Sydney in 4 days

Last year I made my first ever trip to Australia. I’ve travelled to a few places yet I’d never taken the time to visit our closest neighbour and say G’day, despite it being so close and cheap to fly. After visiting I can certainly see the appeal, but I didn’t visit Sydney to see the city, I went to see Matt & Jenna (and Nathan), Sam and Jess & Sheldon – friends who have sadly left NZ and taken up various jobs in the most populated city in Australia[1].

Matt & Jenna had been offering to host me since they moved over and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I got a cheap ticket by using Wenza and decided to take on the 7kg challenge[2] and only travel with a carry on bag. I sacrificed my laptop but I had everything I needed plus some room to take over kiwi snacks. Unfortunately, a 7am flight meant a 5am check in, so I was very tired.

Day 1

I was picked up at Sydney airport by Matt & Jenna, got a Vodafone SIM for the time I’d be there and went back to their place. After planning out our itinerary for the next couple of days I promptly crashed and slept for a couple of hours. When I came back to feeling human there were sandwiches waiting for me in the kitchen. This was just the start of how well I was looked after on this trip, Matt & Jenna’s hospitality is second to none. After eating we headed out into the city.

We visited Chinatown.

Saw the fireworks.

And took in a show.

Day 2

We visited Paddy’s Market.

We got this close to being in a submarine, but it was closed for the day.

Not all was lost. I found Sam and he found beer.

Then we saw Batman in IMAX – way better than any 3D I’ve seen.

Day 3

We took the ferry from Manly to Circular Quay.

I posed like the tourist I was on the Harbour bridge.

We saw a plane that had been cut up and sent by postal mail to the US and back.

We tried out Matt’s camera remote to great success.

And before the delicious steak BBQ in the evening, we even managed to see this view.

Day 4

We visited the zoo and saw animals that entertained.

Animals that took my money.

Animals I’m glad NZ doesn’t have.

Animals that were very cute.

And we worked on Kiwi[3] & Aussie relations.

We packed heaps into the 4 days and I enjoyed myself so much I know I’ll be back. I have way too many photos and memories for a single blog post, but I’ll leave you with these suggestions:

• Travel light: Carry less weight, pay less to check a bag, spend less time packing and waiting for bags
• Stay with friends: Not only do you get to see your friends, you also get a place to sleep
• Plan rest: Don’t exhaust yourself trying to do everything on your list, it’ll keep
• Pick the cooler months: Sydney can get incredibly hot and uncomfortable for exploring if you go in the middle of summer
• Be sure to see: Darling Harbour, Chinatown, Maritime Museum, “The Local” bar (and get a tasting paddle) and the Museum of Contemporary Art

Footnotes

[1] To give that a bit of perspective, the population of New Zealand is roughly the same size as the population of Sydney (including suburbs).

[2] My backpack weighed in at 6.7kg (the scale wasn’t calibrated properly) but because you can also take a “small personal item such as a handbag” in addition to your 7kg allowance my SLR camera and bag travel too.

[3] Kiwi is my travelling companion, he has visited Hawaii, Philippines and Australia with me, sneaking into photos along the way.