Sydney

Although I am not a city type of person, Sydney made it easy for me to feel comfortable. Public transportation is well organized: the Opal Card can be purchased and recharged, so that it works like a credit card. Almost $18 to get to the city center rather expensive, but only a ten minute ride. I had booked my hostel "WakeUp" close to central station. Approx. $40 per night, but great place with all facilities on six floors. Soon after lunch in the nearby cafe I walked up to Circular Quay to take a ferry. Emilie from the Tasmania tour lived in Manly with a family and we wanted to meet up. The ferry can be paid with the Opal card as well and takes you in twenty minutes to Manly. Such a quite and relaxed suburb with beautiful beaches. Emilie took my to Manly Beach and a bit further up to Shelly Beach, where few steps lead up to a lookout. We walked around with our coffee and simply chatted, ended our afternoon with an early dinner on a roof top.

I took the ferry back and walked towards Darling Harbour for sunset. Could have spent all evening here, but was tired from travelling earlier this morning.

Early pick up in town and a group of 20 people was taken to Fetherdale as the first stop. It almost felt like the same situation in Tasmania...mix a bunch of different people in a bus and drive them to tourist attractions.
Since it was my third wildlife park on this trip, I wasn't that excited anymore about the typical creatures, but in one...the koala. This time I invested the $25 dollars for a close-up picture :)

For lunch we stopped in Laure, just at the beginning of the Blue Mountains. Cute little town famous for their beautifully kept gardens. They even have a garden festival in Spring. Shortly after we could enter the Scenic World close by. $44 entrance to all rides, but unfortunately we only had 1 hour time. Challenge accepted and my journey began: 1) Scenic Skyway overlooking the valley and the Three Sisters 2) Down the almost 600 steps via Furber Steps to Vera's Grotto, part of the Katoomba falls, and back up 3) take the Scenic Railway (steepest in the world) to then 4) take the Scenic Cableway back up. Unbelievable, but I made it in time to the bus and did all of it in one hour! 

Cahill's Lookout was the last stop in the West of Blue Mountains before we headed back.

The guide dropped us off the ferry station Olympic Park and so we took the 45 minute ride back to Circular Quay, which gave us a beautiful sunset view on the city skyline, harbour bridge and the opera house.

The best combination in a city is to go jogging and at the same time see different places. So this morning I took my running shoes and stepped outside. With the first breath through the nose you could smell something burned, with the second and more breaths through the mouth the air gave me a little sting in my throat. The wind had carried the smoke of the bush fires to Sydney town. The whole air was foggy and misty, sun could hardly fight through.
Anyway I ran and discovered soon in Hyde Park, that trees helped...in Botanical Garden I almost didn't feel the smokey air. Only the view to the opera house confirmed what was going on.

After half an hour on my way back I sat on a bench in Hyde Park to enjoy a long phone call with a special person back home.
By nine o'clock I had to be back for breakfast and check out. My last "to do" was the free walking tour, I wanted to join and it was supposed to start at 10:30am at Town Hall.

Since the tour stopped at several places and I am not very good at remembering historical details, I just picked up some information on the places I took pictures of.

Since Sydney is only a little over 200 years old and inhabited mostly by convicts brought from the UK, it sometimes feels like yesterday compared to European history.

Where the Town Hall stands now, there used to be a cemetary, which they have moved to outside the city center.

Queen Victoria Building, mainly shopping center with access to more stores in der underground...connected to many more underground shopping areas or simply walkways.

St. Marys Cathedral, that took over 130 years to build.

Lucky pig that brings luck and donations go to the hospital in front of which this statue is standing.

Piece of art: since many birds needed to be relocated because of the buildings here instead of trees, the cages symbolize the birds, their species written on the floor and the sounds from speakers on the wall...different ones day and night.

The Rocks, Sydney's oldest part with its first building, a cottage from 1816.