{"id":5603,"date":"2012-01-31T10:17:14","date_gmt":"2012-01-31T00:17:14","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/?p=5603"},"modified":"2018-05-15T07:24:31","modified_gmt":"2018-05-14T21:24:31","slug":"part-two-of-micks-sydney-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/part-two-of-micks-sydney-weekend\/","title":{"rendered":"Part two of Mick\u2019s Sydney weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"phbff\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>He soaked up King\u2019s Cross and ticked the Bridge Climb off his bucket list in part one, now Mick gives us the lowdown on Taronga Zoo and his favourite things to do in Sydney.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong><!--more--> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/?p=5555&amp;cid=lmau_blog_post\" target=\"_blank\">Read part one of Mick&#8217;s adventure weekend in Sydney<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Situated on the north shore of Sydney Harbour, in one of the more exclusive suburbs in the city on a prime piece of real-estate, is Taronga Zoo. There is nowhere else in the world that you can experience dozens of different exotic animals in such a glorious location. It is often said that the Taronga Zoo giraffes have the best view in Sydney.<\/p>\n<p>The easiest way to travel to the zoo is via ferry from the central Circular Quay. A short ferry ride on the most famous harbour in the world with million dollar photo ops is worth doing in any event, but it was lovely that we could tie this in with travelling to the zoo on a glorious day.<br \/>\nBecause the zoo is literally situated on a cliff-face, the entire day is spent walking down-hill, which is a good thing for elderly and young-uns alike. A cable car takes us from the bottom to the top of the zoo where we started our exploration.<\/p>\n<p>The zoo houses a huge array of local and international fauna. The chimpanzee, elephant, gorilla and tiger enclosures, just to name a few, stand out as excellent examples of giving animals room to grow and live. One of the highlights of the zoo when I was a child was the seal exhibition, so we made sure to attend on this day. We were glad we did. It was just as entertaining as I\u2019d remembered for kids and adults. Even a little bit of a shower is included.<\/p>\n<p>A lot of improvements have been made to the park since I was small however, with the \u2018concrete jungle\u2019 that it once was, making way for bushy pathways, a large array of food and drink options as well as interactive shows and displays. You could spend hours exploring all sides of the zoo with more hours watching displays, talks and shows given by the experienced staff. It really was quite impressive to see.<\/p>\n<p>After a long day\u2019s walking it was a relief to once again board a ferry back to the city, soak in the sea air and relax.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Some of Mick\u2019s other favourite things to do whilst in Sydney are: <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u25cf <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0099;\">Wander around The Rocks <\/span><\/strong> &#8211; This area of Sydney is so old you\u2019ll feel like a convict yourself! Check out some of the wonderful pubs, like the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lordnelsonbrewery.com\/\">Lord Nelson<\/a>, restaurants and architecture of this historical piece of the city.<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0099;\">Grab a beer and a bite to eat in Surry Hills <\/span><\/strong> &#8211; This popular area, particularly Crown Street, has a number of beautiful cafes, restaurants and pubs. Check out <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewinerybygazebo.com.au\/\">The Winery <\/a>on Crown St or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thenorfolk.co\/\">The Norfolk<\/a> on Cleveland St for good examples!<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0099;\">Visit the \u2018Paddo Markets\u2019 in Paddington <\/span><\/strong> &#8211; For a massive array of art, fashion, jewellery and craft, visit the Paddington Markets on a Saturday morning and get inspired by the creative talents of Sydney locals!<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0099;\">Centennial Park walk and an outdoor movie<\/span><\/strong> &#8211; Centennial Park is a hidden gem in Sydney. This massive public park with glorious local landscapes and open spaces makes for a perfect afternoon stroll. Give yourself an hour to walk around it and then stay for the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.moonlight.com.au\/program.php?location=Sydney\">Moonlight Cinema <\/a>that shows through the summer.<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0099;\">Check out the beach <\/span><\/strong> &#8211; Whether it\u2019s Bondi, Coogee, Bronte or Manly, there is a beach for everyone in Sydney. Cafes and pubs dot the coastline at all these beaches but taking off your shoes and walking the water\u2019s edge is the best way to experience Sydney\u2019s natural beauties. Or if you want to leave your shoes on, do the Bondi to Bronte coast walk and marvel at the sea on one side or the amazing coastal homes on the other.<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0099;\">Yum Cha in Chinatown<\/span><\/strong> &#8211; Sydney\u2019s Chinatown is a bustling exciting part of town and it\u2019s worth wandering the streets of Haymarket to experience it. Whilst you\u2019re there, grab some excellent Yum Cha at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.zilver.com.au\">Zilver<\/a>. It\u2019s cheap and cheerful and good for the whole family!<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"pageLinksCont\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"pageLinks\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/accommodation\/australia\/sydney?cid=lmau_blog_post\" target=\"_blank\">Hotels in Sydney<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"pageLinks\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/accommodation\/australia\/sydney\/secret?cid=lmau_blog_post\" target=\"_blank\">Secret Hotels\u00ae in Sydney<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"pageLinks\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/domestic-flights\/cheap-airfares-to-sydney?cid=lmau_blog_post\" target=\"_blank\">Flights to Sydney<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"pageLinks\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lastminute.godo.com.au\/activities-in-sydney?cid=lmau_blog_post\" target=\"_blank\">Experiences in Sydney<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"pageLinks\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lastminute.com.au\/hire.html?cid=lmau_blog_post\" target=\"_blank\">Car Hire in Sydney<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>[slideshow exclude=&#8221;5597&#8243;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; He soaked up King\u2019s Cross and ticked the Bridge Climb off his bucket list in part one, now Mick..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":40050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[116,9],"tags":[672,673,674,675,668,57,676,677,355,678,679,680,532,681],"acf":{"credits":[{"name":"","label":"","full_url":""}],"enable_review_score":false},"posts_api_cpm_point":{"name":"","description":"","thumbnail":"","address":"Sydney NSW, Australia","latitude":"-33.8688197","longitude":"151.20929550000005","icon":"\/images\/icons\/marker.png"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5603"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5603"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5603\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40051,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5603\/revisions\/40051"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}