The day didn’t start off all that well. It was cloudy and dismal all afternoon and we packed a bunch of rain gear to take down to the zoo with us. I drove down to the grounds – took a wrong turn – and got us completely and utterly lost amidst the NYE downtown Sydney traffic. NO map of that area, either! Panic!! It was with great relief that we finally pulled into the parking lot of the zoo.
We piled out of the campervan and realized that the line to get in was hundreds and hundreds of people long already. Even though we’d bought gold tickets, I was worried that we wouldn’t get a decent spot as seating wasn’t assigned.
I shouldn’t have worried! We got FANTASTIC seats in the bleachers…and even remembered to bring a blanket to sit on. From our seats, we could see the harbor and had a clear view of both the bridge and the opera house. Amazing!
They had a few of the animal exhibits open so Jessica got to see about 1/4 of the zoo before it closed up. Then they had entertainment for the kiddies – some (really bad) clown/magician. But the kids loved him. Then the 9pm “kid” fireworks went off and they were better than anything I’ve seen in Calgary!
At that point, the clouds had all but blown over, and the sky was looking a lot more promising in terms of decent weather for the big event at midnight. The same guy who was the clown came back as the front man for a “junk” band. They were…..interesting…. some of the music was really good and everyone was really talented. But they had a few skits that weren’t really in keeping with the whole mood, or the fact that there were still loads of little kids in the audience.
Overall, it was fun though. Jessica danced her little heart out, much to the amusement of the crowd. She had a couple of falls on the cement stairs so today she’s sporting a skinned chin and roadrash on her back. Didn’t stop the dancing though!
The big show at midnight was absolutely the most amazing fireworks display I’ve ever seen! We had a perfect view, and the sky cleared up completely. We could see all the boats in the harbor lit up and I must say, it was worth every single penny we paid for the seats! Poor Jessica, though, that’s the first fireworks she’s ever seen! Everything else will pale in comparison!
The drive back to the caravan park was a nightmare too. TWO hours to drive what should have taken 30 minutes in normal traffic…and I didn’t even get lost on the way home! Jess and Grant were both able to crash out, though, and when I looked at the poor people crushed into the busses going by, I was really glad we drove down even though it was a long drive back.
All in all, I must say we had a fantastic NYE. Anyone thinking of coming to Sydney with kids at New Year’s should really think about spending the cash to go to the zoo.
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