I planned a few places to visit -- especially the Blue Mountaints -- but because it was such a short visit I decided to hire a guide for a day tour of the Blue Mountains. We hired Scott Ricketts, of "Your Sydney Guide" to pick us up and show us the best bits. We really enjoyed the tour with Scott, and would highly recommend him to anyone visiting Sydney and wanting a local to help see the best parts. He had several other options in the area that we hope we can sometime take advantage of. Thanks Scott! (link)
We really lucked out, because by pure happenstance we visited during the Sydney Vivid: Light, Music, and Ideas Festival. You will see from the photos later, that Sydney Harbor by night with everything lit up spectacularly, was a fantastic thing to see.
The Blue Mountains are about 100 km west of Sydney, so we were picked up quite early for the tour by Scott. After a bit of driving, our first real stop was at a tremendous overlook showcasing the beauty of the Blues. We visited a few different spots overlooking the views across the valley.
Blue Mountains Tour (1)
Blue Mountains Tour (2)
Blue Mountains Tour (3)
Blue Mountains Tour (4) -- Our tour guide and driver, Scott Ricketts with the kids
Blue Mountains Tour (5) -- perspective shot of one of the overlooks we hiked to
Blue Mountains Tour (6) -- another perspective shot of the overlook
Next we went to "Scenic World", a tourist attraction nearby with an inclined railway (the steepest in the world, Erick reminded me), some hiking trails, and a cable car across the valley.
Blue Mountains Tour, Scenic World (1) -- view from the cable car
Blue Mountains Tour, Scenic World (2)
Blue Mountains Tour, Scenic World (3)
Blue Mountains Tour, Scenic World (4) -- note the waterfall
Blue Mountains Tour, Scenic World (5) -- panorama made with the Hugin photo stitching software
Blue Mountains Tour, Scenic World (6)
We also went for a couple walks along the way, stopped for a nice lunch at a cafe, and pretty soon the day was over. We finished the day by being dropped off at the Sydney Olympic Park ferry terminal, maybe 10 clicks inland from the harbor, so that we could enjoy a twilight cruise back to the hotel.
As I already mentioned, the Sydney Vivid festival was in full swing, so we were really treated to a wonderful boat ride back into the harbor. After the boat ride we hiked to the Sydney Harbor Bridge to get a better overlook on the festival lights. Here are some pictures of part of the light show on the Sydney Opera House, as seen from the Sydney Bridge.
Sydney Opera House Vivid lights (1)
Sydney Opera House Vivid lights (2)
Sydney Opera House Vivid lights (3)
Sydney Opera House Vivid lights (4)
Sydney Opera House Vivid lights (5)
The following day we did a small Sydney walkabout, toured the Taronga Zoo, and had several ferry rides around the Harbor to various points of interest.
Sydney Walkabout (1)
Sydney Walkabout (2)
On the ferry to the Taronga Zoo we passed the Opera House during the day
The Taronga Zoo (1)
The Taronga Zoo (2)
The Taronga Zoo (3)
The Taronga Zoo (4)
The Taronga Zoo (5) -- the red panda is Katerina's favorite animal. For a while she carried a stuffed red panda around with her wherever she went.
The Taronga Zoo (6)
Sydney Harbor Ferry Exploration (1)
Sydney Harbor Ferry Exploration (2)
Sydney Harbor Ferry Exploration (3) -- we had lunch at a great hole in the wall seafood restaurant at this stop. It was one of the better seafood lunches I have ever had, which is really saying something, as I was a commercial fisherman for a couple years and have lived right at the hub of more than one seafood city.
Sydney Harbor Ferry Exploration (4)
Sydney Harbor Ferry Exploration (5) -- sunset on Sydney Harbor
Sydney Harbor Ferry Exploration (6) -- Sydney Harbor bridge, which we climbed up each night for an outstanding view of the Vivid lights.
Sydney Harbor Vivid Lights (1)
Sydney Harbor Vivid Lights (2)
Sydney Harbor Vivid Lights (3)
Sydney Harbor Vivid Lights (4)
Sydney Harbor Vivid Lights (5)
Our hotel was in Korea Town, and of course we had Korean BBQ for dinner. The staff spoke zero english, but pointing at things on the menu worked very well.
One the last day of our trip we toured the Australian National Maritime Museum at Sydney Harbor, and had a great tour of the HMAS Vampire, an Australian Navy destroyer built in the late 1950s and comissioned in 1959. I think this ship probably had similar technology to the destroyer my Dad served on in the navy, although maybe a little bit dated in comparison.
On the walk to the museum, coffee or hot chocolate? Impossible for an observer to tell.
I thought my Dad might like this picture of the working bridge in the harbor. I think it is called a swingbridge when it opens to the side like this on a vertical pivot.
Australian National Maritime Museum
Onboard Patrol Boat HMAS Advance (1)
Onboard Patrol Boat HMAS Advance (2)
Onboard Destroyer HMAS Vampire (1)
Onboard Destroyer HMAS Vampire (2)
Onboard Destroyer HMAS Vampire (3)
Onboard Destroyer HMAS Vampire (4)
Onboard Destroyer HMAS Vampire (5)
I am wondering if the monkeys down in engineering stripped away the insulation on the steam pipes to bake mistakenly appropriated potatoes on the Vampire? I heard somewhere a story about that kind of thing on an American destroyer ...
Onboard Destroyer HMAS Vampire (6)
Onboard Destroyer HMAS Vampire (7)
Onboard Destroyer HMAS Vampire (8)
Onboard Destroyer HMAS Vampire (9)
Australian National Maritime Museum, onboard Destroyer HMAS Vampire (10)
Australian National Maritime Museum, onboard Destroyer HMAS Vampire (11) -- Schematic
Final shot of Sydney Harbor
Erick, Katerina, and I really enjoyed this short trip, although it was maybe too short. I feel like we missed several of the really nice things to do in Sydney, but maybe we can go back sometime.
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