Sydney

New Years Eve
and Sydney

Sydney is truly a world class city. The city is host to a wealth of cultural treats, architectural marvels, and beautiful beaches. It feels amazingly friendly and safe considering its population of 4.2 million [LEFT: Mike overlooking the Opera House and Harbor Bridge]. It is just alive with energy and seems to have great depth of character. What better place to celebrate the dawning of a New Year than Sydney?

We touched town in Sydney just 2 days before New Years Eve and the city was absolutely a buzz with anticipation for the coming celebration. Everywhere you looked there were advertisements for hopping jazzed up New Years Eve parties. Tourists and locals alike we out milling around the city in mass quantities. The vibe was great.

The accommodations we booked online for Sydney put us in the Kings Cross district, which we discovered was effectively the red light district in town. We stayed in the Sydney Star Accommodation hostel. It was a total dive, but for only $25 AU each a night we got a two bed room with a TV, a kitchenette, and a non-functional fireplace. The reasonably central location also made it a good base for exploring the city, but that would come after the party.

For the New Years Eve spectacular we went down to Mrs Macquaries Point for a view of the Harbor Bridge with the Opera House in front of it. We had checked it out the day before, but when we got down to the park on the 31st we found an astonishing line of people waiting to get in. At its peak the line was around 1.4 km long. It ended up taking us 2 hours and 45 minutes to get in. Despite our distance back in line we managed to secure a excellent vantage point for the fireworks right out near the very end of the point with an unobstructed view of the Harbor Bridge.

We just sat around, ate, drank, and waited all day in the park for the show to begin some 7 hours later [ABOVE: View of downtown Sydney before the celebration]. The festivities started with the 9:00 pm Family Fireworks which were followed by a lighted boat parade [BELOW TOP: Fireworks over the harbor]. Both were cool, but then we had to wait again for another couple hours before the real show started.

Seconds before midnight a giant screen by the bridge flashed the number ten. Then in unison (or at least as close as several thousand people can get to it) the crowd belted out, "9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1... Happy New Year!!!" Suddenly the air filled with the reverberance of revelers cries and the Harbor Bridge exploded in the light of bright white fireworks fired from its upper arches [ABOVE MIDDLE: Fireworks over the bridge, photo by Mark Baker AP; ABOVE BOTTOM: More fireworks, photo by Unknown].

Then for the next 15 minutes the fireworks display alternated from shooting off the bridge, to blasting off the numerous fireworks barges in the river, to launching from the building tops downtown, to doing all of them in unison. Each one individually was not as impressive as Seattle on the 4th of July, but the combined effect of all of them together was one of a kind. It was a real visual treat of pyrotechnics. My favorites by far though were the ones launched from the Harbor Bridge. The glowing bridge with the illuminated sea of yachts in the foreground just made for a magical scene.

So begins 2007, and if it was any hint to how the rest of the year will go then I will be in for one amazing ride [ABOVE: Sunrise on 2007]. One of my resolution this year was to live life to the fullest. I feel confident that I am doing that right now, and that feels great.

After we recovered from the festivities, Mike and I set about spending the next week exploring the diverse city. Sydney is a vibrant city. Unlike the cities in New Zealand, which have a slight feel of being dominated by tourism and thus feel somewhat artificial; Sydney feels like a real living breathing city. Walking around you can just tell that the whole place is humming with business, industry, and people. There certainly is a good deal of tourism also. But, walking down the street in Sydney you feel small in the shadow of the great things all around you instead of large and in spotlight for being a tourist.

During our time in Sydney Mike and I visited the Powerhouse Museum, the Australia Museum, Darling Harbor, the astounding Botanical Gardens (which were alive with numerous birds and Flying Foxes), and Bondi Beach for some epic people watching. Then on my own I also visited the Aquarium, Wildlife World [ABOVE TOP RIGHT: A Koala taking a nap], the Sydney Tower, the soaring Harbor Bridge [BELOW: The Harbor Bridge], and the Sydney Opera House. The opera house was just as beautiful as it always looks in every picture ever taken of it [ABOVE BOTTOM LEFT: Glistening roof of the Opera House; ABOVE BOTTOM RIGHT: Me in front of the Opera House]. It really is a majestic feat of architecture.

Sydney was without question my favorite city so far on the trip and I have no doubt that I will return some day. It is like Seattle pumped up on sunlight and happiness.

As always,
-Russ

[Pictures from SYDNEY]