Splendid Sydney

There are few cities in the world that can compare to Sydney. The almost five million people who live in this city would agree with that and are willing to pay whatever it takes to live and be a part of this beautiful metropolis. Sydney gets its identity from its harbour and few places in the world are as blessed by geography. The whole city is centred around the harbour and traveling up and down it there are no shortage of highlights.

The Sydney Opera House was completed in 1973 (only ten years behind schedule and almost one hundred million dollars over budget) and is every bit as impressive as we thought it would be. It sits near the Harbour Bridge which was opened in 1932 and is quite a magnificent engineering feat in itself. These two landmarks are legendary but it is the whole harbour region that is a highlight from the endless shoreline lined with large houses and yachts to the ferries chugging past Fort Denison, Luna Park, the Rocks and many other waterfront structures. The Botanical Gardens are a great place to view the Opera House and the Bridge and the whole area hosts one wedding after another on weekends as everybody tries to have the perfect backdrop to their special event.

We spent a number of days just wandering through the Circular Quay area and taking in the incredible views. On Sunday we had the opportunity to take advantage of a Family Ferry Ticket which allowed us to travel up and down the length of the harbour all day. We couldn't get enough of the unending beauty as we sailed past one cove after another.

When we got tired of looking at the Opera House, we visited the Queen Victoria Building (the ultimate upscale shopping mall) and the Anzac Memorial. Towering over the downtown is the Centrepoint Tower and providing a quiet little green oasis to get away from it all is Hyde Park with its Archibald Fountain and nearby St. Mary's Cathedral. When the city got too busy for us, we were never more than a few minutes away from a beach to relax.

The Taronga Zoo (taronga means beautiful view in the local Aborigine language) is one of the best situated zoos in the world. You can watch the giraffes and gaze at the Opera House at the same time.

After we were finished with Sydney (actually we weren't but we had to move on), it was time to head inland. We traveled up the Blue Mountain Highway which was originally built (like many other structures in Australia in the 1800s) by convict labour. The Three Sisters in Katoomba were waving us good-bye as we left the coast behind and began our long drive into the Red Centre.