The Aquarium at Darling Harbour - well worth a visit and you can take a ferry there from locations around the city.
Sporting Activities
Runners and Walkers
Get to Centennial Park, Sydney's Central park, and go wild. It's at the top of Paddington and near Bondi Junction. Great bird life and views of the city. You can rent bikes or rollerblades near the park near the Queen's Park end. Or, for the very serious, run, don't walk, the Bondi to Clovelly ocean path.
Swimmers
Head to the ocean. It's free. And quite a few of the beaches have ocean pools for lap swimming including Bondi's Icebergs Club, Bronte, Wylie's Baths at Coogee, Clovelly and Manly. See photos to pick the pool of your choice.
Or sample the Olympic pool at Sydney International Aquatic Centre at the Olympic site in Homebush (you can get there by train). Also, the Harbour is safe for swimming except for a day or so immediately after heavy rain. There are pools all around the Harbour including Boy Charleton Pool in the Domain and Dawn Fraser pool in Balmain. Check out the new Cook and Phillip pool near Hyde Park and the Australian Museum.
Scuba
PADI certification classes and dives available at Bondi Beach and Manly.
Yoga
In summertime, try Yoga in its most idyllic surroundings - the Royal Botanic Gardens. Karma Yoga holds classes at 7am on Tuesday and Thursday Mornings and Saturdays at 8.30am. They are held on the Bawd lawn (east of pond and the Kiosk). Cost is AUS$11. Other classes all over the city - check the phone book.
Surfing
Take a lesson down at Bondi beach and catch a radical experience in a tube, dude!! Put a bit of zinc on your nose and you'll be an Aussie surfie before you know it. "Let's Go Surfin'" have lessons providing all the gear you need, just take your cossies and a towel - Ph: 9365 1800.
Shopping
In the city, around The Strand Arcade and the Queen Victoria Building (QVB) are the best spots for shopping of all kinds. David Jones is the big, fashionable department store(s) nearby but won't impress New Yorkers or Londoners. Nice food hall though.
Elsewhere, a long stroll down Oxford Street in Paddington should satisfy most shopping urges, especially for clothing and shoes. And just off Oxford Street, take a stroll down William Street (it's more like a laneway) for the latest from Collette Dinnigan and other Australian fashion designers (with equally high prices, but worth a look).
For inexpensive shopping and a good feel for Sydney's different neighbourhoods, visit the great Saturday markets at one of the following:
- Paddington
- Glebe
- Balmain
- Bondi Beach
Questions?
If you want more information about this area you can email the author or check out our Pacific Insiders page.
