Continued from previous issue

After an enthralling experience at the opera we moved on for something more adventurous. The Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb is a multi-award winning tourist attraction, taking climbers to the summit of the Sydney Harbour Bridge during a 3.5 hour adventure. It was a totally different experience reaching the summit of the bridge and looking on to the city from there. After our 3 hour adventure we rushed to the King Street Wharf so as not to miss out on the Sydney Showboat Dinner Cruise departing at 7.30 p.m. A perfect evening cruise with delicious fusion of style and taste from Sydney's finest seafood to modern international cuisine. Guests are also treated to an extravagant show featuring gorgeous Australian showgirls who have danced their way from the Moulin Rouge to the Showboat.

Our next day was more relaxed with a full day tour to the Blue Mountains. It is a 2.5 hour drive from Sydney and a must-include tour in any itinerary. It is a captivating world of National Parks, spectacular scenery, awe-inspiring vistas and the grandeur of ancient mountains that have remained unchanged from the Jurassic era. The Blue Mountains derive its name from the fact that the gum trees release oil into the air, which reacts with the sunlight to produce a blue haze.

On arrival we experienced the screening of The Edge- a movie which tells one of the greatest stories of humankind. It is the story of discovery and coming to terms with the ancient, complex world we live in. Later we were met by our Blue Mountain Tourism Representative for a briefing of the day’s activities and we were divided into four groups for “The Blue Mountain Challenge“. We were given over 50 questions about the places and shops we visit and were to answer it section by section. It was a unique way to familiarize us with the place. We started from Leura, a beautiful village with lots of Gourmet Shops and bakeries and a local Clock Tower. This is a great place to stroll around and browse fashion boutiques, galleries, bookstores and Bric-a-Brac stores. It also has lovely parks and gardens to enjoy. From there we moved on to Echo Point–it is from here that one gets panoramic views of the Southern Blue Mountains, Kanangra – Boyd Wilderness and the Three Sisters rock formation. In the area there are many lookouts and walks including a path to the Three Sisters Walk and the Giant Stairway. We were told that at night the entire place lights up and I could very well imagine how beautiful it would look.

As our challenge continued, we had to make way to the Scenic World. The Scenic World includes a Scenic Railway, Scenic Cableway, Scenic Skyway, and Scenic Walkway. The Scenic Railway is the steepest incline passenger railway in the world and is entered in the Guinness Book of World Records. The Cableway glides smoothly between Scenic World and the forest floor 545 metres below. Once on the valley floor we strolled through the wilderness of the longest elevated timber boardwalk. The Skyway cable car took us on a 720- metre journey above the ancient ravines and dazzling waterfalls. The end of the day also brought us to the end of our challenge. One of the four teams with the maximum correct answers was to be announced as the winner of the challenge. Our team stood 4th but the experience we gathered was something to remember. We were back in Sydney by 5.30 p.m. and the remainder of the day was for us to explore and enjoy on our own. We were out of Menzies, our centrally located 4-star hotel very close to the Darling Harbour and the Sydney Sky Tower. We took a stroll on George Street, a very popular street for shopping as it has many shops with great discounts. Christmas preparations had already started and the streets and the malls were beautifully lit up and decorated with Christmas decorations.

The next day we took a full day trip to Hunter Valley where we were escorted by Neil Gordon from APT Coaches who gave us ideas on itinerary planning for Hunter Valley and Port Stephens region. Just 4 hours away from Sydney and with more than 120 wineries, Hunter Valley produces some terrific wines, including the Hunter Semillon and Hunter Shiraz. On the way to Hunter Valley we stopped at the Wollombi Village which had a Tavern and a Museum. This stop is included because as a rule all the tourist vehicles need to have a stop after every 2 hours. After the short break we headed to Hunter Valley and our first stop was at the McWilliams Mount Pleasant Estate where we were taken for some wine tasting. Thereafter we visited Grand Mercure Hunter Valley Gardens Hotel - a 4.5-star boutique property surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens with apartment style rooms ideally located close to most of the places to visit in Hunter Valley. We had lunch at The Steakhouse and thereafter we explored the 12 themed gardens at the Hunter Valley Garden of which my favourite was the Story Book Garden featuring timeless nursery rhyme characters. The Story Book Garden is a delight for all ages taking the visitor along on a journey through childhood dreams, memories and fantasies. A number of weddings and conferences are held in Hunter Valley and we had the pleasure of seeing some locals in their traditional garments going to the wineries to attend a marriage in a horse carriage.

We then went to the Hunter Resort for our orientation on wines as to how they are made, the different varieties of wines and the art of wine blending and how they are finally bottled. Of course wine tasting followed thereafter!!

Our next halt was at Port Stephens - an hour and a half away from Hunter Valley. Port Stephens is known as the “Dolphin Capital of Australia”. Its bay is home to around 150 bottlenose dolphins that you get to see all year round. A quite, friendly place and a must- include for all the tours for water and nature lovers. Its amazing to know how such a small place has so many activity options available for tourism. It is a unique place which offers you beach and cruise activities and at the same time you can even go on a sand dune safari and enjoy sandboarding. We reached our hotel Salamander Shores for dinner which is situated on the water at Soldiers Point and each room has a perfect view of the sea in the front. Every morning at 8 a.m. they have a bird feeding session where Lorikeets come to feed on the bread crumbs we offer them.

We had some site inspections for the day at the Oaks Pacific Blue Resort and the Sahara Trails Horse Riding and farmstay after which we headed for the Shark and Ray Feeding Centre . It was a huge pond with friendly Sharks and Sting Rays who love to be fed by the visitors while they cruise around your feet. And then onto Nelson Bay where we had to embark on our Moonshadow Dolphin Cruise - a comfortable 2 hours 15 minutes cruise with our captain guiding us to view the dolphins as they sped by. The unique feature of this cruise was that after some time they released a net in the chilling waters called the Boom Net and the passengers could have a dip and if they were lucky some dolphin may even be swimming along with them. After this unique cruise experience we went for the most diverse activity which was a 4x4 sand dune safari. It was a confused landscape feature with sand dunes that ended into a sea. The Stockton Bight Sand Dunes need to be seen to be believed - covering an area of 2500 hectares along the 32 kilometre long Stockton Beach. The dunes climb up to 30 metres with slopes up to 60 degrees ideal for sandboarding. We did a few rounds of sandboarding but the ease with which we came down the slope, it was with equal difficulty that we climbed up again. This was the final activity of our hectic yet memorable tour which was so accurately planned for us.

Concluded

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