BEST OF SYDNEY!!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

“Ooooh you’re going to SIN-CITY!?” was the first response I received upon informing a work colleague about my holiday plans, talk about a critical review! Whilst I’m well aware he said it as a light hearted joke, it stirred up some concern because my only prior experience of the city was my transit flight! Not to mention that all I knew of Sydney was the Harbour bridge and the Opera House!(as is the case with most people not from Sydney….yes, even Australians from surrounding areas know very little about it.) So there began my journey to, well, “SYN-CITY”.

SYDNEY!

Upon arrival into Sydney, itching to see the iconic Opera House and Harbour Bridge, good old Harriet being familiar with the area, was able to manoeuvre us into a position which would allow me to briefly feast my eyes on the architectural beauties aforementioned above.

This was only a teaser of what lay ahead!

A big shout-out to Harriet for the ride with riveting podcasts 😀

Having been in the country for a little under 3months, I thought I was familiar with the transport system in Aussie until the train station showed me that in reality, I was still a rookie and that I had been indeed been in just that, “The country!” I soon found myself looking like a very confused tourist as I walked around the station clueless as to whether I was even walking in the right direction! Now at this point dear reader, you may be wondering why I didn’t just ask for assistance? Well, whilst I typically have no problem approaching complete strangers, it’s an entirely different ballgame in Sydney! Everyone somehow simultaneously walks at 10 paces a second, whilst looking down into their phones as though they were religiously following some map route, not to mention the prevalence of earphones plugged into ears to give the rapid movements a bit of rhythm I’d imagine! However, I eventually spotted a local who didn’t appear as though they were part of The Amazing Race, and hence the first hurdle had been crossed, I WAS ON THE CORRECT TRAIN, well at least I thought I was.

So whilst the “Sydnites” I had encountered might not actually have been looking at a map on their phones, as I sat in the train awaiting my stop, I certainly was! I followed the train’s route from the moment I hopped on, and fixated my eyes on that little unpredictable blue dot as the train approached my destination. (This was no time for sightseeing) Eventually, I hopped off, and after climbing a flight of stairs, not quite sure where to from there, Mambo Jambo appeared! I never thought I’d be so happy to see Monambi, but having not seen him for almost half a year since his gap-year in Zim, and him saving me from absolute confusion and worry, it made for a great deal of excitement!

THE WIYAS

During my first week in Sydney, I had the privilege of being hosted by the Wiyas, and I was also very fortunate in that my school break coincided with Mambo’s first break at ANU(Australian National University) which meant I had an experienced Australian to show me how the train systems among other first world phenomenon work! Whilst I didn’t get to meet his sister Kya, who was on a music tour in… EUROPE (talk about talent), I got to meet the queen of the fort, Mrs. Wiya, as well as spend some time discussing politics with Mr.Wiya, who incidentally reminded me a lot of my dad in his vast knowledge on a myriad of topics and frequent use of wit in conversation. Additionally, I learnt quite a lot about Papua New Guinea (PNG) where Mr.Wiya is originally from, and though he no longer lives there, he’s an activist against corruption and runs a little company/initiative called Village Coffee. The concept of Village Coffee being that he imports coffee from PNG, but unlike his larger counterparts, the contribution per kg given to farmers is far greater, and a portion of each bag’s sales’ also goes to the community to where the coffee came from. Visit Village coffee to learn more about this great initiative, and consider supporting it if you’re reading from Aussie! I’m not a big coffee drinker, but I think it tastes great!

coffee’s great, but coffee that makes a difference, takes the “cup”. -Nesu Kandiado

Mambo prepares a JUMBO feast…yes ladies…he cooks too 😉

A food chain which makes all its products with NUTELLA!

Courtesy of Mambo and a mate of his 🙂

got a personal SACS tour from the former School captain! #Petra’s_partner_school

Iconic background…ooh let’s take a selfie!

After all is said and done, A big thank you to the Wiyas for their kind hospitality, it’s much obliged. Love, ZIMBO!!

THE JEAVONS

After leaving the Wiyas, hopefully allowing Mambo to actually get some work done, I went to spend 3 nights with a gap-mate of mine, David, and his family, The Jeavons! One would say my timing is pretty jammy because the day I arrived, was coincidentally the same day they were going to watch a Super Rugby match, the Waratahs playing the Brumbies! Similar to the Wiyas, at that point, David was the only child home, though I got to meet his pleasant sister and hilarious brother later down the line. With his 2 siblings away, the numbers were in my favour, and his parents treated us to a lovely night out! Being more of a cricket fan myself, it was a pleasant surprise to establish that the SCG(Sydney Cricket Ground) was right next to the fixture venue, the ANZ Stadium. Security denied us entry into the SCG, but Mr Jeavons discreetly led us in to get an amazing view of the beautiful field. As if that wasn’t enough, he initiated the idea to go have a look at the VIP section of the ground, which inevitably meant that we ran into further security along the way! Now call it luck or divine intervention, it just so happened that this guard was from Kenya, and upon explaining that a certain Nesu from Zimbabwe wearing a Zim rugby jersey (conveniently) was dying to see the SCG, all we got from the guard was a smile and him wishing me a happy stay as we continued our borderline legal quest. Inevitably there was a different dynamic at the Jeavons, though Mr Jeavons’ rich knowledge in Australian politics and general happenings allowed for some interesting conversation and learning. It was also insightful hearing about the church system from lovely Mrs Jeavons who works at Bush Church Aid Australia. Being more confident on how to use the train by this time, I found myself often hopping on and off the train to random locations all in a bid to, well, explore, and I remember laughing to myself as I saw individuals occupying two or more seats thinking no such thing would happen in a “kombi” back home!

High rollers 😛

The SCG

VIP area

ZIM jersey to the rescue!

Classic fish & chips at the Stadium

The Tahs sadly lost at Home! 😦

laughing at people actually sitting by themselves!

For our brief time together, A BIG THANKS to the JEAVONS!

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE

There’d be little value in saying that I visited Sydney, let alone spent longer than a week there, if I didn’t visit it’s most iconic building. After contemplating for several days whether just seeing the outer shell would be enough to consider having actually experienced the SOH, I decided to book a tour of the Opera house! Having invested a small fortune to learn more about this world famous masterpiece, I was more than happy with the well-designed interior of the SOH, but the tour guide on the other hand… not so much. Whilst I understand that her job description probably entails cracking a joke every now and then, you couldn’t help but feel sorry for her dismal attempts at being funny. Though to her credit, she was very knowledgeable about the SOH, and she even let us watch a little ballet rehearsal. Of the numerous things I learnt that day, one fact which still baffles me up to now is that the SOH has 1000 rooms, yes folks, no typo there, ONE THOUSAND ROOMS! then, of course, the idea that the entire roof put together forms a Sphere as discovered by its architect Utzon, whilst peeling an orange might I add, but that’s a story for another day.

Below are some of the snaps I took during the tour. Most of the rooms you aren’t allowed to photograph, but I’ve tried to give you a snippet of what it’s like.

you don’t often see it from this angle

come a minute late, and that’s too bad.

One of the larger concert halls

flying saucers…no?

about to perform a Mozart classic in front of so many… chairs.

view of the bridge from inside the Opera house.

been there, done that.

THE SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is iconic to Australia. Many a snapshot has been taken by locals and tourists alike in admiration of this engineering beauty. Completed in 1932, the harbour bridge is also a major artery that connects Sydney CBD with the North Shore and all traffic north of Sydney.

It just takes google searching, “top things to do in Sydney,” before the ‘bridgeclimb’ pops up not just as the top thing to do in Sydney, but on some sites as a must do before one dies! So it was decided, under my motto of, “go big or go home,” I decided to climb the world’s largest steel bridge, and inevitably the highest bridge climb one can legally climb!

This was truly one of those experiences that no matter how hard I may try to verbalise it, the only thing I can ultimately say is… “you’ve got to experience it for yourself!” For my last two nights in Sydney, I got to stay with one of my mate’s and his friends at a lovely house in the picturesque harbour suburb of Balmain. During which time I enjoyed doing some myth-busting of the Harbour Bridge with my 3hrs worth of wisdom! For instance, many people are led to believe that the bridge is repainted yearly… however, in reality, some parts of the bridge, as in the words of the Daily Telegraph, “have not felt the tickle of a brush for up to 30 years!” Jokes aside, it is truly a magnificent feature which boasts the great workmanship of man. It didn’t come at no cost though, because unlike in the construction of the SOH, some brave persons tragically lost their lives. For that reason and several others, as you engage in the ascent to the climax of the bridge, whilst soaking in the panoramic view of Stunning Sydney, the stories the tour guide shares truly touch one’s heart. It is in that light I’d encourage everyone, and particularly the scores of Australians who haven’t climbed the bridge, to go and enjoy a bit of history with a lovely view and experience to accompany it, costly as it may be!

Every little thing is gonna be alright!

All in all, it was great to visit the big city, and I’m very appreciative of the aforementioned families, as well as Cameron Patrick for not just putting me up but putting up with me 😛

To you, the reader, thank you for your patience, particularly if you’re one of the people who kept prompting me to update my blog! Be sure to also visit my other posts if you haven’t already, and see what a Zimbo gets up to down under! So till next time, Stay blessed.

All good wishes,
Nesu4Jesu