Arriving at Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport was a breeze, a flight directly over the city arriving just under 2 hours after leaving Hobart (Tasmania).
A calmness evaporated as we got into the baggage reclaim area, lots of confused travellers searching for their luggage, the overhead screens informing which belt would be having bags arrive from which flight, was not tying up with the bags on the carousels.
Our flight had baggage arrive on two different belts, once we and our fellow passengers had worked this out, it was a walk back and forth between each belt until you spotted your belongings.
It seemed quite a long time waiting and walking in a state of perplexion, thoughts of secret cameras in action, or maybe someone was having a bad day and messing with the IT, or perhaps it was just common practice as no one in authority seemed fussed or interested.
The step count was getting high as we eventually became reunited with our luggage.
Getting the airport train to the city centre was more staightforward, just 30 minutes later we were standing outside Wynyard Station.
Wynyard Station in the centre of the city was build in 1932 to coincide with the the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, many expansions and refurbishments later its a subteranean land of shops, escalators and walkways, and 12 exits!
Taking an educated guess for one of the exits (not the best exit choice as we later found out), we took a little walk around the area before finding our Air BnB accomodation on floor 9 of a large modern apartment block in the CBD.
Our place was just a 5 minute walk from Darling Harbour in one direction and a 5 minute walk to the main shopping street of George Street and the QVB (Queen Victoria Building) in the opposite direction.
At Darling Harbour we discovered an area that had changed quite a bit since our last visit in 2006, now much busier and lots of architect proud high rise buildings occupying space that did not seem to be there previously.
Familiarity came back with the gold and green Sydney Harbour Ferry, so off we went embarking at Darling Habour en route to the central ferry stop at Circular Quay, passing under the Sydney Harbour Bridge with the flag of Australia and the Aborignial flag flying side by side, before rounding the corner into the quay beside the iconic Sydney Opera House.
For the time of year, the weather was glorious, a lovely hot and sunny day requiring a refreshment, choosing a place for a beer at one of the many bars and restaurants surrounding the quay was the hardest part as there was so many great options to choose from.
Settling into one by the waterside, we just sat there admiring the harbour views and watching the world go by for a while, with groups of people walking up the arch of the bridge to the flags at the top, our attention drawn to the huge 309m long cruise ship (Celebrity Edge) moored up near the ferry terminal, indicating signs it was about to depart port.
Two tugs and a pilot boat in position, the smoke from the funnels signalling the intention just before 3 huge horn blasts indicating the boat was about to move backwards out of its tight dock space, one tug pulling, the other keeping a tight line at the other end, offering some control to help avoid any mishaps.
The sight of such a large vessel reverse out into the wider bay and towards the harbour bridge was fascinating, many ferrys continuing to zip past in the narrowed channel next to a moving mega boat, I suspect just trying to keep to their timetable..... guessing the radio chatter between some captains and the pilot boat may have become a little fruity!
The next morning we were up and out early, back up to Wynyard to catch a train to the suburban area of Quakers Hill about 45 minutes away, to meet up with my old colleague and friend Duncan (who had graciously taken the day off work to spend it with a couple of tourists). We last met up with the very lovely Duncan in Melbourne.
This was our second drive as "Tourists in a Tesla", with Duncan's comfortable and zippy Model Y, our chariot for the day.
Duncan being in Oz for over 20 years, knows some great places to visit, and we were not disappointed with brunch at Cottage Point Cafe and Boatshed, a lovely cafe in the tranquil waterfront bushland of Ku-Ring-Gai National Park, north of the city.
Our next stop was a walk around the most northern part of the National Park, stopping at the top of the hill at West Head Lookout, with its great scenic views over the bay to the spit that homes Barrenjoey Lighthouse and Summer Bay, where tv's Home and Away is filmed.
We were also treated to a Kookaburra having a sing song and some giant lizards just pottering around.
Heading south, we parked up at Bondi Beach and took the Bondi to Bronte coastal walk around the bay, passing the very trendy Icebergs Pool, with a couple of open air pools right by the ocean, as well as the surf patrol beaches of Bondi, Squid Bay, Tamarama Bay and Bronte Beach.
The coastal round trip stroll took us back to Bondi, before heading off to Duncan's house in the north west of the city, on the drive the conversation took to rowing and wine!!
Duncan is a rower (Leander - for those in the know) as was his late wife Beryl, and late brother Russell, with Beryl a 3 time Olympian and world champion, Russell winning the Oxbridge Boat race twice, once when the Cambridge boat famously sank!
The hallway of his house celebrates both rowers success in their sport, fortuitously the wall length of the hall is just long enough to have 2 set of oars hung lengthways, along with other rowing items of great interest.
Choices in Duncan's extensive wine selection were outstanding, our first time trying a sparkling Shiraz (Romalo) aka a very lovely smooth tipple of red fizzy wine, sadly only available in Australia. Our evening concluded with dinner at a local Thai restaurant before waving Duncan goodbye, Jo and I headed back into the city. [What a lovely day - Thank you Duncan for being a fabulous host - and we hope to see you again when next back in the UK].
Our last full day in Sydney started with a walk downtown and using the new tram system towards chinatown, our pottering took us around the busy shopping areas on George Street, and came across Paddy's Market a large indoor market hall selling everything from fruit and veg to t shirts and souvenirs, the queues at stalls offering full costumes with accessories for the forthcoming Mardi Gras the most popular (we missed MG by 2 days).
Lunch took us to the Rocks (a neighbourhood of historic lanes in the shadow on Sydney Harbour Bridge) where some of Sydney's oldest pubs are located, one of which is the Harbour View Hotel with its roof garden giving great views of the groups of walkers coming back from climbing the bridge.
This was a blast from the past, having had dinner in the same place 18 years previously after also finishing walking the bridge,,, this time we were happy to kick back with a cocktail to watch the world go by.
A trip to the Rocks was not complete without a visit to the Ken Done Gallery, an artist that has been a favourite for many years, especially with his take on iconic Sydney scapes.
Another hot day, so a trip out on the water towards the Heads by the gold and green ferry seemed a great idea, cooling and a boat trip in the sunshine, this time we would head for Watsons Bay, a 30 minute trip with a few commuter stops along the way,
Watsons Bay at the tip of the south head of the peninsula, is a pretty seaside enclave, sandy beach and upmarket restaurants, including the famous chippy "Doyles", a short walk takes you over the Head to look out to the Pacific Ocean.
On our return, it was late afternoon, so we opted on another ferry trip this time over to Mosman Bay, (close to Taronga Zoo) opposite Circular Quay.
Mosman Bay (named after Archibald Mosman, originally from Lesmahagow Scotland, built up the land through his whaling business in the 1830's) and is now an upmarket suburb maintaining strong Scottish links, demonstrated in Rawson Park where there is the "Scottish Australia Cairn" comprising of a stone sourced from every parish in Scotland, and gifted to Australia for their bicentennial celebrations in 1988, as a memorial for the contribution by Scottish pioneers, Mosman also holds an annual Highland Games in November!!
Back over the other side of the harbour, we took a stroll around the Opera House, with its world famous petalled domes, a large bull seal using the steps to chill out of the water, perhaps watching as we were, another cruise ship leave the harbour, this time it was the elegant Queen Mary.
The bars around the Opera House alive with people enjoying a late afternoon sundowner, as were we, the Gull Patrol Dog on full alert (a collie dog in a uniformed coat) the official Opera House gull chaser, any gull brave enough to land near the eateries was enthusiastically chased away by the professional canine.
Joining us in our table by the waterside was Ken, who I've known for over 30 years, having both worked for Dunfermline then different councils in Surrey. Ken was over visiting his son, daughter in law and new grand daughter.
We spend a few more hours over drinks with lots of chat and laughs, topped off by an impromptu fireworks display at the opera house, our seats giving us a splendid view of the pyrotechnics.
Our last morning was bag packing, and breakfast at Darling Harbour then it was off to the airport for our flight to Singapore.
Sydney - you'll always be a great city, the culture, the weather, the scenery, one day - we hope to return.
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