Today we visited Sydney Aquarium, Darling Harbour, sailed under the Harbour Bridge and next to the Sydney Opera House. In the afternoon we took a ferry to Manly Beach then watched the sunset at the Opera Bar.

We woke up quite quite refreshed after a busy day visiting The Rocks, Sydney Harbour and Bondi Beach yesterday. Our jet-lag seemed to have disappeared too.

After buying an Opal Card for us to use on the Sydney Metro, we made our way into Sydney city centre on the light rail.

But first we needed to decide on what to see, so we had a quick planning meeting (with a cold pint) at the Pyrmont Hotel Bar.

Sea Life Sydney Aquarium

With our day all planned out we crossed the Pyrmont Bridge to our first attraction, the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium.

This is a huge aquarium that is home to various aquatic beings of Australia. In fact it boasts over 700 species in 14 different zones that include the Jurassic Seas, Discovery Rockpool, Shark Walk and a Great Barrier Reef display.

Some of the sea-life we glimpsed were dugongs, sharks, stingrays and penguins. As well as a fish that strangely resembled a human gland.

We found the fish at Sydney Aquarium to be fascinating and we could certainly see why it’s one of Sydney’s most popular attractions.

Darling Harbour

Leaving the creatures of the sea behind us, we then walked around Darling Harbour. This is a residential and leisure district named after former Governor of New South Wales, Lieutenant-General Ralph Darling.

Some of the city’s other famous venues are located here including the Maritime Museum, Powerhouse Museum, Wildlife World and the Convention Centre. There are also a huge number of restaurants, bars and shops to spend money in.

We were really impressed with the view of the city centre and the harbour from the promenade walk. There seemed to be a perfect picture in every direction we looked.

Ferry to Circular Quay

From Darling Harbour we decided to take the ferry to Circular Quay. The journey took about 15 minutes and it was amazing to see the Sydney skyline, Opera House and Harbour Bridge from the vessel. The scene from McMahons Point was a particularly impressive sight to behold.

It was really good to discover that we could use our Opal Cards for the journey too. Definitely a way to save some money.

An amusing moment came when my wife briefly got up to take a photo, but without hesitation, someone resembling J.R. Hartley of Yellow Pages fame took her seat.

Ferry from Sydney to Manly

Once we arrived at Circular Quay we immediately got onboard another ferry, this time to the suburb of Manly.

Again the views of the city from the ferry were  superb. Within a few minutes of departure we sailed past the imposing Fort Denison. This fort was a former correctional and military facility that was built in 1840.

During the 30 minute journey we also sailed passed Bradley’s Head Lighthouse and Smedley’s Point before arriving at Manly.

Manly Beach

Getting the ferry to Manly was obviously thirsty work, mainly becuase the bar was closed. As a result our first priority was to get a liquid refreshment in The Bavarian, a German themed bar at Manly Wharf.

Once our thirst was quenched, we set off for a walk around Manly. The suburb of Manly is one of the most popular places to visit in Sydney because of its famous beach. Indeed, hundreds of people were on the beach either taking in the sun or having a dip in the sea.

While Hayley decided to sit on the beach for a while, myself and Jam retreated to a famous nearby pub, the Hotel Steyne for a quick swill.

With the day getting on it was then time to head back to Sydney, so we retraced our steps back to the ferry terminal. 

Unfortunately as we were running to get the ferry, Hayley took quite a tumble and gave her knee and ankle a bash!

We still made the ferry though, but it was astonishing to see how quickly the bruising came out on her leg on the trip back.

Opera Bar, Sydney

Arriving back at Circular Quay we decided to make the short walk to the Opera Bar. This is an outdoor bar located near the Opera House and it looks out over Sydney Harbour. Although our walk to the bar took much longer than expected thanks to ‘hop-a-long Hayley’.

Even though the prices were extortionate at the bar, it was worth it just to watch the sunset over the city while having a drink.

It was weird to see some bats circling overhead too. Perhaps they could smell the blood on Hayley’s leg?

The Opera Bar wrapped up an amazing day in Sydney quite nicely for us. We are off to the Australian capital Canberra tomorrow. Hopefully we can have an equally great day there.

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