We took a flight from Melbourne to Sydney and we reached at night. Our friend was already at the airport waiting for us and he gave us each an Opal card which is like the myki card in Melbourne. You can use it for the public transports in Sydney.
When we reached our Airbnb at around 9.30pm, we were surprised that some eateries are still open. Because when we were in Melbourne, at 9.30pm most of the shops are either closing or closed. We went to a nearby Thai restaurant for our late dinner and the food is surprisingly good.
Day 1 – Sydney Fish Market, Taronga Zoo, and Queen Victoria Building
The next morning, we went to Sydney Fish Market for our brunch. There are plenty of fresh seafood by different establishments but we settled at Peter’s.
Sydney Fish Market – recommended
Fresh seafood with reasonable price, perfect for seafood lovers.
Address: Corner Pyrmont Bridge Rd &, Bank St, Pyrmont NSW 2009, Australia
Business hours: Daily 7am-4pm
Next, we went to Taronga Zoo which we have bought the tickets beforehand at Klook. If you do not have Klook account yet, sign up here and you will get RM15 credit.
Fun fact: Giraffe’s tongue is black in color and rough like sandpaper. It is black in color due to the presence of melanin to prevent it from getting sun burn.
You can get up close to certain animals by purchasing the animal encounters such as koalas, penguins, giraffes etc by purchasing the animal encounters tickets. For the koala encounter, it is cheaper than Moonlit Sanctuary in Melbourne as the ticket admission can be used up to 4 people. You can check it out here. We had fun feeding the giraffes and thus the fun fact above.
Address: Bradleys Head Rd, Mosman NSW 2088, Australia
Business hours: Daily 9.30am-5pm
We took the cable car and a ferry at the end of the zoo and you can get some awesome shots of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House during the journey.
After our visit to the Taronga Zoo, we went to The Grounds of the City for our lunch.
The Grounds of the City – highly recommended
The potato puree with the duck sausage is one of the best that I’ve tasted. Besides that, it’s fun to construct your own mocha to your own liking. Highly recommended to visit here.
Address: Shop RG 12, 500 George St, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
Business hours: Sun 8am-9pm, Mon 7am-5pm, Tue-Thurs 7am-9pm, Fri 7am-10pm, Sat 8am-10pm
Next, we went to the Queen Victoria Building which is a stone’s throw away from The Grounds of the City.
Queen Victoria Building – recommended
The 2 large clocks in the Queen Victoria Building will have ‘performance’ every hour from 9am-9pm.
Address: 455 George St, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
Business hours: Mon-Wed, Fri & Sat 9am-6pm, Thurs 9am-9pm, Sun 11am-5pm
After our short visit to Queen Victoria Building, we stop by Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park for some photos.
And then we went to St Mary’s Cathedral and call it a day as we have to wake up early for some exercise the next day.
Day 2 – Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Tower
We started the day early by climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We got our tickets at the BridgeClimb website.
Bridge climb – recommended
There are 4 main types of tickets that you can purchase.
- Summit Express – 2.5 hours
- Summit – 3.5 hours
- Sampler – 1.5 hours
- The Mandarin Climb – 2.5/3.5 hours
We chose the Summit tickets since we are already climbing the bridge so let’s make it to the top. Although the tickets are quite pricey but I would suggest you to try at least once to experience being beaten by strong winds that can go up to more than 100+km/h. Besides that, we also purchased the photos at cutthroat price as we know we will only do it once.
Address: 3 Cumberland St, The Rocks NSW 2000, Australia
We then went to Pylon Lookout which is included in the ticket prices to get a nice view and some photos.
After a tiring but awesome workout, we went to Sydney Fish Market again for our lunch.
After that, we went to Sydney Tower for a 360° view of the city.
Sydney Tower – recommended
If you want unobstructed views of the city without the windows/glasses, try their SKYWALK and become a Skywalker.
Address: 100 Market St, Sydney NSW 2000
Business hours: Daily 9am-9pm (last entry at 8pm)
Day 3 – Accident at Bondi Beach
The next day, we took the bus to Bondi Beach for a walk.
We then swim in the Bondi Icebergs where the swimming pool is mixed with seawater as the seawater can get into the pool during high tide. Entrance fee is AUD 9 for adults and you can rent a locker at AUD 3.
During our walk back to the bus stop, I tripped and fell from the curb and fractured my bones. My leg was swollen almost immediately and the short trip to the bus stop seems almost impossible. Luckily it is towards the end of our trip and we have been to most of the tourist attractions that we have shortlisted. The remaining itineraries are mostly eateries and cafe which we have skipped most of it due to my leg condition.
Hurricane’s Grill – recommended
After resting at our Airbnb, we met with our friend at Hurricane’s Grill as he mentioned that it’s a must to eat there. However, we feel that the ribs are too burnt to our liking but the portion is huge.
If you were to visit the Hurricane’s Grill at Darling Harbour, do try to reserve for windows seat for 8pm Saturday as there will be free fireworks showcase at 9pm every Saturday.
Address: 433 – 436 Darling Dr, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
Business hours: Sat & Sun 12pm-10.30pm, Mon-Thurs 12pm-3pm, 5pm-10pm, Fri 12pm-3pm, 5pm-10.30pm
We then walk around Hurricane’s Grill for some nice, colourful night views.
Day 4 – Eat, eat, repeat
The next morning, we went to The Potting Shed at The Grounds of Alexandria.
The Grounds of Alexandria – recommended
There are different sections in The Grounds of Alexandria which are The Cafe, The Potting Shed, and The Garden. It is recommended to come early to get seats as there are already a lot of people queuing when we were there and the place is not even opened yet.
Address: 7a/2 Huntley St, Alexandria NSW 2015, Australia
Business hours: Sun 7.30am-9pm, Mon-Thurs 7am-9pm, Fri 7am-10pm, Sat 7.30am-10pm
Instead of taking public transport, we took Uber to the Black Star Pastry for their nice, refreshing strawberry watermelon cake because of my injured leg.
Black Star Pastry – recommended
Sydney has a hot weather during our visit there and a refreshing strawberry watermelon cake definitely helps.
We then walk some short distance to try Hakiki turkish ice cream.
Before we head back to Malaysia, we went to a nearby Italian restaurant at our friend’s place for an early dinner.
In a nutshell, me and my girlfriend preferred Melbourne over Sydney. However, we love the fresh, tasty seafood with reasonable price at Sydney Fish Market. Besides that, climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge is an experience that is memorable as well.
Have you ever climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge? Feel free to share us your experience in the comments section.
