When I heard that 1.5 million people were making their way to
Sydney Harbor starting early in the day to claim a spot in order to see the fireworks display in the evening, I opted to spend my day enjoying the
Royal Botanic Garden and watch the fireworks on the
tellie. I don't know, the thought of waiting in one spot all day and then being part of 1.5 million people pushing to get home after a 12 minute display just didn't sound like my kind of fun.
I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed my day roaming the extensive grounds of the
Royal Botanic Garden... to the point that I didn't want to go home! The location of this park reminded me a lot of
Stanley Park, a preserved natural woodlands on a peninsula on Vancouver's harbor. With the
Royal Botanic Garden boasting 30 ha (or 75 acres), with the
Sydney Opera House and
Sydney Harbor bordering one side and the
Central Business District on the other end of the park, seemed like the perfect place to see the major areas of Sydney from one vantage point.
On the way to the
Gardens are some government buildings, like the
Mint, State Library, Hospital and
Government House.
Once you get into the park there is a statue dedicated to
Capt Arthur Philip, the first governor of New South Wales in the late 18th century. I found this was one of many statues I would pass while experiencing the grounds.
I was amazed at the host of plant variety and incredible walkways leading visitors to the different areas of the
Gardens.
The birds in the park knew how to put on a show for us and the views of the
Harbor and
Opera House weren't too shabby either =)
Nice to know I made it just in time (last day of 2016) to help celebrate the
Royal Garden's 200th birthday. It was established in 1816 and, like the signs in the park read, "
200 years and still growing!"
Only a few of the garden areas were closed during the day to prepare for the forecast crowds. It was interesting to see people streaming to the harbor early in the morning and ships of all sizes claiming a spot in the harbor to view the eventual fireworks spectacle.
So what did the fireworks look like that evening?
Click here to see the 12 minute version of the fireworks that I saw and heard from my hotel room.
