Just say the name and you can picture it: clear blue skies, the harbour, the bridge and its iconic opera house. They’re the face of Sydney; they’re what it’s famous for. Let this be a guide to what’s beneath that outstanding facade. In no particular order, here is a list of some alternative delights that Sydney has to offer:

1. Quarantine Station Ghost Tour – Whether or not you believe in the supernatural, Sydney’s Q. Station in the northern suburb of Manly is something to behold. Visitors are led by a lantern-lit guide through the station’s most haunted buildings such as the shower block, morgue and hospital. The experience is available in a selection of options ranging from a ghostly sleepover (18+ only, $155 each) a family tour (7pm Friday & Saturday, $34 adult, $26 child) or an extreme tour which is strictly adults only. Attempts to conjure spirits will also be attempted in this tour. Regardless of the experience you choose, remember to bring a camera and a torch.

2. The Rocks – Formerly the homes of Sydney’s convicts, wicked ladies and violent gangs, The Rocks is a district of labyrinthine cobblestone roads right on the shores of Sydney Harbour. They’re lined with a variety of quirky boutiques, souvenir shops, restaurants and galleries. Visitors can also explore The Rocks Discovery Museum which houses a variety of artefacts found in The Rocks. Another option, one to finish the day perhaps, is the pub tour. Sample some of the local brew en route and end the tour with a discounted meal. This is a real historical adventure right in the middle of modern society.

3. Chinese Garden of Friendship – Tranquillity among the chaotic Sydney streets is what this is. Located in Darling Harbour, close to Chinatown, this sublime garden is, apart from anything else, value for money. Adults go for $6 while kids are allowed in for $3, concessions apply. Open daily from 9:30am-5:00pm, these beautiful gardens allow visitors to stroll along the snaking pathways that run past waterfalls, rockeries, and immaculately designed courtyards. There are places to sit and reflect in silence so, perhaps, a book may be the perfect accompaniment for a visit here.

4. Royal Botanical Gardens – A little west of the Opera House and Circular Quay, these gardens are simply unavoidable. They’re a photographer’s dream with gorgeous landscapes of greenery and gigantic, alien trees. There’s a pyramid-shaped tropical greenhouse to explore, as well as enchanting fountains and sculptures hidden around the 30 hectare grounds. If you’re with children, there’s a daily train tour every thirty minutes. Wildlife spotting is also likely here, with sightings of possums and blue-tongued lizards having been recorded.

5. Fort Denison Island – Situated in the middle of Sydney Harbour, just north of the Opera House, is Fort Denison. It allows visitors a wonderful 360˚ view of the harbour, allowing for some breath-taking photography. Here, there is also a cafe and a museum which details the island’s history, and how the fort was used in defence in World War 2. The fort’s gun is fired daily at 1pm. With Captain Cook Cruises available and tours also on offer (adult $27, child $17), Fort Denison rounds of Sydney’s top 5 to do’s.

With the exception of my intro, the above is a sponsored post.

5 Sydney Must-Sees is a post from: Solo Travel Tales and Tips from the Middle East and Elsewhere on the Globe

Australia does experience what they call tropical cyclones, or, cutely, “Willy-Willys” (this is actually not cute; rather, it is a term believed to have Aboriginal origins and just sounds cute). For their own very sound geographical and meteorological reasons, these little Willy-Willys just don’t pack quite the same destructive punch as their big hurricane brothers in the U.S.

Since there are no great winds and waves spelling natural disaster here in Australia, in honor of the onslaught of hurricane season back home in the U.S., here’s a peak at what it can look like when the waves of the Atlantic do get wild here. The scene at this beach is no Willy-Willy, but it’s still quite a sight, I think.

A Mini Willy-Willy in Australia is a post from: Solo Travel Tales and Tips from the Middle East and Elsewhere on the Globe

Oxford Street Farmer’s Market – While setting off to explore some of Sydney’s weekend markets one Saturday, I accidentally walked straight into a tiny farmer’s market on Oxford Street while on my way to another market (which I never found). Here I met a girl named Sarah, who would capture the heart of many a travel blogger, as she quit the corporate world three years ago to pursue her dream of – second in importance only to travel – food! She created and cooks a saucy line of uniquely flavored sauces called Relish This, several of which she spread on crackers for me to sample. I loved them all and would have bought her outrageously delicious Beetroot Apple-n-Orange, if I hadn’t been traveling on so soon.

Sydney Fish Market – Apparently I love dead fish heads. I noticed this about myself at the Sydney Fish Market, where I couldn’t stop taking photos of the severed skulls arranged in many and varied positions on ice. Yum. What to do next? Eat, of course. Several little restaurants fill the buildings that comprise this chaotic market, but prices seemed steep everywhere. You might as well order something anyway, because you sure can’t take dead fish home with you on a plane.

Paddy’s Markets – This large indoor market is near Darling Harbour, a busy, busy super-touristy area which, inexplicably, I just really like. The market itself reminded me of an indoor souk without the sales pitch pressure. I mean this in a positive sense. I like souks. I think it was the enormous mish-mash of tables and goods on stands crowded together along with the hundreds of numb people flocking past. My personal highlight was standing and poking toothpicks into raw seafood to taste tiny samples. Paddy’s Markets was actually one of my favorite markets in Sydney.

The Rocks Weekend Market - This is an upscale spot, not far from the Sydney Opera House. It is also quite vast, with tables that run around and over the exclusive small underground shopping area called The Rocks Centre. I was in a little bit of a hurry, as I was on my way to meet a girl named Dina so we could watch bats flying past the moon in the Royal Botanic Garden. I did find one un-upscale and somewhat disturbingly quirky item at this market in Sydney, though – plastic pig masks, along with other animal faces to fit over your own. For Halloween, I hope.

Surry Hills Markets - I was really glad I was around for this Sydney market, open a mere once a month. Located in a small park, I saw a goodly share of clothes, books, jewelry and cute stuff. I found love, though, at a food stand. Turkish Gozleme – a dish I’d never before heard of – was being concocted on a griddle in the middle of the park. Folded over and stuffed with stuff, it looked so delectable I realized I would regret passing it by. I ordered a plate of this flat, soft, hot dough filled with lamb, spinach and cheese and wound up experiencing the best meal I’ve had in Australia

The Scene at Sydney’s Weekend Markets is a post from: Solo Travel Tales and Tips from the Middle East and Elsewhere on the Globe

The Top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge – A major attraction in this city is the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The largest and widest steel arch bridge on earth, this a beautiful piece of architecture and remarkable to see even from afar. Climbing its 465 steps to gaze out over Sydney is quite a popular activity for many visitors. As I have a fear of heights, I wasn’t going to be climbing this bridge, whose summit is 134 meters above the Sydney Harbour. I did learn, though, that prices for climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge range from $188 to $298 for adults. Whoa. Why?! It is a remarkable bridge with a spectacular panorama, but I managed to get a view of my own. As I traveled to Sydney by train, we chugged over this bridge that costs so much to climb. The cost of my round trip train ticket? $10.80. And the close-up view of the bridge itself with Sydney peaking through, I think, was more unique and interesting than standing on top just gazing into the distance.

The Largest Bats in Australia – I’d never seen wild bats up close until I strolled through the Royal Botanic Gardens. Here Flying Foxes, Australia’s largest bats, dangle from trees by the hundreds. I had the privilege of seeing them slowly wake up and stretch and filmed a video of these mega-bats swooping through the sky into the moon. Flying Foxes are fruit eaters with appetites that have so badly damaged much of the flora in the Royal Botanic Gardens that noise disturbance is being utilized to force them to relocate. I’m so glad they haven’t yet.

The Gloss of the Sydney Opera House – Flash a photo of this landmark in the face of anyone in the Western world, ask them what it is, and they will say “That is the Sydney Opera House.” Finally I arrived on the grounds of this piece of quintessential Sydney but was still trying to figure out what I’d long wondered – what gives this architectural beauty its shine? Just standing at a distance staring at it wasn’t telling me anything, so I strolled up for a closer look. I smacked my head on one of the outwardly arching sheets of glass, but that’s not the opera house’s fault, nor is the glass part of the sheen. The majority of the exterior is made up of thousands of small pieces of beige and white colored square tile. Pieced together in just the right pattern, these little unassuming bits are responsible for the high-gloss appearance of the Sydney Opera House.

Like the tile that helps shape the Sydney Opera House, piece together the little independent aspects of any place you travel, and you’ll come out with a good picture of what makes it special.

Sydney Up Close is a post from: Solo Travel Tales and Tips from the Middle East and Elsewhere on the Globe

These flying foxes, the largest bats in Australia, were slumbering sweetly as the gentle wind swayed them slightly to and fro. I continued walking and found that tree after tree after tree was chock full of these bats. Every several seconds one would awaken and stretch, extending its red wings to their full one-meter span. Otherwise known as mega-bats (no imagination necessary to figure out why) these flying foxes weigh about a kilo and use their eyes and noses to find their way around when they wake up at night, rather than relying on radar like their little bat friends.

Later, Dina from the travel blog VagabondQuest informed me that when they awaken, these mega-bats fill the skies of the park as they fly off into the sunset. Both she and I love these bats, and I just had to see them flying off into the night sky. I am without any idea why her husband Ryan didn’t want to come along to the park to look at pretty flowers and bats, but he did not. So Dina and I alone headed to the Botanic Gardens to watch the sleeping giants awaken.

We were operating on an extremely tight timetable, as we had to get out of the park and back to the train station not long after darkness fell so that I could catch a train which would arrive in Gosford in time to make the last bus of the night. If I was late, I’d be paying for a half hour cab ride back to the house. Another factor came into play which we had not anticipated. As the sky began to darken slightly, rangers drove by, on their loudspeaker announcing that the park was closing. “It shouldn’t be closing,” Dina said. “The internet said it was open till 6:30.” Now, who are we to believe – human beings feeding us information personally, or the internet? The internet, of course.

So we stood and stood and waited and waited, as the bats slumbered on and the park rangers passed by again. By now, time was ticking and the train was on its way. Not many more minutes remained to stand and stare. We reluctantly started heading out of the park toward the exit near the Sydney Opera House, not taking our eyes off the sky in case the bats should finally wake up and start swirling through the air.

Suddenly a pair of huge black bat wings swooped overhead. Finally! “Let’s lie in the grass,” Dina said. “We can get better shots from here.” So we lied down in the grass and watched the flying foxes swooping through the sky across the moon. Here’s what the largest bats in Australia look like as they fly off into the moon at the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Note: The park rangers, not the internet, were, in fact, correct, and the park was indeed closed as we lie there in the grass watching the flying foxes. When we arrived at a locked gate, Dina, savvy about the Botanic Gardens, immediately spotted a portal in the form of a tiny one-way revolving gate off to the side. Through here we were able to quickly pass before we got caught and before I missed my train. Once again, another great night with VagabondQuest and an unforgettable evening of lying in the grass watching the largest bats in Australia fly overhead.

Flying Foxes in the Royal Botanic Gardens is a post from: Solo Travel Tales and Tips from the Middle East and Elsewhere on the Globe

This Saturday night I was fortunate to be able to meet up with the humans behind the avatar when I got together in Darling Harbour in Sydney, Australia with Dina and Ryan, the husband and wife team behind VagabondQuest. Dina is the words and the primary force of the blog, and I’ve really liked chatting back and forth with her over the months. Her sole presence in the social media swirl has always left me wondering, though, does Ryan actually exist?

Ryan does exist! He just works all the time. We left Darling Harbour with the intent of returning to watch the nighttime action and headed to a downtown restaurant. Here, for the first time ever, I tried Korean food – chicken, salad and kimchi. My thoughts on the latter dish at present are still unformed. Our two-hour conversation caused us to apparently overstay our welcome, as the hostess filled our table seconds after we stood up. I then had to catch a train back to Gosford in time to get on the bus to Forresters Beach so I could complete the evening with a 15-minute uphill walk home, so unfortunately there was no time for more of Darling Harbour. Dina and Ryan were nice enough to walk me all the way down George Street to the train station, though. This was the best Saturday night I’ve had in a long time. Thank you, Dina and Ryan, for stepping out of the computer and into Darling Harbour!

How about you? Any tales of enjoyable travel blogger encounters? Do tell!

Thumbnail handshake photo by G-hat

Meeting Travel Bloggers is a post from: Solo Travel Tales and Tips from the Middle East and Elsewhere on the Globe

What is today a very popular resort town 85 kilometers north of Sydney on Australia’s Central Coast was originally inhabited by the Guringgai or Awabakal Aborigines. Like so many towns in Australia, it has kept a variation of its original aboriginal name. Several different meanings are attributed to “Tarragal,” my favorite being “a place of or where one can find wild figs.”

A pretty wild breakfast place is what I find immediately upon arriving. Not past 10:00 in the morning and the music is blasting with a large crowd milling about at the packed Bellyfish Cafe. I’ve never before experienced a bar-type atmosphere for the breakfast crowd. I like!

Not so much, though, that I eat there. I decide instead to grab something from Bakers Delight nearby. On a metal bench positioned on the crowded boardwalk I then sit and eat what soon reveals itself to be the best scone on earth – lemon, white chocolate and softness. Its texture is a major factor in my love of this scone, I decide. I’ve never quite learned to appreciate the hard, crumbly nature typical of this British treat. I finish it off while watching yet another of Australia’s exotic species of birds hop around on the ground by my feet.

The blackish clouds which hung over me earlier now float away, and I decide to spend my time in Terrigal along the boardwalk, lined with scores of shops, restaurants, and masses of people. The store exteriors seem rather blah, but inside I find most of them are extremely upmarket and sell some pretty original items, many made in Australia. The moment I walk inside Terrigal Bakery, I sorely wish I hadn’t just filled up on the best scone in the world. Billy Idol’s “Hot in the City” blasts over the speakers as I gaze longingly at photogenic pastel-colored cookies and cakes. Adorable. How they taste, unfortunately I may never know.

Later, walking past the Aromas on Sea cafe, I for some reason ask if they serve dinner. “Not now,” I am told. “Only in the summer.” As I stand in my capris and sleeveless blouse, looking at the girl who tells me this, I remember that, on this July day it is winter here in Australia. It is difficult for me to keep the season in mind, as the pulse of the people in Terrigal on this “winter” day feels similar to the summer vibe of many resort towns from where I hail in New England.

I take off my sandals once again for the walk back home, the winter beach devoid of people but filled with the sounds of crashing waves competing with squeaking sand. A winter day spent in the busy town of Terrigal makes me wonder. What does the heat of summer bring to this Australian resort on the sea?

Thumbnail crowd photo by krynsky

Packed with Summer Life on a Winter Day – Terrigal, New South Wales is a post from: Solo Travel Tales and Tips from the Middle East and Elsewhere on the Globe

I quickly came across an Australian ABC television program called Catalyst in which Ruben Meerman interviewed Dr. Tim Senden, an expert on fine particles such as sand. Squeaky sand, it turns out, is found in many parts of the world. Dr. Senden explained that, unlike regular, boring, silent sand, squeaky sand is dry and composed of smooth, round grains of quartz with no shell material intermixed. This in part explains why some sand squeaks and other sand is mute, but not entirely. “It’s an open topic,” Dr. Senden said. Scientists still don’t have enough information to fully understand why certain sand squeaks.

Squeaky sand may still be a bit of a mystery, but I did shoot a video while jogging that captures the sound, if not the reason behind it, fairly well.

Squeaky Sand of Australia is a post from: Solo Travel Tales and Tips from the Middle East and Elsewhere on the Globe

My host Jess and I drove to one of the two beaches just minutes from her house, where we walked a short distance on silky dark yellow sand toward a cliff arising out of the sea. “This is nothing,” Jess said as she placed a bare foot on a rock and stepped up. Although I have a pretty severe fear of heights, I knew I could manage to climb around the lower part of this cliff.

Approaching the cliff

Unfortunately, Jess immediately and quickly began to climb higher on the thin, flat shards of wet sandstone, and I followed, gripping the small wet rocks with my bare feet. Moments later I stared down at a wide and deep chasm separating one side of the cliff from the other as the waves of the ocean crashed through. Turning around would be too difficult. No choice existed but to maneuver around this rocky ravine. Jess tiptoed up the face of the cliff, quick and happy. “I’m afraid of heights,” I whispered after her. Struggling against my rapidly accelerating panic, I forced myself to not envision tumbling into the rocks lying below.

After hours-long minutes we made it to the other side of the gorge and stepped down onto a mercifully flat surface, where my heart began to untighten. “Don’t worry,” Jess said, after I divulged my fear of death by falling, “there is another way down.” Now I was able to smile and enjoy my time outside in Australia, swimming in the relief of knowing that I would never, ever again in my life have to grab at thin slabs of wet rock with my toes and fingertips to avoid falling backwards into a rocky hole filled with ocean.

Short-lived triumph

Merrily we walked along a flat area of the cliff toward the other end, where an easy, sloping exit would allow us to glide happily down to the sand below. We reached the end of the flat surface, looked over the edge and froze. The ocean had washed my safe exit away. Before us lie nothing but billions of boulders scattered about, with no way of navigating from one to the other. “I am so sorry,” said Jess, stifling just a little bit of a laugh.

With no options whatsoever, we made our way back to the chasm, walking quickly just to get it over with. As we reached the sprawling ravine, a wave crashed into its rocks and shot water into the air. I wondered if the Repatriation of Remains clause in my insurance would cover the expense of wiping me off the jagged boulders. “Just don’t look down,” Jess said. “Okay,” I squeaked. With one eye glued to the top of the cliff and the other to her feet, I followed her every surefooted move, all the while hoping I would not step onto a slippery piece of stone that would send me tumbling.

After far too long we reached the end and jumped down into the sand. As we left the cliff behind us, I realized that on my very first day after travelling to Australia, I had twice in thirty minutes survived one of my worst fears. Now I’m quite interested to discover what spending more time outside in Australia will bring.

A picturesque reward for facing my fear

On an Ocean Cliff in Australia – Fighting Fear and Winning is a post from: Solo Travel Tales and Tips from the Middle East and Elsewhere on the Globe