After about 4 months of being in "the land down under", I finally made my way down to Sydney. It was really cool to say the least. Unfortunately, there is no such place as "P Sherman 42 Wallaby Way Sydney" as the title suggests. I got to check out a few other things though, see for yourself.... Oh yeah, please note that this post doesn't feature many pictures. However there is a 7 minute long video for your viewing pleasure. You're welcome.
Sydney, NSW - Australia
Leaving on Thursday, May 9 and returning on Sunday, May 12 didn't give me much time to check out everything in Sydney, but I think I got the best parts.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Friday, May 10, 2013
The next day started early. We had a lot of stuff to get through and little time to do it. First we set off for the SHB. When we got there it was a different sight than the night before yet still beautiful. The waters were of a vivid light blue and the squawking seagulls were flying around under the bright warm sun (how about those adjectives). In order to get to the SHB we had to walk through this area called The Rocks. It's an older area of Sydney with brick paved streets and antique buildings. The Rocks are a very quaint area of town. Like the SOH the SHB was bigger than imagined. We had the option to climb across it for $188AUD or walk up to the top of one of the post for $8.50AUD. What do you think we did?
Moving on. We left the SHB and went along to the ferry for Sydney's famous Manly Beach. It was a nice beach with soft sand and a nice little town surrounding it. Well worth the visit. Leaving Manly on the ferry we traveled back to the Sydney Harbour. There we caught a bus over to Bondi Beach. Unfortunately, we got there right at sun set and the temperature was dropping rapidly. That didn't stop me from stripping down to my swim trucks (Tommy Bahama - "Bondi Beach") to take a few pictures with a surf board and running down to stick my feet in the water before rushing back to shore where I bought a hoodie (super long sentence - oh well).
That night wasn't too eventul. We went to the Chinatown Night Markets. Basically it was a night time flea market (all of my Florence, SC people would understand). There were all kinds of odd pieces you could buy for cheap. They also had tons of places to eat. I'm not against Chinese food at all, but eating things I couldn't pronounce or identify in an area I was unfamiliar with was not appealing to me.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Saturday was an early day as well. We scheduled a tour to the Blue Mountains right outside of Sydney. When we were picked up from X Base we were greeted by our driver and tour guide who looked like Steve Irwin's father. Turns out he wasn't, but his son is an extra in the new motion picture "The Great Gatsby". (He is some guy swimming at some point in the film) The Blue Mountains were beautiful though. From the way it was formed, there are two different types of environments, a rainforest and I don't remember the other one. Walking through the rainforest, the temperature dropped. I'd say it was about 58° F or 14° C (for my international comrades). We rode on the three different rides at Scenic World which included the world's steepest railway at a 52° angle. There was a cool Aboriginal story about the Three Sisters (three points in the mountain). Leaving the Blue Mountains we stopped over at an Aboriginal engraving of a kangaroo that is over 500 years old. Then we drove through the 2000 Olympic Games of Australia. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures because I may or may not have been asleep for a second or two. :-/ Finally, we got dropped off on the Captain Cook ferry that took us through the river back to Darling Harbour.
By this point we were all a bit tired and starving. Going back to change, we prepared for dinner. The plan was to eat somewhere cheap, but that failed. We ended up at Margaretaville in Darling Harbour where we sat outside near the water and enjoyed a nice fireworks display.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
On our last day, I wanted to visit Hillsong Sydney so I did. To my dismay I didn't have the time to go to the main campus in the Hills, but I did get to visit the city one. Chaston came along with me. We left our hostel a bit late and ended up running to the pickup spot for of the church bus. I may or may not have shouted, "Excuse us. We're running for Jesus." as we ran past by other pedestrians. It was a good Mother's Day service about waiting. I wanted to get a souvenir to say I've been but I didn't see any. They were giving away cool candles to all the ladies. The guys didn't get anything though. :-(
All in all I had a great time in Sydney and I'm considering going back again before I head back home. Not sure though.
Until Next Time,
Kyron S. Whitfield