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Koentje3000
Koentje3000
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Circular Quay - watery termini to Sydney Harbour

  • May 1, 2006
  • Rated 3 of 5 by actonsteve from London, United Kingdom
Circular Quay - watery termini to Sydney Harbour

There is a sense of people coming together on Circular Quay.

As with all termini essential to the circulation of a city it bursts with life. Numerous methods of transport meet in this small concrete cove under the shadow of the CBDs skyscrapers. The glittering water allows chugging ferries to converge from around Sydney harbour. People pour off the ferries, trains and buses and snake towards the workplaces of the business area. And all is looked over by the titanic coat hanger of the Harbour bridge on its western arm, and the glittering segmentation of the Opera House on its eastern.

You will find yourself passing through Circular Quay at least on your visit to Sydney. As an area simply designed to get people from A to B it is actually very enjoyable. A lot of this has to do with the view of the harbour and the almost perpetual sunshine that Sydney is endowed with. This is many people first view of the harbour and its far side can be seen from Circular Quay with sets of hills covered in villas and apartment blocks and the water between dotted with sailing vessels and working ships.

For this is a working area. Its main purpose to provide entry for those wishing to visit the heart of the city via the cities ferries. Five wharves provide access to the ferries which glide in every couple of minutes. These are primarily commuter working boats (god help you if you get in the way at 8.30am on a weekday) but can also be taken to the suburbs of Sydney Harbour. Fares cost $4.30 one way (return fares are doubled) with Wharf 3 directly going to Manly, while Wharf 2 goes to the Taronga Zoo, Cremorne Point, Mosman and the restaurant at Watsons Bay. Harbour Cruises go from Wharf 4 and Wharf 5 has the big commuter route west all the way into the far reaches of the harbour at Paramatta, taking in Darling Harbour and the Olympic site at Homebush Bay. Circular Quay is also the fulcrum for bus and Cityrail routes. Buses for Bondi leave from nearby Alfred Street, and the roaring Cahill Expressway tears off the harbour bridge overhead, dwarfed by the massive skyscrapers of the CBD.

Its also got a number of high-tech millionaire apartments overlooking the Quay. These are complete with boutique shopping and endless open-air restaurants. They fit into the hip, trendy category with premium prices for a shiraz with a view and seemed to be frequented by the cognoscenti with sunglasses and year-around tans. I felt a rumbling of annoyance on my first visit as I began to chafe against the "style magazine" veneer of Sydney. It took a visit to a "pie shop" and a performance of a tubby aboriginal with a didgeridoo to cure me of this.

But don't panic, dear readers - a "pie-floater" inside me and I was back to my usual proletarian self.

From journal The watery city of Sydney - Gleaming, Glittering and Gigantic

Circular Quay

  • January 30, 2006
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Koentje3000 from Hamme, Belgium
Circular Quay

The area around Circular Quay is home to most of Sydney's attractions. The most famous one is, of course, the Sydney Opera House. It looks like white shells or the sails of a ship. If you come closer, you will see that the different plates it is made of actually are light yellow in colour. They look white due to the reflections of the sun.

Another famous landmark is the Harbour Bridge. You can even climb the bridge like an alpinist. At the foot of the bridge is the oldest quarter of the town, the Rocks. There are all kinds of shops and a tourist information centre inside the nice colonial buildings.

Right in Circular Quay is the excellent Sydney Aquarium (A$14 to A$27), where you can find many species of fish, including a few white sharks. The highlight of the aquarium is the underwater tunnel, where you can walk underneath the fish.

From journal Summer in Australia's Biggest City

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