The last time I traveled to the Oceania continent, it took 44 hours. On this trip, I said no! I am going to do a longer layover in Sydney which was about 48 hours.
Did I have a plan? No! I just knew that I was going to see as much of Sydney as I could. My flight landed around 0630 and by the time I went through custom and arrived at my hotel – The Marriott Sydney Harbour – it was around 0800. I was ready to check in, shower, and start exploring the city. Oops! That did not happen. I was informed that check-in was at 1500 (3:00 pm) and there was no room available. What am I going to do? I am tired and in a desperate need of a shower. The clerk offered me the “relax” room where I could shower and relax until my room was available. You know I took it. I had a nice shower and changed into my workout clothes. Since I can’t go to my room, I might as well take in the scenery via a run.
Running the Sydney Harbour
My hotel was one block from Sydney Harbour. Sweet! As soon as I got there, I saw the famous Sydney Opera House and decided that was my route. I took off running. It was cold and windy, however, with all of my excitement, I did not care. I was in Sydney and I am approaching the Opera House. I immediately took out my smartphone (Samsung Galaxy 7) and started taking pictures. Literally, I was in awe of the magnitude and beauty of the Opera House. Then I looked to my left and I saw The BRIDGE. How magnificent! How can I capture both in one shot? You know I did it. I must have taken a dozen of pictures of the Opera House and the Bridge. However, I won’t bore you with all….just one or two.
As I finished taking the picture, I continued running along the Harbour and past the Botanical Garden and the Navy Vessels.
In total, I did about 3 miles of running and walking. Just enjoying the beauty before my eyes. After my run, I went back to my hotel and book the Bridge Climb at 17:15 (5:15 pm).
Sydney Bridge Climb
Now I did something real silly before my bridge climb, I feel asleep. Rule #1 is never fall asleep until nightfall to avoid jet lag. It was a struggle for me to get out of bed at 1600 (4:00 pm). I did it and got my directions to the bridge climb. You know I got lost and had to ask for directions. Oh well, I made it safely and on-time. I was so excited! and this time I had no problem in passing the breathalyzer.
The group received their attire and instructions and we took off for our 3 hour tour of the Bridge. The nightly view from the top is magnificent. All of Sydney is twinkling.
Hop On Hop Off Bus
One of my favorite things to do is when visiting a country solo is the Hop On Hop Off bus. This allows me to get a panoramic view of the city. I literally hop on and don’t hop off. Once my tour is over, I then make the decision of what area I would like to spend more time.
During my short stay in Sydney, I went to the Wildlife Animal Zoo which is near the Darling Harbour. While there I had a a chance to see several kangaroos, poisonous snakes, and koalas.
At the zoo, they had the option of a mini “zip-lining”. This was my opportunity to see if I ready for the real thing.
Jet Boating Adventure
My last activity was the jet boating around the Harbour. Boy did I have fun! I started off being cool and nonchalant until we started moving. The adrenaline was running through my body. It was the best 30 minutes of my stay in Sydney. The driver/tour guide of Oz Jet Boating was entertaining and informative. During the ride, we several Navy vessels, the Forts, Opera House, the Bridge, and several weddings.
Sydney is a very beautiful city. It is pricey. However, we get more bang on our dollar which is always great. The beauty and the friendliness of the Aussie will definitely have me coming back to explore more parts of the city.
Loved your story! I really want to visit Sydney soon! Great tip the one about thw jetlag and falling asleep!
I love Sydney! I’m so impressed with everything you saw during your layover, usually the jetlag just kills me! I should give your tips a try! Loved reading this 🙂
Love this! I’ve always wanted to visit Australia. I cannot believe the number of things you got into those 48 hours! I wish I enjoyed running so I could run from place to place and cover more ground. Way to beat the jet lag but jumping into your day — I definitely did that when I visited Singapore and it proved immensely successful!
I’ve been to Sydney once and WOW at your energy! I don’t think I can even do a jump shot if I just arrived in a city. I think running around the area is a great way to explore and work out at the same time. I might “borrow” that concept, too 😀
This made me smile. You can really tell how much you enjoyed Sydney! I envy your ability to enjoy running too – looks too much like hard work to me, haha.
i love Sydney it’s a great city, looks you had a good 48 hours, and you did more than I did in my time there!! I just walked across the bridge and didn’t do the bridge climb, unfortunately it was out of my budget and I did the passenger ferry across to another part rather than the jetboat!!!
Holy moly, that’s an impressive 48 hours! As someone who has definitely let jet lag take me down before, I am very impressed! I think just reading your post gave me a jolt of energy 🙂
Girl, I cannot believe you went to immediately workout! Bless you! lol I’m also glad that other people like to visit botanical gardens when traveling to new cities. I’m jealous you got to go Down South and I’m praying for a visit sometime within the next two years!
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