Prior to visiting Sydney, the image I had in my mind of it was simply Sydney Harbour and the Opera House. But now, having been there, the picture in the mind has expanded to the beautiful coastline that extends miles and miles from Sydney Harbour and the city that lies within the shores. We stayed at a hotel located in between Central Station and Hyde Park, which was a convenient location for us. The afternoon we arrived in town, we went for a walk around Darling Harbour, then made our way over to Hyde Park.
darling harbour
darling harbour
checking out all the jellyfish
the australian flag
pyrmont bridge
hyde park fountain
st marys cathedral
The next morning, we set off to do a section of Sydney’s Great Coastal Walk – a trek that follows the coastline for nearly 60 miles – from Barrenjoey in the north to Cornulla in the south. We started in Circular Quay (at the heart of Sydney Harbour) and ended in Watsons Bay. With a couple detours along the way, we ended up walking 18 miles over the course of 8 hours.
view of the harbour bridge from outside the opera house
the harbour bridge
the yachts of rushcutters bay
the coastal walkway along rushcutters bay
lunch break at double bay
rose bay
we spotted an australian pelican – how fitting!
rose bay
low tide
at rose bay we get a glimpse of how far we’ve walked from the city
queens beach
taking the scenic route
picture perfect
above milk beach
hermitage reserve area
shark beach…no joke – huge shark nets line the swimming area
parsley bay bridge
lady bay – the sydney skyline looks really far away now
south head
soaking in the view at south head
hornby lighthouse
a nice view from sydney harbour national park
This is where we called it a day. We took a bus from Watsons Bay back to the city and found a nice little restaurant for dinner. We would resume exploring this beautiful city by foot in the morning.
Jay and Joann's Journey 
Enjoyed this scenic tour so much. Australia was one place I have always wanted to go. Met a family from there on one of my cruises and corresponded for several years before loosing track of them. That was quite a walk you took – glad you took a bus back. Lv. Grandma
Love your photo tour, what a beautiful place to be. Looks like a perfect day, sunny & breezy…what is the temperature there? ~I think I’d pass on swimming even with the shark nets in place! Yikes!! Loved the two palm tree shot at the end of your day!
Not exactly sure about the temp, because everything is in celcius so when I hear the forecast, it doesn’t sink in. It felt like mid 70s. Agree on the sharks…I can’t imagine swimming and possibly seeing one on the other side of the net!