A 3rd day in this beautiful city and, although it was chilly, the sun was shining.
Here we are at Bondi Beach
We had decided that there were 2 specific things that we were going to do today – visit Bondi Beach and to go for a boat cruise to Darling Harbour. We caught the bus to the Central Railway Station where we changed to the bus which went to Bondi Beach. It was a very pretty ride and we enjoyed getting there. The beach was a beautiful place and, being a Saturday, it was crowded.
Bondi Beach
Darling Harbour – we had to wait to dock at the wharf on the right
We spent some time sitting under a gazebo just watching the people swimming, surfing and playing games. It was very relaxing. We then went for a walk along the promenade and while there received free ice lollies. Some young people had created some new flavours and wanted to try them on a number of people of various ages. I had one of Litchi and Kiwi Fruit and it was delicious. Trevor’s was Strawberry and Mango which he also really appreciated. There was a large Pavilion which had a café, office, studio and various other facilities. Fortunately it also had spotlessly clean ablution facilities. We finished the drive back to the railway station and were able to enjoy beautiful views of the city and the Harbour Bridge.
Bondi Beach grassy banks
Bondi Beach Hotel
The Pavilion
Bondi Beach RC Church
As is common with the hop on/ hop off bus companies in all the places we have travelled on them, there are extra offers and one of these is usually a cruise on the river or the bay and/or free entry to a museum or other place of interest. For example we were given free entry to the Wax Museum. When the bus arrived at the wharf we asked the guide where to board the boat and he said, “Go to Pier 6 and wait there.” This was what we did with a number of other people who were doing the same trip. There was a digital sign saying when the next Ferry would leave to various places and the one to Darling Harbour would leave in 15mins. We had no way of knowing if this was the one we would use or not. A boat came in to the Pier where we were waiting and so we all went to board. We offered our tickets from the bus as we had done previously and were told that they were not acceptable. A brash young man said that we had to go to the ticket office and get boat tickets. Why were we not told this by the Bus Company?!!
New apartments on the Waterfront beside the Pier for Ferries
Entrance to the Funfair on the Riverbank
Ferris Wheel at the Funfair
By the time we had the tickets and returned to the Pier the boat had left. It was a regular ferry which could not go out of schedule. We waited another 20mins and then boarded only to be told that being a regular ferry there would be no commentary. That was done on another boat which would be back in about a half hour but by now the boat we were on was leaving.. All this had been so disappointing and all 9 or 10 of us were rather angry and so, when we returned, we went to see the Wharf Manager. He too was not pleased with the service we had received and allowed us to go on the Tourist Ferry as well and we had a wonderful hour and learnt a lot more about Sydney.
Buildings on the river bank
A view of Sydney and the Suspension Bridge
Ticket Office and stairs to Taronga Zoo
Finally, we stopped to go up the Sydney Tower. The bus stop was quite distance from the Tower and it helped that it was so easily seen so we could continue to walk in the right direction. Before ascending the Tower we were shown a short movie on how it was constructed and it was a truly amazing feat. With a clear day we were able to see all over Sydney and the Harbour so it really was a special thing to do as our final activity in Sydney.
Sydnye Harbour from the Tower
As we had to be up extra early the next day to get a flight to Auckland we returned to our hotel without doing any more sightseeing.
