Our morning started at 3:30am on Tuesday to catch a 6:45am flight from Wellington. We go to the airport about 5am and Ben dropped us off while he parked the car. I got everyone in and tried to get us checked in via the kiosk. We had some trouble with our passports, so we thought, and after about 30 minutes of trying and waiting, we finally learned we needed visas to enter Australia. I wish I could say we were prepared and had them ready to hand over...but we didn't. At that point, I thought we were re-packing up the car and heading back to York Bay for lack of proper documents. But, much to our suprise, they sell them at the airport so we were able to walk across the room and purchase our visas and get on our merry way to customs.
We got through security very quickly as well as customs (who knew you had all these papers to fill out and departure fees to pay prior to leaving???), thankfully because all the time at the ticket counter, etc... made us cut it very close to boarding our plane. So close that we didn't think we'd make it. We arrived to our gate at 6:15am, boarding time...6:15am! Because of the kids, we were able to board first and so our morning of hustle bustle to the plane ended nicely as we loaded up the kids and ourselves onto our 4 Air New Zealand seats.
Yes, I said 4 Air NZ seats. You see, Ben booked our tickets and purchased an infant seat for Caroline. We didn't realize that it meant infant IN LAP seat ticket! Caroline got the privilege of riding in my lap for the 3 hour journey over the ocean to Sydney. Oh good times they were...and the last time we don't purchase 5 tickets! :) She's such a squirmy wormy at this age that she didn't want to be held still for that long. Lesson learned, memories made, moving on...
We arrived in Sydney at 8:30am (2 hours behind NZ time) and went through customs very easily again and found a taxi quickly. (the taxi had a car seat for Caroline...sweet!) Another thing we didn't realize...how far Manly Beach was from the airport. So, one hour and $140 later we arrived at beautiful, sandy and sunny Novotel Hotel on Manly Beach.
Tired yet hungry we checked-in (early I might add...we were so lucky our room was ready and they let us in!) and unloaded our gear and headed out to find something to eat. Around the corner is The Corso. A wonderful pedestrian street of cafes, shops, markets, restaurants and more. On the other side of the block is the Manly Wharf where you catch the ferry to Circular Quay (you know, Sydney Opera House).
We checked out the ferry and its surroundings then headed back to grab some lunch. After lunch we headed back to rest. Even though it's only a 2 hour difference, we were so worn out! It could've been getting up at 3:30am too.
Wednesday we took the ferry to Circular Quay, which is Sydney Harbor. It was breath-taking to ride the ferry around the harbor and dock near the famous Sydney Opera House. I told the kids prior to our trip that we were going to Sydney, where Finding Nemo was made. They were so excited to see Nemo and were quite disappointed to find out that it was not, in fact Nemo's house (which MaeMae still refuses to believe) just a building where people sing. Oh well, I tried to connect it with something they were familiar with...they enjoyed it nevertheless.
We walked around the harbor and took in the beauty of this place. Sydney is definitely much, much larger than Wellington. 386,000 residents in Wellington compared to Sydney's 4.5 million, to be exact. We have definitely found Sydney to be much more commercialized and in a sense, modernized. You will find all sorts of fancy cars here in Sydney, whereas in Wellington and our little Eastbourne area, you will find mostly your average used car, hardly any brand new cars. In fact, Ben was telling me that Japan gets tired of their cars rather quickly and ships them to NZ. Our Cherry Bomb came from Japan. Also, the dress is much more dressy, the shops have many more choices with cheaper prices and you can find just about anything you need pretty easily. We've noticed how much we have grown accustomed to the laid-back, small town way of life in Eastbourne. It's such a nice change.
When we first arrived to "port" we were in need of a little snack so...the kids spotted Baskin Robbins. What would a trip to Australia be if you didn't have some 31 flavors? While eating our delicious American ice cream, we walked around the harbor to the Opera House. It was spectacular and the kids enjoyed running up and down the steps of this famous icon. On the harbor bridge, we saw people doing the bridge walk to the top. The man next to us on the ferry ride over said he did it about 10 years ago and said it was amazing and very safe. They strap you into a steel cable so you are anchored to the bridge at all times. You could strap me in with 10 cables and I still wouldn't climb to the top of that bridge! It was cool to see the people make the climb up, like little ducks, stop at the top to take in the best view in the house and make their descent to the solid ground. Kudos to them!
There were tons of joggers, businesspeople and other tourists, etc... all over the harbor. We found a little park area near the Opera House where we saw a Cockatoo, eucalyptus tree and that crazy hole-making bird while the kids gathered sticks for some game they made up and even got in a game of tag with dad. What a splendid afternoon.
For lunch, we found a little cafe on the harbor and soaked in the warm sun while we ate our freshly made sandwiches. The kids particularly enjoyed feeding the fat seagulls that loiter around all the restaurant tables scouring the ground for scraps. Even going so far as to fight each other for the scraps. It was very entertaining.
After our lunch, we caught the 2pm ferry back to Manly Wharf and made our way back to our hotel. We made some stops along the way visiting an Aboriginal Art Store, market for some fruit and of course, the playground. Oh, we purchased bathing suits for the kids since I left ours at home. $70 later, I won't make that mistake again! We ended the day with a dip in the pool, overlooking Manly Beach and the Tasman Sea.
What a gorgeous day with clear, blue skies and warm sunshine! God is good and we are so thankful for the opportunities He has given us!
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