Sydney | Fig Trees, Harbour Views, and Forested Cliffs

My hotel room wasn’t ready, but at least I could leave my suitcase behind. I had arrived in Sydney by cruise ship in December 2024 and planned to spend a few days exploring before flying to my next destination. A two-day Hop-On Hop-Off bus pass seemed like a useful way to fill the wait. Just walking through Hyde Park to reach the bus gave me something worth stopping for: enormous Moreton Bay fig trees, their roots spreading around the trunks, and the bronze sculptures of the Archibald Memorial Fountain.

The harbour also gave me the familiar pairing of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge, with the white shells on one side and the steel arch on the other. Sydney Cove’s Aboriginal name is Warrane, approximately pronounced “war-ran,” referring specifically to the cove rather than the entire city. My first day’s exploring also took me to Bondi Beach, although the grey skies weren’t encouraging a long stay. A few pictures and an ice cream were enough. Once my hotel room was ready, I was happy to get out of the rain.

The weather was much better the next day, and I spent some time at the Chinese Garden of Friendship. Koi moved through the ponds beneath trailing branches, while rocky paths connected ornamental buildings and shaded corners. The garden offered plenty to look at without needing to rush anywhere. In several views, traditional tiled roofs and dense greenery filled the foreground, with Sydney’s modern buildings rising behind them.

I also visited SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium and WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo. The aquarium’s underwater tunnel was a particular surprise, with a shark swimming overhead while visitors walked beneath it. The penguin exhibit was another highlight, and the resting koala at the zoo seemed perfectly content to let everyone else do the moving. I finished my first full day at Sydney Tower Eye, looking down over the buildings and parkland toward the harbour.

The following day, I joined a motorcoach tour that stopped at Sydney Zoo before continuing into the Blue Mountains. Emus, wallabies, and a lion stretched across sunlit rocks gave way to sandstone cliffs and densely forested valleys. At Scenic World, I rode a gondola above the ravines, walked among tall trees and ferns, and took the Scenic Railway, the world’s steepest passenger railway. The tour also allowed time in Leura, where I ordered a kangaroo burger at Cafe Leura with chips and a Bundaberg ginger beer. I swear it’s better than beef.

Looking back through my pictures, the trees and rock formations feature almost as much as the famous buildings. Central Sydney is on Gadigal Country, while Scenic World stands on Gundungurra Country, a reminder that the places I explored have histories far older than their visitor attractions. Staying beyond the cruise gave me time to see more of that landscape, from a fig tree beside a city path to cliffs overlooking miles of forest.