Christmas and New Years in Sydney

This Christmas, we decided to skip the long and stressful journeys home through snow, wind, ice and crazy families (in a good way of course!) and head south instead. The ideas of summer in Australia, surfing on the beach and bbqing every night sounded much more appealing. We also had a couple friends travelling through Sydney at the same time, so it was a good excuse to see some old friends and enjoy some sun. I certainly didn't think too much of Sydney, other than it would be a nice break from Asian culture, and more importantly, an opportunity to find some decent burritos and Western food. I was very surprised to discover what is now one of my favorite cities in the world.

We landed on Christmas morning, and after a quick Krispy Kreme break we decided to catch a public bus to our hotel at Bondi Beach. Bondi is an area a couple stops on the train from the center of the city and is one of many great beaches along a line that dots the eastern coastline of the Pacific. After catching up with our friend Hayley for a bit, we headed down to the beach for an afternoon of sun and surf which apparently is the thing to do on Christmas Day in Australia. I do have to admit that I was pretty shocked how chilly the water was, but once you were in it was pretty nice. The weather couldn't have been better and it was a pretty surreal Christmas day.



That night we found a couple public bbqs on the north end of the beach and had a nice bbq during the sunset. It was a perfect way to end the day.



The next day my friend Amy told us about a great yacht race that starts in the harbor of Sydney and goes for days until they reach Tasmania. We agreed to meet her in Watsons Bay to see the start of the race. Unfortunately, we were a bit late and just missed the boats, but we still had some great views of the city and the rugged coastline. We were also able to grab some fresh fish n chips!



From Watsons Bay, we caught a quick ferry to Circular Quay which is where the famous Sydney Opera House is. We had incredible views of the harbor during the ride, and as we got closer to the city the views of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge were awesome! Once we landed, we spent the afternoon walking around the sights and taking it all in. The Opera House was pretty impressive, although I have to admit it's starting to look a bit old and faded.



We eventually made our way to an area called The Rocks, which is Sydney's oldest part of the city. It's an oddly quaint mix of Old-West architecture with a European feel. I was able to snap my favorite picture of the Harbour bridge from the small hilltop here. We also enjoyed a few beers at an authentic German brauhaus. We were seated outside on long wooden tables when suddenly our waitress brought us the bill and told us we had to move quickly as it was going to start raining in 20 minutes. Sure enough, 20 minutes later a heavy rain storm approached and it rained the rest of the night.



The rain continued all night and through the entire next day. It was a bit of a bummer because it meant we couldn't really do any sightseeing, however we did manage to stroll through the shopping district of Bondi and catch a movie at Sydney's largest cinema screen. Of course we had a couple pub stops as well!

New Years in Sydney definitely lived up to the hype, although I think our experience was a bit different from the conventional. We picked up a camper van on NYE, but we had to find a place to park it for one night before we left the city. Not only that, but we also had to make sure we were at a convenient place to either see or travel along with the millions of others to watch the fireworks. After a couple hours of driving around, stocking up on some food and getting used to driving the van in an unknown city without a SatNav, we randomly came across a beautiful area called Double Bay. We found a parking spot just across a small park that sat right on the Harbor and was only a 15 minute walk to Darling Point which had an amazing view of the entire city and Harbor Bridge for the fireworks. We even had the added plus of public bathrooms in the park. We later found out that this was one of Sydney's nicest areas, which probably explains why we felt so out of place drinking beer and eating Doritos on the ground outside of our van while posh people passed by dressed for their New Years parties or walking their fu-fu dogs.

We started the night with some snacks by the van, and then enjoyed some sparkling wine we purchased the day before when visiting some Australian wineries in Hunter Valley. We eventually made our way over to Darling Point to watch the fireworks. We even met a few other travelers doing the same thing, and enjoyed a few sausage dogs being sold by a local rotary club. The fireworks were incredible and stretched all along the harbor in a synchronized array. I know the pics below are blurry, but you get the idea.



After we returned to Sydney a few days later, we had one last day to see some of the sights we hadn't seen. We started by driving our camper van over the Harbour Bridge! Unfortunately it was another gray day, but we toughened up anyway and visited the Darling Harbour area. We enjoyed a nice pizza lunch on a balcony overlooking the water and then walked around the harbor to see the sights. Eventually the light showers turned in to a steady rain so we headed back to Bondi to park the van for our last night in Australia.



I left Sydney with a new appreciation for Australia and hoping for a return to this great city. For any of you that would like to visit Sydney, or Australia in general, I do have to say that I have been twice now, once in a summer and once in winter, and the weather isn't as great as you would stereotypically think. Even in the middle of the summer we had a few chilly, windy and wet days that were fairly miserable. Although most of the time it's nice and when it's nice, it's incredible!

Happy New Year!!


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The Blue Mountains, Australia

I recently took a trip to Sydney for the holiday season, and I thought I'd start my series of blogs about the trip with the Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains National Park is located about an hours drive inland from Sydney. It was given it's name due to the blue tinge the mountain range takes on when viewed from a distance. I actually believed it was due to light reflecting off vapors from the eucalyptus trees, but apparently that is only a myth. Instead, it is material emitted by coniferous trees whose particles cause the incoming ultraviolet radiation to be scattered creating a blue-greyish color. To be honest, I can't really say I noticed an overwhelming blue tint through the many ridges and valleys of the park, but it was stunning nonetheless.



We headed up to the Blue Mountains on New Years Day with our rented camper van. It was a warm and sunny day, and we noticed about 30 minutes into the drive on the highway that the temperature seemed to be getting increasingly unbearable. A hot blast was blowing in from the window and the three of us crammed into the front seat didn't help things. In reality, I'm pretty sure the heat was caused by the van's motor situated directly beneath our seat. In fact, the only way to access the engine was to lift the front seat! Regardless, it felt surprisingly nice when we finally parked the van at a recommended spot and got out. We decided to take in the views and a small walk to Wentworth Falls. The spot offered amazing views near the parking lot, and a 10 minute walk down to the top of the falls. From there, you could explore the creek which tumbled down many rocks and cliffs before it's 250 meter drop over the main falls. It was very refreshing and a great introduction to the Blue Mountains!



We noticed a large system of hiking trails that started from this spot, so we decided we'd come back the next day and check them out. Before we left, however, we were able to capture some views of the afternoon thunderstorms.



That night, we drove down the only road in the park that goes into one of the deep gorges to hunt for a camp ground I saw on a map at the visitors center. As we descended into Megalong Valley, the road slowly winded through the dense and cool forest until we finally got to a simple and sweet campground. We snatched one of the last good spots, prepared some dinner and even got to make a campfire. The campsite was located along a small creek, and it was even free! This might also be a good time to talk about our camper van a bit more. We rented the van from Wicked Camper Vans, who decorate all of their vans with graffitied images and phrases. We had an attractive serpent along the side, and the back of the van stated "Good girls need spanking too" in bright letters. The sleeping quarters were not comfortable to say the least, but it did the job. One of the beds actually hung from the roof with chains! The back opened up into a small kitchen area complete with a gas stove and a sink.



The next morning we were up and out early in an effort to beat the heat of the afternoon. We drove back to Wentworth falls to start our hike, and we decided on the toughest and longest trail we could find. It was called the Wentworth Pass, and it started at the falls and made it's way along a narrow path cut into the cliff-side. Eventually, many steps and stairs later, we reached the bottom of the first part of the falls. It offered incredible views looking up and also had some great areas for exploring. As we continued, the trail kept offering great views back at the falls and eventually we made it to the very bottom where there was a great swimming hole situated in a large pool where the water fell in to.



At this point, we realized that the trail was about as low as it was going to go, which meant we had to make our way up and out of the gorge we climbed in to. Luckily, the weather turned and was getting cloudy, and there were brief periods of showers to cool the air. If they became heavy, we were always able to find shelter under parts of the cliff-side. The trail eventually started to climb out of the gorge, but it was hard to notice due to the stunning scenery. The trail climbed along a different creek that fell into the valley with a whole new set of waterfalls and pools. It was hard work though, and we rewarded ourselves after our 4 hour hike with some ice cream at the top!



That night, we randomly drove toward another campsite that I remembered seeing on the map, but this one was a bit sketchier. The road decided to turn unpaved, unannounced, and gradually got worse. The state of the van only exaggerated every bump and dip with it's creaky frame and loud bed chains banging around. It had also started to rain regularly and the weather was pretty foggy. We eventually got to the campsite, which again was basic but free, and quickly got some food made under the shelter of the back door. I have a feeling the campsite would have provided incredible views across the nearby valleys and cliffs, but the fog was thick and didn't lift all night or the next morning. The good news is that it was a bit chilly outside which was a nice relief both from Singapore and the previous day's heat.



Without sounding picky, I generally find it hard to be impressed at scenic landscapes and mountains having spent most of my life in either Oregon or Colorado. However, the Blue Mountains (and many areas of New South Wales, Australia) really were incredible. Although we did drive through most of the main stretch, there are still many other areas to visit in the area...I guess more to explore next time! In such a short distance from the city, it was a great place to visit for a couple days and I'm glad we made the trip.