My trip to Sydney started out on Thursday night when we all boarded the coach at 8pm for a ten hour bus ride. We had two drivers and one half hour break on the ride but most people slept through it all (including me). The next morning, when we were woken up at 6am, we stopped for breakfast and headed on a walk across the Harbour Bridge. I got to witness my first views of the Sydney Opera House, very friendly birds, and our first view of the Sydney skyline! It was phenomenal!!!
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| Walking across the Harbour Bridge |
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| Our first view of the Sydney Opera House! |
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| Looking over the Harbour on our early morning walk across the bridge |
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| Very friendly birds... |
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| It wasn't even afraid of us |
Next on the schedule was a tour of the famous Opera House! Even though pictures inside were limited (due to protection laws) I was able to take pictures of the architectural masterpiece from the outside along with the gorgeous views standing from the balconies. On the tour we learned all about the history of the building as well as the future. One thing that stuck out to me was that the guy who designed the building (due to some drama) never returned to see the finished building even after he won awards for his masterpiece.
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| Purple stairs inside the Opera House! |
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| Hallway and Stairs inside the Opera House...pictures were limited so I only got some of the hallways to show the architecture |
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| I loved all of the designs and details in the concrete walls |
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| One of the foyers |
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| All of the tiles that make up the roof of the building are self cleaning...pretty genius if you ask me! |
After the tour we boarded a ferry to the Taronga Zoo of Sydney. Here we not only got to see animals native to Australia but we got to go into the koala exhibit and take close up pictures with them! At the zoo there were a lot of the same animals we have back at home however, these animals were very active and some of them put on small shows for us. The monkeys were screaming and some even fighting, the elephants were playing with tires and in the water, the penguins were quite active, the seals put on a show, the koalas let us get up close and personal, and much more.
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| Ferry ride! |
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| our view off the ferry...Sydney amazed me! |
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| The Opera House and down town Sydney...Gorgeous view! |
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| Once we got to the zoo we had to take a cable cars to the top |
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| Spiders here in Australia...are HUGE! |
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| Huge Komodo Dragon |
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| water snake...these are the things that make me scared of the lake |
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| elephants playing with tires |
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| Mountain Goat..getting bored in his little pen so he climbed up on the roof |
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| Kangaroo chillin in the shade |
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| Platypus with the roomies |
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| KOALA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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| Pelican |
Our first day in Sydney was quite the adventure and by the end of it we were all exhausted. Making our way back to the YHA (our hostel) we took showers, went out for dinner, and our bus driver took us on a short tour of Sydney night life. Then it was off to bed!
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| Opera House and Harbour Bridge at night! |
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| Sydney skyline at night :) |
The next day in Sydney (Saturday) was another jammed packed adventurous day spent going to the Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains, Bondi beach, and Mardi Gras!!!
The Three Sisters and the Blue Mountains was a beautiful view and small hike. We rode a small train, or roller coaster as I would call it, down to the hiking trails and at the end of the hike we rode a cable skyway back to the top! It was nice to stretch our legs and see some incredible animals along the way.
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| Love Locks |
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| Mountain Range |
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| Three Sisters in the background |
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| Three Sisters |
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| This is the train...or roller coaster we took to the hiking path |
Bondi beach was next on the list and due to the chilly weather no one got in the water however we all enjoyed a little bit of shopping and the beach front view.
Later on after showers and dinner we headed off to the gay and lesbian Mardi Gras going on in down town Sydney! The group of 30 students split up into smaller groups and we started to explore the city on our own. At the beginning of the evening my group consisted of 5 girls. We headed through China town and through the park until we hit the Mardi Gras parade. It was hectic and the streets were jammed pack but we managed to meet some new friends who helped us find a spot to view the parade. At this point two of the girls headed back to the YHA and the rest of us stayed. We met a lot of interesting people and had a blast!
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| Sailors |
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| :) |
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| Group of American study abroad students we met. One of the guys goes to the University of Sydney and stuck with us for the night making sure we made it home safely and offered to show us around Sydney the next day! |
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| Gay and Lesbians in Politics |
After the parade a new friend of ours took us around the town to see all of the local clubs and bars and ending the night sitting under the harbour bridge. The night was crazy but full of memories I will never forget.
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| Sydney Opera House at night! |
Sunday morning we woke up and we boarded the coach again. We walked around down town Sydney and then loaded a ferry to Manly beach. The beach was gorgeous but we didn't have time to swim so we walked around the town and looked at the local shops.
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| Ferry ride to Manly Beach |
The rest of the day was spent with our local friend touring Sydney University and hitting some local hot spots.
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| Sydney University |
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| Graffiti tunnel! |
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| We found some left over spray paint and left our mark! |
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| He explained Cricket to us...and we got to watch some girls play |
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| Colleges are kind of like the U.S. sorority or fraternity houses only they are mostly coed |
Sydney was an easy city to fall in love with. It was bitter sweet when we had to say good bye and head back to Lennox Head...our home away from home. After another ten hour bus ride we arrived back at home at 5:30am. I cannot wait to go back to Sydney one day...hopefully sooner rather than later.
