Australia: Those Pretty Sydney Sights

Sunrise over the Harbor

Final Days
The very end of our trip was spent in the beautiful bustling metropolitan of Sydney. When we arrived it was already dark (before 6pm), it was cold, and it was super rainy. The airport shuttle we took to our hotel was quite a joke and for awhile there, we weren't even sure our driver (a) even knew where he was and (b) was going to be able to get us to where we needed to be. (Spoiler alert: he didn't.) Added bonus: because the Vivid festival (a festival of music, lights, and ideas held in Sydney for a few weeks) was starting that night, the traffic was in-sane! After being rerouted a few times and having to walk about 10 mins - with all our luggage - from the place we were dropped off to the place we actually needed to be, we finally made it to our stay. In all it took us about 3-4 hours to get from the plane to our hotel room 20-30 mins away. Off to a great start! :)

Exploring the City

Vivid lights

We jumped right in exploring the city and all the pretty lights, eating dinner on the water and even catching a glimpse or two of fireworks in the distance over the harbor. Throughout the next couple of days we became more and more acquainted with the area, exploring some popular spots near the harbors and wharfs and, my personal favorite, the adorable and culturally delightful Rocks district. There are several areas (like the Rocks) that are home to some pretty big weekend street markets. We got to visit one but didn't have near enough time for them! (Also, after trolling some Instagram shots, I'm pretty sure we had to be about 2 steps ahead of Hugh Jackman the whole time. Buuut sadly we never saw any famous Aussies. ;) )

Fun Stuff
While we were in Sydney we filled every day with excursions and activities and tried to hit as much of the big stuff as we could! It went a little something like this:

* Taronga Zoo w/ behind-the-scenes tour (see separate post for photos)

* Sydney Harbor Bridge Climb

* Blue Mountains Tour (see separate post for photos)

* Behind-the-Scene of the Sydney Opera House

* Vivid!

* Beautiful Bondi Beach

Sunrise over Darling Harbor our last day.

View from the Opera House

 Inside the opera house in the 2 biggest theaters in the building. The one on the right is made entirely of wood to accommodate a better acoustic sound for performances.

One of my favorite shots of our trip. Travis' artwork!

A bit blurry but a quick shot of the opera house all lit up.

 






















































** Photo credit: Sarah-Jane Cruz and Travis Simnitt **

Australia: Mountains of Blue

A hike around the Blue Mountains

On our second to last day in Australia we decided to go outside of the city a bit for a little exploring around the famous Blue Mountains and Three Sisters rock formations. Though it was a pretty low-key tour (when we were hoping for something a bit more invigorating), it was still pretty to see the sights and witness an Australian mountain town that isn't as touristy as the other places we had been to throughout our trip. So we set out nice and early on a clear blue day for a full day of exploring new sites.

Three Sisters

Don't go chasin waterfalls

A bush fire came and hollowed out this tree.

We were a bit high up.

** Photo credit: Sarah-Jane Cruz and Travis Simnitt **

Australia: Sydney Time, Taronga Zoo Style

Yet Another Zoo
Australia seems to be full of zoos and opportunities to see their one-of-a-kind wildlife up close and personal. Sydney was no exception. Before we left, we booked an opportunity to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the Taronga Zoo located a short ferry ride away from the main harbor. This was probably one of my favorite things we did in Sydney. Anyone who knows me knows I'm an animal nut and it was so cool to see the "backstage" process of how the keepers care for their animals, to get to "break the rules" a bit and go in some No Entry zones and animal enclosures, and to hear all about some of the animals we were seeing for the first time from our own guide. Not to mention, the zoo was located on top of a hill you had to get to by Sky Bucket and at certain points in their facility, you could look out and see the Sydney skyline across some of the animals' enclosures. 

One thing I grew to love about Australia was the care they take with their animals. I have been to zoos in the past where the animals could barely move for the lack of space they were given and the number of animals in captivity with them and it absolutely breaks my heart! While this was still a facility in general with limited space, it was easier to tell that their animals were still the top priority and very much loved and taken care of. Here are a few of the animals we saw:

Wombat

You know it's a rare occurrence when even the tour guide has to stop and take a picture of this unusual position!

Tasmanian Devil

Seeing elephants from the sky bucket as we were coming in.

Quokka

Baby joey in the pouch!

Imagine waking up to this view every day!

Just hangin out

Someone liked the lemurs quite a lot

"Don't forget the mountain goat"

Hippo

** Photo credit: Sarah-Jane Cruz and Travis Simnitt **