Super-belated post of my trip to Sydney in Dec 2012 with dad, mom & sanye (3rd aunt). I was so fortunate to have a dear friend draw up a comprehensive itinerary for us! It's one of those rare occasions where I didn't have to plan or book (friend did up the itineray, dad took care of the rest, hehe).
We managed to snag cheap airtickets on Scoot but to be honest, anything > 5 hours on budget is plain painful, 10 hours was pure torture. By the time we checked into Sydney Central YHA, I was ready to cry (yes, I'm a spoilt kid). Here's a pic of how sad our spartan room looked...and bunk beds?! Eeeeee....
I had to get our of the room asap, so after a quick freshening up, we headed out to Darling Harbor, which thankfully, was just a short stroll away (yes, I'm starting to appreciate the wonderful location of our hostel). Darling Harbor is, indeed, as endearing as it sounds.
What lovely, fluffy cotton-candy clouds!
Christmas (and Santa) was just round the corner...
I would have been happy to just sit and dream the day away (but oh no, such an unproductive activity would not have gone down well with dad).
We caught a bus to Circular Quay to see the Sydney Opera House. I have to concede that the actual building was impressive to behold. Pictures just don't do it justice, so much as I tried, I could not capture an image that reflected how I felt about this amazing structure.
We had dinner at Lowenbrau, a German restaurant @ Circular Quay. Food was not bad but then really, one can't go wrong with beer and pork knuckles!
Back for a stroll and night-time view of the Opera House and Harbor Bridge.
For the next couple of days, we embarked on a road trip to the Blue Mountains, Hunter Valley, Port Stephens & The Entrance.
Blue Mountains
Did you know that :
The area is called "Blue Mountains" based on the fact that when atmospheric temperature rise, the essential oil of various Eucalyptus species evaporates and disperse in the air, then visible blue spectrum of sunlight propagates more than other colours. Therefore the reflected landscape from mountains seems bluish by human eyes (extracted from wikipedia).
We had a nice morning hike @ Wentworth Falls.
By then, we'd worked up an appetite so we stopped by a pretty, quaint town named Leura for lunch. Here's dad acting the part of a bored husband waiting for his shopaholic wife to spend all his money before re-appearing.
Beautiful mural.
Back to more sightseeing after lunch. Here's 3 stumps known as the 3 sisters.
I thought this drama hot mama was more interesting.
And here I stand, at the edge of the precipice. Live life dangerously, I say!
Hunter Valley
I can't remember where we stayed at the Blue Mountains but I recall it was near Leura and it had the most beatiful garden I've ever seen. I felt like an intruder in Enid Blyton's enchanted garden.
The day turned out to be a rather flowery affair. On our way to Hunter Valley, we dropped by another garden to marvel at the exotic flowers that are not commonly seen back home.
I'm not one of those who dig road trips. But stopping for food (or fruits in this case) plus indulging in apple pie baked fresh out of the oven was heavenly!
After a long day's drive (driving time severely underestimated and extended due to floral/fruity pursuits), we arrive at Hunter Valley!
Taking a tour of the vineyards.
And of course, how could we visit Hunter Valley without some wine tasting? The moscato I brought home from Tempus Two was really good!
Port Stephens
I love love love Port Stephens. For starters, our lunch stop @ Bub's Famous Fish & Chips was AMAZING! The seafood platter was so good we came back later for more, lol.
It was a gorgeous sunny day!
Loving the shades of blue, aquamarine and green!
We went dolphin watching. As usual, I didn't have much luck spotting the elusive creatures but it was on the whole a very enjoyable and relaxing experience.
Pretty (scary) bird flapping away.
Sunset casting a magical glow across the marina.
On our way back to our hotel, I spotted this triangular house. I want to own one just like that! And bump my head against the ceiling in the attic when I wake up every morning.
Another highlight for me on road trips in Australia / NZ. Random stops to devour freshly shucked oysters.
The prawns weren't terribly fresh, I'm afraid.
Dad asked me if I wanted to try out the sand dunes...alone. Oh well, why not? YOLO!
To be honest, after going up and down the slopes twice, I was ready to head back. Tiring work trudging uphill...the kids could do it so much better (steeper & faster) than me.
End of adventure @ Port Stephens.
The Entrance
This part of the trip was totally unplanned. The original intention was to drive back the way we came, past Sydney and onto Adelaide but I told dad that the driving would be too long and tiring. After some persuasion, he agreed to cancel Adelaide and explore the central coast instead. So here we are @ The Entrance, famed for its pelican feeding.
I'm not a big fan of birds, so the feeding was pretty freaking and fascinating at the same time.
Our lovely hotel @ The Mantra, Ettalong Beach.
Unfortunately, it was a dead town so we had to settle for average-tasting food at the casino cafe.
More of Sydney highlights in Part 2!
