POTTY MUMMY continues her adventure in Sydney, Australia, where she discovered it's a "buggy friendly" city – though you may be surprised at the high cost of stuff you have to buy.
A massive thanks to her for this informative and evocative insight into what must be for many, a holiday of a lifetime…
LAST May, due to the pesky credit crunch, my husband found himself with rather more time on his hands than he had anticipated, so after a short planning period the Potty Family (me, my husband and our two sons then aged four and two,) packed our bags and headed off Down Under for five weeks.
Sydney is beautiful, there is no denying it.
The harbour, with its bridge and opera house is breathtaking, and there is a wealth of things to do. We'd allocated a week, but it still wasn’t enough.
Travelling with two small boys obviously affected our plans, but less so than you might think - this is a buggy friendly city, although some of the hills, whilst not that high, are quite steep and might take it out of your calf muscles…
Here then are a few pointers that I might give to friends who were travelling there:
Money
Do not expect Sydney to be cheap. It’s London prices, sadly.Time and again we were surprised by the cost of basic items.
Travel
The best way to get around if you’re water-front based is to buy a carnet of ferry tickets.Not only will you travel with the locals (if you’re fool-hardy enough to brave them at rush-hour), but if you’re travelling with young children then even the trip to whichever attraction you’re visiting becomes an adventure.
Accommodation
Think about staying in a serviced apartment instead of a hotel.There are plenty of them in Sydney (not cheap particularly, but then nothing is in Sydney) and it gives you the freedom to sleep in, have breakfast whenever you want, feed the children whatever you want, and possibly have a little more space than you might in a hotel room.
Getting there
Beware unscrupulous taxi drivers at the airport. Make sure you insist on being taken by the shortest route to your destination; our journey to the airport as we left was 20 per cent cheaper than our early morning trip into town when we arrived.
Slip, slap, slop
Don’t forget your suncream and a hat. Even if you go in the Australian winter as we did, you can still get burnt in the incredibly bright sunshine.At the same time, if you are there at the cooler time of year, remember to take a couple of jumpers; it can get quite chilly in the evenings, and apparently it can rain a lot (although happily, we didn’t see any there…)
Places of interest
Hang out on Circular Quay for a while, soaking up the atmosphere (if you’re travelling by ferry this will probably happen anyway).There is some excellent street theatre here – as my husband found to his cost when he ended up being pulled into one act and supporting a Cornish entertainer balancing on a unicycle on top of a five-metre pole, whilst juggling a chainsaw and various knives…
Take a stroll around The Rocks looking through the shops and stores before heading for one of the quayside hotels to sit on the quay side to watch the sun set, cold beer in hand.
Don’t miss Darling Harbour with its buzzy cafes and marina
Visit the fish market – anywhere crowded with Japanese tourists buying their sushi has to have a pretty good pedigree. And if you do as we did and sit out front on the picnic tables watching the pelicans as you eat your delicious sea food, beware of the gulls and their thieving ways! There’s a bird out there that my oldest son still hasn’t forgiven for making off with the last of his calamari…
Consider forking out for a day’s car hire and driving out to the Blue Mountains for the day.They are very beautiful, and it’s worth getting out and taking the odd hike if you have the time.Don’t however expect to be overwhelmed by the quality of the so-called picturesque towns. Cotswold villages they are not…And if you do make the trip, be sure to go to Echo Point in Katoomba. If you’re lucky you might even get to see the view (we didn’t, too misty).
If you can afford it, or are travelling as a slightly larger group, a trip sailing on Sydney Harbour is spectacular. Whilst the ferries do give you a good idea of water-based life, a morning on a crewed yacht (i.e. you don’t have to do any of the hard work!) under sail is spectacular, and you can go pretty much anywhere you choose.Don’t be dissuaded if you have young children, either. We managed fine with our two (although I must admit I had tight hold of my younger son’s life vest the entire trip).
Food and drink
Don’t be afraid to take the kids out for dinner in the evening. Even some of the smarter restaurants in Sydney are happy to accommodate small children if they are warned in advance, cooking up good plain food for them that might not be on the menu.
Pick up some sandwiches and picnic in the Botanic Gardens. Not only is it a beautiful, green and open environment with gorgeous views, but if you’re there around lunchtime there is endless amusement to be had from the legions of locals putting the units in, pounding up and down the steps or along the waterfront.
I particularly enjoyed those being shouted at by enterprising sergeant major types running lunchtime boot-camps for office workers. Whatever floats your bloat…
Finally, just enjoy it – you’re going to have an amazing time!
For more colourful ‘on-holiday’ reports from our trip, check my blog
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