Suggestions on "must do" things in Sydney Australia

[MohandasKGanja]

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.

Even if you aren't afraid of heights, there are some other factors:

1. I think back in 2001, it cost like $130 a person to do the walk
2. It takes a long time
3. You put on a big great coverall suit, and then latch yourself to the bridge rail (something like that)
4. You can't bring your own camera (because it might fall into traffic). But there is a photog who takes official pics of everyone at the top. Not sure if that is included with the package, though.

Even if you don't do the above, you can go across the bridge and climb up one of the towers there and look out. I'm pretty sure I have a shot of Mrs. Mohandas standing out there, and it's one of my favorites of her.

[A*O]

What's the big deal about cuddling a koala. Everyone wants to do it. They are cranky bastards with evil claws and STDs. A lot like Aussie women in many ways.

I live in Mlbn but visit Sinny often. Agree that Taronga Zoo is a must see. Take the ferry from Circular Quay. In fact I'd take the ferry everywhere possible. It's a magnificent way to see the city.

The best surf beach, IMO, is Manly rather than Bondi, also a great ferry ride from Circular Quay.

As for the Blue Mountains, do an organised bus tour but don't bother if the weather is lousy because you won't see a thing!

[faithanne]

Even if you don't do the above, you can go across the bridge and climb up one of the towers there and look out. I'm pretty sure I have a shot of Mrs. Mohandas standing out there, and it's one of my favorites of her.

Yes you can go up into the pylons or just walk across the bridge along the footpath, rather than going up to the arch. The view is still spectacular even if it's not as high up. If you're too tired to walk back you can catch the train over from Milsons Point.

In fact I'd take the ferry everywhere possible. It's a magnificent way to see the city.

The best surf beach, IMO, is Manly rather than Bondi, also a great ferry ride from Circular Quay.

I agree about the ferry, which is why I recommend the day pass - it gets you on all the ferries and you can go to Manly or Watsons Bay on the south headland, which has beautiful walking tracks and little swimming coves and if you're energetic you could keep walking around to Bondi. Also Balmain has a ferry stop and it's a cute little sandstone inner city village-type suburb with nice old pubs and good food.

Bondi and Manly are both very touristy but Manly is a great trip on the ferry and Shelley Beach is only 10 minutes walk around the headland and is much nicer for swimming than the main beach. The best surfing beaches are probably the northern beaches (Palm/Whale Beach, Newport, Avalon etc) or Wanda/Cronulla but they're about an hour on the bus/train and unless you're hardcore surfers I wouldn't bother.

Better do some work - just sitting looking out the window at the Opera House, wishing I had 7 days and lots of money to go exploring!

[A*O]

The best view of the harbour/bridge/opera house is from the cocktail bar in the Shangri La hotel. Beats climbing the bridge any day....

[MohandasKGanja]

What's the big deal about cuddling a koala. Everyone wants to do it. They are cranky bastards with evil claws and STDs. A lot like Aussie women in many ways.

I live in Mlbn but visit Sinny often.

Melbourne was a great place to visit, too. Very different looking from Sydney, architecturally. I think they said it was a gold rush city (benefited from finding a bunch of gold) and that a lot of money was poured into arts and architecture.

They had a great bus tour down there, too. I think it took us to the 12 Apostles formation, and some similar places. Beautiful scenery.

[holly]

I really appreciate all the input I am getting here! Thanks so much! <3

[holly]

Even if you aren't afraid of heights, there are some other factors:

1. I think back in 2001, it cost like $130 a person to do the walk
2. It takes a long time
3. You put on a big great coverall suit, and then latch yourself to the bridge rail (something like that)
4. You can't bring your own camera (because it might fall into traffic). But there is a photog who takes official pics of everyone at the top. Not sure if that is included with the package, though.

#3 is freaking me out just thinking about it!

[A*O]

Melbourne was a great place to visit, too. Very different looking from Sydney, architecturally. I think they said it was a gold rush city (benefited from finding a bunch of gold) and that a lot of money was poured into arts and architecture.

They had a great bus tour down there, too. I think it took us to the 12 Apostles formation, and some similar places. Beautiful scenery.

. A visitor put it very well: Sydney is a great place to visit but Melbourne is the place to live.

[MohandasKGanja]

I really appreciate all the input I am getting here! Thanks so much! <3

Something else to think about is what the current US/Australian exchange rate is, and how you will pay for stuff down there. Before we left, someone told my wife it would be better to pay for as much stuff as possible with a credit card because the credit card company would resolve the payments with the best exchange rate possible for you. Even so, we still ended up taking money out of the ATM machine pretty frequently for incidentals.

Australia had the coolest paper currency, too. Their dollar bills had some kind of clear plastic window built into parts of them. Unlike US currency, it seems like it would be almost impossible to counterfeit. I thought I had kept some as a souvenir, but never could find them.

And don't forget to get a hamburger with a fried egg and a slice of sugarbeet on it. Not necessarily because it tastes great, but because it looks freaky.

[A*O]

Unfortunately for visitors the Aussie $ is very strong at the moment because our economy isn't tanking. US$1 = AU$1.5 so it's not as cheap to visit as it used to be. Nothing you can do about it except spend less on tourist crap!

Our paper currency is made from a kind of plastic so it doesn't dissolve in the washing machine. Also, the note denominations are different colours so it's instantly obvious what you are handing over. $100 = green $50 = yellow $20 = red $10 = blue $5 = purple

Important! Tipping is NOT mandatory in Oz and it most definitely isn't expected. If you want to reward exceptional service that's fine (10% max) and it will be appreciated but our wait staff, taxi drivers, etc are paid a good enough wage that customers don't have to subsidise them.

[Grimmlok]

Watch out for the bird eating spiders, the dingo eating snakes and the shark eating dingoes

[MohandasKGanja]

Watch out for the bird eating spiders, the dingo eating snakes and the shark eating dingoes

And the deadly, microsopic irikanji jellyfish!

And the deadly, you-might-step-on stonefish!

[A*O]

Oh Purleeze, you're all a bunch of girlies. Steve fucking Irwin has a lot to answer for but in his case the fauna have already spoken.

[holly]

Well everyone, we decided not to go on the trip. It was going to be more money than we were prepared to spend & 7 days just wasn't going to be long enough to warrant the expense. My folks, sister in law & brother are still going though so I will definitely pass this info on to them.
Thanks so much! <3

[faithanne]

Sorry to hear that, maybe you will get down here one day. I hope your family has a blast.