Spending New Years in Sydney

Having celebrated Christmas at home we decided that it could be fun to spend a few days of the kids summer holidays visiting friends and family in and around Sydney. Being near New Years Eve, we always knew that it was going to be busy, however that hasn’t stopped us travelling in the past. 

Arriving in Sydney we arranged to meet up with a few friends in Alexandria where we visited The Beer Bar where there they have about 42 different independent  beers on tap, it was too hard to select just one so I created my own tasting paddle which worked great, allowing me to try beers from a few local breweries that I hadn’t heard of before.  We later wandered over to Bracket Brewing, now this brewery I know and really like so I knew that I was in for a treat and had some great beers whilst catching up with friends.  

The following day we decided to do a day trip to the Blue Mountains as the kids hadn’t been there before. The trip from where we were staying was around 80-90 minutes and we arrived and managed to find a decent parking near Echo Point in Katoomba, the location of the famous Three Sisters rock formation, one of the region’s most iconic landmarks. We walked up to the edge, taking in the panoramic views of the Jamison Valley and the Three Sisters where we obviously snapped the mandatory photos, including ‘selfies’ before we embarked on the Three Sisters walk, a well-marked track that winds its way along the cliffs and enabled us to get a closer view of the sisters.

Once we finished here, the plan was to attend ‘Scenic World’ where we hoped to experience the Scenic Railway, the steepest passenger railway in the world, the Scenic Cableway and the Scenic Skyway, which allows you to travel across the ravine in a glass-floored cable car. Last time we were here (which yes, was a very long time ago) you arrived and purchased single tickets to each ride. Now however, it’s all part of a combined ticket and you have to reserve a time ahead of time. Well guess what, we hadn’t booked and the next available time was not until 5.30pm that afternoon so that wasn’t happening. 

Ah well, not much we can do so we jumped back into our car and drove to the city centre of Katoomba where we stopped at the Mountain Culture Brewery where I created a tasting paddle of some of their craft beers, with Suz having one of her favourite beers, whilst we enjoyed a great lunch.

Our last stop in the mountains was at the charming village of Leura, where we had promised Xander and Eloise that they could visit the local Leura Candy Shop. It’s a very small and quaint shop, but filled by rows upon rows of colourful lollies, chocolates, fudges and more. The kids were in paradise and found it very hard to settle on just a few items to enjoy during the rest of the day and later. We wandered along the streets of Leura for a while after this, trying to find a local café that would serve coffee (which after 3.00pm is a hard call in Australia) but managed to find one that was just closing, with the coffee in hand, we started our trip back to Sydney after a fun day out exploring the Blue Mountains. 

However, our day wasn’t finished as we would be attending a local T20 Big Bash League game between rivals Sydney Thunder vs Sydney Sixers. We made our way to the Sydney Showgrounds and arrived with time to spare before the start of the match. Whilst waiting, we got both of them a cap supporting the teams, opposite teams of course as Eloise favours the Sixers whilst Xander likes Thunder. After some playtime in the the local playground, the gates opened and we made our way to our seats, found some food and sat down to enjoy the match. 

Being rivals, the atmosphere in the stadium was electric with fans from both teams dressed in their team colours. The coin was tossed and Thunder was to start batting and we saw plenty of boundaries with wickers falling and momentum shifting back and forth along each over. We had great fun seeing both Xander and Eloise enjoying the spectacle of it all, taking part in the ‘Mexican’ wave and dancing to the songs, trying to make the main screen. 

Up to this stage of the day, we enjoyed clear blue skies however we could tell that the sky overhead had began to darken, with ominous clouds looming on the horizon. We finished watching the first innings with Thunder batting, however not long after Sixers started their innings, the weather took a turn for the worse and rain started to fall, interrupting play and forcing the players off the field. Despite us hoping for the rain to clear, the weather apps showed that there was quite a bit of rain on the way, at which stage we decided to leave early to beat the crowds. Upon arriving home we checked the score and nope, the play didn’t resume and the game ended in a tie. Despite the rain, we really enjoyed ourselves and had a memorable afternoon at the cricket. 

The following day, as it was New Years Day, we decided against driving into the city and simply caught the train. We had promised the kids that we would take them to the Lego Store, apparently one of the largest Lego stores in the world. Whilst there, we saw custom built large format brick features such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge and also the Minifigure Factory where both Xander and Eloise got to create and customise their own LEGO Minifigures and watch as they were being printed in the store.

After that we joined up with Suz’s dad Eric and together we all went to see see “Wicked the Musical” at The Star, where we were transported to the magical land of Oz and experienced the story of Elphaba and Glinda. Luckily we had prepared and together watched the movie  ‘The Wizard of Oz’ from 1939 so the story was fresh in our minds. The musical was great and kept us captivated from start to finish.

Later that evening, back in our accommodation, we finished our day (year) by watching the Sydney New Years Eve fireworks celebration on the TV (we weren’t going to sit and hold a spot along the harbour for 18 hours just to watch it live). As we weren’t too far from the city however, we managed to catch glimpses of distant fireworks through the windows, adding an extra layer of fun by having it both on the TV and out the window. 

Our last bit of adventure came two days later when we decided to do a day trip to the beaches in Jervis Bay. We started by travelling south along the coast to Currarong, a scenic drive offering some great coastal views with a quick stop at Kiama before arriving at our destination and catching up with family. 

Not long after, we travelled onwards to Huskisson where we stopped for lunch before we set off for Greenfield Beach, for a dip in the ocean. Eloise was straight into it, Xander wasn’t quite as keen however once we reached the white sands and clear waters, they were both in the water among the waves and it was hard to get them to leave.

As the sun began to set, we bid farewell to the beach and made north again where we stopped in Wollongong to catch up with grandparents for dinner and later also friends who we hadn’t seen for a while, all in all a great day was had. 

We had a great little holiday in and around Sydney, catching up with family and friends and left to travel back home feeling that we had a great little summer break.