Sydney to Byron Bay

Although we were leaving Sydney for Byron Bay, our Greyhound bus did not depart until 6:00pm, giving us the day to spend in the city.

We wandered back through the tranquil floral expanse of The Royal Botanical Gardens to sit upon Mrs Macquarie's Chair and look out upon Sydney's harbour. The chair was carved out of the rock at the start of the 19th century for the wife of the city's governor as she regularly visited the vantage point.

From there we walked around Farm Cove, which gave us panoramic views of the city. Ferries slipped in and out of view as they rounded the opera house to enter the quay. The steady flow of traffic rippling the waters out to the edge of the cove. Tourists took photographs whilst the locals simply tried to get on with their day. Sat back against the tree line a large stone engraving commemorated the point where Queen Elizabeth II first came ashore in Australia on her tour in 1954.

Once back at the ferry quay we ventured into The Rocks, where the weather had previously deterred us from exploring. At a small museum we learnt that the area had traditionally housed ex-convicts and working class families who were heavily involved in the construction of the city, including its harbour bridge. They had to vehemently resist attempts through the 20th century to develop and modernise the area, which would have seen its buildings bulldozed and its history lost for high rise offices to house big business. Fortunately it was conserved and we stopped to soak in the atmosphere (and some beer) at The Lord Nelson, Australia's oldest pub brewery.

Darkness descended and it was time to board the bus for our 13 hour journey to Byron Bay. We chose to travel overnight so we didn't have to spend a whole day sitting on a bus but it also spared the cost of a night's accommodation (backpacker budgets). The journey wasn't as bad as expected because we managed to sleep through most of it!Read more