Tam and I came here for our last weekend together before I headed off to Tasmania on my work relocation, and we made the most of the fabulous scenery and weather by hiking a lot! There are quite a few notable hikes in the region so we focused on 2 very different and beautiful hikes. The first was named the Grand Canyon. The morning fog only gave us glimpses of views that awaited.

The hike began easily enough, with a descent. The Blue Mountain area averages about 1000m in elevation above sea level – nothing spectacular height wise, but they do have a very diverse and fantastic cliff and canyon makeup that makes hiking wonderful (and canyoning, rock climbing, rafting, etc!). Not to mention that many hikes such as the Grand Canyon hike are quite easily accessible and make for a great 3-4 hours outdoors.

The descent was already gorgeous and verdant green everywhere. This place sees rain…a LOT of rain.

Even on a dry day there were plenty of waterfalls to be found. And in this spot the track actually takes you behind the waterfall.

Not to mention that you get some great effects with the light this deep in the canyon. The hike mostly entails climbing down in the canyon, a descent of over 200 meters, and then following the river and canyon as it carves it’s way through the mountains and cliffs above.

We came across all sorts of unique areas on the track, walking beneath huge boulders and along streams.

Cliffs would tower on both sides and close in a bit at times, and water continued to stream down in spots (on the far left in this picture below).

Remember that part about having descended 200+ meters? Yes, we have to climb back up that. It was a good and sweaty climb.

But eventually we gained enough elevation to see through to the other side.

And now that the fog had cleared, what a view that climb provided!

The Grand Canyon proved to be a fantastic 4 hours or so of bushwalking, and Tam and I would finish off the day by taking in some of the Blue Mountains most famous sights next…the 3 Sisters and Katoomba.

It all started off the night before at the Star Casino, which featured a lion dance and traditional ceremony. I just happened to be there for that one, so I didn’t have my camera at the read. The next day was a planned activity: take in the parade!

It was a night time parade so Tam, myself and a few friends made our way to the end area of the parade in hopes of things being a bit quieter there. Not so much, but we managed to luck into a pretty nice and high vantage point in a bar.

While we waited for the parade to start we got to enjoy a cold beverage and avoid the crowds. After several delays, the Lions started to show up, heralding the start of the parade!

Many different costumes and performers streamed by.

Not to mention, large floats.

The celebration was for the Year of the Snake, so snakes featured heavily in the parade.

There were many colourful and bright floats.

And lots of big snakes!

Part of the amusement of the parade, other than the performers and pyrotechnics, was watching this guy, in the blue jacket near centre frame direct the paraders. He was VERY enthusiastic and direct on which direction he wanted people to go. Amusingly so!

More giant snakes. I think!

And finally one of several big dragons that came along. We didn’t stay for the entire parade, I think we lasted about 50 minutes before calling it enough. Paraded out!

My Sydney adventures were coming to an end soon but I had one great finale with Tam to go before I left (temporarily) for Tasmania. The Blue Mountains.

The most famous walk in the National Park is the Coastal Walk, a 2 day hike from Bundeena to Otford at the south end. We’d be doing a smaller circuit walk, and as we jumped on the ferry it looked to be a great day to be out and about. Our hike would still encompass a part of the Coastal Walk, so we’d get a good taste.

The ferry got us across in short order. It was a cute little thing.

The first half of the hike was nothing to write home about. Partially because it wasn’t an ‘official’ track. Rather than make the hike a ‘there and back again’ trek, I optioned to try a bushwalk connection trail to make a circuit. Well, it was better in theory than reality as the first part wasn’t a very remarkable or enjoyable hike.

But eventually the track turned towards the ocean and the trees and swamp gave way to open views and coastal cliffs. Let the scenic pictures begin!

This was our turnaround point. While other walkers would continue past us carrying tents and supplies for their 2 days of hiking, we turned back toward Bundeena and started our hike amongst the cliffs.

The cliffs here are simply stunning. It really feels like Australia simply ends and falls straight into the ocean to a great depth.

We stopped along the way to enjoy a lunch of wraps before continuing on. A little further on we happened upon a large black wallaby picking vegetation from the bush. I couldn’t get my camera out in time to capture it unfortunately. It was the first time Tam had happened upon one in the wild so it was a good surprise!

This was the last section of coastal track before we started heading inland back across to Bundeena.

One last look back at some of the cliffs as we climbed the hill. Gorgeous spot!

We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon in the tiny coastal town of Bundeena as we waited for our ferry back to Cronulla. Once back in Cronulla we treated ourselves to some ice cream before catching the train back to the heart of Sydney. All in all, Royal National Park was a beautiful spot to spend a day away from the city!

We began with the Opera House and watching some boats and ferry races. Yes, they race the ferry boats here, and even dress them up. Then we wandered some parks, filled with festivals and food stalls. And since all of these places were filled with people, we decided to take a break from crowds and went and saw a movie instead (Wreck-It Ralph, lots of fun). We then returned to brave more crowds as we watched the tall ship parade in Darling Harbour.

Then we waited on the Pyrmont footbridge for the fireworks to begin. Australia Day fireworks are only beaten by New Years here, so it was to be an impressive display. The massive crowd that had formed at the bridge gates agreed. The bridge was opened to allow the tall ships passage into the inner harbour area, so large groups of people had formed in anticipation of the bridge closing and the footpath reopening. It’s one of the best vantage points for the fireworks.

Once the bridge closed and the gates started swinging open, the crowd surged forward. Pushing, shoving, running…pretty sad display all in all. Small kids and the like pretty much got run over. Tam and I did our best not go get trampled. We still ended up with a pretty good view, with much less fuss and at least we didn’t knock any kids over to get it (unlike some others I imagine). Either way, I know now to avoid that scenario in the future.

But enough of that, on with the fireworks! Yes, more fireworks pictures.

This display WAS a bit different than their usual fireworks, as music and an impressive light show was also incorporated.

The fireworks also seemed more multicoloured than usual!

Another fun night finished. Sydney really does love fireworks…:P

We would investigate further once some of the crowds dispersed but for now the skies were lit on fire in tribute to the new addition to the harbour.

For the Rubber Ducky had arrived.

Standing in reverential awe of The Duck and all it’s grandeur is quite something. It is an experience one can only have when standing near The Duck. Life is simpler, kinder and easier. Worries drain away. There is only The Duck.

When standing in the presence of such a deep, meaningful, enchanting presence, one must give proper respect.

Yes, much to the chagrin of some of my coworkers I babbled incoherently about The Duck for the time it was here. But they simply didn’t understand. One just needs to stare into it’s dark, seeing eyes to comprehend this fact. The Duck is ALL.

Much, much better.

Sydney of course is one of the most famous in the world for New Year’s celebrations, as it is one of the first major cities to ring in the new year (Tokyo being another). The Harbour Bridge is iconic as are shots of the harbour being lit up by fireworks. So I was excited to see it first hand. And the weather would cooperate this year.

I went with Tam to dinner with her friends. It was my first time meeting many of them and I had a great time. Lots of tasty homemade food and fun conversation. We also watched the first round of fireworks from their balcony in Pyrmont. Sydney is pretty neat in that they provide two sets of New Year’s fireworks – the first round is at 9pm for the families and youngsters. Pretty great idea!

Around 11pm we started to file out onto the roads and chaos of New Years Eve. People were everywhere, and we weren’t even close to the main celebrations in Circular Quay / Sydney CBD! We were heading to the shores of Pyrmont to stake out a spot where Tam and friends had watched the fireworks in years past.

Our first spot didn’t work out so well. Crowded with people and with something big obstructing our view, we decided to try the next area. It worked out much better for getting a good view of the bridge and fireworks area. Sydney, with it’s massive harbour, tries to spread out the fireworks so everyone can see them. So there are multiple barges of fireworks scattered around. Another great idea.

We set up here and waited just a short bit for the festivities to begin.

Notice the giant set of lights beside the Harbour Bridge? Ya, that’s a cruise ship. That decided it would delay leaving by a day. Normally that spot is free of obstruction. But our second spot (pictured above), avoided being blocked too much by the ship.

At midnight the fireworks began in earnest!

Pretty much anywhere you looked towards the water there were fireworks. No bad spot to be if you are on the harbourfront!

After a solid 15 minutes of firey explosions things came to an end and people started filing out. It was a great spectacle and fantastic evening!

I took the ferry from Drummoyne to Cabarita and started my walk from there. It was another beautiful day in Sydney with high 20s and sunshine.

The walk wasn’t the most scenic of walks. Much of it was residential or simply normal waterfront. But there were a few interesting points along the way. One I found absolutely odd was this:

This is an actual car ferry, still in operation, as a means to get across the river. It’s the only car ferry left in Sydney because well, everyone else uses the numerous bridges/tunnels.

But not only is it an ancient little car ferry, this ferry is extra special. It’s a cable-driven ferry. Yes, there are a set of cables running across the river that the ferry is pulled back and forth via. Such an antiquitated style of locomotion. Pretty neat.

I continued walking and eventually met someone else…

Hard to spot at that distance, but yup, there is a little fox in there.

Beyond that the walk wasn’t too eventful. This isn’t a major tourist area, just something I put together one nice day. I even passed some abandoned industrial areas. There were quite a few of these surprisingly, so Sydney still has lots of river-front property to expand to if it really needs the land…

After crossing to the North Shore I wandered a bit further to Kissing Point, saw some fish and caught a ferry back to Drummoyne.

Yes, cookies. My becoming world-famous cookies. But I only did the beloved double-chocolate once – I branched out with other varieties this time. My work colleagues and Tam were my cookie-tasting guinea pigs. They didn’t seem to mind!

Good, old fashioned shortbread was made for around Christmas. I also did an oatmeal-raisin cookie for the first time, which turned out pretty well. Then I started moving to fancier items.

Cheesecake cupcakes (topped with strawberry once finished) were a big hit. For my final round of desserts, I made the same thing twice – Nanaimo Bars, a great Canadian treat. They were a big hit. Perhaps something I should sell when I get back to Sydney?

But one cannot subsist on desserts alone (though I try, oh how I try!).

I did attempt several new meals, including a tasty Thai Curry.

But I also made some favourites from my travels, like fancy toasted sandwiches.

And finally, I took on an old nemesis - Butter Chicken. Having failed at several attempts back in Canada, sometimes horribly, this round turned out great. Colour and texture were good, the taste was there too. I was very pleased with the results!

My culinary adventures weren’t just solo however. Though we ate out more often than not, Tam and I did have a few dinners we made in her kitchen. One weekend we took to making pizzas with a variety of delicious toppings! (Next two photos are Tam’s)

And Tam also made some delicious meals solo, including this pineapple curry…in a pineapple! I love pineapple!

So I ate well during my time in Sydney. Not just out at the restaurants but at home as well! And I always had a helper during baking, who even wanted to come with me to work one day.