We arrived in Sydney from Melbourne in mid-afternoon, caught the airport train into Central and then had our 10-minute walk from the train station enlivened by these guys forgetting to set the handbrake on their truck. This is what happens when a loaded truck rolls back from the far side of the road and hits the kerb:

They weren't having a good day, but it could have been a far worse one if there had been anything in its path ...

We dumped our luggage at the hotel and caught a bus to the ferry terminal to catch the Manly Ferry past the famous Harbour Bridge ...

And of course a building that needs no introduction:

I darkened this one to create a silhouette - in reality we arrived back a good hour before sunset:

This gave us time to walk from the Circular Quay through the Royal Botanic Gardens to the far peninsula, known as Miss Macquaries Chair. I'd identified this as a likely spot for sunset photos of the Opera House and bridge. We had about 40 minutes to wait for this view:

And a further half an hour for this one:

A few hundred metres to the left gave this view of the city:

As we were only in Sydney for a day and a half, we wanted to make the most of things, so after walking back across the park we carried on to the Sydney Tower. Not quite as impressive as Melbourne's Eureka Tower, it's still not a bad view from 1,014 feet up:

Daylight photos the next day felt pedestrian in comparison. We took a circular monorail trip (rubbish for photos due to the filthy glass, but quite a good way of seeing a bit of the city), then lunch at the Australia Centre:

Then a walk past you-know-what:

To climb the south-east pylon of the Harbour Bridge. Interestingly (or not), the pylons are not a structural part of the bridge: it's supported entirely by the steel arch. They were an afterthought to add visual interest.

For such a famous landmark, the signposting to the Bridge Steps is rubbish. We had to ask directions from three people, two Australian guys, who were quite vague, and finally a woman who gave clear and accurate directions; she was from Manchester.

The climb was hot, but there was a cooling breeze at the top.

Perhaps it's just when I first saw photos of Sydney, but to me shots of the Opera House and city from here had a 1970s postcard look to them:

Sadly the pylon closes at 5pm, so you can't take night-shots from here (sunset was at 19:09).

We then returned to the Circular Quay once it got dark:

It was surprisingly quiet, and long exposures rendered almost invisible the few people who did wander through the scene.

And that was my Australian holiday done. I have a feeling I'll be back sometime.
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