My Australian adventure had already been pretty awesome, beginning with a 900-mile sail from New Caledonia (and participating in the Down Under Rally events) and most recently including an 8-day road trip around Tasmania.

Now, for my last week, I flew from Hobart to Sydney. I would visit the iconic city of Sydney, and use it as a home base to explore surrounding beaches and National Parks.

Public transportation in Sydney is good, starting with the very easy train ride from the airport to the Central Station in the city center. One thing that makes the public transportation so easy is that you can just swipe your chip-enabled credit card at the turnstiles in lieu of having to purchase a ticket or token ahead of time. This works on trains, buses, and ferries!

Upon arrival at the Central Station, I made the short walk to my hotel, Meriton Suites Kent Street.

On my walk, I noticed the sleek new rail line and trams running along George Street; but the trams were empty! I quickly learned that the city was just launching a new tram service along this main downtown thoroughfare. Throughout my stay, empty trams would run up and down the street, making all the stops. Safety officers on foot would patrol the route. Not only were they testing the system, but they were also “conditioning” the smart-phone-addicted pedestrians to watch their step!

On my first full day in town, I joined a free walking tour with “I’m Free Walking Tours”. This was a great way to get to the know the neighborhoods and key spots. Our guide was friendly, knowledgeable, and funny. He gave me a few inside tips to the secret watering holes of Sydney. More on that later.

Over the next few days, I circled back to spend a bit more time at some of the famous sights – the Opera House, Harbor Bridge, and Royal Botanic Gardens – and strolled along the boardwalk at Darling Harbor, narrow passageways of The Rocks, and bustling sidewalks along George Street and the CBD.

In the evenings, I wandered about, trying to find the “secret” bars that the walking tour guide shared with me. These prohibition-style speakeasy bars don’t really have signage; they are known by word of mouth, and typically specialize in a certain type of booze – most notable whiskey, rum, or gin. Some of my discoveries include: Old Mate’s Pub, The Barber Shop, Palmer & Co, Lobo Plantation, and Baxter Inn. They aren’t cheap, but they have style and character. I even got my haircut at The Barber Shop before enjoying a gin-and-tonic. (Sorry, I’m not posting links here because part of the fun is trying to research and find these places!)

In hindsight, I feel like I barely scratched the surface of Sydney, leaving some neighborhoods, sights, and activities completely untouched. That’s partly because I spent a significant amount of time outside the city of Sydney, and at the nearby beach towns of Bondi and Manly.

Bondi was a day trip via public bus. I took the bus from Sydney to Bondi, and then made the coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee. I had a nice lunch at a café, and then took the bus back to Sydney.

I also went to Manly for the weekend. To get there, I took a relatively inexpensive and short ferry ride from the Circular Quay Wharf in Sydney to Manly. If nothing else, the ferry ride is a fun way to see the harbor, including passing by the Sydney Opera House.

The town and beach of Manly was very nice. I preferred Manly over Bondi, personally. I spent two nights at the beachfront Novotel Sydney Manly Pacific hotel, and enjoyed a couple of great meals at The Pantry while overlooking the beach. In the evenings, I enjoyed a sundowner at Hugo’s while watching the ferries come and go.

The highlight in Manly was taking the coastal walk from Manly to Spit Bridge, and back. (Most people do this long walk in only one direction, taking the bus back to their starting point. But I had so much time, I just made a day of it and walked both directions.) It was very scenic, but watch out for the big “water dragon” lizards!

Back in Sydney, I started planning my adventure to the Blue Mountains National Park. I was going to take the train from Sydney to Katoomba, which would be my launch pad into the Blue Mountains National Park. But at this point, the wildfire situation in New South Wales was getting very bad. Over 100 wildfires were burning out of control in various parts of the state. Smoke in Sydney was building up to the point where people started wearing masks. The more research I did, the more I realized traveling inland may not be such a good idea. My flight home was in a few days, and I didn’t want to get “stuck” inland due to fires or inoperable trains. The final straw was when I read that a new fire had started just a couple of miles from Katoomba – my intended destination. So, I pulled the plug on the hiking adventure. Bummer.

Sydney air was really bad at this point. So, I took the ferry back out to Manly for another couple of days of fresh sea breeze. Then I headed back to Sydney for a final day of laundry and bag re-organization before my flight home. For this final night, I stayed at the Meriton Suites Campbell Street.

My time in Sydney, and Australia for that matter, came to an end on December 5, when I made the long flight back home. My Australia adventure was unforgettable, from the sailing to the hiking, from the beaches to the cities. I will be back! That said, I was also happy to be home in San Carlos -- and actually home in my apartment versus yet another hotel.

For the Holidays, I’ll head to Oregon to see my family for Christmas. Then, I’ll spend then next month or two in the Bay Area, catching up with friends and planning adventures for 2020….