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Yes, No, Maybe: What (Not) To Do In Sydney

sydney to doI must confess I’ve only been to Sydney for three days! So that, and the fact I’m not a big fan of the city meant I wasn’t sure I could do a full post on my own (I’m a Melbourne girl through and through). But my lovely friend Adam (you may have read his posts here or here) just returned from Sydney and together we bring you this very special and pretty incomplete edition of Yes, No, Maybe: What (Not) To Do in Sydney.

 

sydney to doYES
Obviously you should do the Coogee to Bondi Beach and without a doubt it wins all the most panoramic ocean view awards. Depending on how many photo snap stops you make it takes around 1 and a half hours. My favourite stops were the Waverley Cemetery (now that’s a jaw-droppingly good vista) and the pool next to Bondi Beach (which is actually a public swimming pool), but Adam was all about the Bondi Rescue tv-show shootings.

If you are a bit more adventurous (or ‘manly enough’) then Spit to Manly Walk might be for you. In three hours it takes you from the Spit Bridge at Mosman, through the Sydney Harbour National Park where you can catch a peak at some Aboriginal rock art, before heading down to Manly’s famous beach. And don’t worry if you’re not keen on the walk – just hop on a ferry that’ll take you there faster than you can say Crocodile Dundee.

Manly is hipster heaven. You’ll find a ton of must-blog-about places to eat and drink, but Adam highly recommends that you down a beer n’ burger at 4 Pines Brewing Company – their Mega Burger requires you to dislocate your jaw in order to cram it in your mouth, and contains with more cheese and bacon than should be humanly possible. If that sounds a bit heavy in the stomach, head to Daniel San for some Japanese-Asian street food – yes it’s named for the Karate Kid! Sadly, Mr Miyagi couldn’t be found, but I guess he’s balancing on a tree log somewhere or maybe he catches the fish for the sushi in his little boat.

Take a trip to the Blue Mountains. I did one a day trip with a tour company, but Adam went back to basics and did a camping weekend trip. Of course there’s breathtaking scenery, but the Jenolan Caves were probably the most impressive bit, it was like a giant upside down warehouse of nature’s ‘marital aids’.

sydney to do sydney to do

No
Unless you are a movie nut and want to see an action packed blockbuster at the biggest IMAX screen in the world you should stay as far away as possible from Darling Harbour. It’s a soulless crapfest (we actually shouted at the same time) and the typical tourist trap where you’ll find restaurant chains and dull museums/attractions like Madame Tussauds where you can go see low definition giant candles that may look someone you follow on Instagram, or like they looked five years ago.

Don’t get too excited about the Sydney Opera House. It’s so small and dirty brown in real life, it was one of the biggest disappointments. I think it’s only saving grace was that The National played here, only Matt could probably just about make me forgot where I was.

sydney to do

Maybe
If you’ve got £170 or €250 left then why not do the The Bridge Climb experience? You’ve probably dreamt about it since you saw the Olsen twins climb it in the Our Lips Are Sealed. Why don’t they make their films anymore?? It’s a crime. Well, some might say the cost of the Bridge Climb is the real crime. I’ll let you decide. But anyway, for a much cheaper £10 (well a bit under) you can go up to the Pylon for a less energetic view.

I unfortunately didn’t have time to go to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, but Adam said it was one of his favourites as it was like one vivid trip – and a free one too!

Go to the Royal National Park is what pretty much everyone recommended to both of us, but we ignored them, but still want to pay it forward and make someone else go. This place has nature for everyone – beaches, tick, rainforest, tick, wetlands, tick, giant cliffs, tick, even Aboriginal rock art if that’s your thing.

Do you have any tips for Sydney?

 

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3 Comments

  1. It’s always so interesting to see your home from the eyes of a visitor! I’m currently living in London, but Sydney will always have a piece of my heart! I totally agree with your summary of Darling Harbour, whenever my friends want to go for drinks or dinner there I’m a bit like, “But, why?!?!”. It’s just not anywhere close to the best that Sydney has to offer in terms of nightlife, dining or atmosphere!
    Love Bondi and LOVE that Bondi Icebergs pool made your list! Haha not sure about your thoughts on the Sydney Opera house but each to their own! 🙂 Great post!

    1. I would definitely see more Olsen films too 😛 As a local to Sydney i’ve always wanted to do that bridge climb but the price is even steeper than the climb!

      Elle | thisisyugen.blogspot.com