Bex Takes On…Sydney

Flying into Sydney felt so surreal. I just couldn’t believe that I was on the other side of the world, in a place I had only ever seen on TV and in films. It actually exists!

I landed early, so I dropped my rucksack at the hostel and went in search of food and a shopping mall. There was a small cafe next to my hostel where I had the most amazing avocado on toast.

That evening I met my new tour group and leader. I’d made some good friends in my first group and was feeling a bit apprehensive about meeting new people. Turns out I need not of worried as they were all awesome. There were 25 of us to start with. Quite a few people from the UK, but also people from Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, USA, Canada and Australia.

Our first trip the following day was to the Blue Mountains. We clambered onto the coach bright and early. We immediately took our tour manager by surprise as we all sat in pairs at the front of the coach…a good sign we were all going to get on well! She’s never had a group who didn’t all try to sit separately and rush to the back of the bus.

Our first stop was Wentworth Falls, which was gushing with water. Sydney has just had several days of heavy rain and as a result some of the footpaths were flooded. Our tour manager explained that she had never seen so much water there before!

When we first arrived at the Three Sisters the cloud was too low to see anything so we headed to a nearby town to grab some lunch and then headed back. Luckily the cloud lifted in time for us to get some decent photos before building up again.

The next day our tour manager gave us a walking tour of the city, ending at Bondi Beach. We saw the ANZAC memorial, botanical gardens, Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge…to name just a few sights!

The tour finished at Bondi beach, where we had fish and chips for lunch. It was raining a little when we first arrived but as we finished eating the sun came out. We spent some time on the beach, jumping in the waves and watching people surf, before heading back to get ready to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge!

Climbing during the sunset was absolutely stunning. The views were unbelievable. The walk itself is not strenuous and the whole group was in such high spirits. From about halfway up we were singing all the way! I’m pretty sure our climb leader was not quite sure what he’d let himself in for with us lot. Another bucket list item ticked off!

Our final day in Sydney was spent at Manly beach (following a recommendation from our Harbour Bridge climb leader). It was a beautiful beach, bathed in glorious sunshine, and we headed straight for the ocean. We were having fun jumping through the waves, keeping hold of our bikinis, when a big wave surprised me from behind and knocked my (PRESCRIPTION!!) sunglasses off my head. Lost forever to the South Pacific Ocean. I’d got away with keeping them on when swimming in Byron but I guess my luck had run out.

Having finally accepted the loss of my sunglasses, we left Manly that afternoon to freshen up for the sunset cruise around Sydney Harbour before heading for dinner and drinks near the hostel.

I loved my time in Sydney. It lived up to all my expectations and more. What a great start to the Australian leg of my trip!