INSIGHTS by Jayne Jenkins with contributions from David Strike SYDNEY is Australia’s most breathtaking city. Flying over the harbour is always a great sight when returning home from a trip. What other city has such a stunning harbour with two famous landmarks – the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House? Built around the shores of one of the world’s most scenic harbours and with more than seventy kilometres of magnificent Pacific coastline and glorious beaches, Sydney offers an outstanding variety of above and underwater attractions; and all of them just minutes away from the commercial heart of Australia’s largest and busiest city. Above Water Sydney is a multi-cultural city and offers. great climate, a unique cultural and entertainment scene, cuisine and a variety of charming character-filled neighborhoods. Most visitors Photo: to Sydney will have no real need to travel too far away from Jayne Photo: Jayne Jenkins the central city area and the harbour. Most Sydney tourist Jenkins Photo: Phil Hawley, Sealife V attractions are either within the central business district, close to the CBD, or at points around the harbour. Sydney Harbour, officially called Port Jackson, has always been an important part of the city. In addition to being Sydney’s main port, the harbour also hosts a variety of recreational opportunities. The harbour includes the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge, The Sydney Opera House and several beaches and inlets. The best way to view the entire harbour is to join one of the many sightseeing cruises. Most visitors will at one stage cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge, either in a vehicle or as a pedestrian. It is Sydney’s largest and most famous landmark. There is an exciting way of experiencing the bridge and maximizing the views it offers; a Sydney Bridge Climb, a totally breathtaking climb of the bridge giving the best views of the Opera House and Sydney. Below the Harbour Bridge is an area known as The Rocks. It was the original location where the Europeans settled. Today, after restoration in the 1970s, the district features warehouses and several other interesting sights. It consists of narrow cobbled streets that exist on several different levels hewn out of the rock. The City Centre is located on the South Shore and it is here that much of what Sydney has to offer is located. Circular Quay was once the arrival dock for immigrant ships but is now the focal point from which the bridge and the Sydney Opera House can be viewed. From Circular Quay, just a short trip across the harbour on one of the many Sydney Ferries, you can visit the north shore area of Manly. Manly is the home of Ocean World where you can dive with the sharks. You do not need to be a qualified diver to experience a shark dive as full training for the dive is given. If viewing from the inside is not your cup of tea, there is also an acrylic tunnel, where the various varieties of sharks can be viewed. Most quickly You can also take a ferry ride to Taronga Zoo. Located overlooking the harbour, Taronga Zoo is discover for regarded as one of the world’s most spectacular Zoos. It has Australia’s largest collection of exotic them selves species and a large selection of native fauna. With its magnificent views of the city and harbour it just how rich, should not be missed. varied and Darling Harbour is a former dockside area that has been transformed into a major tourist area. Many of Sydney’s popular tourist attractions are located here, including the Sydney Aquarium, the convenient Chinese Garden of Friendship, and the Australian National Maritime Museum. The Harbour side the diving Shopping Centre is also here and there are many restaurants throughout the Harbour. >> here can be... ScubaDiver 79 AUSTRALASIA Photo: Chris Miller << The Eastern Beaches of Sydney include the legendary Bondi, home to the one of the worlds oldest surf life saving clubs. There is a great coastal walk (6km) starting at the south end of the beach that takes in spectacular ocean views and allows you to visit a number of smaller but still beautiful beaches. The walk ends at Coogee Beach via Tamarama, Bronte, Clovelly, and Gordons Bay, great for snorkeling and scuba diving. Making their On the Kurnell peninsula, across Botany Bay is Cronulla, the biggest, and recognised by surfers annual migratory as the best southern Sydney beach. The Royal National Park begins very close to Cronulla and passagenorthwards covers many square kilometres of bush land and a couple of hard to get to and secluded beaches. these huge Darling Harbour is a former dockside area that has been transformed into a major tourist area. creatures will Many of Sydney’s popular tourist attractions are located here, including the Sydney Aquarium, the often swim right Chinese Garden of Friendship, and the Australian National Maritime Museum. The Harbour side into the Harbour. Shopping Centre is also here and there are many restaurants throughout the Harbour. It is easy to access, as monorail service does run here. Below the Water Now a major stop-over for travellers following the backpacker trail around Asia and the Pacific, Sydney is stepping out from under the shadow of destinations like the Great Barrier Reef to offer a range of diving unmatched elsewhere in the region. Unlike many popular diving destinations, going for a quick dive in Sydney is remarkably easy and inexpensive. There are not many places in the world where you can step of Chris Miller Although these areas teem with vast schools of yellowtail, roughys’ your aircraft, bus or train and be diving within the hour. Dive Photo: and larger pelagics like kingfish, mackerel and bonito, a major excitement operators now pick up at city hotels and Pro Dive have a large for boat divers during the winter months (June – July) – are the sightings of dive vessel (Sea Life V) with all hire equipment stowed aboard so you just step on, step off after humpback whales. Making their annual migratory passage northwards these being picked up from your accommodation. Within 45 minutes you can be diving some of the huge creatures will often swim right into the Harbour. Although a punishable best sights Sydney has to offer. What could be better? offence for boat traffic and divers to approach them they will often appear With more than thirty dive stores scattered around the city – most have a full range of Photo: Phil Hawley, Sealife V unexpectedly alongside a vessel. maintained and serviced equipment for rent and will advise on the most appropriate dive sites The Apartments, about a ten minutes boat ride from Long Reef there according to the weather conditions on that day; give a full briefing on what to look for; and are huge rocks and boulders that lean into the reef at a depth of 22-metres. either arrange for visitors to join a group of experienced local divers or appoint a dive guide. There are large swim-throughs whose vaulted ceilings and sides are hidden by masses of small, flower-like, yellow commensal zoanthids. Port Jackson sharks, Wobbegong sharks, blue groupers, giant cuttle fish, eastern blue devil fish and Boat Diving much more are in this area. This dive site has more concentrated fish life than any other site that I know of. My last dive there we encountered a dolphin in Photo: Jayne Jenkins Almost all of the dive facilities either own, or have on the water herding schools of small of fish. We also had the pod of dolphins permanent charter, a dedicated dive boat – usually following us during the boat ride home. This an area when in season you can about 7-metres in length – capable of carrying anywhere be lucky and encounter whale sightings during the boat rides. between six and twelve divers, plus skipper and a divemaster, who will also act as an underwater Magic Point, this dive site is at the Southern end of Maroubra Beach guide if required. and there are various boat pick up areas. There is a large amphitheatre with Aengus Moran Aengus With the time taken to reach most of the popular reef and wreck dive sites usually less than an overhang that goes back under the cliff. This is where the Grey Nurse thirty-minutes – and more often ten-minutes – away from land, the surface interval for those sharks cruise by. They generally cruise back and forth past the overhang and Photo: carrying out multiple dives can be comfortably spent aboard or back on shore. there were about 8-10 medium sharks who do not seem to mind the presence of divers. You Apart from the skeletal remains of shallow wrecks that mainly lie around the approaches to can quite often find shark teeth in this area if you look amongst the sand. Just in front of the - and in - Sydney Harbour, there are spectacular sponge gardens; sandstone reefs covered with soft amphitheatre are clumps of kelp and if you look carefully you can find Weedy seadragons corals and ascidians; overhangs where giant cuttlefish are frequently found; walls festooned with here. There are also Eastern Blue Devil fish along the face of the overhang. sea-tulips. ScubaDiver 79 AUSTRALASIA Photo: Chris Miller Photo: Jayne Jenkins Shore Diving The more popular sites include Shelly Beach and Fairlight in the northern beaches. Camp Cove and Gordon’s Bay are on the eastern harbour foreshores. Bare Island – a small island on the northern foreshore of Botany Bay – and Shiprock, in Port Hacking. Shelly Beach occupies a scenic corner of Manly’s ocean beachfront.