Sydney, Australia

Day 1

We set the alarm for 6:00 a.m. so we could be up and out on deck as we entered Sydney Harbor. The captain had the crew open the bow of the ship so the passengers could be right at the front of the ship as we entered the harbor. The open deck was a bit blustery, but it provided us with a terrific viewpoint. When asked what their favorite port is to sail into, many ship’s captains will say Sydney Harbor.

We could well understand the selection of Sydney Harbor. Even in the early morning mist, the view was spectacular. The homes and buildings that are along the harbor make for a picturesque setting, but add in the Sydney Opera House and the Harbor Bridge, and you have one fabulous setting.

Sydney Harbor Early Morning

With all that Sydney had to offer, the thing we were most excited about was seeing our friend of over 40 years, Sylvia Barrett. We have known Sylvia since we lived in England and John served with her husband Keith in the Royal Navy. Sadly, Keith was killed in an accident, and Sylvia (at age 30) took a job in Australia and stayed there. So we don’t get to see her very often.

Sylvia is the best-selling author of the book, A New Perspective on Wellness, which recently was number one for four straight days on Amazon Kindle’s health category. We know how hard she worked on this book, so we are just thrilled for her. Sylvia addresses the issue of the mind/body relationship and how it affects health. It’s an excellent book and well worth reading.

Sylvia Barrett

Another cruise ship was docked at Circular Quay next to the Overseas Passenger Terminal, so we anchored in Sydney Cove, opposite the Sydney Opera House. It felt like we were sitting right in the middle of the harbor. We would be spending the night there and move to the Circular Quay dock early the next morning when the other ship sailed.  As a result, we had to take a tender to shore, landing at the Man of War Steps next to the Opera House.  

Sylvia was there to meet us and we had a lovely reunion. We found a coffee shop and spent time there catching up on the eight years since we had last been together.

The area we were in is known as The Rocks, the oldest and most historic section of Sydney. We wandered through The Rocks Market, which is open on the weekends, and the side streets, stopping to see the Hero of Waterloo pub, one of the oldest in Sydney. The Rocks area must be a favorite place for weddings because we saw several that afternoon.

We stopped at Swagman’s Post Courtyard Café in the market area to have lunch. It was a pleasant courtyard with tall trees that provided welcomed shade. It was a hot day and the sun was intense. The coffee there was delicious.

The one place I was really interested in seeing while in Sydney was the nearby Sydney Observatory. Since Sylvia had never been there, even after all her years of living in Sydney, we climbed Observatory Hill to check it out. A ball at the top of the observatory drops each day at 1:00 p.m. We arrived there shortly before one and got to see it drop. If you turned away for even a second, you’d miss it.

Sydney Observatory

The inside of the observatory houses the Sydney Museum of Astronomy. We toured the exhibits and then bought tickets to view a video and tour of the observation dome and telescope. One of the volunteers took us to see a 3-D film about the stars, and because it was hazy that day and we might not get to see anything from the telescope, the volunteer showed us another video about the transit of Venus. Our volunteer had a PhD in astrophysics. He said that he volunteered at the observatory on the weekends to stay in touch with the more interesting things about space. I guess his daytime job was a bit more mundane. He said he had wanted to become an astronaut but was three inches too tall. Since Sylvia and I were the only two on our tour, we got to ask him lots of questions. I think he was pleased that we had such interest in the stars, planets, and space.

After the films, he took us up several flights of steps to the observatory and the telescope. He opened the domed roof of the observatory, which was like something right out of a movie, adjusted a huge telescope, and let us look through the lens. We got a clear view of the sun and actually saw sunspots.

The observatory was a real hit, and I highly recommend stopping there. It was only a short walk from the harbor. Since we haven’t been able to get a very clear view of the stars during our voyage, I really enjoyed the videos. The observatory is only open at night on certain days, so we weren’t able to see the stars, which would have been a real treat.

Sydney Harbor is immense and the coastline weaves in and out of small communities around it. Large and small ferries go in and out of Circular Quay quite frequently, and we watched them in fascination. People catch boats and catamarans of various sizes close to their homes and ferry into the business center of Sydney. It all operated so smoothly. On our last visit, we spent the night with Sylvia at her home, and she had arranged for us to travel back to downtown Sydney by water taxi. It picked us up at the end of her street and dropped us right at the Man of War Steps next to the Opera House. It was such a unique experience. 

On The Rocks, we were right in the shadow of the Harbor Bridge, so we climbed the many steps to get to the pedestrian walkway of the bridge. From there we had a stunning view of the harbor and Opera House. We also watched the brave (or should I say “crazy”) people who were climbing the arch over the bridge. It is 200 steps to the Pylon Lookout at the top. For safety, the bridge climbers are put into harnesses and then linked to the bridge as a safety measure. The bridge top is so high up we could barely see the climbers. Later that evening, we could see tiny lights carried by the climbers as they made their way over the bridge top in the dark. They had a unique viewing platform, but it makes me shudder to even think about it.

Sydney Harbor Bridge With Climbers (barely visible on top)

At dark the harbor area around the opera house really came alive and was jammed packed with people. It’s the meeting place for young people, as well as a place to have drinks before attending a performance at the Opera House. We wanted to stop for a drink and have a place to chat before we caught the tender back to the ship, but it was so crowded, we just about gave up.

Sydney Opera House

Walking past the shops along the harbor, we spotted a bar and seating area and went in. After ordering drinks, we discovered that we were in the lobby of a movie theater (that had a bar). Although there were tables and chairs outside, we learned that we had to sit in the theater lounge area to have our drinks (a licensing law for them). It ended up being a comfortable, quiet, and air-conditioned place to have a nice chat. We were still catching up with Sylvia’s publishing adventures.

After a full day in over 90F heat, we said goodnight to Sylvia, who we would see the next day, and walked back to the Opera House to catch the tender back to the ship. We were tired and thankful for the cool ride across the water back to the ship.

The end of a terrific day in Sydney with a lovely friend.