The watery city of Sydney - Gleaming, Glittering and Gigantic

If cities could be categorised as human beings? What would Sydney be?

Paris, Florence and Vienna would be beautiful women—venerable but still maintaining their looks. London, Milan and Madrid would definitely be male—aesthetics sacrificed on the altar of making money. New York would be male as well, but younger, in the middle aged bracket—as would Rio and San Francisco. But Sydney would be a teenager. She would be a stunner, a gorgeous blonde at her most beautiful. Her sun tan would be perfect, her figure exemplary and she would be an all around popular girl with everyone wanting to be her friend. Of course, she would keep herself in perfect condition—no room for flaws here. Her ambition would be boundless, she would demand the attention of everyone—and she would get it.

Sydney is an immensely likeable city. Few take the colossal plane journey to the south east corner of Australia without coming away impressed. To start with, there is an amazing climate. Each day you step out of the door the sky is a brilliant blue. The setting is spectacular—not just an immense harbour, but a harbour blessed with contours and promontories to truly make it exceptional. And finally beaches, beaches that have sand the colour of snow and water the colour of sapphire. In fact Sydney is a city blessed with natural abundance—whether they be fruit bats in the botanical gardens, palm trees growing on traffic islands or ibis' amongst the yachts of Darling Harbour.

One guaranteed way of falling for the city is to get out onto the harbour. Clive James described the waters of Circular Quay as glittering like "crushed diamonds". One of the best commuter routes in the world has to be the crossing of the harbour into the CBD (Central Business district) on the green and gold ferries. From here you get to see the modern architecure of Sydney, the gentrified "Rocks", the ANP Tower, the harbour bridge and of course, one of the most famous buildings on the planet, the Opera House.

Confident, suntanned, brash and utterly beautiful, Sydney may well make you go weak at the knees.

Quick Tips:

All faces in Sydney look towards the water.

The entire city faces its harbour. The harbour is twenty miles long and at points only one mile wide. It is broken by islands, promontories, inlets, sandstone cliffs, coves and bays - and all are plied by pleasurecraft and the harbour ferries. The north shore is mainly residential but contains the beautiful Manly beach. The south side is where all the big stuff is. The CBD (Central Business District), containing Darling Harbour, Circular Quay and the gentrified "Rocks". The CBD itself is a rectangular grid of streets whose northernmost point contains the harbour bridge and the "Rocks". This connects with the water termini of Circular Quay and the striking shape of the Opera House. Green pastures are nearby in the form of the Botanical Garden, shopping is down George Street, tourist attractions are in Darling harbour and historical buildings are down McQuarie Street. The world famous Bondi beach is a long way from the centre, over 30 minutes on the #L32 bus from Circular Quay.

Everything for a tourist is in a very small area - literally between Central Station and Circular Quay. This area is showpiece Australia. It glitters and shines and obviously has had money spent on it. Combined with a sunny climate sightseeing is not a chore in Sydney - you can picnic in the Botanical gardens, shop for fashions down George Street, explore the 18th century "Rocks" or take a ferry out to one of the impressive beaches. Even the hardest of hearts breaks down standing on the prow of a harbour ferry as it glides out of Sydney cove and passes the famous Opera House. The whole thing lit up by the sun is breathtaking.

Best Way To Get Around:

Sydney has a truly exceptional public transport system.

There are very few cities in the world I would award this accolade too. Everything seems to join seamlessly with the city making travelling about a joy for the visitor.

The hub of it all is the famous Circular Quay overlooking Sydney Harbour. This is where the green and gold ferries connect with the Cityrail and the bus system. From here there are a myriad of watercraft to get you about from watertaxis to harbourcruises. But the chugging ferries are the main attraction and one way fares are .30. They ply off in a dozen directions taking in beautiful views of the harbour - and connecting the city with farflung suburbs such as Watsons Bay, Manly Beach and the Olympic Site at Homebush.

The airport, Kingsford Smith is out in the suburb of Botany Bay. There are numerous buses such as Airport Express which stop in Kings Cross and Circular Quay costing . But better is the Cityrail which connects both international and domestic terminals. These doubledecker trains are quite a sight as they whoosh into the platforms and for only join with the City Circle which takes in Circular Quay, Wynyard, Museum and Central Station. Sydney's Central Station is the terminus for the rest of Australia and is situated south of the CBD on Belmore Park.

And finally there is the monorail which travels in a circle above Darling Harbour and the CBD. This silent glider travels on stilts above Liverpool Street. You feel a quite a voyeur as the view looks into office windows as you whizz past.

Looking for a reasonably priced, clean, and centrally located hotel in Sydney? Well, look no further, the YWCA fits the bill.

The location is smack bang in the centre of Sydney on Wentworth Avenue and literally a few steps from Hyde Park. The CBD and Liverpool Street are a little to the west, Circular Quay and the harbour are a brisk walk down MacQuarie Avenue and the decadent nightlife of Oxford Street is literally across the road.

It's a clean safe environment (and despite being a YWCA, admits us fellas). The reception is just off street, and centrally manned, and very professional. It can change up money, book tours and store luggage. The restaurant area is self service so you can indulge in Vegemite on toast and numerous fruit juices. A single room costs $70 a night and breakfast is included in the price.

There are over 200 rooms on seven floors. My one was clean with frequently changed linen and overlooking a central courtyard. The shared bathrooms are clean and serviceable, and even have a sense of camaraderie often missing from hotels with more stars to their name. Each room contains a television so you can lie back and enjoy "Rove Live" or "Australian Idol" to your hearts content. So, all in all pretty good value for the price.

But best of all is the location. You will pass through Hyde Park at least once on your visit to Sydney. It marks the start of the CBD, Marquarie Street, Botanical Garden area that rolls all the way down to the harbour. A rectangle 1/4 of a mile long, bisected by Park Street, and containing a number of attractions. The vegetation is very Australian—gigantic boles of fig trees soar overhead surrounded by cicadas, eucalyptus and palm fronds—all dotted with warbling birds and scruffy ibis.

The main attraction is the ANZAC memorial. A beautiful pink stone Art Deco monument overlooking a reflecting pool. It's a monument to Australian war dead around the world and inside contains a small museum. The memorabilia was impressive with troop roll calls and WWI gas masks on display.

At the far end is the Archibald fountain—Diana stands poised surrounded by prancing deer. And the sun is so strong in Sydney it actually forms a rainbow. What could be more Sydney then that?

The trouble with booking anything on the Internet is that you are taking a gamble. Without the recommendation of a travel agent or guidebook, sometimes you are taking a lucky dip. Sometimes you get a bargain and a welcome surprise, sometimes you get a challenge. The last description fits the Australian Sunrise Lodge.

The picture on the website stressed a tropical garden, nearness to facilities and a general relaxed atmosphere. I was taken by the fact it was in an "exciting" part of town and the price and rooms looked good online. So as I made my 11 hour train trip from Melbourne, I arrived in Sydney in a high state of expectation.

For a start it is in Newtown. This is a very trendy area - an up-and-coming district where weird fashions are the name of the day. The area is a hangout for goths and punks with a huge student population and a number of gay and lesbian cafes. The main drag is King Street which stretches for about half a mile and is lined with cafes, restaurants, bars, vinyl record shops, Turkish furniture shops, tattooists, African restaurants and feminist bookshops The whole area is becoming gentrified and slowly becoming expensive. But facets of its recent, not so glamorous, history remain.

One has to be the ASL, which bills itself as a motel. The glass foyer is boarded up and heavily padlocked with no one on reception. You have to use a security intercom to get in and eventually someone shows up to check you in and take down your particulars. Reception is unmanned and you are expected to carry your key with you when you go out. When you check out - you deposit your key in a cubby hole. I saw no member of staff, apart from the Chinese lady who booked me in, during my entire stay. The rooms are fine but basic. Huge slatted windows overlook a tropical garden and there is a desk, television and double bed. The bathroom is down the hall and is clean and in working order.

My main problem with ASL was security. There must have been other guests because I heard doors slamming. Where their rooms were in this strange warren of a hotel I don't know. But signs on the exit doors warned you not to bring guests back. And the massive padlocks covering the glass reception area spoke of recent burglary. One evening the door handle came off in my hand. To be honest, when I went out in the evening I fretted about leaving valuables behind at the Australian Sunrise Lodge.

So, a budget hotel in an interesting part of Sydney. But I can't say it was one of my favourites

Sydney has one of the most famous gay scenes in the world.

Every February it holds Mardi Gras - a world famous party which culminates in a parade down Oxford Street. The parade is so much of a Sydney fixture, rounding off the summer season, that it is televised live on TV. The cavalcade of OTT floats, bouncy atmosphere and Aussie camp was roundly captured in The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert. The Sydney gay scene is firmly on the map - as secure as Sitges, San Francisco or Mykonos.

The main area is Oxford Street - a massive thoroughfare stretching down from Hyde Park to the eastern suburbs. This is Sydney's alternative area - in stark contrast to spiffy Darling Harbour. It has got a raffish atmosphere. Backpackers flew in from the hostels in Kings Cross and the area does have a highly charged feel. Nothing happened to me but I would take a taxi home if staying out very late.

The gay scene has been here for 30 years, recently it has contracted as too many venues opened with not enough people to support them. But those who have found a niche or have been long established seemed to be booming. Pubs are often called Hotels in Australia and there are about four gay "hotels" down Oxford Street. Stonewalls is one of the most impressive and seems to be where the under 25's hang out. It has a video wall, a small bar and a back stage covered in gold lame. A pint of Tooheys lager costs about $3 and the music is very good. A few doors down is The Colombian which tries for a South American vibe. It opens out onto the street and was exceptionally busy on a Saturday night. People literally squashed together - I got the impression people wanted to talk to each other but didn't have the space to do it.

And most famously there is Midnight Shift which has been going for 20 years Upstairs is a state of the art high tech disco costing $10 entrance. Downstairs is the "real" Sydney scene. Not a big area but a busy one. Two rooms, one near the entrance housing a bar and a "pokie room" (that's an arcade room). The bigger room has a sunken dancefloor, a bar with an aquarium, and a set of pool tables. This was a busier cruisier area with a mixture of ages - many of whom looked like they had been coming here for decades. But the atmosphere was friendly and the party went on all night.

I was in Sydney for a week and I used to come here in the evenings to meet my friend to play pool. It has a good scene that perhaps isn't as flamboyant as its worldwide reputation persists - and it has returned to a size where it can support itself with ease

I like to consider myself brave but, ye gods - that water was cold....

It was straight off the South Pacific. When I was there in early September the sea hadn't warmed up yet and I swear it had a tang of Antarctica to it.

One of the best places to swim in Sydney is the Bondi Icebergs club on the cliff top overlooking the famous beach. The swimming is in freezing cold water replenished each minute by waves from the ocean. To adapt to the cold I cheated by using the children's pool. My limbs were tensing and the only words coming out of my mouth were "oooohhh" and "aaaaahhhh" . But the children's pool was shallower and I could ease myself into the water more gently. I ducked to my knees, then my waist allowing the body to adjust to the cold. Then one last head duck underwater and I was able to go back to the main pool, down the steps, and into water so pure I could be swimming in cold Evian water.

In fact it is pure seawater. The art deco swimming pool and clubhouse extends out into the ocean. The waves hit the promontory at an angle before bursting onto Bondi itself. This means they explode over the edge of the sea wall sending spume and spray high into the air. The swimming pool itself is Olympic size and the pure blue of the pool contrasts sharply with the Antarctic white of the clubhouse and surrounds. The clubhouse has been recently renovated and now looks great as it did in its art deco heyday. In fact with white colouring and constant rushing waves - the whole thing reminded me of a human penguin pool.

One of the things I wanted to do in Australia was swim on one of their famous beaches - the surf was too strong on Bondi and in Melbourne the weather was too cold. But here at the Icebergs club it was a protected environment and I could see plenty of swimmers ply the blue waters. Its famous in Sydney as members swim all through the winter and they looked a hardy lot using this facility.

To get there follow Bondi beach to the south, the road/footpath climbs and swivels on its way to Coogee beach and the Icebergs club is balanced on the cliffs overlooking the sea. Admission is $4 and you get the use of a towel and "thongs". The changing rooms were off the main pool and the lockers were computer operated (you had to commit a number to memory). Also on site is a restaurant, sauna, massage and gym. It must be fantastic on a hot Sydney day.

But the main attraction is the icy cold swimming, made more memorable by the spume of waves pounding over the wall. Courage is needed for the Bondi Icebergs club - courage and a sense of adventure. I thought it was superb - top marks!!

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.

I can guarantee this will be the first place you will visit in Sydney.

After arrival and throwing your bags on the bed, your legs will gravitate you towards Circular Quay and the promontory serving the famous building. This promontory forms the easternmost arm of Sydney Cove and backs onto an escarpment leading back into the Botanical Gardens. The "sharks fins" of the building loom above the foliage. This concrete promontory is called Bennelong Point. Named after the aboriginal tribesman who was kept by the first governor of Sydney, Arthur Phillip - his hut stood where the Opera House now stands.

Like all the worlds great buildings there is a story associated with it. This time it is one of infighting and factionism that would have done credit to the Borgias. This work of genius is the work of a Dane, Jorn Utzon, a man who had a family background in yacht design back in Copenhagen. From inception to completion the Opera House took about sixteen years with costs escalating almost at a yearly rate. It finally cost $102 Australian dollars (at 1973 prices) which for the time was an astronomical amount. Scapegoating and blame made Utzon resign in 1966 and he headed back to his native Denmark - ears ringing from all the abuse from politicians and media. Happily, he returned as a consultant in the 1999 renovation and is now revered as a deserved architectural genius. Around the world sixties architecture has been discredited and has often aged very badly; but here in Sydney, on its podium and glittering in the sun is the worlds best example of that architectural movement.

When you approach it is the colour which strikes you first. A kind of dull ivory that catches the sun. Three enormous beaky shells loom into the air signifying the whereabouts of the auditoriums. These are what give the Opera House its distinctive shape. As you get closer you can see the beaky shells are made of hundreds and hundreds of shimmering chevron shaped disks which reminded me of space shuttle tiles. What did the whole thing remind me of? A sailboat? An unpeeled orange? A cockatoo?

You can catch a performance at the Opera House (guided tours $17 - www.soh.nsw.gov.au) or look in the auditoriums to glimpse the interior. The Playhouse has a couple of models of the "House" by Utzon which are worth a look. Also tucked away amongst all the concrete, marble and white tiling are a couple of good restaurants - Guillame in Bennelong has a specially strong reputation.

But most people seem happy enough to sit on the concrete "Eisenstein" type steps or wander around to the seaward side to watch the life on the harbour. This promenade is encased in marble and the huge inert beaks tower above you in close formation. You can sit down underneath them and watch the ferries glide past .

From here you can see why they called Australia 'The Lucky Country'

Bondi Beach is world famous and I am pleased to report is just as good as its reputation suggests. If anything is worth a journey of 24 hours on an airplane then this has to be it.

The view from the pathway across its 2 kilometres of snowy white sand is jaw-dropping. Contrasting with a sky that is the colour of sapphire and you have one of the most impressive urban recreational areas in the world. Its home to the Australian surfing culture and and on any given day after September these can be seen on the beach in red speedos, red caps and sun-bleached hair. For just like in Rio, the beach is a way of life in Sydney. The residents live for the summer where they can spend as much as time as possible "doing Bondi" and working on their tans.

The big surprise to me was how far it was from the centre. Sydney is a big city and it is a half hour journey on the bus from Circular Quay to the eastern beaches. Bus #380 leaves from Alfred Street behind Circular Quay to go to Campbell Parade. Whatever you do stay on the bus to Campbell Parade - I didn't - I saw the shops at Bondi Junction and misjudged that this was the centre of Bondi. Little did I know that was still another mile away. So to get to the famous beach I had to walk downhill for forty minutes in the blazing heat through tidy suburbia.

Eventually I hit Hall Street which is the beginning of Campbell Parade. Hall Street itself is very pleasant with an easy "Sunday morning" feel about it. Unhurried residents strolled around tucking into newspapers or "smoothies" in alfresco cafes. The road is lined with bookshops, web-cafes, restaurants and surf shops. The presence of surf shops finally tips you off that the beach is nearby. Hall Street opens out into Campbell Parade and the wide yellow crescent of Bondi beach. The whole bay is about 3 km wide and looks almost Mediterranean with its red roofed houses. Victorian houses curve up each hill either side of the beach and footpaths lead to Coogee and Tamarama beaches, it passes the Bondi Icebergs club which is covered in another journal.

A lawn lies before the beach properly. Streams of teenage surfers that emerge out of Bondi Pavilion. This art deco gem is the changing room for the beach and has recently been renovated. Its a lovely little building with a courtyard with photo frescoes of 1920's lifeguards in one piece costumes and standing before bathing huts.

The real attraction is the snow white sand and it gets pretty busy in the summer. When you get bored with all the goings on on the beach then there are some nice pubs and Thai cafes on Campbell Parade. And just in front of them is the bus stop back to Circular Quay - and hopefully, unlike me, you will remember to stay on the bus.

"Come on you lubbers! Put some bloody effort into it!"

An colonial overseer stood stood over a group of children making ropes. He bawled them out to work faster.

Of course this wasn't an Australian penal colony in the 1830s but Sydney's best historical museum - the Hyde Park Barracks. The overseer wasn't a cruel colonial guard but a volanteer showing schoolchildren in 2005 what life was life back then complete with authentic period costume and dialogue. A fantasy? Well, I had to suppress a chuckle—those kids certainly worked faster.

The Hyde Park Barracks are a terrific attraction on the edge of the CBD on Hyde Park. This is where Australia began and was where convicts were kept on arrival at the penal settlement. Made of the local yellow sandstone, the Barracks is a compound with historic buildings dating back to 1819 and surrounded by a high wall. It was built by Francis Greenway, a man convicted of forgery and transported but originally studied under Nash - the man who built Bath. And there is a touch of the English city in the glowing sandstone with its wide frontage and clock tower. Despite its elegance, it was a secure hold for male convicts (females were not kept there until 1848). It also served time as a female infirmary, a destitute asylum, a government office, and court, and since 1979, a museum.

The exhibts were fascinating and I spent two hours there. The illustrations of early Sydney were absorbing - a cottage on Observatory hill with bouganvillea around the door and convicts working in the fields. The records of those brought over in the 19th century were harrowing especially their captivity in "hulks" in English ports before being transported to prison ships and taken to the other side of the world. They recreated a convict dorm complete with swinging hammocks. Here they were watched day and night just in case they got up to any hanky panky - homosexuality being a transporting offence back in the early 19th century.

It was the stories behind the pictures which really worked for me. One girl from the North of England was caught horse-stealing, she was transported and became a nanny to a rich family in Parramatta. She eventually served her term, married well, and eventually became the richest woman in the colony.

A few metres away across the Domain is Royal Botanical Gardens. Once upon a time they featured convict vegetable gardens and now every conceivable Australian flora sweeping down to the sea. There is a beautiful ivy covered cafe in the gardens where ibis' strut their stuff. And not far away were dozens of fruit bats dangling from the branches of trees, their faces turned towards you and it felt they were following you with their foxy eyes.

After the Opera House, this is generally the second of Sydney's icons that visitors make for.

It stands at the tip of the city as it extends into the harbour. The area around it is one of the most historically important in Australia - the much vaunted 'The Rocks'. An age old rookery of thieves and ne'er do wells. Nowadays it has been gentrified almost to the point where it looks like a theme park with its glitzy boutiques, hotels and restaurants. But its a nice place to sit in the sunshine, order a barramundi and take a sip of a good Australian shiraz.

Most people approach the bridge from the half-moon of Circular Quay. But the main thoroughfare of George Street extends all the way through "The Rocks" until it passes under the bridge. The Bridge itself is entered from the south/CBD by the Bradfield Highway, a motorway that takes you to Sydney's northern suburbs. King George V Memorial Park stands under this highway and also has the entrance to the Bridge Climb. This is expensive at $110 Australian dollars and although I didn't partake I could view them from below taking the "riggers" route and looking tiny against the bulk of the bridge. My friend says you are not allowed to take your own camera up with you in case you drop it on passing cars below. Therefore you have to pay for a "group photo" for $24.

A good place to spot them slowly inching up the arch of the bridge is at the northern point of Dawes Point Park. Its a lovely paved promenade dotted with palm trees overlooking the water. The underside of the bridge is hundreds of feet above you, and the support pylons look like castles. If you need confirmation that the bridge was a engineering marvel then this is the place to come. Incidentally, Sydney was still paying for this bridge until 1988.

As mentioned, the bridge stands at the tip of "The Rocks." They have taken a great deal of care in renovating 'The Rocks' in what was until the seventies one of Sydney's roughest districts. But in many ways they have polished away its former ambience. It had a notoriously rakish past with brawling, press-ganging and low-life taverns—and it takes some work in the minds eye to imagine. Most of its 19th-century streets are well preserved—shops have original facades, etc. Some of the past dangerous alleyways, those once home to sailor muggings and robberies, now house opal shops, designer boutiques and "Aussie Teddy Bear" emporiums.

Despite the cuddly koalas and boomerangs this is an area worth exploring. Argyle Stores is still made of its original 18th-century sandstone and Wharf House steps is suitably old and creepy. But I think to get a full taste of "the Rocks" you must take a guided tour from the Tourist Information Centre. Then the legacy of Australia's oldest district comes startlingly to life.

Sydney wasn't built as other cities. It wasn't built around crossing points on rivers like the medieval cities of Europe and Africa, it wasn't built on trading posts like North and South America—it was built almost from new. The advantage of this is that vast swathes of the harbour and the Sydney metropolitan area are still in a pristine state. Forests roll down to the sea, waves batter cliffs, and beaches and coves are a stone-throw from the city centre. The city has taken advantage of this by building its suburbs in some pretty impressive areas. Yacht basins, seafront restaurants, and golf courses are the norm, and property prices are pretty high. Sydney has jumped from nowhere to the 20th most expensive city on the planet. A million dollars will still get you an ocean-side mansion, but it wont get you what it used to.

A good example of this is Watsons Bay. This whole area is extends along the southern arm of Sydney harbour and culminates in the finger of land called South Head. On its seaward side are colossal spume bashed cliffs, and on its harbour side are little coves and beaches. The best of these are Watsons Bay and the daring Lady Bay/Camp Cove. Watsons Bay is of course famous for its fish restaurant Doyles, where ferries bring people straight from Circular Quay. And Lady Bay? Well, lets put it this way—anyone viewing the bathers from the tourist boats would certainly get an eyefull.

My friend Milton, who moved from Stockholm to Sydney two years ago, took me to this area one hungover Sunday morning. We could have taken the expensive ferry from Circular Quay directly to Watsons Bay for $12, but opted for the L32 bus, which picks up at Hyde Park and whizzes through Rushcutters Bay, Edgecliff, and Vaucluse—finally terminating near the lawn at Watsons Bay. Doyles Restaurant is the big attraction. The seafood here is meant to be exceptional, and needs at least a weeks reservation. There is a nice beach and lawn where families can play. And for those of us who are not millionaires, a fish and chip shop is nearby that sells big portions. So you can sit on a bench and watch seagulls fight over the leftovers.

But up from Watsons is the appropriately named Camp Cove—Sydney's gay beach. It looks onto the harbour and is bookended by rocky headlands. There are numerous places to lose yourself amongst the eucalyptus groves or rockpools. But, I must warn you—if you do decide to bare all, the tourist boats on their way to Manly come awfully close, definitely within telescopic lens range.

But then, to you that may be part of the attraction.

Even the hardest of hearts will soften on a ferry ride across Sydney Harbour to Manly Beach.

From the deck of a ship you get a sense of the scale of the harbour. Every minute brought views of condos, inlets, sailboats, coves and surf crashed shores. Imagine doing this every day in good weather, and lets face it - thats pretty often in Sydney.

Manly Beach is a beachside suburb on the northern shore that is one of the best excursions you can make in Sydney. It has been a Sydney favourite for generations - a ferry ride, day at the beach and fish 'n chips have been a staple since the thirties and with its art-deco architecture it is redolent of those times. Its position is half the attraction, it stands just north of the mouth of Sydney harbour facing towards the pacific. You can reach it from the harbour, but must walk across the neck of 'The Corso' to reach the beaches. Buses do run to Manly but the best way is by ferry from Circular Quay and is $10.50 for a return fare.

As you draw into Manly Wharf you can get a first look at the suburb. Victorian dwellings line the shore overlooking piers and a small beach. Across the road is the start of 'The Corso' which connects the pier with the beaches. 'The Corso' is charming. The shops are painted pastel colours and house pubs, chemists, souvenir shops, surf shops and British/Irish shops for the ex-pat community. You see fifty-somethings emerge from shops wearing "thongs" clutching newspapers under their arms. There is an air of contentment about the place. One of my aunts friends emigrating to Manly in the sixties - she is still there.

At the end of 'The Corso' is 2 km of sandy beach. Even in early spring the sun is out making the water glitter. The promenade is pounded by joggers and overlooked by Norfolk pines. Whenever I see Norfolk pines I am reminded of Robert Hughes book "The Fatal Shore" when Norfolk island was a horrific penal colony - now it is a rich tax haven. Even in spring surfing is possible and I saw some hardy souls brave the water.

But best of all is a footpath winding around a rocky headland. It snakes around streaked rocks to another beach called Cabbage Tree Bay. The sand was golden here and flanked by pristine eucalypt forest. The southern ocean shone sapphire in the sunlight and scuba divers could be seen. A cappucino could be bought at a beachside cafe and as I listened I heard that you could not buy anything in Sydney for less then $200,000 these days..

After viewing Manly Beach - quite frankly, I am not surprised...

IF THE FALL DOESN'T KILL YOU, HE WILL

That sign is above the "Saltwater Crocodile" enclosure and shows a lovely Aussie sense of humour.

The fall itself is 20ft straight down into the jaws of a true monster. Australia has the biggest crocodiles in the world and the biggest of these live in the river strips/coastal territories of Queensland and the Northern Territory. The Aquarium had one such brute - a lethargic reptile over six foot long. He looked fearsome enough from ground level, but you could climb a set of steps and see him and his pool from above. Hence the warning to be careful. He looked quiet enough but no doubt he'd be as quick as a flash if someone fell in. And I noticed the walls were too high to climb out as well.

When you wander around the harbour you can treat yourself to at least one museum/attraction and I would pick this one above all. They do say if your trip doesn't include the Barrier Reef then this is a good alternative. Certainly a lot of expense has been ploughed into it and thought has been spent on how to incorporate it into the harbour. In fact, the water is so clean in the harbour that it is used naturally for some of the enclosures. Admittance is a steep $25 per person and you enter through an artificial sharks mouth.

First off is the wildlife of Australia's river system and I immediately failed to spot a platypus. I did, however, get to see what yabbies looked like (small blue crayfish) and the mud skippers were amusing with just their eyes peering out of the yuck. Next was where wharves had been converted into the aquarium and the sea lion pool was washed with fresh seawater constantly. You could walk around the pool or travel in a perspex tunnel and watch the sea mammals twist and spin underwater.

But best of all was the tropical section.

The corridors were pitch black making the lighting in the tanks more pronounced. One tank took my breathe away - it was stuffed to the brim with jellyfish. Red lighting lit them from underneath making their pulsating more ethereal and magical.. But the climax was The Great Barrier Reef Tank which was simply colossal. It was full of artificial reef life as well of shoals of hundreds of brightly coloured fish. The tank actually extended underneath the glass floor, and fish moved beneath your feet. It was rather unnerving to have a giant grouper glide above you, while a sawfish swims beneath you. A shoal of fish had taken the last 30 feet of tank as their own and were very close to the glass. The Aquarium provided classical music as you watched this tank. It was so enchanting it was like watching something out of "Fantasia"..

The eighties seemed to be year zero for Sydney.

It resulted in a capitalist building frenzy that resulted in a skyline resembling Seattle or Los Angeles. Everything in this city seems to be so sparkling new. Everything is on show. Everything has be re-gentrified—a 19th-century building is given a glass roof, an office building a chrome atrium, a restaurant with outside seating on silver chairs. This is not meant as a criticism (I'm a big fan of the city). Sydney has a worldwide impressive reputation, a reputation it must keep up and it is constantly refurbishing itself. This results in sections that are as clean as a whistle and occasionally verge on sterile. Once in a while, not often I admit, you can't but wish for a bit of grime in Sydney just to show that it is human.

And so with Darling Harbour.

Personally, I give it top marks. It is a lovely clean environment devoted to pleasure and has some superb attractions. Within easy reach of Circular Quay or the CBD it is a "nice" place to spend a morning, perhaps to escape the summer heat in its air-conditioned attractions or let the kids play in the numerous child-friendly fountains that dot the area. Completed in 1988 it was once a set of industrial docks blighting the western shore of the CBD. Millions of dollars were pumped into the old wharves to create some superb attractions flanked by good restaurants, lively bars and some huge nightclubs. Everything is washed through by the waters of the harbour and scruffy ibis' dot the area hoping to find tidbits left by the tourists.

To get there is easy - white concrete bridges cross the expressways from the CBD. Metrorail passes its western shore with stops at Haymarket, Exhibition and the casino at Star City. The famous monorail glides in a great loop taking in the harbour and George Street. You can get up close as it travels on 10ft high stilts on the Pyrmont Bridge which cuts the harbour in two. The topside of the bridge is covered in paved tiles, flags and gives good views northward to the Harbour Bridge.

The attractions here are very impressive. I've covered the Aquarium in another journal but surrounding the water are the National Maritime Museum with a warship moored outside, The Powerhouse Museum reputed to be one of the most high-tech in Australia and Paddy's Markets. Everything is complimented by numerous malls and restaurants plus a Chinese Garden, an IMAX theatre, and open-air restaurants. My favourite though was Star City Casino which is in Pyrmont. An escalator takes you up into a "Las Vegas" style casino with floor shows, roulette and rows and rows of "pokies"

By taking the monorail to Galleries Victoria you can visit the Queen Victoria Building. It reminded me of Harrods - a bombastic exterior taking up an entire block. But inside? Inside is beautiful - everything is brownwood and tiled. An absolute gem..