SYDNEY ON NEW YEAR’S EVE

A STUPENDOUS VISIT TO SYDNEY ON NEW YEAR’S EVE

It was on the 25th of December – the day of Christmas. I was in the party-mode all day. Christmas was full of fun and no work. After the grand day was over and all my friends went to their respective houses, I and my wife sat down at the dining table to have the last meal of the day. The conversations were very casual at the dinner table. I had just started eating the delicious hamburgers when my wife asked me about the New Year. I had not thought much about New Year at that point in time.

My wife then told me that she dearly wanted to see the New Year celebrations in Australia. My wife had never gone to Australia although I was an avid traveler to Australia. I told her, ” In that case, we should spend some romantic time in Sydney while watching the New Year from Sydney Harbor. ” She chuckled and hugged me. So, it was sure that we were going to spend the New Year in Sydney. Hooray!!

On the 29th of December, at about 8 pm, we packed our bags with the necessary articles and reached the San Francisco International Airport. There we took the direct flight to Sydney. The New Year was approaching us and we were approaching Sydney. It was a 15 hours long flight. Also, the time difference of 14 hours between the US and Australia made us reach the Sydney International Airport on the morning of 31st December. As soon as we reached Sydney, we could feel the enthusiasm of the New Year. All the people around us seemed very excited regarding the once-in-a-year festival.

At that time, the weather in Australia was warm, which was absolutely perfect to escape the winters of the Northern Hemisphere.

I had booked the hotels in advance on the day after Christmas. We were really fortunate as all hotels in Sydney usually get booked by the first fortnight of December. We ordered a cab and made our way to the hotel. I and my wife saw the grand decorations of Sydney on the way. We were very much sure that this New Year would be a memorable one.

We reached our hotel and ordered some food. Then we took some rest for about two hours to regain the energy that we lost in the traveling. After a rejuvenating rest, we were 100 percent ready to enjoy Sydney of the New Year. We started exploring Sydney before the occurrence of the New Year.

As my wife was fond of shopping and various attractions ( honestly speaking, I also love shopping 😅), we went to the Rocks. It is located near the Sydney Harbor and is a one-stop solution for all types of recreation, no matter whether you wanna do shopping or have a cup of coffee at one of the many cafes. It has also various historical buildings and souvenir shops and even quality pubs.

We bought some environment-friendly crackers to celebrate the New Year in style. My wife and I bought some artworks and souvenirs, which were pretty awesome. Then, we had our lunch which consisted of steak barbecue and traditional beer. We also took some rest under a tree in a nearby park.

Now, it was time to enjoy some live music and have some entertainment. And what could be better than Darling Harbor? The Darling Harbor always buzzes with people as it has a load of attractions such as shops, museums, exhibitions, and a lot of bars and restaurants. We enjoyed some amazing swings in Darling Harbor. Moreover, we made some good friends there. These Aussies were quite friendly and they were also heading to the grand firework celebrations at Sydney Harbor and the Sydney Opera House at midnight.

Well, for now, we had plans of going to the Taronga Zoo. There we encountered hundreds of variety of animals such as koalas, kangaroos ( both red as well as tree kangaroos), Asian elephants, Sumatran tigers, and many more. The main attraction in the Taronga Zoo was the show of fireworks. It felt like heaven. We had a mini picnic type of tour in the Taronga Zoo. We joined a group of people who were crazy about the New Year. We played a lot of games and had good fun. It was really amazing.

Spending time this way, the afternoon turned into night. Now, everybody wanted to party hard to dance and rock New Year’s Eve.  And the Harbor Party at Luna Park is undeniably the most exciting party on New Year’s Eve. The fireworks were making various patterns in the night sky. We enjoyed the amazing talent of music at the Harbor Party. My wife and I danced to the tune of the music. There was a hard party accompanied by live performances by the Pendulum, the legendary Australian drum and bass band.

After dancing for some time, I and my wife went to the scariest yet adventurous roller coaster of Luna Park – the Wild Mouse. I bought two tickets and then we waited for the next ride to come. The people in the previous ride seemed as like they had got an electric shock 😂. Their hairs were raised. I started to feel some sort of fear but my wife seemed to be the captain of our ride. The roller coaster rose up to a marvelous 50-60 meters with a speed reaching up to 100 kph.

Then it was time to go to Bondi Beach. Bondi Beach is perhaps the best beach in entire Australia because of its golden shoreline and the thrilling waves. Every New Year, there is a grand party at Bondi Beach which is called the ” Shore Thing “. It is set in the park and Corso with the sea making a spectacular backdrop against the stage full of world-renowned DJs and rockstars. My favorite among them was DJ Carl Cox and I got to see him perform in front of my own eyes. My wife’s favorite was Roger Sanchez and he too was performing to the beat.

Then we spent our time in one of the most notorious underground parties of Sydney known by the name of ‘ Purple Sneakers ‘. It felt like a party in a grand house with over a thousand DJs rocking the night from different rooms and balconies.

Now, it was the time to break all records in the history of New year’s celebrations.  Oh Yeah! We were going to the Sydney Harbor Bridge, one of the world’s longest arch bridges, to witness the most sensational fireworks in the entire world set off from the Sydney Opera House, another modern marvel. 

There were thousands and millions of people there. The sound in the air was so high that I and my wife couldn’t hear each other properly. Finally, after the huge shouts and screams, it was clocking 11:59:50. All the people were at the peaks of their enthusiasm. We shouted with all our energy, ” Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One, and HAPPY NEW YEAR. ” I and wife kissed each other and wished ‘ Happy New Year ‘ to everyone around us. Everybody was happy and it became a memorable moment in our lives.

We then headed to the Gala Concert at the Sydney Opera House. This was the most amazing party filled with the greatest opera hits of all time and the most luscious food in entire Australia prepared by the celebrity chef Matt Moran. It had premium wines and some beverages which I had never heard of. I and my wife ate the delectable dinner consisting of premium barbecue, unique grilling sausage, steak, and various other items. We danced and partied till 3.30 P.M. It was simply amazing and we would remember it for lifelong.

After that, I thought we would return to the hotel. But my wife had read about the Cockatoo Island where people could camp under the stars while experiencing the New Year at the same time. It was really a good idea and so instead of going back to the hotel, we sneaked out to Cockatoo Island. We booked our tent and went into it. From the tent, the night sky of Sydney looked stupendous with stars twinkling gently. There were also various couples like us who had come to make incredible memories in Sydney.

The next day, after the great New Year’s Eve in Sydney, we went to our hotel. Then, after sightseeing in Sydney a bit more, we went to the Sydney International Airport in the evening. The beautiful New Year’s memories which I made in Sydney flashed before me. I really didn’t want to leave Sydney. But with a big heart, I stepped on the airplane. We then reached the San Francisco International Airport and within a few minutes, we were in our home. We certainly had left Sydney, but the memories would surely be with us.