Use the Sydney Harbour - Manly ferry (a commuter route) as a means of seeing the best of Sydney harbour and north shore. It's much cheaper than the tourist trips and lasts longer!

Sydney Harbour

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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.

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Spend an hour or two soaking up the sights and sounds of Sydney by taking a trip on a ferry. It doesn't matter if you don't get off and simply return to Circular Quay.

You'll begin to appreciate the beauty of the world's largest natural harbour, see some amazing sights, properties, even more amazing boats and yachts, and might even end up somewhere interesting.

Ferries run from Circular Quay over to Manly, Rose Bay, Watson's Bay, and through the inner harbour all the way upp to Parramatta.

www.sydneyferries.info/

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In the most multicultural Australian city, Western Sydney is a sprawling, flat hinterland where this migrant diversity comes most to the fore. From Southern Europeans to Chinese to Latin Americans. And of course Middle Easterners: the second most spoken language in Sydney is Arabic. What looks like ugly, architecturally bland and often down at heel suburbia is actually an amazing mosaic of 'uprooted' peoples.

Driving through these suburbs (Cabramatta, Bankstown etc), hanging out in their shopping malls or any of the large communtiy clubs (glorified casinos and concert venues set up by football, migrant or union groups) you'll experience an important aspect of Sydney's heartland that goes against the Anglo stereotype. A subtle pleasure - if not that obvious at first...

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Wonderful tours available around the harbour complete with a jolly good lunch. Suitable for the infirm and elderly, and the lazy!

Ferry terminal at Circular Quay

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