Sydney, Australia

Day 1

February 9, 2023

The sail into Sydney was breathtaking. We entered the harbor at 5:30 in the morning when it was still dark. We passed by the iconic Sydney Opera House and under the “Coat Hanger”, the Aussie’s affectionate term for the Sydney Bridge. Then sailed on to our port in White Harbor.

Once the ship cleared customs, we were among the first off to go through immigration and then take a shuttle to Darling Harbor. From there, we followed our map and walked to the Royal Botanic Gardens. We enjoyed the morning exploring the gardens. Although we never made it to the flying foxes, we enjoyed the plants and bird life.

There were several beautiful statues throughout the park, including one for each of the four seasons.

This little bird was searching for treats, but found the hedge a bit of a challenge to walk on.

We stopped for a cold drink of pomegranate kombucha and a red leaf-like bug landed on our table.

Next, we went down to the pond to watch the water birds.

Many of the birds by the pond were busy gathering sticks and grasses for their nests. Some were longer than the birds themselves.

How many of these birds can you name?

How many of these flowers can you identify?

We ended the afternoon with lunch at Jordon’s a seafood restaurant we remembered fondly from our first visit to Australia in 2006. It was a much fancier restaurant than the fish and chips place we remembered, but the food was still delicious.

In the evening, we went to the Sydney Opera House to watch Don Giovanni. It was an excellent production with beautiful music and costumes.