Viking Description: Sydney was founded as a penal colony in 1788 and is celebrated for its magnificent natural harbor. It has grown into the major cultural center of Australia, beloved for its all-embracing, free-spirited nature. The cultural jewel in its crown is the iconic Sydney Opera House, a UNESCO World Heritage Site nestled harborside like a gleaming white bird taking wing. Adjacent, the Royal Botanic Garden displays one of the world’s most important horticultural collections across its 70 acres of flora-lined pathways.
I woke at 5:45am to get out on the Explorers Lounge bow railing around 6:15am while the sun was just starting to redden the sky. It was a clear, calm morning with a full moon in the west, gleaming over the lights of the shoreline along the Sydney headlands.
I thought it was the Queen Mary 2 but it couldn’t have been
I snagged a front row position and waited quite a while for the pilot ship to arrive and for our Resident Expert Historian to start his (only occasionally helpful) commentary through our headsets. I wanted to run around and get some good sunrise shots but I didn’t want to give up my good position at the front rail.
We entered Sydney Harbor as the sun was coming up behind us and the full moon was dipping over Sydney. Pretty darn cool.
The harbor entrance was majestic on this perfect morning. I snapped away as we went through the outer harbor.
We rounded a corner and the iconic Opera House and Bridge came into full, glorious view. It was a sight of a lifetime, a peak moment well worth the cost and minor aggravations of the journey. The full moon even obliged with a prime position over the Harbour Bridge.
Lo and behold, the Queen Mary 2 was already docked in the prime location by the Opera House. They beat us in somehow, but it must have meant they came in even earlier which must have been inconvenient for their thousands of passengers. Too bad for them. The Queen actually distracted a little from the Opera House and Bridge visual. The ship was a little out of scale. But it was still kind of cool to see her there.
I kept snapping away. Yes, many of these photos look just like another but I couldn’t resist trying for that perfect shot. I feel like there’s at least one in here, maybe more, but I have a hard time choosing. And besides, when would we get this view again? And we were so lucky to have clear skies and mild weather. Cue the choir of angels.
We slowly came parallel to the iconic and eye-catching Sydney Opera House. Did you know it was three separate buildings?
With the Queen Mary 2 hogging the prime parking spot, and with our ship being smaller and able to slide under the Harbour Bridge, we were relegated to the secondary White Bay Cruise Terminal across the ANZAC Bridge about 20 minutes from downtown. The good news was we were able to sail under the Harbour Bridge, something the Queen Mary 2 passengers would never experience. Hah!
As we were about to dock, I gave up my front row position and ran down to grab some breakfast before our excursion. We had the first one of the day, and the ship was already running slightly behind schedule. I found Barb at breakfast after I finished. She had watched the Opera House go by from our room’s balcony and on deck with one of her buddies who took some shots of her (unfortunately pointing into the sun but still not too bad).
Time for our excursion! We were first off, though in fact our ship arrived about 30 minutes later than planned…mostly due to waiting for the pilot boat. The upshot was that our excursion time was trimmed a bit since our bus and guide were scheduled for a different excursion in the afternoon.
- Sydney Panorama (Included), Barb and Bill
- Duration: 3 hours 30 minutes, 8:30 AM
- Scenic Drive through Australia’s Cultural Capital
- Be captivated by vibrant Sydney and take in the city sights in comfort on a scenic motor coach tour. Begin your journey to Circular Quay. Along the way, your guide will regale you with stories of Sydney’s past and present, and point out various sights around the city. Historically, some of its denizens were colorful characters who had moved to Sydney from elsewhere and were known to adopt a somewhat unconventional view of the law. Biographies of these immigrants make for entertaining stories today. Take in views of Jørn Utzon’s Sydney Opera House across the water and the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Then, step on the shores of the world-famous Bondi Beach and enjoy the stunning views. You may choose to return to your ship by coach or ferry; alternatively, explore more of Sydney at your leisure.
Our guide Carol was a very talkative and informative Australian lady, probably the best guide we had on the trip. She kept up a nonstop patter about the places we passed by on the bus. We made a quick stop at Mrs. Macquarrie’s Chair for photos though given the quick time (dictated by the Sydney traffic cops) we had to choose between getting the view of Opera House or running over to see the granite chair carved by convict laborers for the Governor’s wife (though I ran over for a view of the chair from above…not optimal).
We drove out to South Head near Watson’s Bay to see harbor entrance headlands we had just sailed through.
From there, we drove to Bondi Beach where Carol gave us 30 minutes to go to the bathroom or dip one’s toes in the water. Barb was able to do both. I admired her resolve. Bondi is a lovely looking beach but I’m still not a fan of actually getting on the sand, much less in the water.
Our bus headed back downtown where Carol gave us the option to get off near the Queen Victoria Building, a landmark shopping venue. I took the opportunity while Barb stayed on the bus to get back to the ship and finish packing. I spent a few hours getting oriented in Sydney. I looked for a place to eat but wasn’t really hungry or committed to the search.
I wound my way downhill toward Circular Quay and the Opera House. I finally found a few busy food courts where lots of the worker bees were having their quick lunches. I kept walking until I got to the Quay and started taking photos.
The Opera House was as much a sight up close as it was from a distance. I snapped away then bought two tickets for a tour the next day at 1pm. Mission accomplished.
I walked all the way around the Opera House, searching for interesting photo angles.
I started to tire and decided it was time to eat. I went back to one of the food courts near Circular Quay and got a simple ham and cheese crepe with a ginger beer. It was nice to sit for a while inside. After my meal, I made my way over to King’s Wharf in Darling Harbour where the ship’s bus shuttle stopped, passing a bit of public art along the way.
It was a surprisingly long 20-minute walk from Circular Quay to where the ship’s shuttle bus stopped but I guess it was a matter of where they could have buses idle. Still, it was much less convenient than our shuttle stop in Melbourne or any other port, for that matter. I’m glad I don’t have to force Barb to walk it, much less our various buddies with walkers or wheelchairs.
My quick first impression of Sydney was that the harbor was certainly glorious, well earning its reputation as one of the greatest in the world. The variety of stunning views and nooks and crannies around the harbor were impressive and I looked forward to exploring them further. The Opera House and Harbor Bridge were truly iconic, standing out even against the busy skyline and natural setting of the city. The downtown area seemed bigger, richer and a bit more business-like than Melbourne – a little more like Manhattan but still with a lot of shopping areas and a definite buzz in the streets. It would be fun staying here for a week and exploring, as long as Barb and I can agree on agendas and loose itineraries…and meals. The weather forecast looked decent aside from one very hot day on Thursday.
I got back to the ship shortly after 3pm and 15,000 steps later. I got a shower and settled down to type up notes and enjoy our final night aboard the Viking Orion. We had to get our main luggage ready to put out by 10pm, vacate our room by 8am the next morning, and be off the ship by 9am at which point we will taxi (or maybe Uber) over to the Four Seasons for the next stage of our adventure. Once we got our bags packed and in the hallway I took a stroll around the ship taking a few more shots of our Sydney surroundings.
Our last night on the ship was quiet. Barb and I ate at the World Cafe buffet then met Karen and Barb one last time for dessert. Barb worked on the puzzle which was still not quite finished. I took a walk around the top decks one last time then settled in the room to pack and make sure there was no free alcohol left (I succeeded, if you don’t count the small bottle of champagne which was in our fridge the whole time – we should have given it to Karen and Barb but didn’t think of it until later).
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