I’m in Australia!!! Okay. I’ve wanted to go to Australia for years. I’ve known a couple of people who have visited/lived here over the years and of course I’ve seen some movies and TV shows that have taken place (and were filmed) here. So I’ve always wanted to come, but wasn’t sure when that would be just because it takes so long to get here from many places in the world.

Being in SE Asia though made this trip much easier! The final flight was only 8 hours, though due to timing and where I was coming from I also had a 1.5 hour flight and a 14 hour layover. So it did take a long time, but the majority of it didn’t include sitting on a plane and I actually got a space at the airports capsule hotel (which is literally just a hostel bed named fancy so that more than just students will book there). The bed was comfy and the space was actually really nice – baring the fact that one of the bathrooms was a bit messy when I first got there (they do clean it regularly though so later it was good). I didn’t sleep well but that had more to do with being wired than the facilities. I booked it for 12 hours which was all I needed so I ate and then headed to check-in! It was easy and while I didn’t get much sleep I did get some rest.

One thing that was interesting to learn about Australia. On the weekends and any bank holidays, there is a surcharge. Some places seem to only place the surcharge on card transactions (on top of any existing surcharge) and in other places it’s on all transactions. From what I can tell, it’s because they pay their employees more on weekends and holidays (a differential, though I’m not sure that’s what it’s called here), so to offset that cost they just raise the prices. Something that makes sense, and someone at the hostel mentioned to me when I first got there, but I proceeded to completely forget about until I went to get some food one weekend and the prices were more expensive than they were when I was there a couple days before. So keep that in mind when traveling Australia! 

Sydney

My first stop in Australia was Sydney. This was mainly due to being the best deal for a flight that I could get. I spent about a week and a half there and could feel myself waking up again. As I said in my Thailand post, the Thailand heat and humidity sapped my energy (added to my lower energy levels from being in peri-menopause) so I honestly wasn’t doing much by the time I left there. Going out was too much work.

Sydney brought me back to what I love. I walked all over the city (and have some blisters to prove it), and many days I walked over 10k steps. I often didn’t have a destination in mind, so it was great to just explore the city. As is pretty typical for me, I did spend quite a few many days walking the shore lines since I really do prefer to be near the water when I can. One day I walked around for a couple of hours before I took the ferry back to the center of town. It was great to not only walk around and enjoy the sights, but to be on the water around sunset watching the sky change color from the ferry. 

And of course while I was there, I had to check out the library! The New South Wales State Library is very very pretty! I highly suggest anyone in Sydney who likes libraries or books to check it out. 

Blue Mountains

So I actually have some family here! My step-cousins (Meredith & Chris). It was great to meet them! They showed me around a couple of places and the first one was the Blue Mountains. Meredith and I went up to Echo Point and saw the Three Sisters rocks and I spent some time walking to one of the lookouts as well. There was more to see, but we had their dog with us and dogs aren’t allowed in National Parks in Australia so we were limited on where we could go.

That being said – it was still so breathtaking. I walked by myself to the lookout and it was one of those times where the sounds of people and the city just disappear the further down the trail you go. By the time I got to the actual lookout spot, I was alone with my thoughts and the sounds of the woods. It was really peaceful and I took a couple minutes to just look out over the mountains before I headed back.

I will definitely be returning at some point to see more and do some longer hikes.

Lunch was spent at a little cafe/restaurant in town that was a bit interesting. The food was amazing and the people peculiar. According to Meredith it was a must visit. Funnily enough we got a honey bun to go – and it was literally a hamburger bun with honey on it and nuts thrown on top to make it fancier. It gave us a good laugh and we used it to prank Chris when we met up with him for drinks after he got off work. Oh! It was also on this outing that I had my first meat pie, but definitely not my last. 

Manly Beach

The second place they took me was to Manly Beach. There are a lot of beaches in the Sydney area, and one of the more well known ones is Bondi (I didn’t get there), from what I heard from a lot of people at the Hostel though it’s overrated at this point and the decision to go to Manly Beach was a good one.

Chris drove over with their dog, but Meredith and I met up and took the ferry over. She had told me before I got to Australia that public transit in Sydney was easy and affordable to navigate, and the ferry’s definitely were too as they’re considered part of the same system! We took the fast ferry on the way there and one of the regular ferry’s on the way back, but even the regular ferry was cruising since they’ve all been updated!

Manly Beach was pretty crowded at places, but since we went on a Sunday we also got to explore the market a bit. It was great to see the local vendors and what they were selling. I don’t think any of us got anything, but it was fun to ‘window’ shop.

After lunch, we took a walk down the boardwalk and then when Chris took Shiloh back home, Meredith and I dipped our feet in the water before making our way back to the Opera House.

Opera House & Harbour Bridge

The Opera House in Sydney is probably one of it’s most well known landmarks. It’s pretty distinct and right on the water. In my time in Sydney, I walked over to it or near it quite a few times as it was a great landmark to orient myself with. After our time at Manly Beach though, Meredith and I went there to get a couple of drinks. It was great people watching and we got a kick out of seeing everyone taking selfies or full blown photo shoots for friends – at least one pair was taking pictures for about 30 minutes straight and they had multiple cameras (professional, phones, polaroid, and even a disposable).

I have quite a lot of pictures of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. It was really easy to pinpoint where you were no matter what side of the harbor you were on. That being said – after our drinks we did take a ferry over to the amusement park (Luna Park) so that we could watch the sunset from the side of the harbor that you can see more. We were going to try to watch it from the top of the Ferris wheel, but unfortunately the Ferris wheel was closed that day.

I did get a pretty great view of a sunset from the Harbor Bridge though. On my last night in Sydney (for this trip anyway), I spent time wandering around before I decided to walk the bridge. Unfortunately, if you want to see the sunset from around the bridge, you are better off staying on the Circular Quay side of the harbor and setting up on a park lawn that is near the bridge to see it rather than being on the bridge itself. One side of the bridge is dedicated for a foot path and the other side is a dedicated bike path. That is great for keeping people safe, but not so great for watching the sunset as its the wrong side of the bridge. You can see it, but you’re looking through the entire bridge and traffic. I bet sunrise would be amazing from the footpath though!

Going Back

I honestly plan on going back to Sydney. Probably at some point during this trip – at minimum because it’ll make sense for flying out. But in general there is still so much I want to do and see in Sydney and the surrounding area that I know that I’ll be back one day.

For now, I’m exploring more of Australia! Currently I’m in Byron Bay, so keep an eye out for that post to come through eventually!