From the iron arches of the Harbour Bridge to the white sails of the Opera House, Sydney Harbour is one of Australia’s most recognisable sights. And you don’t have to jostle for elbow room on the foreshore to enjoy the view.
Fort Denison Australian
Cheese and Wine Experience
Even on a rainy day, Circular Quay is a no-go zone if you’re trying to avoid tourists. Weaving past the souvenir shops and tour groups down to the ferry terminal can be stressful, so the smiling face of Claudia Bowman (nee McIntosh) is a welcome sight. One half of McIntosh & Bowman Cheesemongers, Claudia is our host for a fromage experience like no other. For the next two hours, we’ll be wined and dined on Fort Denison – once a prison for Sydney’s most dangerous convicts and one of six islets that dot the harbour.
Fort Denison has unparalleled 360-degree views of the harbour and is a short ferry ride from Circular Quay. Drinking in that view – and the sparkling wine that’s served as we step off the ferry – is not a bad way to start the afternoon.
Originally intended for cruise passengers, the Fort Denison Australian Cheese and Wine Experience runs every week and is booked almost solid by locals. It begins in the private dining room of the Tea House, once the sparse sandstone Officers’ Quarters. A long table is set with fresh gum blossoms, more tasting glasses than I’d care to count and large plates of cheese, from a slab of canary-yellow vintage cheddar to oozing rounds of camembert. But there’s no tasting before the teaching.
Claudia explains the origins of cheese with the reverence of a camp-fire storyteller. We lean closer as she recounts how the first cows brought to Australia were kept at Cattle Cove, where the Sydney Opera House now stands. So this is where it all began – more than just a pretty view, Sydney Harbour was home to the very first Australian farmhouse cheeses.
Soon afterwards, we’re tasting a selection of 10 cheeses from around the country paired with homebaked sourdough and a moreish prune-and-walnut log. Once, convicts were forced to come here and forbidden to leave. If Claudia was on call every day, I’d be happy to throw away the keys and stay.
Cockatoo Island
Hop back on a ferry and venture farther afield for another historic, horde-free harbour experience. A stop on the Woolwich and Parramatta ferry services from Circular Quay’s Wharf 5 and Darling Harbour, Cockatoo Island – like Fort Denison – served time as a penal colony. From 1839 until the 1870s, it was used a convict prison; today, many of the hand-carved buildings are UNESCO World Heritage-listed.
During the 1900s, the island was Australia’s largest shipbuilding yard, with thousands of men working here to outfit ships during World War II. Now, blockbuster cultural events such as the Biennale of Sydney use the abandoned ship halls and prison barracks as urban art spaces.
At the time of my trip to the island, the opened buildings and abandoned tunnels were wallpapered with three-storey-high murals, the yards filled with gigantic recycled-metal sculptures. Deserted buildings are eerily silent so I’m relieved when I hear music drifting over from The Island Bar. It turns out you don’t need to be aboard a superliner or a yacht to drink on the harbour.
The Island Bar’s striped sun-chairs and beach umbrellas line up on a patch of astroturf by the water. Made from recycled shipping containers, the kitchen, bar and DJ booth are all pumping when I pull up a chair.
Sunday afternoon music sessions draw a hip crowd but on weekdays, families and friends fill the seats as they wait for piping-hot pizzas straight from the wood-fired oven. I settle down with a Cold War Sgroppino cocktail – lemon sorbet muddled with Russian Standard vodka – and wait for my thin-crust salmon and rocket pizza to arrive.
And if you find it hard to tear yourself away, you’ll be happy to know that the island offers various accommodations, including a number of campsites, with tents for hire on the waterfront and unpowered sites farther back for those who want to pitch their own.
OzPaddle Kayak Tour
Forget the ferry – one of the best ways to get up close and personal with Sydney Harbour is in a kayak, the smallest craft permitted on the water. On an OzPaddle kayaking tour, we float around the bay like a flock of brightly coloured ducks, circling our guide Sophie Morgan. Every week, Sophie leads several groups on paddling excursions, navigating the harbour’s considerable water traffic while sharing tidbits about the scenery.
Pushing off from the sheltered shore of Rose Bay is a good warm-up for the rougher water we face as the harbour opens up. We stay well clear of ferries, practising steering manoeuvres, and skirt around a small flotilla of yachts engaged in a midday race. We drag our kayaks up onto the pebbly shore at Shark Island and lounge on the grassy hill for a break.
Tours also depart from Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool at Woolloomooloo, where you’ll scoot past the naval ships at Green Island and circle Sydney Opera House before stopping at Clark Island. Early risers can join the 6 a.m. fitness paddles from Rose Bay and 6.15 a.m. paddles from Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool during the week.
Roar & Snore
On a cloudy Sydney evening when most guests have gone home, I’m one of the lucky few checking in to Roar & Snore, Taronga Zoo’s safari sleepover. The hugely popular overnight experience takes you out of the concrete jungle and into the wild without ever leaving Sydney.
A 30-minute drive north across the bridge or a restful 15-minute ferry ride from Circular Quay, Taronga Zoo sprawls down to the waterfront at Mosman. With a bunch of kids, their stuffed toys and our luggage, we’re led through the grounds to our campground where cold beers, chilled wines and heaped cheese plates await. We’re spending the night in luxury: each of our safari tents has a double bed, wooden floors, electricity and a deck with 180-degree views over the harbour. Our hosts include zoo education staff, volunteers and a moonlighting science teacher; they pass around a turtle and offer snakes and lizards for guests to pat. It’s a great icebreaker before our roast dinner.
Once the sun has set, we’re off on a safari, visiting enclosures in which the inmates don’t settle down for the night. We check in with a pygmy hippo who shuffles right up to the fence, point out zebras in the dark and watch the giraffes gaze sleepily at us through the trees. The highlight of the night comes as we press our noses against the glass of the tiger enclosure. During the day, we’d have had to wait in line for a quick glimpse of Taronga’s three new tiger cubs; tonight we’ve got the place all to ourselves.
Tomorrow promises to be an early start so after supper, we’re off to our tents. You can choose to sleep with the canvas tent-flap down but with the best view in town, why would you? Instead, we zip up the flyscreen to keep possums and critters out and fall asleep with the city lights and Harbour Bridge for company.
With lions roaring well into the wee hours, we’re in need of coffee after our 6.15 a.m. wake-up call. Back on safari, we help feed the giraffes and go behind the scenes to meet the zoo’s marsupials. Typically, the animals are more active in the morning and we’re the first humans they see for the day.
By 10 a.m., we’re left to roam the park by ourselves before the crowds arrive. There’s just enough time to see our favourite animals before it gets busy and, after one final glimpse of the zoo and the view, we stroll back down to the harbourfront to await the next ferry, and a scenic cruise back to Circular Quay. •
Photography by Lisa Perkovic and courtesy of respective establishments.
Qantas, Virgin Australia and Jetstar fly to Sydney several times a day from all major Australian airports.
• Jetstar. 131-538;
jetstar.com
• Qantas. 131-313;
qantas.com
• Virgin Australia. 136-789;
virginaustralia.com.au
getting around
Sydney Ferries provides services to wharves around the harbour every day of the year.
sydneyferries.info
when to go
Sydney Harbour is beautiful year-round. Summer and public holidays are busiest, especially around lunchtime. Visit in winter for a quieter experience.
where to stay
• InterContinental Sydney. 61-2/9253-9000;
ichotelsgroup.com
• Roar & Snore.
taronga.org.au/roarandsnore
• Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney. 61-2/9250-6000;
shangri-la.com
where to drink
Cockatoo Island’s tropical The Island Bar is open seven days a week in December and January; Wed.–Sun. in February, March and November, Fri.–Sun. in April (with additional Easter hours) and October, and 12.30 to 6.30 p.m. every day during 2012’s Biennale of Sydney (June 27 to September 16).
theislandbar.com.au
what to do
Fort Denison: Fort Denison Australian Cheese and Wine Experience.
mcintoshandbowman.com
Cockatoo Island: Australia’s historic convict prison and shipbuilding island is open to the public every day and admission is free. Sydney Ferries leave for the island from Circular Quay (and other inner-harbour wharves) and take roughly half an hour. 131-500;
cockatooisland.gov.au
OzPaddle: Guided kayak tours depart from Rose Bay and Woolloomooloo during the week and by appointment on weekends. Tours include two to three hours paddling, all kayaking and safety equipment, refreshments and a digital photo as a memento.
ozpaddle.com.au
further information
Visit the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority and Sydney Harbour Federation Trust websites for more information on events, activities and public transport.
shfa.nsw.gov.au;
harbourtrust.gov.au
