Sydney Tourist Edition

Friends were out from the UK, and while one grew up here and her husband had been many times, I always try to find something new for them to do. So we went off to walk around North Head for the wild flowers and possibly whales....and the whales did come. 

The idea was to get the views from the heads and then that night take in sunset from Bar 83, with a clear view of the heads, so they could see the city from the heads, and the heads from the city. It's quite amazing to get the full view of the harbour, and how intricate the shoreline is.

Even at a distance, the whales were mesmerising. Such magnificent creatures! Alas the zoom did struggle a bit from that far away.  

We not only got whales breaching playfully, we were lucky enough to get close to a family of YellowTailed Black Cockatoos. My friend, even the one who lived here for 20 years, had never seen a black cockatoo, or a whale, so it was very exciting on both fronts.

A woman who seemed to know what she was talking about said the mother left the baby in the tree and that was why it was squawking so much, but that was how they got it to fly and fend for itself.

We then went off to Freshwater beach for a swim (but didn't) and lunch at the Pilu Baretto, the Takeaway/Cafe next to Pilu with lovely beach views and a simple but tasty menu.

While we were eating, a lone whale decided to breach at Freshwater! This was something not even I had seen off the beach there. Alas, even though it was closer, I missed the shots each time, left only with pictures of the splash. It has prompted me to go whale watching on Sunday while everyone is at the Footy final.

I dropped the visitors home and then headed back to meet them at 5.30 at the bar at the top of Westfield tower. The views are always lovely, even though the clouds that rolled in spoiled the sunset I'd been planning for.

A cocktail later, the city flicked on it's lights and we watched the blues and oranges disappear and transition to the sparkling lights against the black sky. It's well worth doing and the minimum spend of $30 a head is not hard to reach and well worth the price. 

You get 260 degree views, and even if not at a window, you can walk to the spots you want to take photos. 

And there are plenty of photo worthy views.

Before booking, check that your allotted 90 minutes falls before sunset and into darkness if you want peak city views. Though even in the clear blue afternoon, it won't be disappointing.

We finished the night round the corner for dinner at Fabbrica - plainer Italian food to suit all the dietary requirements. They also make negronis and a great hazelnut tiramisu so they tick my boxes too! 

All in all, it was a really lovely day off for me, showing off our beautiful city in ways that her other friends had not. She is being taken to Mount Annan for the wildflowers and they went on a boat on the Hawkesbury with a friend coming down from Newcastle so it's interesting to see that we all get our thinking caps on when entertaining tourists.

We really are so very lucky to live in this beautiful city. We just have to remember as locals to make the most of it from time to time because sometimes it offers us beautiful surprises.

Practicalities:

North Head Fairfax Walk

Pilu Baretto

Bar 83 (you need to book to be guaranteed entry)

Fabbrica

Further Reading:

Bar 83

North Head Walk

Whale Watching

Whales

Whale Season

Sydney by Land - North Head

Whale watching Sydney kidtown

\

Linking with #WaterThursday #YourtheStar   #NatureThursday #WeekendReflection (for the mirror shots)

 

For those interested, more details on the Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo - wiki and Birdlife Australia. Like a lot of Australian native birds, they are big (about 60 cms) and loud! I love the wiki description that you usually hear them before you see them. As my friend had said 'what's that noise? Is it a frog?' and I had picked it as a bird, but I'd never have guessed this bird!



While not the best pic I do love this one as it's wildlife in the city. Like the Opera House seal, it never fails to thrill me to see how lucky we are to have the best of both worlds.