My brother and I decided to make one last trip in Australia, to Sydney. After all, how can one come to Australia and not visit Sydney. A chance to see amazing architecture and to try amazing food. After we check in to our hotel, Veriu Central, we take it easy and later in the day head out to our first activity, a Helicopter ride.
Sadly the weather was no the greatest and so pictures were not that great. That just meant I could enjoy the ride itself without worrying about getting the shots I was looking for. You do get a really nice view of the whole area though.
Remember, you can click on the picture to see the full resolution version of it.
That was pretty much it for the first day. During the evening we just explored the area we were living in trying different foods. Second day of the trip had a little more to it. I personally had some work that day so we only got half a day to explore the Darling Harbor. Spelt Darling Harbour, but to keep things consistent, I’ll stick with U.S English. First stop was the Chinese Garden of Friendship. A green greeting by Bonsai.
The garden itself is a very nice combination of green and the city. That is, the inside is really pretty to explore around while the city skyline sits in the background.
There’s a small waterfall as well. After the whole garden was explored, we simply just bought some tea and sat next to the point for a good couple of hours. It’s extremely relaxing, for a reasonable price.
After our small garden tour, we head out to explore the rest of Darling Harbor. It’s really just a what you would expect from a modern city. Buildings, and more buildings. The architecture is pretty nice though.
A place to visit while you’re there would be the Australian National Maritime Museum. At least for those that love ships, the history, and the machinery.
It was finally the 3rd and sadly, our last day in Sydney. The goal was to explore more of the downtown and see the two things people from all over the world come to see. However, instead of going directly to the Opera House, we decide to take the long way there. First stop was the small Hyde Park. There’s not much to see here honestly, but it does have a nice shaded area to walk under.
Towards the end of the park is the St Mary’s Cathedral. Unfortunately we didn’t check the hours, so we couldn’t go in. However, the architecture is really awesome even from the outside. Being a sucker for cathedrals, this did not disappoint.
Once we were done there…or rather didn’t want to wait for it to open, we went through the Royal Botanic Gardens. It’s a really pretty park with lots of vegetation. Tree lovers will love this place since there’s quite a variety of plants and flowers. Lots of statues too.
However, for those who want an amazing view of the city, the Harbor Bridge, and the Opera House, this is the best decision you can make. Walking through here. It really has the best views mixed with the green. Walking up a little more north towards Mrs Macquarie’s Chair gives you one of the best views of the bridge & the Opera House.
After spending most of the day in the park, it was time for our boat ride. A 2-3 hour cruise into the ocean (with drinks and snacks included) exploring the different beaches as well as getting really close to the Opera House and the bridge. I would definitely recommend doing one of these rides to really see what Sydney is about since the guide does a decent job at explaining. Of course, at a high level.
Our final destination for this trip was to see the sunset at the Sydney Tower Eye. Really, nothing more. There were a few other places I had in mind for the sunset, but being so tired from the long day, we decided to stay close to the hotel. Nevertheless, a beautiful end to a beautiful day.
Some technical tidbits:
– Camera Used: Sony Alpha A7II
– Lenses Used: Sony 70-200mm f/4 G OSS, Sony Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA, and FE 28-70 mm F3.5-5.6 OSS.
Divyang Joshi 