We were very happy to say “g’day” as our Regent Seven Seas Mariner’s world cruise arrived in Australia for a two-day stay in Sydney. Australia’s largest city with nearly five million inhabitants, it is the starting and ending point of many itineraries and a popular port of call on world cruises and other extended voyages. Sydney always makes the lists of the world’s most scenic harbors – along with the likes of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Hong Kong, China. Without a doubt, one of the planet’s best natural ports, Sydney Harbour – its official name is Port Jackson – has such world-famous sights as the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Most cruise ship passengers make it a point to be up on deck for their ship’s arrival – we generally do, but if we oversleep, the sail-away from Sydney offers another opportunity to take in the city’s landscapes with modern skyscrapers and its seascapes with ferryboats and sailboats in the harbor.
We were lucky that our ship docked at Circular Quay – a fantastic location as it is walking distance to the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. When we opened our room’s curtains, we could not believe our eyes: the iconic Opera House was right across our veranda, and from several of the ship’s lounges and public spaces we had views of the Harbour Bridge. Awesome!
Most visitors, as we did during our first visit, start their tour of the city at the Sydney Opera House with its white sail-like forms – it is arguably as much of an icon of Australia as a kangaroo. One of the 20th century’s most distinctive buildings and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Opera House hosts more than 2,000 events annually, and those events are attended by some 11 million visitors each year. Designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon, it has 10 roofs – the highest one reaching 221 feet above the sea – with tiles that gleam in the sun and are self-cleaning, so always shimmering.
The Opera House has various venues for concerts, opera, ballet, theater and more, and was completed in 1973 and opened by Queen Elizabeth II. Tours are available inside the Opera House including a backstage tour. Many ships offer evening excursions to catch a show at the Opera House so passengers can experience its excellent acoustics.
The other spectacular sight in the port is the Sydney Harbour Bridge, opened in 1932 and once the world’s widest long-span bridge and highest steel arch bridge standing 429.6 feet above the harbor. Locals humorously call it “the coat hanger.” Visitors can walk across it, and the intrepid can sign up for a tour to climb it. There are hundreds of steps, and a breathalyzer test is required before climbing.
We are not intrepid, so we opted for driving on it on our first tour in Sydney – and we were amazed to see that it has eight lanes of traffic, two railway tracks, a pedestrian walkway and a cycleway. It was the first highlight of our “Aussie Wildlife” tour, which we took to get reacquainted with kangaroos, koalas, wombats and other Down Under critters, which my husband Humberto and I find irresistible, no matter how many times we see them. This tour took us to Taronga Zoo, a 69-acre park with some 5,000 animals, where we were introduced by volunteer docents to some of its residents including kangaroos and koalas, as well as dingoes, Tasmanian devils, crocs, echidnas and wombats.
Visitors who wish to see Australia’s fabulous fauna have other options including the Wild Life Sydney Zoo in Darling Harbour with such fascinating critters as platypus, koalas, kangaroos, wallabies and others. Also at Darling Harbour, adjacent to the Wild Life Sydney Zoo is the SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium with a Day & Night on the Reef exhibit with awesome reef creatures including tropical fish, sea anemones, stingrays, sharks and more. A big highlight for us at the aquarium when we visited on a previous cruise is the penguin habitat with King and Gentoo penguins.
Yet another attraction that we took in on a previous visit at Darling Harbour is Madame Tussauds Sydney with lifelike wax figures of everyone from Spiderman to Queen Elizabeth II. You can have your photo taken with Superheroes, Albert Einstein, the British Royal Family and many more and sit down to “breakfast” with Audrey Hepburn.
On our second day in Sydney, we took the Big Bus hop-on hop-off tour – this excursion is ideal to get to many of the city’s attractions and explore at one’s pace. Among these attractions is the Sydney Tower, the city’s tallest structure at 1,014 feet high. It has been an iconic and popular sci-fi-like building since its opening in 1981 and offers panoramic views of Sydney and surrounding areas. The Royal Botanical Garden is another great spot to visit, with an abundance of local and exotic plants, guided tours, aboriginal experiences and more – a walkway on the southern side of Circular Quay leads to the garden (this walkway also leads to the Sydney Opera House, and a northern walkway leads to the Sydney Harbour Bridge).
The Rocks is yet another great place to explore as it is where Sydney was founded and hence it has great historic significance. It is a jumble of cobblestone streets and cul-de-sacs with cottages, sandstone terraces and old pubs, and it is the place where convicts from England settled in the 18th century. It also has museums and galleries and many lively cafés, shops and stalls selling souvenirs.
Beach lovers can check out Bondi, a suburb of Sydney (one of the routes of the Big Bus goes there), with a very popular beach with legendary lifeguards and great surfing. We went there during a previous visit to Sydney, as well as to Manly, one of Australia’s most popular seaside destinations, seven miles from Sydney – also great for some hours of sun and surf.
Other highlights of our calls in Australia included a tour to the Koala and Wildlife Sanctuary near Cairns where we were able to pet docile kangaroos and see koalas, snakes and other critters. We also visited the Butterfly Sanctuary where we saw many examples of this beautiful insect in a dome-covered garden. Another highlight occurred during the call at Darwin, where we took a tour to the Adelaide River aboard a riverboat to see the crocodiles. We saw several, some more than 10 feet long, and close enough to count their teeth. Amazing!
Some quick superlatives:
- Most scenic: The sailaway from Sydney with views of the city’s skyline.
- Most fun: Seeing the fabulous Australian fauna at Taronga Zoo near Sydney and feeding and petting kangaroos at the Koala and Wildlife Sanctuary near Cairns.
- Most eye-popping: The crocs on the Adelaide River near Darwin.
- Most anticipated: Our arrival in the idyllic island of Bali, Indonesia, as our ship continues making a circle around the world.
Follow along with Georgina and Humberto:
Preparing for a World Cruise | The Adventure Begins | Amazing Americas | Crossing the Pacific | Hawaiian Islands | French Polynesia | Venturing to New Zealand | Australia | Bali
By Cruise Specialists client, Georgina Cruz
Georgina Cruz is a freelance travel writer specializing in cruises. Her work has appeared in national magazines and regional publications as well as on travel websites. She has been on more than 200 voyages including seven circumnavigations, all booked through Cruise Specialists.
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