great number of ibises chilling in neighborhoods.
My trip was during April which is generally Autumn time in Southern Hemisphere and it was quite ideal weather to travel to Sydney.
The nights tend to get a little chilly specially if you plan to stay in the suburbs in more greener areas. Make sure you carry a jacket or a light sweater to combat the sudden chill otherwise mid day can be usually quite warm
The sun is is quite hot so make sure you always lather yourself with enough sunscreen before you head out.
Carry a pair of sun shades all the time specially if you're prone to migraines like me.
Below are some of the things I did on my first trip to Sydney within a week's time-
Sydney Opera House- Bennelong Point, Sydney NSW 2000
This stunning performing arts centre is a UNESCO heritage listed building designed by Jorn Utzon. This building is an Australian icon whose sections look like majestic leaves of a giant rainforest plant to me. With a stunning harbour bridge at it's backdrop it's a great place to visit.
Ongoing renovations do happen which does disrupt tour packages and visits so ensure you check and plan before you go. Try to make it in the evenings to catch an amazing sunset with loved ones.
Harbour Bridge-
This beautiful steel arch bridge is the pride of Sydney. Known as and representing the shape of a 'coathanger' it spans more than 1500 feet making it one of the longest steel-arch bridges in the world.
What I truly love about this bridge is that this transportation link carries all kinds of vehicles- has a highway, a railroad, pedestrian walkways and cyclists. Everyone gets a chance on to view the panoramic view on top of this bridge. Enjoyed best on foot there are tours take place to climb the bridge but those are a little expensive.
The bridge opens up to for cruise ships etc but that we did not get to see and I enjoyed the same through railroad while traveling. Of course since this bridge links parts of Sydney it is definite to cover this when in town.
Sea Life Sydney Aquarium- 1-5 Wheat Rd, Sydney NSW 2000
A fun place to hangout with family and view the amazing sea life near Australia, so well maintained and depicted. You can see a variety of sea life also easy to view in other places and sea world parks globally like sharks, sting rays, clown fishes, sea horses etc but one that I liked which I had never seen before was the Sea Cow. We reached close to it's feeding time and caught him merrily munching away the lettuce.
Great place to hangout with family and lots of eating joints around the Barangaroo area. Head out in the evenings for pleasant walk around the area as the days may tend to get warmer.
You can get tickets and packages and avail schemes via the Sealife Sydney website.
Featherdale Wildlife Park- 217 Kildare Rd, Doonside NSW 2767
Of course if you're in Australia for the first time you have to see Kangaroos and Koala Bears for no trip is truly complete without that. For that I would recommend your to head out of the central area of Sydney to Featherdale wildlife park even though a lot of people online told that Taronga Zoo is quite good but my family in Sydney recommended that for a more more intimate experience to get to see all animals up close Featherdale is better.
It was absolutely amazing and if you're an animal lover like us the experience is amazing. It's a full day thing and we sort of had a family picnic out there. It reminded me a lot of our school visits as a kid to the local zoos. But bear in mind that the animals are kept in the utmost care and are the kangaroos are friendly since they have a lot of human interaction with their keepers.
The local species which I had never seen were equally amazing the hairy nosed wombats, koalas, smallest penguins on earth, barking owls (and trust me they literally bark), the cutest echidnas. You can even walk to their Farmland experience to see many regular farm animals the hens, the sheep etc. It was truly one on the most amazing days of my trip to Sydney.
Royal Botanic Gardens- Mrs Macquaries Rd, Sydney NSW 2000
If you're in Sydney try your best to not skip this. I know a garden is not something that comes into everyones must see list but this is definitely worth it.
The royal botanic gardens is a green haven next to the harbour side with a part of the sydney skyline to the back. Huge open gardens and home to some excellent varieties of flowers and plants. Some of the Australian natives were new to me while some closer to home I was able to recognize. But their international collection was equally remarkable. If you're someone whose fond of huge green spaces which get you inner nature lover happy this is the place to come.
To be honest walk around Sydney during the day and come here sometime during early evening, get a coffee and take out your book and get a cosy spot under a tree and that's all you need to enjoy your vacation.
Visit them to catch the weekly shows and events they have ongoing. Or just go relax under some tree, walk around or go for a run breathing in some fresh air.
Bondi Beach (Bondi to Coogee)- NSW 2026
Of course no trip to Sydney is complete without visiting Bondi Beach and the one thing a lot of people do is the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk. But I noticed a lot of people did not complete the end to end stretch which covers 3 beaches in the order of starting from
Bondi to Tamarama Beach to Bronte Beach to Clovelly Beach to Coogee Beach (finally)
covering one side 6 kms stretch of absolutely mind blowing view of the great blue ocean. There are rock pools, cliffs and shark viewing points, cafes and surfing points making the stretch even more amazing. At one point, I literally felt as if I was walking on water. We covered the Bondi Icebergs pool something I always saw in Masterchef Australia which was also quite a spectacle. Its absolutely mesmerizing to see the sea change colors at so many points in between. Being a nature lover these things just make me so much more happy.
After that we made our way back to Bondi Beach to grab a bite since we skipped lunch to finish this and got an absolutely lip smacking poke bowls and soda from Bondi and sat near the beach to finish it up. We walked the entire stretch of Bondi Beach to watch the sun go down to wrap up an excellent day.
Darling Harbour- Sydney, NSW 2000
On our final day we made our way to Darling Harbour after walking around the city during late afternoon. This beautiful harbour side dining, recreational and family friendly place has phenomenal views for the tourists flocking this place. It had so many people walking, cycling, running and kids enjoying some shows here and there. The entire vibe of this place is so amazing for a relaxing evening with some great seafood and white wine. I finally ate the famous fish and chips and they were delightful. We just walked and sat for a long time in the cool breeze of the setting sun to just unwind ourselves before we went back to our everyday 9*5 jobs.
The evenings are great and the lit shops make the harbour look so picturesque. There are plenty of activities that do happen on a regular basis at this place. You can check these out here.
Sydney has a very modern vibe when you hit the city center but tons of things to do if you head out a little from the city. In our trip we had also spent 2 days at Nelson's Bay which is around a 3 hour drive from Sydney when you move along the coast to the north. Things to do around Sydney will definitely be covered in another post. Try walking around the city as much as you can, take buses if needed and you never know what might surprise you in which corner that how we hit a beautiful Victorian mall whose interiors were absolutely mid-blowing.
Enjoy reading this post and definitely plan a trip to Sydney, it an amazing city that I have definitely not had enough off. So laters Sydney!
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