by Margie A., Product Mgr. & Marsha K., Test Coordinator
When we announced our last minute plans to visit Sydney for five days, naysayers said any trip less than two weeks long wouldn't be worth it. We thought it would be a waste to travel to Australia and not have the opportunity to see the Great Barrier Reef. People said we could never endure a fourteen-hour flight from Los Angeles to Sydney in economy class. All wrong!

We had a fantastic time spending just five days in the beautiful country of Australia, and would encourage anyone to repeat our journey. We two Travelocity.com employees traveled from Dallas to Los Angeles (3 hours) and LA to Sydney for a total of 17 hours in the air. We arrived in Sydney around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday night. The man who we hired for a ride to the Holiday Inn Coogee Beach just happened to be opening up his own tour company -- Harbour City Tours (61-293-440-566). John Williamson, a native Australian who grew up surfing Maroubra Beach, showed us around Sydney and its environs during our stay, and made our trip most memorable. That first night he took us to a beautiful spot where we could see the famous Harbour Bridge and Opera House. Sydney is so beautiful, and so clean! Although we were cautioned to be careful with our possessions, we saw nary a suspicious character (well maybe just one).

Day One, we took a city bus to the Circular Quay, where we caught a ferry to Taronga Zoo. This beautiful zoo schedules talks about various animals, photo ops with giraffes and koalas, and seal and bird shows throughout the day. We spent our time running from one scheduled activity to the next, and have many great pictures to prove it. That afternoon we headed to the Sydney Aquarium, and our regrets over not visiting the Great Barrier Reef vanished. This intriguing aquarium,the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, offers all of the fish you'd see on the Great Barrier Reef, as well as a display featuring "walk through" aquariums where huge sharks and stingrays glide overhead, and smaller fish dart underfoot. After a dinner at Coogee Beach Cafi, we were ready for bed. Although a bit tired during our stay, jet lag was not an issue.

Day Two, we met up with John for ten full hours of sightseeing. Our first stop was a great sight- seeing spot for a gorgeous panoramic view of Sydney's harbor, the bridge, and the skyline. He whisked us around all of the beaches in his 13-passenger van.

The homes in the suburban areas are enchanting with their shiny red tile roofs. However, they go for $250,000 Australian (US $160,000) and up! And having John as our own personal tour guide we felt lucky that we weren't on board a huge tour bus like other tourists.

We saw surfers at Maroubra and Bondi Beaches, and visited a small, picturesque beach that John had frequented as a child. The weather and ocean temperature were very similar to Northern California. Since we went in early November, Australia was just transitioning from spring to summer. We ate a nice and leisurely lunch at a noodle shop cafi in The Rocks - the original home of Australian settlers that has been maintained as a beautiful sightseeing district. Nestled just under Harbour Bridge, it offers lots of opportunities for sightseeing and shopping.

Day Three consisted of walking, shopping, walking, shopping, etc. We found some fabulous bargains at Paddy's Market near China Town, in the heart of Sydney. After our shopping spree, we visited the beautiful Sydney Opera House and a stroll through the picturesque Royal Botanical Gardens.

Day Four, we felt very comfortable in our exploring capabilities and ventured out to the Australian Wildlife Park. We took the city bus to the train station and caught a 45-minute train ride to the Park where we experienced the lives of the kangaroos. We sat right down beside them to feed them by hand.

Next, we ventured over to the koalas where we spent an incredible hour observing and listening to their caretaker talking about their behaviors. We were honored to witness the 'entertaining' 8 month old baby who decided to wake up and venture out away from his mother. After seeing these sights it was back to Sydney. Upon our return to the city, we ventured into more shopping and came across some very talented artists in The Rocks having their weekend market. We chose the Holiday Inn Coogee Beach; Sydney's Seaside Village (pronounced as "could gee") for our first night's stay, and extended our reservation for the entire trip. It was a delight to take the city bus home every night through suburban Sydney, riding with "Sydneysiders" and nary another tourist. We were glad that we stayed at Coogee Beach, rather than in the city, because we felt like we were able to experience what life is like as a true Australian.

Day five, our last day in Sydney, John took us to an inexpensive bottle shop, where we purchased wine for our friends and family back home. Then we had the pleasure of lunching with he and his 82-year- 'young' mother at the Maroubra Bay Seal Club. This private club featured a disco, gambling areas, an inexpensive restaurant, pool tables, swimming pool, weight room, and additional activity areas. These clubs are very popular throughout Australia, and usually were started by the volunteer lifeguards on each beach. They've become community gathering areas for the young and old with plenty to do for all ages.

Simply Sydney..It may be simple Sydney, however Sydney is not a simple city. It is a highly rated cosmopolitan city & known worldwide for its cultural diversity and famous Opera House and Harbour Bridge & what we discovered was &. it is by far one of the friendliest cities in the world

How to get to Coogee: Coogee is located 10 minutes by taxi from the airport terminals or take the private shuttle bus services - many provided

Contributing photographers: Margie A. & Marsha K.