I have been fascinated by Australia ever
since I read Bill Bryson’s ' Down Under'. There was no end to the natural wonders the
place had, including the world’s oldest living organisms. However when the time
to visit Australia finally came, the itinerary was attuned to traveling with a
toddler. We spent a whole week in Sydney and one in Port Douglas.
When we went - We were there in the
Christmas week. Before I left, people warned me about the hot summer and the
crowds. The temperature never crossed a pleasant 27 degrees in the day. Also,
the tourist season picks up only post-Christmas. So it was a good time to have
visited.
Stay - We transited through Sydney to Port Douglas and stayed a night in Circular Quay. This was a stone’s throw away from the key
attractions – Opera House, Botanical gardens, Harbour Bridge – and had lovely
restaurants. After Port Douglas, when we spent a few days in Sydney, we stayed in Meriton
Service Apartments on Pitt Street. While not next door to the sights, it was very
well connected by bus and train to all the key spots, was the heart of the
shopping district and CBD, next door to Hyde Park and had pretty decent
restaurants. With a two-year old, a spacious serviced apartment worked
better than cramped hotel rooms.
See/Do –
Opera House – We went on an hour-long guided
tour of the Opera House (have to book ahead. Can do it online). The iconic
structure looks magnificent from up close too and the whole tour was very
engaging, with quick dashes into the various theatres, a short video on the
engineering challenges during construction and some wonderful sights from
various vantage points. Highly recommended – laze around the Opera House after
the tour watching the seagulls and the sea. Then follow through with drinks and
food at the Opera Bar adjoining the seaside wall of the Opera House.
Royal Botanical Garden – Massive gardens
with all sorts of exotic-looking flowers. Great for walking around and for a
picnic.
Hyde Park – Lovely place for a picnic. Had
a large supply of birds on hand for young kids to feed and chase. Every time we
passed through the park, Bobo simply ran behind the poor birds.
Hyde Barracks Museum – An UNESCO World
Heritage spot, it gave an idea of Australia’s convicts history. While everyone
knows how criminals were shipped to the new land, it was heart breaking to see
the crimes for which they were being punished (life sentence for stealing a horse!).
The only reason I could see the place and listen to the guided audio tour was
because we took turns babysitting. Bobo missed this bit, but I am sure he did
not miss it at all.
Taranga Zoo – A really big zoo that can
take up a whole day. There were very good maps available online and at the venue
to plan our day. The Australian animals were the best to see since we could have seen
lions and tigers in other zoos too. They also had a section
for farm animals which my city-kid gawked at open-mouthed.
Bondi Beach – Long white stretch of sand,
with surfers all around. When we went, the weather was chilly but that did not
deter the surfers! We also dropped in at the Iceberg bistro next door from
where we could see the seaside pool with people swimming furiously in the cold
water
Manly – A ferry ride brought us to this
beach/eating/shopping area. It looked very promising in terms of the beach and
the food. Unfortunately it started to rain and we beat a hasty retreat in half
an hour.
Blue Mountains – This was a day trip. We saw
several brochures for tours but it was quite easy (and cheaper) to just take a
train to Katoomba and then public buses thereafter. The big draw was the Scenic
World, with the world’s steepest rail line, a skyway over a canyon and a cable
car. We had lunch at ‘The Yellow Deli’ which had really yummy food.
The Rocks – Stone-paved roads that lead
to various restaurants. We also read about the weekend markets here but never
got around to seeing them.
Darling Harbour – Lovely place to eat and
watch the sea. Also had a nice kids park with plenty of play equipment, most of
which were meant for older kids. Still, Bobo persisted in playing
Sales – As it happened, we were there on Boxing Day and so I could visit the Boxing Day sale. Despite
Australia being horrifically expensive, I could still find some bargains.
Sydney without a toddler would have been a
little different and probably included more walks and restaurants and
definitely more drinks. Still, it was a good place for kids and every place
seemed to welcome them with open arms. So we managed to eat some great food and
see some nice places, all with the kid strapped into a stroller.
Sydney without a kid may also have taken
lesser time to tick off but the amazing thing I discovered was that a slower
pace meant that we could actually savour a place instead of constantly getting
prepared for the next part of our day. Especially letting a toddler lead you
can mean stumbling upon a game of chess in Hyde Park being played on a large
board with waist-high chess figures and watching the final exciting bits before
checkmate.
Sydney was pretty ok.
