- Sydney
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Australia
After living in Sydney for several months the thing I miss most about the city is the nightlife - that and the commuting across the famous harbour (ocean spray in the morning is so much better than a grungy tube).
Of all the clubs, I recommend most are Home Club and Tank for rock solid nights... whereas Pontoon is perfect for a drink on the harbour.
Finally, Sounds on Sunday at the Greenwood is essential for cool clubbers.
Take a boat trip along the harbour. You get the most spectacular views.
Laid back but stylish large multi-level bar, in Sydney CBD. Better on weekdays. Tuesday salsa night is pretty hot - great dancing guys and girls, charged and sexy.
Main bar can have occasional losers, but mostly good. Service can be tricky, but atmosphere is worth it. Upstairs, chilled-out Hemmesphere bar is about lounging, cushions, cigars, good wine, good staff - all in all a good spot. Where Sydney unwinds.
252 George Street
Sydney, NSW 2000
Telephone:
00 612 9240 3000
www.worldsbestbars.com/public/venue_listing.jsp?categoryId=46¤tVenueId=1076
This is an awesome beer that I came across in Sydney - apparently a hybrid wheat beer. And impossible to find outside of Oz. A very refreshing brew for those long afternoons on Darling Harbour.
Most gastropubs
If you are in a wheelchair visiting Sydney, getting into town is a breeze by using the subway from the airport to the centre of town.
Once downtown, buy a day or weekly pass. The rails are wheelchair friendly as are the Sydney Ferries. Using the ferries is a great way to explore the harbour and the city by getting off a various points. Some docks, like Neutral Bay, lead to steep hills up, so you may need to ask for a push, but if you smile, the Aussies will always help!
My recommendation is a visit to Manly.
North America's Disabled Adventurer.
www.bluechairbook.com
This is a wonderful intimate theatre in Kings Cross. It's the only theatre to produce all Australian work and has some of the most exciting new plays in Sydney. On Monday it has a Pay What You Can policy so anyone can afford to go.
This is a restaurant in Manly, a ferry ride away from Sydney's Circular Quay. Despite its name, and the fact that I am a vegetarian, I can definitely recommend it for meat eaters and non-meat eaters alike.
My husband - a meat eater - tells everyone he meets about the steak that he had there, whilst I - a non meat eater - can say that the meal I had there was the most generous and varied vegetarian meal I have ever tasted.
It consisted of every type of vegetable imaginable, fresh and beautifully cooked. Add to this, the fantastic view overlooking Manly Beach and the ocean and the buzzing atmosphere; yes, I would definitely cross the world to eat there again!
Manly, New South Wales - a ferry ride away from Sydney Circular Quay
Forget the east coast and especially Sydney - it is so full of people so concerned with themselves and thinking they dominate the earth's MOST desirable location. Little do they realise, it's not happening in Australia at all anymore, food for one thing, is great elsewhere in the world now (notably Europe), and the beaches in the west of Australia are far more gorgeous and inviting than anything on the east coast.
Having visited Sydney aged 15 with my family and doing all the things that a family should do when going down under - tours of the Opera House, ferry trips to Manly, relaxing on Bondi Beach, etc, I returned to Sydney determined to try out the more unusual attractions that the city has to offer which are maybe more off the beaten track from the hordes of tourists.
Of course, I did the adventurous stuff in Sydney to start with - climbing the Harbour Bridge and swinging out over 250m above the city on a glass floor on the Sydney Skywalk atop Centrepoint Tower (millions of tourists alas), but who'd have thought that just an hour away from Sydney, I could be hang-gliding over the beautiful (and devoid of tourists) cliffs of Stanwell Park, or that a couple of hours away on the train I could be racing over massive sand dunes to shipwrecks and tin cities on a quad bike at Port Stephens?
I did all this and more, in what truly was the adventure of a lifetime. Sydney is a wonderful city, and contains something for everyone. My advice - do everything - you only live once and you may only visit Australia once or twice in your lifetime. My only regret was not having the money to scuba dive with sharks at Manly Aquarium.
Check out these websites for the trip of a lifetime:
www.hanggliding.com.au
www.quadbikeking.com.au
www.bridgeclimb.com/
www.skywalk.com.au/
sharkdive.oceanworld.com.au/
I've been around the world and have had a lot of pizza, and this pizza was something else. The slice didn't sag, it was sort of in between pan and thin base. The crust was mildly crunchy with a scent of oregano and basil wafting through each crunch. The sauce was just right. The cheese was thick and plentiful, and the pizza had the 'right' amount of garlic (don't you hate overdone or underdone garlic on a pizza?). I can't wait for my next hit... it's a small shop in Harbord (behind freshwater beach). Was staying with friends in Manly, and they specifically took me there (even though Manly has a million pizza joints) and wow. What a pizza.
Shop 15, 1-3 Moore Road, Harbord 2096
Tel: 02 9938 2199
www.kokospizza.com.au
Everyone wants to complete the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb, but at $180 a pop (around £90) each, plus paying for their photographs (you are not allowed to take a camera with you) not everyone can afford it.
An equally good option, but one which is little advertised, is the Sydney Pylon Lookout. This involves climbing the interior of the concrete tower of the Harbour Bridge and is the tower nearest the Opera House.
It has three floors of exhibits and a film show but best of all, the view from the open top is only a few feet below the top of the bridge and is equally as stunning.
You can stay as long as you like and take your own photographs. And it is only $9.50 each - under a fiver!
Use the 'Bridge Stairs' from Cumberland Street in The Rocks for access.
Get your fish and chips from 'Fish at the Rocks', 29 Kent Street, then a quick climb to the Observatory garden for a stunning outlook over the Bridge. A fantastic meal. Or get a cheap early dinner at the restaurant, then go up to gaze at the stars.
29 Kent Street,
The Rocks
Cnr Argyle St
Phone: 9252 4614 Fax: 9251 4690
www.fishattherocks.com.au/
In Sydney it’s hard to imagine there’s a water shortage. This beautiful city grew up around the natural harbour of Sydney Cove and its neighbouring bays, and their sparkling blue waters are a stunning backdrop to the icons of Sydney harbour bridge and the opera house. Our first view of this well-known pair, from Mrs Macquarie’s Point is one of my five most magical memories from our adventure in Oz.
We arrived there, aboard the Sydney Explorer bus (hop-on, hop-off as many times as you want for the duration of your ticket – 3,5 or 7 days in 7) and were blown away by the view. We walked around Farm Cove on our way to a close-up of the giant sails, the botanical gardens on our left, the water to our right, the Sydney skyline in front. These were moments beyond magic.
In Sydney, get a Sydney Pass. We had unlimited travel on buses, including the two explorers (Sydney and Bondi), trains and ferries for A$110 each, allowing us to see what we wanted at our own pace.
Parsley Bay is a small, secluded beach surrounded by bush in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, on the Harbour (not the ocean).
Go there for an early morning swim (there's a wire mesh net across the mouth of the bay to keep sharks out!) then have breakfast at the cafe there. If going on weekends, get there before 9.00 or else the small car park (with its narrow, steep, one-lane driveway) is full and you have to park way up the hills on either side and walk down. As well as a beach there's a large grassy area for picnics, and a children's playground.
Other pleasant places to swim and eat in the area include Camp Cove and Nielsen Park.
There's more cafe choice at Balmoral on the north side, but weekend parking is even more impossible - get in by 8.00!
We completed the London to Sydney overland trip last year by bus that was already running before OZBus came to the sene. I was frustrated to read in all the papers that they were the first to offer this service, since we had already completed it!
It took nine months and we paid slightly less than OZBus! The OZbus website copied word for word the other company's website, I got in contact with OZBus but they never responded!
Three months is way too quick to complete this trip. To go through China has to be pre-arranged, for them to cancel that at the last minute is highly unprofessional! Be warned, try the other companies that are out there, as there are plenty of them.
During a trip to Australia in 1997, I was lucky enough to have been invited to have dinner at Doyle's on the beach in Sydney.
One of the enduring images and impressions I have of that very warm February evening, was to see the sun set over the harbour looking towards the city far away in the background.
The sun was sinking fast behind the skyscrapers - it was an amazing sight, and at that moment I had the urge to call home. I took the mobile out of my pocket, and rang to speak to my mum and brother. It was early in the morning in the UK (11 hours behind Sydney at that time of year) and I said to them, "Has the sun come up over there yet?". They replied: "Yes, just about. Why?"
My response was: "I just realised this is about the only time of the day we can see the sun at the same time from opposite sides of the world."
There's very little in this life for free and this has got to be one of the best of them. A breathtaking walk taking in some of the city's most amazing beaches.
Bring your walking shoes though, it's a good 90 minute walk along the coast so stilettos are not advisable!
Oh, and for accommodation for when you're in Sydney, look no further than www.hostelworld.com. I use it all the time and love it.
Enjoy Sydney.
A great way to see the city from the sea.
This is a great open air cafe in a quiet(ish) street off the main drag in Manly. Worth visiting on those busy summer mornings!
Darley Road, Manly
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