Exploring Sydney and MARDI GRAS!

Yesterday, March 5th, I explored Sydney from front to back. Adam, one of my flatmates, joined a group called Unimates when he first got here which is a club that is for international students. Australian students that go to Sydney Uni can join the club too and meet other international students. Adam told me that the club was meeting yesterday to go on a scavenger hunt around Sydney, which would also let us explore the city. We both decided to go, and met the group that was part of this club in front of one of the most amazing buildings I have seen yet in Sydney. It looks like something right out of Harry Potter, and Adam said he has a class inside of that building. I will definitely get a picture of the building and post it on my facebook for you all to see. What the scavenger hunt was is we got a clue, and had to figure out what the clue said then find the place in Sydney that was answered the clues question. We had a couple Australians in our group luckily who knew their way around Sydney.


I had such an amazing time doing this. The scavenger hunt lasted from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. and we probably walked about 8 miles minimum. My group started out going to this outdoor market that is a market on the weekend and a school during the week. They sold a ton of different things there including different types of food that is made in Australia. We then went to the Sydney Fish Market which is this huge indoor fish market that is right off of one of the harbors. Supposedly it is famous in Sydney because each morning the fishermen bring back everything they caught that morning and people come and get their sea food fresh daily. I have never seen so many different types of fish and sea food in my life. There were displays that contained fish that were probably 400 pounds laying on a sheet of ice. After we spent time at the fish market, we went to Darling Harbor, which is a huge harbor that is close to Sydney Harbor. This is in downtown Sydney and is where the world's largest IMAX screen is. It is also where an aquarium and an indoor zoo is with kangaroos and other animals. Needless to say, I am definitely going to all of these places eventually. The next place we went was Hyde Park. It was an extremely pretty park with these huge pathways that were covered with trees. I can definitely see myself laying around the park and "studying" for my classes. After Hyde Park, we went to the Botanic Garden. This is where I saw something that I will NEVER FORGET. As we were walking through, someone from Australia pointed up to a tree and said to look up. This is when I looked up and saw about 100 bats sleeping up at the top of the tree. These bats hang from their feet upside down and wrap their wings are their body like a blanket. Some of the bats were awake and flying around, but since they are nocturnal the majority of them were sleeping. I hate bats and seeing hundreds of bats up in the trees reaffirmed my thoughts that I still hate bats. The last place we went was Sydney Harbor where the Sydney Opera House and bridge are! Walking right up to the Opera House on the harbor was breathtaking and unbelievable. The Opera House is not as white as you see in pictures, but it is still amazing. Eventually I am going to take a tour of it and I really want to climb the bridge on the harbor!  I was so glad that Adam and I ended up doing this scavenger hunt because I got to get a glimpse of places in Sydney and know where to come back and spend more time exploring.


Right when we got back from our day, we had to get ready for MARDI GRAS! Something I did not know but now I definitely know is that Mardi Gras is HUGE in Sydney. I am not sure if it is always on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday or what, but it was yesterday. People from all over Australia and New Zealand fly in for this parade. There were thousands and thousands of people. All I can say is it is definitely up there with Mardi Gras in New Orleans. All my friends and I got ready and headed to downtown Sydney (which is a 15 minute bus ride away) for the parade. The parade started at 7:15 p.m. and lasted for hours and hours. We wanted to get there early so we could get a good spot to see the parade, because supposedly if you do not get there by 4 p.m. you have a hard time seeing everything. The second I got off the bus, I was amazed and in amazement of what was going on. I have not been to Mardi Gras in New Orleans since I was probably 10 years old, so I forgot what it is like. I cannot fully describe my Mardi Gras in Sydney experience to you in words because it is the kind of thing you would of had to be there to see it all. Pretty much I have never seen so many gay people in my life dressed up in clothing that would never be allowed in public, except for Mardi Gras. Somehow we found a way to see the floats up close and see some of the people who were in the parade before it started, which was pretty cool. Mardi Gras in New Orleans from what I remember is exactly the same as to what we went to last night, except for one thing: BEADS! In Sydney they do not throw beads off of the floats, which was very disappointing! Other than the beads, I had an incredible time and was so happy that I got to go to a Mardi Gras parade. It is something that I will always look back on and definitely remember.

Yesterday was definitely an extremely fun and full day of excitement. I cannot wait for what is up next!

G'day,

Heidi