Like some of you probably already know (in case you follow me on Instagram as well) – I went to Australia for 2 1/2 weeks at the end of last year. I went back, not only to show my boyfriend the beautiful country I fell in love with about 9 years ago, but also to attend my best friend’s wedding, as one of her bridesmaids (so exciting!).
So the next couple of blog posts (I don’t know yet how many I’ll write about Australia) will be all about our trip to this beautiful country, that for me is somehow like my second (or maybe my third) home.
After a little over 25h of travelling around the globe, to the other side of the world, we finally arrived in Sydney on Christmas Day, in the evening. All the way from winter in Barcelona/Germany, to summer in Australia.
On our way to Australia we flew with China Airlines. I had never flown with them before so I didn’t know what to expect. But I have to say it’s a good airline. The seats are comfortable (we fly economy ;)), you have leg space, the food is delicious (keeping in mind it’s airplane food) and staff is friendly. So all in all I can say that I’d fly with them again. On our way back though (I know I’m anticipating a bit here), we flew with Air China. If you want comfortable seats, leg space (and I have to mention that neither my boyfriend nor I are ridiculously tall), and staff that actually understands a little English, you should not choose that airline. Once we arrived, both of us said the same thing: “Not flying Air China again”. Of course opinions differ – but that’s how we felt.
In Sydney, we stayed at the “Travellodge Hotel Sydney Wynyard” which is pretty much located right in the middle of the CBD and the Harbour. We were really happy with the hotel, so in case you’re looking for a place to stay, I can recommend this one. The rooms have all you need, there is a (very) small gym on the top floor of the hotel and the breakfast buffet is very good – from cereal, yogurt and fruit to English breakfast, croissants, etc. All you need, really.
The first day was all about sightseeing (I have to be honest, we woke up super late, thanks to Jetlag and to me not setting the alarm right) so we probably ended up having half a day rather than the entire day.
We walked to Circular Quay to see the famous Harbour Bridge and the Opera House and to have lunch there. Like I said, we woke up late and ended up starting our day with a Burger at Buckley’s – no breakky for us that day. But to be honest, eating a burger while looking at the Harbour Bridge – that’s not too bad for a first real meal in Sydney.
After lunch with a view, we walked around the harbour and strolled though the “Royal Botanic Gardens“. When you are in Australia, you really have to make use of all the beautiful Botanic Gardens there are. Especially because you don’t have to pay any entrance fee, like you mostly do in Europe. You get to look at all the beautiful plants for free and all of a sudden, you don’t feel like you’re in a big city anymore. It’s beautiful. The Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney are actually quite big: 30 hectares! You can easily spend hours walking around there, or you just sit on the grass and relax.
From the Botanic Gardens we walked to and through the CBD, did some window shopping and ended up, having a coffee in the Queen Victoria Building (QVB) which is located right at George Street. I love the QVB – it’s really beautiful to look at not only from the outside but also from the inside, and there is always a special atmosphere in there. It’s not like a normal shopping center. It’s a beautiful sort of marketplace, which was build in the late nineteenth century, where you can find all different kinds of shops and boutiques. In case you don’t feel like spending money you should still go there as it is also beautiful if you just want to have a walk around to look at the amazing architecture, the Royal Clock, the Great Australian Clock and/or the stained glass dome.
In the evening, we decided to go to China Town for dinner. We are both big fans of the Asian Cuisine which is why going to China Town at least once definitely was a no-brainer for us. China Town is located in the southern part of the Sydney CBD, in Haymarket.
We had dinner at the Chinese Noodle House, which my best friend recommended us, and I hereby recommend to all of you out there, reading this. It’s just one of those typical restaurants, that doesn’t look special at all from the outside (and it doesn’t look special on the inside neither) but has the most delicious food. Especially the noodles are awesome! They have Noodles, Soup Noodles, Dumplings with all kinds of fillings, different kinds of soups without noodles, Salads and other northern Chinese snacks like toasted buns, pancakes etc. In case you ever want to go there, they are located at 8 Quay St, Haymarket.
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On our second day (and unfortunately already our last day), we decided to take the ferry to Manly.
Taking the ferry to Manly while you’re in Sydney definitely is a must! Not only that I’m a fan of Manly Beach as such, but the ferry ride alone is great because you have the perfect view on the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and the Sydney skyline. It’s pretty awesome.
Once we arrived in Manly we walked down “The Corso” which probably is the main street, where everyone walks down to get to Manly Beach. Walking down the street you’ll pass several clothing stores and food places. There are shopping opportunities basically everywhere. 😉 Because Australia decided that it has to show my boyfriend the “real deal”, they just started closing the beach and calling people to get out of the water because of a shark sighting – so no swim in the ocean for us that day. We still decided to lay in the sun for a bit. Just FYI – you really have to put on sunscreen when you decide to lay in the the sun! Honestly, the “Spanish sun” (or the “German sun” for that matter) is no where close as strong as the sun in Australia. If you don’t put on sunscreen, even if you’re just out in the sun for a little while, you’ll 100% get very sunburned.
After a quick lay in the sun, we decided to walk along the coast from Manly Beach towards Shelly Beach. It’s a really beautiful walk and if you keep on walking further, you’ll eventually get to the lookout, where you have a beautiful view over the ocean. Unfortunately this time around we didn’t end up walking there, because we had do turn around to catch the ferry back to Sydney CBD.
But I can definitely recommend to you to walk around Manly. There are many beautiful walks, along the coast or through the “bush”, like for example the “Shelly Beach To Barracks Precinct Walk” that are definitely worth a walk.
By the way, when walking around Manly (actually not only Manly but Australia in general) you will most definitely see Water Dragons several times. They are quite shy but when you try not to move too much, you’ll be able to get a good look at them.
Before we headed back to our Hotel, we went for an other stroll through the streets of Sydney and ended up in the “Strand Arcade“. Just like the QVB, it’s a beautiful building, which you have to see because not only from the outside but even more from the inside, it’s so beautiful to look at. Inside, there are different Australian designers and unique specialty stores, but there is also JB HiFi for example – so a little bit a mixture of more or less everything. (For us it was more window shopping and looking at the beautiful architecture and the Christmas decorations.) Oh and by the way, it’s the only Victorian shopping arcade you can find in Sydney – so have a look at it.
In the evening we took the Uber to Bondi to have a walk around, a stroll along the beach and some dinner there. Bondi Beach is maybe one of the most famous beaches in Sydney. There is also the Bondi Icebergs Swimming Club (we actually wanted to eat dinner there but we didn’t book a table so that didn’t work out for us) which you probably have seen before – or at least you’ve seen the saltwater swimming pool.
There is a really beautiful walk you can do, either starting and Bondi and walking back to Coogee, or starting at Coogee Beach, walking past Clovelly Beach, Bronte Beach and Tamarama Beach towards Bondi Beach. The total distance is about 6km, but you obviously don’t have to do the entire walk, but start at either of the in between beaches, and walk in either direction, a little section of the walk. It’s very beautiful and definitely worth it. Last year (or is it two years ago already?!) I did part of this walk with my best friend and we loved it. I can really recommend it to you.
Anyway, because we didn’t book a table at the Bondi Icebergs Swimming Club we walked along the beach, looking for some place to eat and ended up having dinner at “Surfish Cafe“. It really was quite nice there. 🙂
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An other place I can definitely recommend to you is “Taronga Zoo“. We didn’t go there this time around but when I was in Sydney in 2016, I went there and it was definitely worth the visit. There are over 4000 animals and it’s super easy to get there – either by ferry from Circular Quay, by bus, by train or, of course, by car.
Something you should consider doing while you’re there is the “Wild Ropes“. Even though I’m not too fond of heights (I’m actually quite scared to be honest) I ended up really enjoying this adventure. Wild Ropes is a high ropes course (there are different types of courses) which gives you an amazing view over the zoo, because you end up walking above part of it, and the Sydney Skyline. It really is fun!
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When it comes to getting around Sydney, there are many different options and in the end it depends a little on how long you (decide to) stay there and what you want to see.
The CBD you can easily explore walking around. If you like walking, there really is no need to take public transport.
Depending on where you want to go, you can either catch an Uber (the prices always depend on demand but when there is low demand and the exchange rate is in your favour, it’s actually quite a handy way to get around) or use public transport. When you decide on taking the public transport frequently (maybe you don’t live in the CBD and thus you end up regularly catching the bus or train) I’d recommend buying the Opal Card. It’s a reusable card, which you can easily get over the counter. There is no charge for an Opal card, however you have to top it up with a minimum of $10, which you can then use to travel on public transport within the Opal network. Having an Opal Card is not only a whole lot easier, because you don’t have to buy a ticket at the ticket machine every time you hop on public transport, but the prices are also lower and you can take every bus (because there are prepaid buses, where you can’t buy a ticket from the driver).
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I wish I could tell you more about Sydney but this time around we only had two days there, so our time for exploring was limited. You can easily spend weeks there going to the different suburbs, eating your way through the city – no doubt about that. Next time (who knows when that’ll be) I’ll explore Sydney some more and tell you more about this city. But for now, that’s all. More blog posts about our trip to Australia are about to follow, so stay tuned. 🙂
Love,
Kyra
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All information is subject to change.
Kyra's Wanderlust 
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