About Sydney
Founded in 1788 as Britain’s first Australian colony, Sydney began as a penal settlement on the shores of one of the world’s great natural harbours. What started as a rough outpost gradually grew into the economic and cultural centre of the nation, shaped by waves of immigration and maritime trade.
Modern Sydney is confident and effortlessly photogenic — harbour ferries weaving past the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge looming large, and beaches like Bondi woven into everyday life. It’s fast-paced yet outdoorsy, business-driven but beach-obsessed. If Perth is relaxed Australia, Sydney is Australia turned up a notch.
Rushcutters Bay
We arrived on an overnight flight from Perth to our Airbnb in Rushcutters Bay. Fortunately our hosts Annette and Ken were very amenable and allowed us into the property around 7am. After a quick unpack, we decided to catch up on sleep and awoke around 1pm to find it pouring down. Flight back to Perth please.
Wide awake we began to appreciate how lovely our apartment is – right up our street being very contemporary, brilliant covered terrace that doubles the living space and whacky art. It turns out Ken is a hair photographer, and obviously creative.
Rushcutters Bay is virtually next to the formerly notorious King’s Cross (is every Kings Cross in the world notorious). Apparently the government cracked down on the “nightlife” (ahem, being polite) back in 2014, but it was seen by many to be ripping the heart out of the community, and after Covid, in 2021, the rules were relaxed and the area is buzzy, albeit becoming gentrified.
We decided to spend the afternoon familiarising our locale, and as our host warned, there were plenty of characters to be seen. Talking to yourself is something of a trait with the local weirdos. We skipped the strip and sex shows as we were still tired! Heading back to our home for the next 10 days, we settled on a KFC delivery for our first repast in this vibrant city.
Sydney Fish Market
We both slept soundly and awoke to really start exploring. Bleeding hell, it’s raining again. So much for the height of the Australian summer!
Cagoule and back packs ready, the resilient Izatts set off towards the park and Rushcutters bay itself. It’s a very picturesque spot, but with rain we didn’t hang around and headed back to Kings Cross and its station.
For less than a pound (Sadiq, please send someone down here as well) we took the train to Sydney Central, where for about £80 we bought a couple of Big Red Bus hop on/hop off tour tickets (once Nikki had explained to Steve what a bus was).
With the rain still chucking it down, an upstairs seat would have clearly dissolved Nikki, but our seat on the lower deck meant you couldn’t see bugger all. Fortunately our first hop was only a few stops – the Sydney Fish market.
The market is not like Billingsgate where you can wander around along with traders, restaurateurs and anyone else who happens to be around. Here there is a trading floor, closed to the public. However on the first floor is the most amazing sight you can see – a mass of stalls not only selling fresh fish, but also a giant food hall with stalls selling fresh seafood, cooked lobsters and crabs, and varieties we had never heard of – Balmain Bugs anyone? We spent a good hour wandering around marvelling at the sights, with a beer stop of course, and vowed to return one day before we leave to eat lunch or dinner.
Opera house (first call)
We hopped back on our Big Red bus, where thankfully the rain had stopped and the clouds were rolling away. We jumped off at The Rocks, which Nikki remembered well from her teens, and after a beer at The Orient, we walked to the ferry terminals and on to the Iconic opera house.
To be honest there is not a lot you can say about the opera house that hasn’t already been said before, and given we have booked an Opera for next week, we can just let the pictures do their thing.
The bus took us back to Kings Cross and home for a shower before what felt like our first proper dinner out since we started our trip (everything else has been very informal and largely chips based). We went to the Rex Bistro where we had a Lamb Roulade and a Crab omelette which were delightful. However we are beginning to realise that wine in restaurants is very expensive, surprising given most of it is produced down the road. Thankfully our pension continues to hold up, so we imbibed.
Bondi beach
For Tuesday, our second full day, we decided that it felt like we had been charging around ever since we boarded the plane at Stansted. A visit to Bondi Beach was agreed upon.
While the beach is lovely, we both found the place a bit disappointing and, frankly, a dump. Southend has more charm and interest. After a couple of hours on the beach and a paddle in the Pacific Ocean, keeping a keen eye out for things that want to kill you, we found a lovely beach bar, the Promenade, where we had brilliant fish and chips followed by a ‘99’ on the way back to an uber and a very quiet, nap ridden, evening in.
Hamish Says
There is a noticeable difference between Western Australia and Sydney. While WA seems very clean, fresh and relaxed, Sydney is bustling but in many respects tired looking. There is that shabbiness that comes with old buildings that need a bit of TLC; rubbish strewn streets; people with less time to greet you.
Nonetheless it is early days and we look forward to the rest of our time here
What's next
We are taking a short trip away from our new home and will be visiting the Blue Mountains, with Wednesday night spent in Katoomba. We return to Sydney Thursday evening.
One Response
I thought I posted this a couple of days ago but couldn’t see it.
If you get the time, and the pensions allow, I would totally recommend taking a 5 hour tour up to the northern beaches with this company : https://www.wildride.com.au/tours/sydney/northern-beaches. We took a trike, stopped for lots of photo opportunities and our rider was really informative. We had lunch and rode back through the national park, it was a really fun experience and we got to see so much.
Totally agree with you on Bondi!
Loving following your adventures x