City Tour of Sydney

Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge

Yesterday, we had a relaxing morning, slept in till 7:30, breakfast, a walk along the shoreline, and then headed to the airport for a 1:00 flight. We had a great lunch on our Quantas flight, chicken salad, chocolate, and an ice cream bar. Arriving about 5:00, we had a pub dinner at a nearby restaurant to our hotel, the Sydney Boulevard Hotel.

Today, we packed in a full day during our city tour. The bus took us to a great viewpoint of the Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge. We walked to Mrs. Macquarie’s chair, where it is rumored the first governor’s wife would observe the harbor. Then we started tour around Sydney harbor by bus: Rose Bay, Watson’s Bay, the entrance to the harbor, and Bondi beach, learning the history of Sydney as we toured. The tour ended at the Circular Quay (pronounced kee) where the ferries leave for all points around the harbor. In January, 1788 Captain Phillip and his 11 ships and convicts arrived in Botany Bay. This Bay had been recommended by Joseph Banks, the botanist on the Endeavor under James Cook. But lack of water, had him move to Sydney harbor nearby. This is also where the first settlement was created. Over time, 22000 prisoners were transported here in 806 ships. After almost starving because of lack of good soil near the shore, the colony began to flourish. Governor Macquarie (1810-21) took it upon himself to turn Sydney from a prison colony into an attractive community with churches, hospitals, and barracks. Free settlers began arriving as good farm land was found closer to the Blue Mountains while the convicts provided free labor. Today the city has over 5 million inhabitants.

The Endeavor

After lunch we took the Sydney Harbor cruise, getting a view from the water of many of the bays we had seen earlier that day. Of course, the Opera house and Harbor Bridge were quite recognizable. But we also saw Kirribilli House, where the prime minister lives, the Admiralty House the official residence of the Governor General and a replica of the Endeavor. After our cruise, we visited the Opera House. Jorn Utzon won the 1957 design competition, but it took until 1973 to complete the building. Part of the problem was that he hadn’t worked with an engineer to determine whether his design could actually be built. They eventually found that by making the shells a section of a sphere, it could be built, but it took over 10,000 laborers to complete. Inside our 5 theaters and underneath is a 13 story car park. The main auditorium was quite spectacular and we got to hear part of the orchestra’s practice for a concert of David Bowie music coming next week at part of the Vivid Sydney celebration. The highlight of the day, however, was exiting the auditorium with a Princess ship exiting the harbor in a gorgeous sunset. 

Sunset in Sydney