On Feb 19, 2024, we sailed into Sydney Harbour, going under the Sydney Harbour Bridge and past the iconic Sydney Opera House, before docking at the White Bay Cruise Terminal for a two-day stay.

Sydney is the capital of New South Wales and one of Australia’s largest cities. Indigenous Australians have inhabited the Sydney area for at least 30,000 years. In 1770, during his first Pacific voyage, Lt. James Cook landed at Sydney, where he claimed possession of the east coast of Australia for the British Crown. In 1788, the first fleet of conflicts arrived to found Sydney as a British penal colony. Penal transportation ended soon after Sydney was incorporated as a city in 1842. After World War II, Sydney experienced mass migration and became one of the most multicultural cities in the world. Today it is a vibrant city and one of the fifteen most-visited cities in the world.

We took a bus tour of the city and saw many of the prime sites and neighborhoods that make Sydney so interesting. Our excursion included a guided tour inside the Sydney Opera House where we were able to view a number of the performance venues, including the main concert hall, of this multi-venue performing arts center. It is widely regarded as one of the world’s most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architecture.

Later that evening we went to a special dinner at the Museum of Modern Art and were entertained by Jim Morrison and his jazz band.

On our second day in Sydney it rained, and we were on our own, so we decided to take a shuttle into the center of town and explore by ourselves. In a downpour, we ventured out from the shuttle terminal and started walking, eventually ending up at the Queen Victoria Building, an historic building that was recently completely renovated into a beautiful shopping center that covered a full square block and was three stories tall. The entire shopping center was full of high-end stores and places to eat. Every floor had extensive stained glass and marble, and there was a huge clock tower in the center of the complex.

We then ventured out into the rain again, saw the Sydney Tower, and headed toward Hyde Park, a large central park in Sydney. On one end was St. Mary’s Catholic Cathedral, a very large church, and on the other end was the ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Army Corp) Memorial, honoring all of the service men and women that lost their lives in wars since World War I.

From there we headed back to the ship in our drenched clothes. However, as soon as we got back on the Sojourn, the sun came out and we were treated to a great “sail-away” from Sydney.