On my third day in Sydney, I decided to embark on a walking tour of the Central Business District as well as the eastern suburbs and beaches. One thing about Sydney is that all the best places are around train stations, accessible by bus and within walking distance. Plus with a weekly pass that allows you unlimited access for trains, buses and ferries, it is really worth it utilising the pass to the fullest.
I started my day with a visit to Town Hall Station (which is really the centre, rather than Central Station, which is nearer to Chinatown) and Queen Victoria Building. Queen Victoria Building is a preserved building, one of the remnants from the nineteenth century. It is situated just above Town Hall Station, and is now a hip shopping area full of different varieties of shops, although the interior is still preserved like those buildings from the nineteenth century.
Facade of Queen Victoria Building
This is the lift
Interior of Queen Victoria Building
Sydney Tower behind Queen Victoria Building
As I have mentioned before, Sydney's Central Business District is all inter-connected. Sydney Tower is behind Queen Victoria Building on one side. Opposite Sydney Tower is Hyde Park with St Mary's Cathedral on one side leading to the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain and ending at the Opera House, which in turns stretches to Circular Quay and The Rocks. The other stretch of Hyde Park is where the Australian Museum is situated.
Queen Victoria Building is also the stretch with the busiest street, as just about every bus goes there so it is easy to find a bus going wherever from Queen Victoria Building itself.
Statue situated on one end of Queen Victoria Building
Statue of Queen Victoria outside the building that bears her name
Queen Victoria Building is also next to the Town Hall (where the train station is named), which in turn is next to St Andrew's Cathedral. Where St Mary's Cathedral is the seat of the Catholic Archbishop, St Andrew's Cathedral is the seat of the Anglican Bishop.
The Town Hall is also another Victorian-like building with a clock tower steeple, but unfortunately, the Clock Tower was undergoing renovation so I could only take a picture of the front of the Town Hall.
Sydney's Town Hall
St Andrew's Cathedral
Opposite the street from Queen Victoria Building is the Galeries Victoria, a more contemporary building that is also an upmarket shopping area.
Galeries Victoria
Walking down the stretch of Queen Victoria towards Sydney Tower, you will pass by Pitt Street Mall, which is an enclosed street full of designer shops. Hence, there are many places where one can literally shop until you drop!
Pitt Street Mall
Sydney Tower is just next to Pitt Street Mall. However, you will not be able to see it when you are at Pitt Street Mall, because the tower is directly above. Hence, we need to walk past Pitt Street, until one faces the St James Station. The entrance to the Tower is not obvious as well, but as long as one is facing St James Station from across the street, the building entrance to Sydney Tower is just behind (or next to, depending on where one is standing).
Upon entering the building leading to Sydney Tower, it is another place full of designer shops. Sydney Tower is up the second escalator, then make a right turn, and the entrance to Sydney Tower is in another elevator. If you are lost, just ask or follow the signs as there are signs above to indicate the direction.
Sydney Tower is the tallest building in Sydney. It is a paying attraction though, so we need to buy a ticket to get in. But included in the ticket is a 4D short clip on the introduction to Sydney, before we were led up to the Tower. However, the paranomic view from the Sydney Tower Eye is spectacular indeed!
Sydney Tower (as viewed from Hyde Park)
View of the harbour from Sydney Tower
View of the first half of Hyde Park (can you see the Archibald Fountain?)
View of St Mary's Cathedral from Sydney Tower
View of the Art Gallery from Sydney Tower
View of Hyde Park Barracks
View of Wooloomoolloo from Sydney Tower (now converted to upmarket apartments called Finger Wharf Apartments)
View of Garden Island from Sydney Tower
View of Australian Museum at the other end of Hyde Park
View of the Anzac Memorial at the other end of Hyde Park
View of the Olympic Park from Sydney Tower
Harbour Bridge from Sydney Tower
Back of Sydney Opera House from Sydney Tower
After exiting from Sydney Tower, I decided to explore the other end of Hyde Park, where the Anzac Memorial, Reflection Lake, Cook and Philip Olympic Pool and Australian Museum is situated.
ANZAC Memorial
Reflection Lake at Hyde Park
Another statue
Australian Museum
Cook and Philip Olympic Pool
Can you see St Mary's Cathedral in the background?
The steeple side of St Mary's Cathedral
After completing Hyde Park, I decided to go to explore the beaches. The nearest beach to the city is Bondi Beach, which is situated in the exclusive eastern suburbs, where the rich and famous live. So I took a train to King's Cross Station, which consists of the Darlinghurst area. I was warned that the area is a complicated area because it has a high crime rate and the red light district. Sure enough, when I stepped out of the station, someone came up to me asking for money, and I declined. I was so afraid the person would ask people to beat me up, but luckily I was left alone.
King's Cross Station
King's Cross area
King's Cross is a hip area with great night life. That also explains why it is complicated because there are numerous backpackers inns scattered around the area. Youngsters like to stay there as it is a hip and happening area. In fact, just above King's Cross Station is a backpackers inn.
I had to catch a bus from King's Cross to Bondi, but need to have a change of bus at Paddington. So I took the bus to Paddington, which is the area next to King's Cross and Darlinghurst, and then from there took a bus that would bring me direct to Bondi Beach.
One of the buildings along the stretch of Paddington
Victoria Barracks at Paddington
After Paddington is Bondi Junction. Please note that Bondi Junction is not the same as Bondi Beach. Bondi Junction is served by a train station and a bus interchange, but it is just a shopping and residential area. Bondi Beach is still a distance away, although there should be buses going to Bondi Beach from Bondi Junction.
One of the buildings at Bondi Junction
The time taken from Paddington to Bondi Beach is about twenty minutes to half an hour. One can see the stretch of beach from the bus on the right. I must say, I am really impressed by Bondi Beach! It is a beautiful stretch of white water with lots of waves! No wonder Bondi Beach is a very popular surfing area!
It was a windy day, hence the beach was empty, although my cousin attributes it to being on a weekday. He says if I go down on a weekend, it will be packed to the brim. The bus stops at Campbell Parade, the shopping district opposite of Bondi Beach.
The stretch of Campbell Parade
Bondi Beach, with beachfront housing on the right
The waves of Bondi Beach
It was really a windy day, as when I got off the stop towards the beach, the wind almost swept me off my feet! My hair was in disarray, and sand was flying all over. Hence I did not stay long, even though I so much wanted to walk around the water!
Beachside Cafe
Statue in front of the beach area
Clock Tower at Bondi Beach
From Bondi Beach, it is very easy to get to the eastern suburbs of Watson's Bay, Vaucluse, Rose Bay and Double Bay. So I took the first bus that came along and it brought me to Watson's Bay, where there is a stone formation and walkway called the Gap, part of the Sydney Harbour National Park.
Marina at Watson's Bay
From here to the whole stretch of walkway is called the Gap, which has magnificent view of the waves crashing into the rocks.
After walking along the Gap, I decided to make a trip to the eastern suburbs. I went down the walkway to the bus stop and waited for a bus. When the first bus came, I asked the driver if he would be going to the eastern suburbs. He asked if I wanted to go by the sea front or the bottom since the eastern suburbs are developed from hills facing the sea. I said I wanted the sea, in which case he told me to wait for the next bus, which would bring me along the sea view. What a nice and helpful chap!
So I waited for the next bus and the bus driver really went into the residential areas of the Vaucluse, Rose Bay and Double Bay, and I got to see some sea views at the same time. However, Rose Bay has the best views of the sea front and the city centre area. Whoever living in Rose Bay really has the greatest views of all!
The bus stop is situated aloing this stretch on the left
View of the city from Rose Bay
View from Rose Bay
View of the Harbour Bridge from Rose Bay
Close up of the water from Rose Bay
The bus brought me all the way back to the city area, where I got off at Circular Quay and took a ferry to Manly (remember my weekly pass can cover ferries too?). Manly is one of the northern beach, together with Freshwater Beach and Curl Curl Beach (which I did not manage to go), so it is a forty minute ferry ride from Circular Quay. As I said, that day was windy, so the waters were choppy too. To top it off, it started raining just before I reached Manly, so by the time we got off at Manly Wharf, it was raining cats and dogs.
Luckily the information centre was next to Manly Wharf, so I asked for directions to the beach. The beach is at the end of a whole stretch of shops called The Corso. It has little shops selling artifacts, trinkets, souvenirs, and food of course, not to mention accommodation. And the Corso is sheltered, so even though it was raining, I did not get too wet.
This is the end of the Corso facing Manly Beach at the back
This whole stretch is the Corso
I think I remember coming to Manly Beach the last time I was in Sydney. At least I remember the surroundings. And the first time I was in Sydney so many years ago, my uncle and aunt also brought us to Manly Beach. That time I was rather impressed as the beach area looks so much nicer and cleaner than the beaches here, but after I have seen Bondi, I find Manly Beach pales in comparsion. Again, being a weekday, the beach is deserted.
Manly Beach
After Manly, I needed to go back to Circular Quay as I had booked an opera at the Opera House that night. However, I did not wish to take the ferry with the choppy waves again, so I decided to take a bus. There are no buses direct to the city, so I had to take a bus to Neutral Bay (somewhere in between Manly and the city), and the change to another bus to the city.
Taking a bus is a good option as I got to see more of the area as compared to taking a ferry or a train. The bus brings me past the Spit Bridge, which is the bridge separating Manly and the city. There is also an alcove called The Spit, with very spectacular seafront views, but I did not have the time to walk around there.
Upon reaching Circular Quay, I went to the Opera House to watch the Opera, but that will be covered in another post. And with that, I ended my one day adventure exploring Sydney!
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