#14 New Year's Eve in Sydney

Without having planned it long in advance, we ended up being in Sydney exactly for New Year's Eve. On December 30th, 2018, we arrived at our accommodation, checked in, and went straight to the city. We had decided not to waste any time in Sydney. Everything is very expensive here, and probably even more so on New Year's Eve.

December 30th was to be used to find the perfect viewpoint for the fireworks and explore Sydney a bit. In the city, there were flyers and posters everywhere, showing the locations with the best view of the fireworks. We decided to find a place that was not marked on this map. We were told that the designated places would already be overcrowded in the morning and then closed.

For example, in front of the Botanical Garden, people had already camped a day in advance to be the first ones at 10:30 am to place their picnic blanket or camping chair and secure the best view. We didn't want to get involved in such a hassle. Additionally, even if you found a good spot, you had to defend it all day long. We wanted to spare ourselves all of that. In a residential area near "Blues Point", we found a staircase that provided the perfect view of the bridge.

So, at 5:00 pm the next day, we were sitting on the stairs. Equipped with a picnic blanket, sandwiches, chips, donuts, and alcohol. We were enjoying ourselves and couldn't believe that we were the only ones there. Although many people passed by, no one joined us. With a loud voice, I said to Meykel, "I'm going to stay here the whole evening. No matter what happens, I'm not leaving this spot!"

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Two hours later, I was standing drenched under a palm tree. What we hadn't anticipated was that it was pouring rain. We didn't have an umbrella, and there was nothing else to take shelter under. So, we only had a palm tree to at least be somewhat protected. Of course, our hair and make-up were ruined as well.

So there we were, standing under our palm tree, waiting until shortly before 9:00 pm. That's when the first fireworks took place, specifically for families with small children. Our spot on the stairs was gone, and we had to find a new spot. We found it along the train tracks in the bushes. We stood in the mud, and it was dripping from above. But none of that mattered because the view of the Harbour Bridge was perfect from there. See for yourself:

There were still three hours until the big fireworks at midnight. We spent these hours in the nearby park. Just after 11:00 pm, we had to search for a suitable viewpoint again. The spot in the bushes by the train tracks was, of course, taken. So, we had no choice but to join the hundreds of people on a bridge in the residential area. The view wasn't as good as for the family fireworks, but it was okay. The fireworks were as expected, impressive, and the biggest, most spectacular we've ever seen. The pictures and videos we took can't even come close to capturing it.

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