24.01.2020 - Day 29 - Sydney, Australia

This morning we weren't woken up by a cruise ship (although an even bigger ship than yesterday arrived at 6am sharp), but rather there was a smell in the air as if the whole of Sydney was having a bonfire 🔥. Unfortunately, yesterday's heat combined with the strong wind has reignited the devastating bushfires and they are now heading towards the coast. This morning, not only could we smell it strongly, but we could also see it in the haze that hung over the city. Fortunately, it rained during the morning, so the smoke quickly dissipated.

And that was a good thing because we had booked a private tour of the Australian section of Taronga Zoo. So, at around 9:30 we took the ferry and shortly after 10am, Vanessa, one of the zoo guides, took us to see the Australian animals and areas that regular zoo visitors cannot access. Like getting up close to the koalas 🐨 or to the very rare Australian echidnas. We spent a total of 5 hours at the zoo and it was simply amazing 😀.

In the evening, we went to The Rocks, the trendy neighborhood right by our hotel, where you can find numerous hip restaurants and cocktail bars as well as small shops and galleries. We were drawn to a nice Italian restaurant, where we enjoyed ourselves with live music and good food.