I got to Sydney at 6:25am on the overnight plane from Singapore which was good as I had the rest of the day to go book tickets and get a general feel of the city. My hotel was on the same street as the Bridge Climb offices so I went there first and booked a ticket for Tuesday. Next I went to the Circular Quay to see if I could book tickets for the Taronga Zoo and they said I would have to come on the day and buy a ticket. I then went to the Sydney Opera House and booked a tour of the Opera House for Wednesday. Next I went to the Sydney Tower to book a ticket and they had a deal running for Sydney Tower, Sydney Aquarium and the Wildlife World which aren’t far from each other so I booked that and the ticket lasted 3 months so I could go any day I wanted up to when I leave for New Zealand which was good. As I was walking back to my hotel I saw a sign for Sta Travel and I had heard they were quite cheap for tours and I wanted to go to Canberra. I booked a tour for Saturday. All I needed to do now was go to each place, Bridge Climb on Tuesday, Sydney Opera House on Wednesday, Sydney Tower and the Aquarium and Wildlife World on Thursday, if the Wildlife World was no good then I would of gone to Taronga Zoo on Friday, Canberra on Saturday and fly to New Zealand on Sunday.
I started my tour of Sydney on the Harbour Bridge. It lasted 3 and a half hours but was worth it. The only disappointment was that they would not let you take a camera with you so I did not get any pictures but bought the pictures that they took. First of all you got changed into these overalls which were quite comfortable. They put a radio on you so that the guide could talk to you as you go up and you had to be attached on to a cable which ran from the bottom to the top and back down again so that you didn’t get lost. You climbed all the way to the top of the Harbour Bridge on one side and then went down the other side. There were some great views of Sydney and the Opera House and the whole experience of walking up one of the most famous bridges in the World was fantastic.
After being on one of the most famous bridges in the World on Wednesday I went for a tour of one of the most famous buildings in the World, Sydney Opera House. We went around the theatres and concert halls and the guide told us all about how the Opera House was built. The Sydney Opera House is two buildings in one, the exterior made of concrete and designed by Jorn Utzon, the interior is made of granite and wood and designed by Peter Hall after Jorn Utzon resigned. The Opera House looks white but is actually made up of cream tiles stuck on the outside of the building. The building is meant to symbolise the harbour in its shape and colour. The Sydney Opera House was opened in 1973 by Elizabeth II, still the Queen of Australia and her head is on the five Australian dollar note. They are currently refurbishing the Opera House and Jorn Utzon has come back and designed the changes. After the tour I felt I had to see a show so I booked tickets to see the Vertical Hour, it was a bit boring but it was good just being there.
On Thursday I relaxed in the hotel and went to the local pub for a tiger prawn pizza which was nice and that was about it.
On Friday I used my ticket and went to the Sydney Aquarium, Wildlife World and the Sydney Tower. The Wildlife World was good and I got my picture taken at the side of a Koala Bear which was nice. Wildlife World was quite small but had spiders and all kinds of venomous animals. Sydney Aquarium was a bit boring but I think aquariums often are. The Tower was good as you could see all of Sydney but the most famous sights were covered by buildings so it was hard to see them. After all that then I went to the Circular Quay and got a boat to Taronga Zoo. The Zoo was very big and had all sorts of animals in it, nice to walk around and very interesting.
On Saturday I went on a tour of Canberra from Central Station at 7:20am. A man turned up in a car and there were only three of us so the tour was better. We went to Canberra and it took us about 3 hours to get there. We first went to the National Museum which was split into 3 sections, land, nation and people. It was quite interesting to see the history of Australia and learn about the Aborigines and what the government did to them. After that we headed for Parliament House and I could not believe how open everything was and how you could go in the Houses of Parliament with out too much hassle. It was good to see and compare the Parliament to the Parliament in Britain and there are some definite similarities. Next we went around the embassies and consulates and you could see from the outside that the buildings were designed to represent the country that had the embassy or consulate. Next we went to the Australian War Memorial which was very interesting and they had light and sound shows to show what war was like. At 5pm when the Memorial closes a man plays lament on the bagpipes at the closing ceremony. We then went back to Sydney and I got a train from the station to my hotel.
Sydney was superb and I really enjoyed my stay here. Next for me is Auckland, New Zealand and I want to have a rest because I am tired not feeling good so I had better get myself fit for my plans for Los Angeles.
Take care.
Robert
