We arrived in the Sydney harbor at 5:30 am and sailed past the iconic opera house at dawn (see photo). Sydney is located in the state of New South Wales on the eastern side of Australia and has a population of 5 million. It reminds me of a large city in the US, like Chicago. .After docking at the White Bay cruise terminal, we set off on a tour of "the Rocks". The Rocks is the oldest area of Sydney, founded in 1788 when the first convicts from England arrived. Today it has historic buildings that house retail stores, pubs, and art galleries. On weekends, there is an outdoor market selling jewelry, artwork, clothing and food.
The Rocks is also close to the harbor bridge, opera house, observatory and botanical garden. We visited these areas on our own during the afternoon. The botanical garden covers 74 acres and includes 3000 species of flowering plants, trees and ferns. Situated near the botanical garden is the government house, a Gothic-style mansion built in 1840 that is the residence of the governor of the state.
While in Sydney, our ship was able to move from it's original dock in White Bay to Circular Quay, next to the opera house. This location provided a wonderful view of the opera house, main harbor and surrounding area. We were sitting by the opera house when the Viking Sun came under the harbor bridge toward Circular Quay (photo).
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| The Sydney opera house at dawn |
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| Holy Trinity Church |
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| Looking across the Sydney harbor from the opera house |
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| The observatory near the harbor |
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| Looking toward the central business district of Sydney |
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| The back side of the opera house |
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| Inside the Calyx at the botanical garden |
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| the royal botanical garden |
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| The government house, built in 1840, beside the botanical garden |
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| The Viking Sun sailing under the harbor bridge toward Circular Quay |
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