Aussie Adventure - Sydney

Tuesday, December 29
Exactly one year after moving to Singapore, the Dean family, along with my mom, embarked on a 10-day adventure to the Land Down Under. We split our time between Sydney and Port Douglas to balance big city and beach time. I was a little worried about the 7 1/2 hour flight from Singapore with the girls but they were great. Brian and I kept Emily entertained while Grandma tended to Megan and Elizabeth's demands. No doubt having Grandma along made the travels much easier on us! I also have to give credit once again to Singapore Airlines as they make it so easy to travel long distances with children.

We arrived in Sydney around 5pm local time. My first lesson of the trip is that Australia is very serious about quarantines and I probably should have paid closer attention when filling out 6 people's arrival forms. The form had all the typical questions like, "Are you bringing more than $10,000 cash into the country?" and "Have you visited an agricultural facility in the past 7 days?" My personal favorite was, "Have you been convicted of a crime?" Would a country that began as a penal colony really hold that against someone? The form also asked if we were bringing food into the country and I interpreted that to mean fresh fruits, meats and vegetables. Not exactly. When we made it to the customs area, they inquired again about food (probably because we had 3 children with us) and we explained that we had packaged food like granola bars and goldfish crackers. It turns out that we had lied on the customs form because they care about ALL food brought in, not just fresh items. Brian was in especially big trouble because his beef jerky was on the banned food list and had to be thrown away. They could have fined us $100 each and $220 for the contraband jerky but obviously they realized we weren't trying to hide anything, we were just stupid Americans. We breathed a sigh of relief when we finally exited the airport.

My first impression of Sydney was that I absolutely loved the weather! It was 76 degrees, mostly sunny with a nice breeze. And it pretty much stayed that way the entire time we were there. It felt wonderful to be somewhere without the stifling humidity of Singapore. I actually wore jeans a few times -- hurray!
We checked into 2 rooms at the Menzies Hotel in the business district. The location was ideal as we were halfway between Circular Quay and Darling Harbour, the two most popular tourist areas. However, I cannot recommend the hotel to others simply because our bed was as comfortable as sleeping on a hide-a-bed. Otherwise, it was fine and the concierge was especially helpful during our stay. By the time we got settled, we only had time to walk over to Darling Harbour and eat fish and chips before saying goodnight.

Wednesday, December 30
We made the most of our first full day in Sydney. Since Sydney is 3 hours ahead of Singapore, we never got an early start while we were there but it sure was nice to feel like we were sleeping in! Our first stop on the sightseeing list was the Sydney Aquarium. The aquarium was impressive. It featured some freshwater fish but obviously the majority of the exhibits displayed Australia's enormous variety of ocean creatures. We especially enjoyed the shark exhibit that featured two tunnels where we could walk under the fish and view the predators from all angles. They really look cool when there's a thick piece of glass protecting you.
Another area of the aquarium was devoted to the Great Barrier Reef which was amazing as well. We saw tanks filled with beautiful coral, jellyfish (Emily was enthralled by them), clownfish and an enormous tank where we could sit down and observe all the fish of the reef, sharks included, while listening to classical music. We spent a couple hours at the aquarium and the entire family enjoyed it.

While at the aquarium, I looked around at the crowd and realized that we no longer stood out. I have gotten so accustomed to being the minority in Singapore that it felt odd to me to see so many Caucasians in one place again! Although we still looked different. We quickly became aware that if we wanted to live in Sydney, we would really need to get some piercings and tattoos to blend into the crowd. Body art was prevalent among the men and women of all ages. I had no idea Aussies were so decorated and had to confirm with my Aussie friends in Singapore afterwards that what we observed was not unusual for that country.

That afternoon, we boarded a passenger ferry that took us to Circular Quay and provided our first view of the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Brian and I both wondered if we would find the Opera House as spectacular as people describe it. While passing under the enormous Harbour Bridge, we got our answer. The Opera House is much larger than I imagined and the setting is beautiful. I love that I now have that image in my mind (and in print) to reference when I think of Sydney. It's awesome to experience those magnificent sights with my own eyes.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at Hyde Park, a nice green expanse in the middle of the city. The girls ran around for hours and were entertained by a man creating enormous bubbles with two sticks, some string and a bucket of dish soap. They loved it. After a casual dinner the girls went to bed and Brian and I set out to find some nightlife in the city. We walked up to the Rocks area of town and checked out a few bars in that neighborhood. The Rocks is the oldest part of Sydney that has been restored and has plenty of shops and restaurants. We ended up listening to music at the Orient Hotel while drinking Cooper Pale Ale, one of the local brews. We found it to be pretty tasty and of course, we were thankful that my mom was with the girls so we could have some time to enjoy the city after dark.

While walking around, I noticed some chocolate cafes. We have a few in Singapore but not as many as Sydney. I vowed to check these out at some point during our stay :) So, we had a great first day. The weather was perfect. The girls all cooperated and were enthusiastic. It struck me that the trip felt remarkably easy so far and that is no small feat when traveling with three young children.

Thursday, December 31st (New Year's Eve)
By this point in our trip, we had traveled by plane, car and boat so it was obviously time to hop on the train. We went to Featherdale Wildlife Park where we could get upclose and personal with the unique Aussie animals. After nearly an hour on the train, we took a 10-minute bus ride to the park.

Featherdale Wildlife Park was fairly small but it had everything we were looking for. We fed wallabies and kangaroos and petted koalas. Emus roamed around and nibbled on ice cream cones leftover from feeding the 'roos. The girls had a great time interacting with all these creatures and enjoyed learning about tasmanian devils and echidnas. It was a worthwhile excursion for all.

Since it was New Year's Eve, we made plans to watch both fireworks shows. Sydney provides a family-friendly fireworks display at 9pm and the regular one at midnight to usher in the new year. We packed a picnic and found a good spot near Darling Harbour that offered views of Sydney Harbour and the bridge. The 9pm show was very nice and we had a preview of how spectacular the midnight show would be based on the number of locations where we could see explosions. The biggest difference was that the bridge was not involved in the 9pm show and the fireworks didn't last quite as long. But it was a nice atmosphere for the kiddos and who wants to keep their children awake until midnight? The girls approved of the show :)

After tucking the girls into bed, Brian and I went out later for the midnight, not child-friendly fireworks. We walked up George Street and were quickly engulfed in a procession of revelers that pushed us all the way to a spot in between the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. It proved to be a nice location, although it felt like the entire population of Sydney was cramped into one small area with us!

The fireworks were amazing. They launched fireworks from at least 4 different spots in the harbour in unison. The bridge was a whole different story and definitely the crowd favorite as everyone kept their eyes on it throughout the show and reacted wildly whenever it lit up. The Harbour Bridge was definitely the centerpiece. At various times, fireworks also exploded from the tops of downtown buildings behind us so we were completely surrounded by them. The sheer size and number of fireworks involved was unbelievable. We had never seen anything quite like it. For how many people were there, the police were well prepared and it went smoothly. We walked back to our hotel and enjoyed a bottle of champagne Brian picked up at the liquor store next to our hotel. Like I said, everything about Sydney was so easy, right down to the celebratory beverages. What an awesome, memorable way to start 2010!

Friday, January 1
New Year's Day was a little more quiet in the city as we found several stores and restaurants shuttered for the holiday. We wisely strolled down to Darling Harbour, trusting that the tourist spots would still be open. We went to see an Imax 3-D movie called "Under the Sea." Getting Emily to wear her 3-D glasses proved to be challenging but when she had them on, it was priceless to watch her and Elizabeth reach out and attempt to pet the seals and turtles that seemed to be right in front of them. After lunch, we took a ferry out to Manly Beach to check it out. The skies turned cloudy but the beach was still crowded with people enjoying a day off. It made me excited about heading up north to the beach in a couple days for the more relaxing part of our trip. We strolled down the promenade and enjoyed ice cream before returning to the city.

Saturday, January 2
On our final day in Sydney we walked up to Circular Quay and finally ate a proper breakfast along the way. We kept getting started so late in the morning that we never wanted to take time for a meal before sight-seeing so I was happy to relish a big breakfast to start the day. We strolled over to the Opera House and ended up at the Royal Botanic Gardens where the girls happily ran around before we boarded the "Choo Choo Express" for a tour of the spacious gardens. We enjoyed the ride, right up to the moment that it started pouring down rain. We took shelter back at the Opera House until the rain let up. Since the weather didn't look promising, Mom and I did what wise women do...we went shopping! We spent the afternoon at the Queen Victoria Building browsing through the stores. On our way back to the hotel, we spotted a Krispy Kreme Doughnut shop so naturally we had to buy some for the family. Yummm. For our last evening, Brian and I had a dinner date at Wolfie's, a steak restaurant in the Rocks. Red meat and lovely views of the harbour were a nice combination. We finished the evening at a chocolate cafe. Thank goodness we made it there before leaving Sydney!