Day 16: Sydney - Part 2!

July 7, 2018

Looking out the window, we can see that there is no new cruise ship. The weather has cooled down - which was expected for the Australian winter... But it's not raining! Yay! Today, the sun is shining with temperatures between 16-18 degrees Celsius. Yesterday, it was 26 degrees, feeling like 30 degrees in the sun.
We decide to dress in layers - long pants, fleece jackets, and rain jackets.

Yesterday, we were trying to decide what to do. Manly Beach was on the itinerary. With a heavy heart, we decided against Bondi Beach. It just didn't fit into our schedule, so Manly Beach will have to do today.

Yesterday, we bought a combination ticket for the express ferry + Taronga Zoo + Manly Beach. I didn't really plan on going to the zoo, but who can say no to the kids' request!? And since the zoo is on the way, we might as well visit it.

After breakfast, we take the fast ferry to the other side of the bay to Taronga Zoo.

We take the gondola up to the top of the hill. The zoo is well laid out, and we can walk down the entire way while visiting all the different zoo sections.

We are particularly captivated by the little baby elephant, who is enjoying a bath and getting sprayed with a garden hose. So adorable!

We end up staying an hour longer than planned at the zoo, and leave around 2 PM heading towards Manly Beach by ferry.

Unfortunately, the sky becomes cloudy and it starts raining when we arrive at Manly Beach.
We decide to have lunch directly at Manly Wharf and wait to see how the weather develops. It turns out to be a good decision. While we enjoy a cozy meal indoors, it pours outside. But just as quickly, the bad weather cloud disappears and we walk under partly cloudy skies - with even a few rays of sunshine - along the pedestrian zone to Manly Beach.
It's really nice here! The beach is bustling. Nobody here seems to know about bad weather. Surfers are in the water, beach volleyball is being played, and a few tourists even dare to take a dip in the cool water.

In the late afternoon, we walk back through the pedestrian zone and find a store with very funny hoodies with a special slogan!
Oh, someone in Asia wasn't paying attention *lol*.
We treat ourselves to the fun and buy a special hoodie for 10 AUD.

Find the mistake:

On the way back, we decide to go to Darling Harbour. It's already dark and quite cool, and I'm alone on the upper deck.

We go under the Harbour Bridge to the Darling Harbour entertainment district.

We stroll past the restaurants and get a brief overview, but the kids announce that they're hungry and tired.

We make a pit stop at Subway for dinner, which we enjoy in our hotel room tonight. The walk back to the hotel seems endless, but eventually we make it, eat our sandwiches, and fall into bed. Tomorrow, it's time to say "Bye Bye Sydney".


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

(Update: The hotel is no longer part of the Holiday Inn group; it is now called Rydges Sydney Harbour)

Cost: 259 € / night in a queen-size room with breakfast
Distance traveled: 0 km
Animal sightings: lots of zoo animals and a little baby elephant
Weather: sunny - cloudy and rainy with temperatures of 14-18 degrees Celsius
Conclusion: "Down Under" is simply amazing!