Sydney, Australia

Sydney is by far the biggest city I've been on on this trip.  Absolutely huge.  We came into port and had the most beautiful view of the city from the harbor as we made our approach.  It was my favorite part of my whole day in Sydney.

Sydney Harbour

Sydney Opera House

Sydney Opera House

Sydney Harbour Bridge

After disembarking, I found my hotel, dropped my stuff, and proceeded to walk the entire city - and this was no small feat!  It took many hours to visit the Circular Quay (where the harbor is), the Royal Botanic Gardens (where the Sydney Opera House is), The Rocks (many outdoor shops and tourists shopping), George Street (regular city shopping), Darling Harbour including the King Street Wharf and Cockle Bay Wharf, Chinatown, and Hyde Park.  Sydney is a buzzing city with something around every corner.

St. Mary's Cathedral

Royal Botanic Gardens

View of cruise ship & downtown Sydney from Opera House

The Rocks

Outdoor market at The Rocks

George Street

Off George Street

Boat race at Darling Harbour

I had heard that Bondi Beach was a can't miss and so late in the day I took a bus to go check it out.  Essentially, this seems to be where all of Sydney goes to hang out on a good weather day, and given that I was there on a sunny Saturday afternoon, it was PACKED.  Too crowded for me!  So I promptly left, had some Malaysian food back at the King Street Wharf (as suggested to me by a man I met in the Doubtful Sound who was from Sydney), and then headed to bed.

Bondi Beach

Bondi Beach

After some deliberation with myself about continuing on to Queensland region of Australia versus back to New Zealand, I booked my flight and traveled to Auckland the following morning where I spent a few days touring around, including watching the Patriots lose the Super Bowl..........