Sydney - Hunter Valley, New Years Eve & Bondi Beach

sampling some wine in Hunter Valley
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A month ago I was completely determined to return to Sydney for New Years Eve. I started searching for hotel rooms, but could only find half way decent rooms for all nights except for NYE. I went ahead and booked rooms at the Rocks Holiday Inn, one of my favorite areas in Sydney from my previous visit, and also found a room for New Years day at Bondi beach, even though I still wasn't sure where I was going to stay New Years night...but like I said before, I WAS DETERMINED!! Thankfully, one of the other AEP group members had a room at the Westin and said I could sleep on their floor for the night. Great, I thought...I am going to see the amazing NYE fireworks at the Sydney Harbour!!!

fireworks on the Harbour Bridge
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I arrived Monday around noon-ish and made my way to the Rocks. After I checked in I was off exploring the area and found a quaint cafe hidden in one of the many alleys in Sydney's oldest neighborhood. After lunch I walked along the habour and through the Royal Botanic Gardens for some spectacular views of the Habour Bridge and Opera House. Afterwards, I headed to George Street for some shopping. This street is absolutely full of all kinds of stores; you can just wander around for hours...and burn a hole in your pocket.

NYE fireworks on the Sydney Harbour Bridge
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I went on the Hunter Valley wine tour on Tuesday. Hunter Valley is approximately 2 1/2 hours north of Sydney. The tour was a great time and I met some really cool people on it as well. There was a family from Long Island, a family from Norway, three girls from London, and a group living in Sydney with some originally from New Jersey and Canada. Our first stop was at Irongate Estates winery and was my favorite. I realized when I was leaving for Sydney that I really didn't have much room in my bag to bring wine home so I was happy to hear I could ship six bottles back to Brissy for really cheap. Since I was having such a hard time deciding what wine to get, I thought a variety of a six pack would be perfect! Next stop was Drayton's winery. It was a complete contrast to Irongate's wine and not really my favorite. Afterwards, we stopped at another area for lunch where we could walked to a couple other wineries and also sample some different cheeses. Then we made our final stop at Ernest Hill Winery, which had some great desert wines. All in all, I think I sampled about 25 different wines that day. ;)

in Circular Quay
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That night I met up with Cheryl and her family, who arrived in Sydney that afternoon, for dinner. We ate at the Meat and Wine Co in Darling Harbour. Cheryl ordered kangaroo fillet and I got to sample a bite. It was pretty tasty, though it reminded me of a regular fillet. It was good to see her again and meet her family visiting from California.

New Years Eve morning, Brian, whose room I was crashing at for the night, called me once they arrived at the Westin so I headed over to drop off my things before more shopping to kill time before the New Years celebration. I started seeing people sitting out at Darling Harbour around 3pm, so I decided I better start heading over to Sydney Harbour to get a good spot for the fireworks. I didn't come all the way here to not see the infamous NYE fireworks! By the time I ate an early dinner and made it to the harbour it was 5pm. Though, I just missed getting through the gates at the Opera House, I was still in a prime location just across the Harbour Bridge and very close to the Opera House. Only seven hours to go...Thankfully, as soon as I got there I met a Californian couple on their honeymoon and a couple from Sydney who comes to the fireworks most years. (They said they camped out for 34 hours just to watch the millineum fireworks.) We counted down the next seven hours together, sitting and standing in the small space we had claimed. There was no chance trying to go to the bathroom at all. I just tried not to drink much at all or even think about it. A few hours into our wait I made even more friends around me. There was a group of young people from Taiwan and China who offered me some crackers and french fries and also a group of elderly people originally from Slovenia who poured us some wine and gave us cheese and crackers, olives, and salami. The Californian couple also offered me some coke and whisky. I made out pretty good for not bringing a single thing along with me.

view from my hotel at the Rocks
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Finally, midnight arrived. It was amazing!! There was an estimated 1.5 million people crowded the Sydney Habour, a record breaking year for the NYE celebration. The fireworks were well worth the wait, especially the ones on the Harbour Bridge. I could also see the fireworks over the Opera House. I was so excited I was able to witness such an event!!

New Years Day I headed to Bondi Beach, Australia's most famous beach. It was such a beautiful day and definitely the place to be right after NYE. There must have been thousands of people there. I pretty much hung out at the beach all day and the next morning until I had to head back to the airport for Brissy. Not a bad way to end the trip.