New Year's Eve, Sydney Style

My second day in Australia was already New Year's Eve, and we decided to celebrate by taking part in the big festivities that take place every year in Sydney Harbour.  It was a strange feeling to head out for the evening in flip flops and a short sleeve shirt, as opposed to my usual NYE wear, which invariably involves boots and a winter coat. 

We decided to join the throngs of people at Circular Quay to watch the fireworks displays that they shoot off over the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.  Considering the size of the event and the huge number of people who attend it from around the world, the entire evening was surprisingly well organized and pleasant.  The city sets off an early set of fireworks at 9pm in addition to the larger display that is televised at midnight, so we secured a great spot (with only fairly minimal effort) shortly after 8pm.

Now, anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge, huge fan of fireworks.  And I must say, the Sydney New Year's Eve fireworks were some of the best I've ever seen.  It didn't hurt that the backdrop could not have been more perfect.

Although I have never attended New Year's Eve in Times Square, I was expecting the same level of chaos in Sydney.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was not the case.  I'm not sure if it was the warm weather, the general laid back atmosphere of Australia, the cleanliness of Sydney, or some combination of all of the above, but the celebration was nothing short of magical.  But I do confess that I still watched the ball drop in New York online just for a taste of home (which happened 16 hours after it turned midnight in Sydney - the huge time difference between here and home is still something that I haven't quite been able to wrap my mind around just yet).

In another first, I spent New Year's Day at the beach under blue skies and a scorching sun.  I'm quickly sensing that this trip will be a long string of new experiences, and for this I am very excited.

This morning we left Sydney and headed north to Cairns, which serves as a base for exploring the Great Barrier Reef.  Cairns is tropical and humid, and has a big selection of restaurants offering everything from traditional fare to obscure Australian dishes, including kangaroo, crocodile and emu.  This is one of the portions of this vacation that I was most looking forward to.  Tomorrow has in store for us a whole day of exploring the reef by boat, including two different snorkeling stops. 

As for this evening, I hope to find a table by the ocean to enjoy more delicious seafood, or perhaps something a bit more bizarre...