Suggestions on "must do" things in Sydney Australia

**holly** · August 2nd, 2012, 12:02 PM

Soooo, my sister-in-law is planning a trip to go to Sydney at the end of October. My parents are also going on this trip. She has also invited Mr. Holly & me & we will probably go.
I'm looking online trying to figure out what things I absolutely want to do while there. We will only be there for 7 days.
One thing I know I want to do is go to a wildlife reserve (really want to see some koalas, & pet them if that's allowed), but I don't know which one is the best. I'm looking at websites & getting more confused instead of less confused. If anyone here can steer me in the right direction, I'd greatly appreciate it!

**sputnik** · August 2nd, 2012, 01:01 PM

just be careful not to get chlamydia from the koalas. they're dirty whores.

eta: this is what comes up when you search koala chlamydia. oh, google.

**McJag** · August 2nd, 2012, 01:08 PM

I would go visit A*O.

**MohandasKGanja** · August 2nd, 2012, 01:19 PM

Originally Posted by holly

Soooo, my sister-in-law is planning a trip to go to Sydney at the end of October. My parents are also going on this trip. She has also invited Mr. Holly & me & we will probably go.
I'm looking online trying to figure out what things I absolutely want to do while there. We will only be there for 7 days.
One thing I know I want to do is go to a wildlife reserve (really want to see some koalas, & pet them if that's allowed), but I don't know which one is the best. I'm looking at websites & getting more confused instead of less confused. If anyone here can steer me in the right direction, I'd greatly appreciate it!

Hey, I visited Sydney with my wife in 2001. Phenomenal trip. We stayed at Fourt Point Sydney in Darling Harbour. That hotel had the best free breakfast buffet I have ever had in my entire life.

The big zoo in Sydney is Taronga, I think. But you can't get close to the Koala's there.

The thing you will need to do, I think, is book a bus tour (which is really easy). That will get you to Featherdale Wildlife Refuge, where you can pet koalas, kangaroos, and wallabees. I have some photos and clips of these places, but I need to find where I left them.....

**McJag** · August 2nd, 2012, 01:29 PM

I want a kangaroo. For some reason the state of Texas will not allow it. Nor have I ever seen Purina Kangaroo Chow,come to think of it.

**MohandasKGanja** · August 2nd, 2012, 01:36 PM

Originally Posted by McJag

I want a kangaroo. For some reason the state of Texas will not allow it. Nor have I ever seen Purina Kangaroo Chow,come to think of it.

There is a super-expensive department store in downtown Sydney that sells kangaroo jerky, emu jerky, shark jerky, and crocodile jerky. With free samples. It's also the first place I ever saw Johnny Walker Blue (like $200 a bottle). In the US, liquor stores keep it in a vault. In this Sydney store, it's just sitting there like a stack of Evian bottles.

**holly** · August 2nd, 2012, 01:37 PM

Originally Posted by sputnik

just be careful not to get chlamydia from the koalas. they're dirty whores.

eta: this is what comes up when you search koala chlamydia. oh, google.

I looked this up after reading your post & that's really weird! It said up to 70-80% of the koalas have it & if they can't get it under control, they could be in danger of extinction within the next 30 years. What I read said this:

two types of Chlamydia; Chlamydia pecorum and Chlamydia pneumoniae. Neither of these are the same as the Chlamydia that humans get; pecorum is the common type that affects most koalas and pneumoniae is very rare.
Pecorum cannot jump to other species, whereas pneumoniae can, although there is no evidence of this ever spreading from koalas to humans.
Koalas and Chlamydia: Plus 15 Facts About Koalas

I will be mindful of that & maybe just stick to petting one & not holding one!

**holly** · August 2nd, 2012, 01:41 PM

Originally Posted by MohandasKGanja

Hey, I visited Sydney with my wife in 2001. Phenomenal trip. We stayed at Fourt Point Sydney in Darling Harbour. That hotel had the best free breakfast buffet I have ever had in my entire life.

The big zoo in Sydney is Taronga, I think. But you can't get close to the Koala's there.

The thing you will need to do, I think, is book a bus tour (which is really easy). That will get you to Featherdale Wildlife Refuge, where you can pet koalas, kangaroos, and wallabees. I have some photos and clips of these places, but I need to find where I left them.....

Not sure where we are staying. My SIL is looking at a house to rent for the week. Do you think that going to the zoo would be a waste of time if we go to the wildlife refuge? or do you think it's worth it to do both?

**MohandasKGanja** · August 2nd, 2012, 01:45 PM

Originally Posted by holly

Not sure where we are staying. My SIL is looking at a house to rent for the week. Do you think that going to the zoo would be a waste of time if we go to the wildlife refuge? or do you think it's worth it to do both?

The zoo is cool, too. The range of animals at Featherdale is not very broad, but your interaction with them is awesome.

Taronga has everything. The wombats were something out of wi-fi. I think my wife was able to pet a kookaburra, which had a Moe Howard looking haircut...

Darling Harbour is right next to Sydney Harbour, so you can get to the Opera House really easily. There is a really nice aquarium at Darling Harbor, too.

**holly** · August 2nd, 2012, 02:07 PM

Originally Posted by MohandasKGanja

The zoo is cool, too. The range of animals at Featherdale is not very broad, but your interaction with them is awesome.

Taronga has everything. The wombats were something out of wi-fi. I think my wife was able to pet a kookaburra, which had a Moe Howard looking haircut...

Darling Harbour is right next to Sydney Harbour, so you can get to the Opera House really easily. There is a really nice aquarium at Darling Harbor, too.

OK, so I will try to do both. I love animals. I act like a little kid when I get around them!
I was looking into visiting one of the aquariums, just have to decide which one, & I definitely want to go to the Sydney Opera House.

Bondi Beach is another place I want to go to as well.

**MohandasKGanja** · August 2nd, 2012, 02:16 PM

Originally Posted by holly

OK, so I will try to do both. I love animals. I act like a little kid when I get around them!
I was looking into visiting one of the aquariums, just have to decide which one, & I definitely want to go to the Sydney Opera House.

Bondi Beach is another place I want to go to as well.

Bondi Beach is a beautiful beach. Kind of a surfer beach, from my experience because there were so many people out in the waves, riding in wet suits. Very cool boardwalk/merchants area at the rear of the beach, and there is like a hillside behind the beach with houses on it that is really scenic. I'm not describing it well, though.

We visited four beaches in one day - Bondi, Obelisk, Cobbler's, and Lady Jane. And we got to all of them by bus. We never had to rent a car when we were in either Sydney or Melbourne.

**faithanne** · August 2nd, 2012, 03:05 PM

I was born and raised in Sydney. I can help you if you have any questions.

Things to do in 7 days - where do I start?

Sightseeing tours are a bit naff but in such a short time they're probably a good idea because they cover a lot of what you should see. Get the Explorer Bus 24 hour ticket which goes on a loop past all the main attractions in the city itself. It doesn't go as far as Bondi but there's plenty of other regular buses you can get from Circular Quay, which is where the main ferry terminal and bus terminus is. You can get pretty much anywhere from there and it's 5 minutes walk from the Harbour Bridge and Opera House, and the railway station has one of the best views in the world.

Definitely Taronga Zoo - it's right on the harbour in a bushland setting with beautiful views. You'll see plenty of kangaroos and other native animals, but if you want to get close up you should go to a wildlife park. I haven't been to Featherdale (you'd want a tour for that - I wouldn't recommend driving or trying to get there by public transport) but I have been to Koala Park at Castle Hill and the kangaroos are just hopping around with the people and you can get as close as you want to koalas, same with Australian Reptile Park on the Central Coast. They're all kind of a long way from the city though so go to Taronga first and you might find you've had enough of native animals!

Getting around the city is easy by public transport, walking or the free 555 bus shuttle which does a loop of the CBD. On days when you want to venture further out get the transport day pass (about $20) which gets you on trains, buses and ferries in the inner city area (which covers Bondi and the inner suburbs and most of the Harbour). Try to avoid driving if you can!

If you're not scared of heights I'd recommend Bridge Climb - it's a little expensive but so worth it, and it only takes a few hours of your day. The view is unbelievable of course.

Definitely go to Bondi and do the Coast Walk from the south end of the beach - you can go as far as Coogee but you can finish at any of the beaches along the way and catch a bus back to the city.

See The Rocks, which is the oldest part of Sydney and is the area right under the Harbour Bridge. Very historic but try not to get sucked into all the touristy shopping arcades. You can walk around the waterfront back to Circular Quay, which is only a few minutes away, and keep going to the Opera House, which is another 5 minutes. After you've seen the Opera House, keep following the old sandstone seawall into the Botanical Gardens and wander around in there for a bit or keep going up another 5 mins to Mrs Macquaries Chair on the point, which has amazing views.

Phew, so much more to tell you but I've got to get ready for work!

Next stop: Blue Mountains.

**twitchy2.0** · August 2nd, 2012, 03:27 PM

Stalk GR members!

**MohandasKGanja** · August 2nd, 2012, 03:56 PM

Originally Posted by holly

One thing I know I want to do is go to a wildlife reserve (really want to see some koalas, & pet them if that's allowed)

Petting a dirty whore koala at Featherdale.....

**holly** · August 2nd, 2012, 04:20 PM

If you're not scared of heights I'd recommend Bridge Climb - it's a little expensive but so worth it, and it only takes a few hours of your day. The view is unbelievable of course.

Very scared of heights! I used to not be, & the older I get, the worse it gets. We did a cable car/gondola up Table Mountain when we were in Cape Town South Africa & I was on the verge of tears most of the way up. Once I got up there I was fine, but getting there was super stressful for me. Going back down wasn't as traumatic for some reason.