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Sydney

Fast Facts

Country Name: Commonwealth of Australia
Capital: Canberra
Largest Cities: Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane
Currency: Australian dollars (AUD)
Religion: Christianity
Population Density: 6 people per sq. mile
Climate: generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical
Language: English
Time Zones:
1. GMT + 10
2. GMT + 9.5
3. GMT + 8
Country code: +61

POPULAR (must-sees for the 5-days-tourist)

If you are visiting Sydney for say just five days then you'll have your work cut out to visit all of the tourist hot spots so be selective, the famous Sydney harbour and the Opera house are Sydney's top attractions, with the Sydney harbour bridge a close third, at night you can walk up to the bridge and enjoy the view from which is just breathtaking.
We stayed in the Central park Hotel which is very close to almost everything, it also isn't that big which is nice around 36 bedrooms I seem to remember. Expect to pay somewhere in the region of $100.00 AUS per night, but don't expect breakfast for that price!

Day One

For the 5 day tourist the great news is that the harbour can be 'done' in a day including a boat trip around the harbour which will last for around half an hour and cost about $20 AUS, so you should be able to see the main tourist attractions in the harbour in a day and as well as taking the boat trip you will have time to take a guided tour of the Sydney Opera House for a cost of about $30 AUS.

Then if you if you have the energy and are feeling adventurous how about trying the Sydney Tower, Australia's highest tower and viewing platform where you can look out over the city from about 250 metres above ground and scare yourself silly by trying out one of the glass floored platforms which hang out from the tower and as the brochure says " provide an eye-popping new perspective of the city below" all for a cost of $65 AUS for an adult and $45 AUS for a person up to the age of 15. It is worth knowing that you have to be older than 10 years of age to experience the Skywalk.
Visit www.skywalk.com.au for more information.

Day Two

Well if it was me visiting Sydney I would chill at the famous Bondi beach it is a haven for surfers, families and fun, get some great Aussie food and from local restaurants like the Skinny Dip a great place for coffee and any juice you care to dream up. A main meal will cost somewhere around $9 AUS and is guaranteed to give you that feeling that you should maybe lie down in the sun and rest and the beach is just next door.

Skinny Dip has full vegetarian and children's menus, encourages bring your own wine and you can book a table or takeaway on (02) 9130 4602 but remember they closed in the evenings.

Day Three

One place not to miss is Cadman's Cottage, the oldest surviving house in Sydney it is in an area called the Rocks close to where the Harbour Bridge is and was the cottage of a convict John Cadman. In the 70's the area around Cadman's Cottage was restored and now has restaurants, a visitor centre, shops, galleries and you can easily spend half a day there check out http://www.therocks.com for more information.

In the afternoon maybe as you have seen so much above the sea you would like to go under it, the Sydney Aquarium (http://www.sydneyaquarium.com.au) offers you that opportunity the cost of entry is $30 AUS for an adult and half that for a person up to 15 years of age.

Or you might just like something unusual, how about spending the afternoon watching Whales (the season is June to November) the Whale watch is provided by people who know about the sea and creatures in it Sea World and it is obviously something special.
Prices for adults are $109 AUS and $59 Aus for a person up to 13 years of age. You can book online go to http://myfun.com.au/MyFun-Tickets-List/Sea-World-Whale-Watch.asp and click the red button or call +61 7 5519 6200 from outside Australia to make a booking. Please note the maximum number of tickets can be booked online is ten.

Tonight we fancied seeing what Sydney had to offer in the way of nightlife. We tried the Bar Europa on Elizabeth Street, it was very sophisticated and a great place to chill before going off to a nightclub. Beer and lets face it that is what everyone drinks in Aus wasn't expensive at around $7.00 AUS, with imported beers maybe a dollar or two higher. Cocktails were about five times as much so the prices were not much different to anywhere in the world.
You can have a peek at the place here - http://www.bareuropa.com.au.

Then it was straight on to 'YU' the whole place reminded me of Ibiza a few years ago, but for all of that the music was good and the blonde Aussie women - oops sorry forgot I was married for a minute. YU is in the middle of Sydney not far from the Cricket Ground - but then is there anything in Sydney that doesn't seem right on top of the Cricket Ground? See for yourself at their website www.yu.com.au

Day Four

So you are saving shopping till tomorrow and you have done and seen most of the major attractions but there is always that nagging doubt that you might have missed something is there a way to make sure that you well and truly 'covered' Sydney, well yes there is!
How about taking a Helicopter tour of Sydney? And make sure that you saw everything flights last for around 25 minutes but you will be talking about your flight for a very long time. There are too many 'helitours' variations to list here but prices start from around $199 AUS per person and can be booked online at http://www.sydneyhelitours.com.au.

Day Five

On the last day of a stay in any city it is great just to meander through the city watching others at work, dropping into a café or two and generally getting a good feel for the place and not just the attractions. Sydney offers some great places to shop and for lunch just drop down to Chinatown and enjoy authentic Cantonese food, try East Ocean, the seafood is divine, expect to part with around $40.00 Aus for a meal that will be very filling.
http://www.eastocean.com.au.

After lunch there could be more shopping downtown or if you feel like a change of pace visit the Botanical Gardens which are delightfully peaceful, the gardens open from sunrise to sunset and entrance is free.

NATURE & GEOLOGY

For those of you who are interested in the Geology of the area Sydney mainly sits on Triassic rock added to which are some igneous dykes and one or two volcanic necks. Volcanic necks also known as plugs are the terms used to describe a landform created when lava hardens inside the vent of an active volcano.
Australia is one of 12 countries described as 'megadiverse' these countries account for 75 per cent of the world's biodiversity.
It is believed that the continent of Australia is the natural home to more than one million plant and animal species and many of these don't exist any where else. In the gardens of Sydney's suburbs you can still see Brush-tailed possum but sadly Bandicoots are now rare. But the wildlife around Sydney is many and various and protected since the 1990's and they thrive in the parks and reserves on the outskirts of Sydney.
You can see Dolphins at play in Sydney Harbour and further out to sea it is easy to watch Whales.

HISTORY

There is evidence to suggest that the first people to live in Sydney may have done so up to 30,000 years ago.

The first people to live in Sydney were the Cadigal band, one of 34 Australian Aboriginal Tribes or bands. In fact it was due to the Cadigal tribe that Aborigines were given their name. When the Cadigal first encountered the British they used the word Eora to describe to the British where they came from the word "Eora people' just means "here" or "from this place" and the British then the word to describe them now descendants of the Cadigal use the word Eora to describe themselves.

After the arrival of Captain James Cook in 1770 at Botany Bay the British government set up a penal colony 18 years later. The site was unsuitable and the colony was moved to a Cove further up the coast, the area was named after the British Home Secretary, Thomas Townshend, Lord Sydney.
Sadly in 1798 the Cadigal people were decimated by a smallpox epidemic, by 1791 it is believed that only three of the Cadigal people survived. In 1820 following years of conflict between the indigenous people and the British peace came to the area, followed by roads, bridges and the beginnings of modern day Sydney and it prospered until the great Depression era of the thirties. Today Sydney is Australia's largest city and continues to grow.

CULTURE

Sydney has a great atmosphere which is very cosmopolitan due to the very diverse population of immigrants from Europe and Asia. It is a great place to visit work and live in. The people of Sydney like all Australians love sport, in Sydney the 2000 Olympic continues to be used for sporting activities and events together with cultural events.

With one of the most well known Opera Houses in the world it would be impossible for music not to feature in the culture of Sydney and the internationally renown Sydney Symphony performs frequently at the Opera House together with Opera Australia and an array of dance and ballet companies.
In the theatre the Sydney Theatre Company regularly performs plays written by local playwrights such as David Williamson.

Sydney is one of the leading international centres for the film industry Bas Luhrmann was born just out side of Sydney attended the Sydney Grammar School. Baz Luhrmann's internationally acclaimed films include Strictly Ballroom (1992), Romeo + Juliet (1996) and Moulin Rouge 2001. Sydney itself has stared in several major motion pictures including Finding Nemo (Sydney Harbour), Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie and The Matrix were all set or filmed in Sydney.

As for children's entertainment there are probably very few people on the planet over 45 who don't remember Skippy the Bush Kangaroo who's TV series originated in Sydney - "chip, chip chip," as Skippy would say!

POLITICAL

Sydney is the capital of the state of New South Wales which is the oldest and most populous state in Australia. The state was founded in 1788 and originally covered not only most of the Australian continent but also New Zealand.
The Governor of New South Wales is appointed by the Queen of England and after each election the Governor appoints the Premier to run the state. The Premier is the leader of the party which received the largest number of votes in the state elections and once appointed then appoints a government from his or her party.

INFRASTRUCTURE

In the 2007 New South Wales general elections together with water infrastructure was one of the key campaign issues. There are serious interruptions to the supply electricity and the level of service from ferries and trains can only be described at times as poor. Coupled with these problems the state of the main highways is less than adequate.
The City of Sydney council is responsible for the central Sydney area and the outlying suburbs. The Chief Executive - the Lord Mayor is in fact a lady, Clover Moore was elected in March 2004 and became the first popularly elected female Lord Mayor.
In November 2007 the Community Satisfaction Survey Report found that the Community satisfaction rating for overall performance generally of thecouncil was 72 out of 100 , although their performance on key service groups dropped to 66, Traffic Management and Parking Facilities were particularly poor. Source: Community Satisfaction Survey Report 2007. Prepared by The Wallis Consulting Group.

DOS & DON'TS

Is it me or is it true that there are always more 'don't' than 'dos' in any 'dos and don't' list so I will valiantly try to list as many of each, here are a few 'don't to be getting on with though. - Well I suppose we all like to complain don't we. I have to say here that all of the comments are from personal experiences of others - god I must be boring!

I heard of a couple who thought it would be nice to eat in the Sydney Tower and then found that idea was just a bad one which got worse as the evening dragged on. First they had to wait in line for 30 minutes to pay to get into the Tower, in spite of booking a table. Sadly when they eventually got into the restaurant they weren't given a window and so couldn't enjoy the views, the whole point of dinning there of course. Worse was to come the meal was dreadful and it cost over $128 AUS.

Here is a better experience from someone who probably took my advice about the Sydney Bridge Climb, which was if you are interested "do it!" Simply she said " I loved the climb, it was definitely without a doubt the highlight of my trip to Sydney!"

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