Planning your next holiday or dream travel is not an easy task. Here’s a suggestion of where to go to next time. Below are some REASONS why you can choose the months of June to August in visiting Australia, the land down under.
Mild winter is a welcome change
Coming from a tropical country such as ours, it’s always happy to go to a destination a lot colder than what we have all year round. Let’s not be fooled, mild winter basically feels it’s snowing although it’s clearly not. To make myself clear, temperature is at 12 to 15 degrees Celsius by day and 8 to 11 degrees Celsius at night. From where we are, OMG it’s such a welcome coldness! Sun rises at around 6 in the morning and it sets at around 5pm. And even if the sun is shining, it definitely feels cold because of the breeze, a bit windy especially in the afternoon and sometimes even rains with thunderstorms. Good thing malls, shops, even grocery stores have built in centralized heaters which definitely help increase temperature to make shopping comfortable.
Sydney is colorful and festive
Vivid Sydney starts last week of May until mid-June, this is when the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge shine bright. The two iconic landmarks come alive with art and color. Being in the area is really impressive – looking at 360 degrees, you will come in full circle and experience being in the middle of all these lights and art show from the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Museum of Contemporary Art and while in dinner cruise from Circular Quay to Manly Street and back. The event is a multi-awarded winter festival that attracts millions of travelers yearly since 2009. The whole city lights up and create a vibrant festive mood with parade, dancing, art shows, interactive light art activations along pathways even at the Royal Botanic Gardens.
Walking tours made comfy because of the weather
There are a lot of interesting places we can go to in Sydney without having to get on and off a car. Walking is recommendable as most parks, museums, markets and mall are within walking distance in Sydney. And no worries as no amount of walking would leave you feel breathless or perspiring (a bonus point for me). If it’s your first time in Sydney, I suggest you at least experience the city in two days, this way you’ll cover most of what’s important and what’s not to miss out. You can start your first day at Queen Victoria Building (QVB), a Romanesque structure built and dedicated to a long reigning Monarch Queen Victoria in eighteen hundreds, then head to Hyde Park – Australia’s oldest park, then continue walking to St Mary’s Cathedral that represents the spiritual origins of the Catholic Church in Australia. It is one of Sydney's most treasured historic buildings and one of the finest examples of English-style Gothic churches in the world built in 100 years. Other places of interest you can schedule to visit are Sydney Tower, Royal Botanic Gardens, Circular Quay, Darling Harbour, Wildlife Sydney Zoo, Sea Life Sydney Aquarium and Madame Tussauds. Indeed, a day is not enough, I have to say 2 or even 3 days is a MUST to experience and conquer Sydney!
An opportunity to wear clothes that are not wearable in Manila
Of course, we need to dress comfortably but this time shorts and sleeveless we are so used to in Manila won’t work. What does work? Layering of clothes, light jacket and or a heavy coat depending on where you’re going for the day. If you are like me who easily gets cold, what you can wear are thermal clothes underneath your clothes, top it with a long sleeves and jeans. Add an infinity scarf to go with it especially if you’re not wearing closed neck or a turtleneck shirt. Our throat and neck is very sensitive to temperature, so if we cover them up the more likely that our temperature will not waver. Sydney is very cosmopolitan, you feel as though people went straight out of a fashion magazine and make you feel one of them too. So, bring out your fashion sense and live like a model while there.
Long drives and more culture immersion
Sydney is a three hour drive to Canberra, Australia’s capital. The long drive is well worth it, visiting the Parliament House where you can see the chambers of Parliament (on non-sitting days), the impressive Marble Foyer, and highlights of the Parliament House Art Collection. Next stop is the Questacon which is a science and technology hub for kids with almost 200 educational and interactive exhibits. Questacon is Australia’s National Science and Technology Centre.
Lastly, a visit to the Australian War Memorial. The day ended with a ceremony where visitors witnessed a special Last Post Ceremony paying respect to a member of the Australian Defense Force who will share the story of a person listed on the Roll of Honour. Visitors are welcome to lay wreaths at the base of the Pool of Reflection when I came to visit. Getting back to the car was a challenge; it was very cold at around 4 degrees Celsius partnered with winds that it felt like 2 degrees Celsius according to the Aussies I was with. Oh goodness, it was only six pm but it looked like 8 or 9 already.
Traveling to Sydney is not cheap, but price gets lower if booked in advance
Generally fares are lower if you buy them early, I bought mine in September last year for a June departure this year and it costs nearly 60% off than the regular fare. Sign up with airline to get the first dibs when they have promo fares released. Process your visa at least 2 or 3 months before your desired date of departure so you’ll have plenty of time in case you are asked a number of documents to submit to embassy. If you’re comfortable lodging your tourist visa application online, you can do so. This will help reduce cost as compared to hiring a documentation agency to process the application for you. As for the hotels, there are low cost AirBnBs or standard hotels which are a few stations away from city that offers reasonable and value for money accommodation. You really just have to study and research and you’ll find something that would fit your budget.
My trip was 10 days, seems long, though it felt really short when there. It was definitely not enough to visit other states (Melbourne and Brisbane) which now have been moved on my next list of Go-To places in Australia. I’ve been to Sydney before during spring crossing the summer season, and my visit now proved that I still love being there even more so at winter <3!