On New Years Eve, we wanted to go back to Manly beach for some more fun in the sun before we had to go home.
We took the ferry over again, and tried to fit a couple hours of beach into the morning. We wanted to get back in time to try and get a nap in, so the kids (and us) could make it to midnight.
On the ferry to Manly
Kids gone wild
The day before, we had walked to Little Manly Cove, which is a bit more of a hike. Today, we tried the bigger, more popular beach closer to the wharf so we could fit as much in as possible before lunch. It wasn't nearly as busy as the day before.
The water was nice, but the sand is not as good as the more northern beaches in Australia. The kids and Dave had fun making sand pyramids, and decorating them will shells, stones, and all the glass we could easily find buried in the sand. There was a lot!
Building some manly pyramids
There is an awful lot of glass on the beach here!
December 31st frisbee!
Decorating the pyramids with shells, stones, and glass.
We grabbed a quick lunch at the wharf (finally some good Mexican food in Australia from Guzman Y Gomez!), and headed back to Circular Quay.
On the ferry back from Manly
On the way, we spotted Paul Allen's private mega-yacht, Octopus. We had seen his boat in Cairns too, but it seemed to follow us down to Sydney (as did the Rhapsody of the Seas cruiseship). I guess even mega rich people want to see the fireworks too.
$160 million Octopus
We got back to the hotel, had a quick nap, and Grandma ran out to find some food and drink for the big night. We had got tickets to the fireworks by signing up to be members of the Sydney Royal Botanical Society. For all the other venues, you needed to line up early (there were thousands of people waiting at 9:30am, when we headed out to Manly), or pay hundreds of dollars for tickets to a party that we wouldn't appreciate. This was a good hack, and a great way to get close. We showed up just before the gates opened at 5:00, and made our way down to the front for some pretty impressive seats.
This is the spot we got. Not bad!
The Botanical Gardens were amazing!
We brought wine, but forgot the glasses, so this is Cathy's Pop-Top wine.
As we waited for the the show, we spotted helicopters (news, and police) hovering, and there were some displays by stunt planes, fireboats, and a boat parade we could watch. We also played some games on the lawn, had snacks, and went for a wander in the gardens. We never got a real chance to look at the Botanical Gardens, but I regret it now. The brief walks we did through the one tiny part were mind blowing.
Lots of police and news helicopters. At one time, we could see 6.
These stunt planes entertained for a while while we waited for midnight
Good to know they were watching, but it was very loud!
Tick tock!
The lawn filled up, but wasn't too crowded.
Some Yahtzee to pass the time.
At 9:00, there was a smaller fireworks show put on for the kids, and it lasted 5 minutes or so. It was pretty cool and a good way to test my first time trying to photograph and video fireworks. I really wish I had a tripod of some sort, but it was all going to be handheld. Ah well.
After the kids show, it was some more waiting, and the crowd started getting larger. There were probably 3000 or so people on the lawn by the time midnight rolled around. It was all very civilized.
How else do you drink a beer and relax at the same time?
At midnight, there was a bried countdown, and the show started! It was a good long show, and I tried hard to both video it, and experience it at the same time, which is why the video is a little shoddy, but it was pretty cool to be outside in the summer for New Years with family on the other side of the world. We posted to facebook and wished everybody back in Canada and the US a happy new year, even though it was only 7:00am their time.
After the show was done, some of the other parties near us kept going, but we started back to the hotel. I was fearing the worst in terms of transportation and crowds, but the walk to the bus station was very orderly and quiet, and at the bus station they had lots of people helping guide us to the right place. We waited 5 or 10 minutes, were the last ones on the second bus out, and got back to hotel by a little after 1:00am.
Done for the night - waiting for the bus.
The most orderly mass exodus I've ever been a part of.
The kids did great, and I'm glad, since this will be one of the highlights from a great trip!
On our third day in Sydney, we had booked a tour of the Sydney Opera House. We showed up early, which was good because they were starting to get ready for the big New Years Eve party, and parts of the tour were starting to be shut down.
We got to hear all about how the building was conceived and approved, and the nightmare that it was to design, engineer, and build it. I don't think it could be done today, since nobody would want to take the risk, but it is such an amazing building, I can't image Sydney without it.
One of the internal supports for the roof skeleton
I don't think Avery fully appreciated all the detail, but she liked the building
The view out the back to the harbour
The view behind the main hall looking to the back of the opera hall.
The inside of the main hall. This is where Cathy and I saw the Violent Femmes the night before.
A Lego version of the Opera House. Only $400!
Nice day to soak it all in.
After the tour, we had lunch on a patio at a place that had been around for almost 200 years. Everything in Sydney is pricey, but at least this was good food. This was the first good burger in Australia we had.
After lunch, we decided to see where we could go on a ferry with our 7-day transit pass. There are companies like Captain Cook that allow on/off ferry rides so you can do self tours, but it seemed like a waste to buy another ticket for that. We decided on going to Manly since we had heard good things from a few people already.
On the ferry ride out there, we got some more good views of the Opera House as we passed by.
There are three beaches in Manly. Manly Cove is right next to the wharf. It is a medium sized beach, and it was very busy that day. The waves are lower, and it is easier for the kids to play than on the main oceanside beach in Manly. Google had recommended Little Manly Beach, so we started to walk there. There were a few hills, and it wasn't clear where it was, and we almost turned around to go back, but a local assured us it was close, and worth it. Little Manly Beach is a nicer spot, and not quite as busy, so we relaxed there for a little bit, although we didn't have the foresight to come with swimming stuff ("togs").
We went for a little walk along the rocks, and saw some fish and crabs. Avery found another white and yellow flower that she loves ("frangipani").
We walked back toward the main beach to see the oceanside. This is where there are world famous waves and surfing competitions, so we had to check it out.
It seems everybody else had the same idea! The beach was very very busy, but the kids had fun battling the waves.
When we were done for the day, we took the ferry back to the harbour, the bus back to the hotel, and had a good dinner before calling it a day.
