Day 15: Fascination Sydney!

July 6, 2018

I wake up on time at 7:30 am, before the alarm clock.

Today is the big day: we're exploring Sydney!

Everyone has probably had a certain place in mind as a child that they never thought they would actually visit. For me, it was Sydney. I had never really thought about it, but somehow it was clear that whenever the Opera House appeared on TV or in travel magazines: I want to go there someday! Especially since the 2000 Olympic Games, which I watched with great fascination in the middle of the night, it was clear to me:
I have to go there someday - even though I probably will never make it to faraway Australia...

Well, who would have thought - now I'm actually here! Wow!!!
A look at the weather app makes my heart skip a beat:

Sunny and 26 degrees! Yay!! And in winter! We are currently at the southernmost point of our trip, and therefore the point where I expected to have the worst weather.

Actually, the umbrellas, rain jackets, and thick fleece jackets that we used on the "deceptive Sunshine Coast" were intended for Sydney. Hard to believe, but today begs for a T-shirt and shorts! Yes!!!

I look out the window at the brick building opposite and am confused: why are there so many people walking on the roof of the brick building??? My eyes are still tired at this early hour :-) On closer inspection, I see that a huge cruise ship seems to have docked in the early morning hours, and what I see are the upper decks with terraces, chimneys, and... water slides!? Crazy!

The kids immediately jump out of bed with curiosity and we admire this huge ship, of which we only see the upper part. Well, we'll be curious to see what it looks like from up close when we go to the harbor later.

Shortly afterwards, we sit down at the breakfast buffet. Yummy! It will remain the most varied and delicious breakfast of our vacation (we don't know that yet...).
The kids' favorite is, of course, the good old Nutella, which is available here in large quantities in small plastic jars. Plus everything the heart desires. From self-made scrambled eggs, to rolls, sausage, cheese, various baked goods, brownies, muffins, cakes, meat, pasta salads, fruits, and a fruit press that my son immediately takes over and mixes his own (strange) drinks from melons, apples, cucumbers (!), and more. Well, enjoy! (He drank them all...!)

After breakfast, we take a walk to the Sydney Observatory and enjoy the view of the Harbour Bridge, which we will then "climb" next.

There is a lot of construction on the bridge, so it is quite crowded on the walkway, and I wonder about the many joggers who are here on the bridge amidst the noise of construction and traffic.

In the middle of the bridge, we take the obligatory photos of the harbor and opera house, and then we walk back towards the harbor.

Here we can get a close look at the cruise ship "PACIFIC EXPLORER".

Wow, what a huge ship!!! The last time we saw a cruiser was at Easter in Hamburg, but compared to the Pacific Explorer, the Albatross was just a small excursion boat. Unfortunately, the new AIDA was not in the Hamburg harbor when we were there. It is supposed to be even bigger...

Hard to believe...
While the kids are fascinated by the water slides, I am filled with horror at the thought of being confined in close quarters with 2000 people... and on the water no less...
No, that doesn't fit my idea of a vacation ;-)

We walk along the harbor, then take an elevator up and continue to the Botanical Garden. We would have liked to take a walk here, but time is running out because we have booked a German opera tour at 11 am and we still have to pick up our tickets.

So we go for a short visit to the Botanical Garden and then directly to the opera house. It's busy here!!! A huge Asian tour group has just arrived in front of us with two "mini trains", and now a group photo with the opera house in the background is being taken.

We squeeze past the crowds and climb the stairs to the opera house. Next to us, a wedding couple is being photographed, also Asians, in a wedding dress and suit. Well, the backdrop is really cool for a wedding photo!

We learn that we have to go back downstairs for the tour and take the escalator down. We have to leave our backpacks behind, and then a short time later, our small German group starts the tour. Our tour guide is brimming with enthusiasm and tells us everything about the opera, asks riddles, and loudly celebrates when someone actually knows the answer. A very lively German lady - but we're having fun ;-)

The tour starts with the lower, smaller opera halls. Since there is a concert going on in the largest hall at the same time, we cannot visit it. But our tour guide has a special "treat" for us - we get to go backstage and see behind the scenes of the opera. I personally find that even more interesting than looking at an opera hall.

Unfortunately, it is strictly forbidden to take backstage photos or videos, so I can only tell you that we got to experience the bustling activity behind the scenes. The many sets that were set up there were particularly exciting. Some were entire house facades, several meters high, which were then hoisted onto or off the stage by a giant elevator. Mega exciting!!!

We continue to the smaller performance halls upstairs, where we take a closer look at the corridors, architecture of the building, and the external views and roof tiles.

The tour ends after about 1.5 hours, 30 minutes longer than planned, but now hurry!!! After all, we want to board our whale watching boat at Circular Pier #6 at 1:15 pm.

Before that, we grab some food at Subway and sit on a bench at the pier to eat our lunch while waiting for the boat. At the same time, I take a few swigs from the VOMEX bottle. I don't want to get seasick - but now I'm also afraid of falling asleep, as Vomex is known to make you tired. But oh well - better tired than vomiting over the railing!
So far, the weather is fantastic, 26 degrees, and it feels even warmer in the sun. However, the wind is starting to pick up, which I don't like at all, because apart from the fact that the wind quickly lowers the perceived temperature, it also creates waves...

And waves make me seasick...
As mentioned before, I am not at all sea-worthy, even pedal boats on the sea give me problems. I recall with horror ferry rides in the Mediterranean or through the English Channel - I just sat there clutching a sick bag for hours, curled up somewhere on the sofa, and longed for the end of the crossing. So: I already have a stomachache now when I think about having to go on a ship...

As the whale watching boat enters the harbor, I am somewhat relieved: the "boat" is really spacious and by no means a small "dinghy" like the ones we saw in Canada.
The captain gives his standard speech and casually mentions that the wind will pick up and we will have quite some waves once we leave Sydney Harbour. Oh God... No!!! I briefly consider backing out, but I was so looking forward to seeing whales... so on the boat we go!

As we sail towards the open sea, I down half a bottle of Vomex - better safe than sorry...
On deck, it is sunny but incredibly windy. Already when we leave the harbor, we see whales jumping out of the water in the distance! Wow!! Yay, we actually see whales!

The boat follows two "small" humpback whales for a while (which seem huge to me!), enchanting us with their jumping skills, until they dive more and more frequently and no longer want to jump. Maybe it's also because of the other 3 (!) whale watching boats that are surrounding the whales from left and right. These inflatable boats drive almost up to the whales, or that's what it looks like from our huge boat. I find that stupid...
But well, the screeching and cheering of the people in the inflatable boat when they get wet from the whale's jump next to the boat speaks volumes.

I'm glad I have my telephoto lens and can watch the gentle giants from a safe distance.

We turn around and leave the whales to the small boats. A short time later, we encounter another small humpback whale, which is definitely not lazy when it comes to jumping and constantly leaps out of the water like a little puppy, clapping its fins on the sea and only briefly diving. It's so cool, I'm totally thrilled!

However, taking photos is a real challenge as the boat is rocking strongly and the wind and waves have picked up significantly. Fortunately, I am not feeling sick.
The 2 hours on the sea fly by, and we slowly head back, but we make a stop at a cliff where a colony of sea lions resides. There is even a very small juvenile that jumps into the water to the thunderous applause of our whale-watching group, followed by mom seal.

After 3 hours, we return to the harbor, but we cannot dock at Circular Pier #6 because the "Pacific Explorer" is being towed out.

Hey, what luck! Now we can watch in peace as the giant ship is towed out of the harbor by a small boat, with pilot boats beside it. On deck, it's chaos! Now my son is in his element and waves back eagerly as the giant vessel slowly passes by us.

As soon as I have solid ground under my feet again, my body demands an espresso - maybe better two!? - I am sooooo tired and can hardly keep my eyes open. The half bottle of Vomex is finally taking effect...
But it's not just me who is tired, the kids are also complaining about fatigue and tired legs. So we go back to our hotel and decide to spend the time before dinner on our hotel rooftop. While I send greetings home with my daughter using my laptop and phone, my men relax in the rooftop whirlpool - with a view of the opera house! So if this isn't a perfect day, what is?

My son can't resist and has to jump into the hotel pool every now and then... But at 18 degrees in the evening, it's quite cold in the pool, so he prefers the whirlpool.
Later, refreshed, we go for dinner at the Italian restaurant across the street, then we fall into bed around 10 pm. I haven't been this tired in a long time!



For the statistics:
Hotel: Holiday Inn Old Harbour, Sydney

(Update: The hotel no longer belongs to the Holiday Inn group, it is now called Rydges Sydney Harbour)

Costs: 259 € / night in a queen-size room with breakfast
Miles traveled: 0 km
Animal sightings: humpback whales, sea lions
Weather: sunny with 26 degrees
Conclusion: Who sees the biggest whale???