The End Of A Journey, The Start Of A New Year

Adelaide may have been the end of the road for our journey on the Indian Pacific, but it was not the end of the line for  Liz and my time together here in Australia. We would have a week long break as she visited Kangaroo Island and Melbourne, but we would be re-joining in Sydney to ring in the New Year.
Liz's tour included accommodations at the Park Hyatt Hotel located right next to the Harbour Bridge and directly across from the Opera House.  She was able to get us guest passes into the hotel (imagine that), so there was no question where we would be as we rang in a new year.
There are actually two firework shows NYE in Sydney.  The first is at 9:00 and showcases the Opera house and the second at midnight showcasing the iconic Harbour Bridge.
With a balcony view of the Opera House, a complimentary bottle of bubbly from the hotel, and some yummy nibblies the evening passed quickly.  It was fun to watch the crowds gather along Circular Quay.  Of course to get a first hand experience of what was going on and to feel the pulse of the crowd, we did take a mini-walkabout the area.

We had just returned to our choice spot on the balcony, and opened a new bottle of champers when the first show began.  What started with a light show on several boats in the harbour turned into bursting display of lights above one of the world's most renowned buildings.  We decided to head down to the hotel's private pier for a closer look.  In our excitement I managed to run out of the room without my camera so unfortunately I have no photos of the fireworks over the Sydney Opera House.

More nibblies, champers, and lots of laughter made time pass quickly and soon we were preparing for the next show.  Since Liz's balcony faced away from the bridge we decided to head down to the street.  It was actually a bit of a focal disadvantage to be directly below the bridge, but still it was an experience I'll never forget.

Once we accompanied Liz back to her room there was but one think to do.  We hit the pavement with the millions of other people and slowly made our way back to our own accomodations in Kings Crossing.