Sydney, and a bit of the east coast

My work has brought us to Australia, or Perth to be exact. And rumour has it that people from the east coast don't consider Perth to be a part of Australia. As part of the introduction process to my new role I got to visit the east coast offices, and check if this theory has any truth behind it.

My first stop was the Gold Coast.  Golden sand beaches, palm trees, sunshine, and surfing. So far this sounds just like the coastline around Perth.

My next stop was Newcastle.  You would be forgiven for thinking that the saying, 'it's like taking coal to Newcastle' came from Australia. Newcastle, the Australian one, is home to the world's largest coal export terminal.  Western Australia has similar bragging rights when it comes to iron ore.

My final stop was Sydney.  With the iconic opera house and Sydney harbour bridge, you would be hard pressed to find anything quite like it anywhere in the world, let alone in Australia.

Sydney is one of those 'must see' places, and so I was glad to have some time at the end of a hectic week of travelling, meetings and work to be able to be a tourist in this city.  Unfortunately Bron wasn't able to join me this time, but this is definitely a place we will be back to visit together :)

Down at the beach in Newcastle:

Early morning sunrise at my accommodation just outside Newcastle:

Sydney harbour bridge and the opera house

Sydney city centre

THE opera house

And THAT bridge

I also had some time to visit Manly Wharf

One of Sydney's favourite surf spots

And there is some great national park land right next door

The view back towards the city from North Head

And the waves crashing below

Another view from North Head

Back in the city, at the botanic gardens

Darling harbour

So, Sydney has some great sights that has put it on the world map as a place to visit.  But there are also some great attractions right here in Perth.  More blog posts to follow...