03 Feb - Day in Sydney

Our flight left Honolulu on the 1st and we arrived in Sydney late evening on the 2nd. Smooth flight all in all. Flew right over Fiji and got to see some of the islands. Pretty neat. We rented an apartment in downtown Sydney and got in and right to sleep.

Next day we woke up and everyone seemed in decent shape despite the late night and a little jet lag. Had breakfast and bolted for the subway, "CityRail", to see the sights.

Here's the Sydney laydown for our tours

We got off at Circular Quay which is the main ferry terminal and within walking distance of The Rocks, the botanical gardens and the Opera House.

After loading up the backpack with some snacks we walked up to the Royal Botanic Gardens. The gardens are immaculate and quiet especially for being nestled right up to the city center. Also no creepy people hanging around which was nice.

View from just inside the gardens looking back on the city

Australia has quite the different wildlife. Instead of pigeons in the park it was parrots...

these things....

and these giant furry bats

We took in the interesting fauna and then headed around the park. At this time we realized it was really hot. Boys aren't used to hot and the heat, tired and some dehydration started to beat them down.

As we made our way around the harbor we quickly had a small rebellion on our hands. Just short of the Opera House we finally found a shady spot to sit down, rest up and take in the sights.

Looking out over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This is the bridge where they have guided tours up across the top arch.

And our somewhat crowded, not real good family shot in front of the Opera House. No worries - we'll get another chance.

Off to lunch and a discovery center in The Rocks and after making our way back to the apartment the boys broke out some toys, reset their mood and we ended up having a nice dinner down in Darling Harbour.