Hotspots in
Sydney & Tasmania
1. Day
You can easily do the following day´s program from Park Hyatt, the only real luxury hotel in Sydney. After breakfast, stroll along the ships and the oldest houses in the Town (Cadman´s cottage) to Circular Quay – approximate duration: 10-15 minutes.
There, you buy a ticket for the boat trip to Tarango zoo. You can find out the departure times in the Internet or from the concierge. The journey by ferry takes just under half an hour. You can take wonderful photos of the Opera, the Harbour Bridge and Fort Denison, a heritage fort.
From the pier, you can take the cable car or the bus or you can walk to the zoo. I recommend the cable car ride! Also, you can book in advance – just like we did – a special tour, like the Taronga´s Aboriginal Nura Diya Tour. For further information visit: www.taronga.org.au.
Allow about four hours for this visit with a round trip. From Taronga zoo, you have one of the most beautiful views of Sydney.
After your return to Circular Quay, you should visit the landmark of the capital of NSW, the opera. Sdney´s Opera House construction involved nearly as much drama as the stories that unfold inside. In 1957, Danish architect Utzon beat 232 other entries in an international competition to create a performing arts centre in the glittering amphitheatre of Sydney Harbour. The groundbreaking design took 14 years, 10.000 workers, incredible 1.056.006 roof tiles and ultimately the resignation of Utzon himself before it was finally realized in 1973. In 2007 the Sydney Opera House received its inscription onto the UNESCO World Heritage List. You must book a tour or a ticket for a musical performance, a concert or an opera in advance. The Concert Hall with 2.679 seats houses the world´s largest mechanical action organ. Boasting 10.154 pipes, it took ten years to complete. (www.sydneyoperahouse.com).
You can end the day in the botanical garden opposite. It is really worth a visit and take a magical photo of Sydney from Mrs. Macquarie´s chair.
2. Day
Today you have the choice between an adventurous and iconic bridge climb or a walk through The Rocks.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is the largest steel arch bridge in the world and worth a bridge climb.
Anyone who fancies extravagant man´s fashion should pay a visit to Joe Bananas store located in 103 George Street or in the Queen Victoria Building. This shopping center has a really stunning architecture with two amazing clocks: The Great Australian Clock with animated scenes that perform regularly and the Royal Clock that displays scenes of English royalty. They hang from the roof and they can be seen from the nearby balconies.
In the festive season, the QVB Swarovski Christmas tree is amazing. It resides over 3 floors under the famous QVB DOME and is Sydney´s tallest Christmas tree with 24 metres. Over 100 people put over 100.000 ornaments, 6.400 white rosebuds, 65.000 twinkling lights topped by a wide crystal gilded star.
You also have to go to the wishing well on the opposite side of QVB. A stone from Blarney castle was built into this well and the fountain was decorated with a sculpture of Queen Victoria´s dog Islay. If you walk past him, he announces his name in a deep voice (Hello, my name is Islay) and he tells you his story.
This historical Queen Victoria building is also fairly close to the Strand Arcade, another building of Sydney´s old-world charm, but it has much fewer mosaics, arcades… Before you move to the Strand Arcade or the Martin Place, pay attention to the Sydney Tower.
3. Day
Your private driver (I recommend the limousine service from Unity Resources Group Australia / www.unitylimousines.com ) will take you in about one hour to Australia Walkabout Wildlife Park (www.walkabaoutpark.com.au) with 80 acres of Australian bush and a lot of animals in free game.
Back in Sydney, you can visit the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, located just a 6-minute walk from Park Hyatt.
4. Day / 5. Day / 6. Day
I recommend a 3-hour drive by private limousine or by a forty-five minutes helicopter-flight to the Blue Mountains. A very special experience is the three-night stay at Emirates One & Only Wolgan Valley. By clicking on Hotels, you will get more information and great pictures.
7. Day
Back to Sydney you fly with Qantas Link to Tasmania for three nights and stay at the Saffire Freycinet. By clicking on Hotels, you will receive detailed information and magic pictures.
Important notes:
Getting there: Of course, Australia is far away from Europe, but the more often you fly, the shorter the route seems to get and Australia is easily accessible on a flight with Emirates on First Class from Frankfurt with a stopover in the cosmopolitan city of Dubai. You can also fly with Qatar Airways from Frankfurt with a stopover in Doha. We flew on Business Class in 2017 to Sydney with the state-owned flag carrier of Qatar, but honestly the Business Class in the Dreamliner as well as the First Class in the A380-800 wasn´t a luxurious flight experience. Only the bar in the A380-800 was really nice.
Weather:
Sydney´s winter months are June to August.
Sydney´s summer months are December to February. Yes, it can be hot in the summer. As I prefer the sun, we always travel to Australia in December / January.
The wettest month of the year is generally March.
The beginning of spring, from September to October, is also pretty nice for people, who don´t like the hot temperatures.
Have a nice stay,
Your Amal
