A Roaring Start!

What began as a roaring and thunderous start to our first full day in Sydney ended with a top-of-the-world feeling! Tze Min and I have probably never imagined we’d see our very own mothers be transformed into biker chicks until today!

Picking us up from our apartment at Oaks Harmony were three burly Harley bikers from Blue Thunder Down Under Harley Tours. Decked in leather and dark sunglasses on mean and powerful machines, they were our ride around the city to Mrs Macquaries Chair and then southeast to the famous Bondi beach. All except for Trevor (whose biker name is Troll), the other two guys, Greg and Mike, didn’t have the ‘entire package’, i.e. full length moustache and beard. But their appearance belied their very laid-back and mild-mannered personalities. Tze Min was thrilled riding pillion on Mike and also tried out sitting with legs fully stretched in the sidecar. Troll’s bright yellow three-wheeler must have been a treat for our mums because they didn’t want to swap bikes or seats with the rest of us. So that meant I was pillion for the hour-long ride trying to keep myself steady while holding a camera in one hand and clicking throughout just for photo evidence for this blog. (You better be appreciative I risked my life for this!)

After an adrenalin-rush on the Harleys, we got off at Rushcutters Bay to board our luxurious 26-foot Beneteau yacht, one among the fleet of 25 operated by Eastsail. Tze Min was asked to release the ropes as our skipper Jess navigated the lady out of her berth. Once out at Sydney Harbour, all of us stretched out on the deck and basked in the morning sun on an almost cloudless Friday. The sun kissed our faces while the cool breeze over the harbour countered the heating up of the morning. All was serene as we sailed under the Sydney Harbour Bridge (whose official name is Jackson Bridge, or so we were told by our guide at Sydney Skywalk).


Lunch was at the Sydney Fish Market - the second largest of its kind in the Southern hemisphere after Tokyo. We had a seafood platter (lobster, octopus, calamari, Kilpatrick oysters and prawns), sashimi and a dozen Sydney oysters while envious seagulls waddled by hoping to share our lunch. We topped it off with creamy muesli, passion fruit and mixed berry yoghurt. One regret - we should have ordered a smaller serving!

With so much to work off, we headed back to the city and were let loose on Pitt Street Mall. I’m surprised Tze Min only bought two bags of items in a place where four hundred specialty stores in eight major retail centres are concentrated. But well and good as her mum is getting a little worried, since we still have more shopping opportunities in the week ahead. I suggest we all start pacing ourselves, I’m no exception.

As the sun gave way to the moon, we hopped into the lift at Sydney Tower and were elevated 260 metres above ground (or about 75 storeys) to check out the city’s highest outdoor adventure attraction – the Sydney Skywalk. Gim Kuan put her fear of heights behind her and bravely confronted them as we stepped out onto the glass platform not for the faint-hearted. We were securely harnessed as we made our way around the platform that gave us 360-degree views of Sydney’s night sky. It was truly breath-taking!

Twenty minutes later, we were two decks below tucking into a buffet dinner at the Sydney Tower Restaurant. This iconic eatery earns the title of ‘Highest Revolving Restaurant in the Southern Hemisphere’. So with every serving we tucked into, the view was different, yet no less spectacular than the one before.

Admittedly, it’s been one long day choc-o-bloc with one exciting adventure after another. Everyone could do with a slightly earlier evening tonight because we’ve got our weekend all planned out. Hope you do too. Among our planned stops on the itinerary tomorrow - the Sydney Aquarium and the Wildlife World tomorrow. Despite it being a weekend, I won’t be taking a break from blogging, so make sure you check back across the weekend for more updates direct from Sydney!

All right mate…you take care and check back soon you hear. Gonna bed now with my stuffed koala.

p/s: if you can't get enough of the great photos you've seen so far, click here for more.