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Sydney

Summer at the Sydney Opera House

January 8, 2016 / Indoor Play, Outdoor Play, Sydney, Sydney Life / 0 comment

This January, the Sydney Opera House is jam packed with free fun for kids. Drop by the House to enjoy this free fun (you don’t need to be seeing a show to play – just pop on in!).

Creative Play: The Unbroken Line
January 2016, 10am-4pm
Kids can try to break un unbreakable digital line on a massive interactive digital wall. The line twists into patterns as it is pulled and pushed by participants, turning into a glorious array of colour and light. I visited with other kids aged from 4-6 and it was torture removing kids from this play area to take them home. This play space is a wonderful respite from the heat on hot days, so take advantage of it!

‘Salsedine’ Summer Playground
January 2016
This month, the Western Broadwalk and Foyers at Sydney Opera House have been transformed into an Italian Riviera. Enjoy alfresco dining and family-friendly entertainment by the Hot Potato Band, Kiki and Pascal and The Jitter Bugs, set against, stunning Sydney Harbour views.

Food choices included fruit cups $7 and pastries from $5, or Italian dishes like antipasto, panini and pizza cooked in a coal oven from 12pm till late.

Lounge in the sun (or, like us, under a shady patch) and enjoy free family-friendly performances, or take a breather while kids build castles in the sand pit. We caught Kiki and Pascal’s performances and were very entertained. Suitable for kids and adults, their comedy/magic/acro act was light and uplifting.

Kids can also get close to nature with Nature Play at the House. The nature corner lets kids use all their senses in play, from smelling plants in the garden, building with wood and decorating garden-themed colouring pages.

Stick Man: Sydney’s Best Shows For Kids

January 8, 2016 / Sydney, Sydney Life, Theatre / 0 comment

This January, the Sydney Opera House has a cracker of a program for kids. Today we saw Stick Man, a musical stage show based on the best-selling book of the same name.

Stick Man the stage show has been adapted from the rhyming picture book created Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, and has arrived in Sydney fresh from its successful UK tour.

The show is aimed at kid aged three and over, so my four-year-old was the prime target market. We haven’t read the book (what?!?!) so came to the show with no idea of the storyline or themes the show would present. Sometimes it’s a good way to see a show adapted from a book – it’s nice to view a performance as its own unique entity rather than comparing it to the text it originated from.

In this case, we found Stick Man to be a delightful romp about the titular character, who “lives in the family tree with his Stick Lady Love and their stick children three” (can we talk about how adorable it is that Stick Man lives with his lady love and not a “wife”, by the way? I want to be referred to as my husband’s lady love!).

Brought to life by innovative puppetry and bubbly songs, we followed Stick Man on his rollicking adventure as he gets dognapped and taken far from home. We can all relate to his discovery that the world is a big and scary place when leave our comfort zone. Stick Man’s bravery and determination to return to his family is a beautiful message to sow in your minds who are just starting to adventure beyond the known safety of their own homes.

STICK MAN
Dates: 6 – 17 January 2016
Venue: Playhouse, Sydney Opera House
Ages: 3+
Website: http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/whatson/kath_2016_stick_man.aspx
Bookings: 02 9250 7777

Additional photography thanks to Jacquie Manning

More things to do in Sydney

Find a list of the best things to do in Sydney with kids here.

Find things to do in Sydney for free here.

Get a list of the best kid-friendly beaches in Sydney.

Find the best animal experiences in Sydney here.

Visit the best kid-friendly restaurants in Sydney here.

Find the best high teas in Sydney here.

Head to one of the best museums in Sydney here.

Check out things to do in Sydney on a rainy day here.

Enjoy one of the best ocean pools in Sydney here.

First time visiting Sydney? Get tips for first time visitors to Sydney here.

Quay Restaurant: 6th Anniversary Dinner

January 4, 2016 / CBD, Circular Quay, Family, Love, Sydney, Sydney Food / 5 Comments

For our 6th wedding anniversary, Alec and I dined at Quay Restaurant – Australia’s most awarded restaurant, and one of two Australian restaurants on the prestigious S. Pellegrino World’s Top 50 List. The menu, created by chef Peter Gilmore, is modern Australian with Japanese and Chinese influence.

Starters (same for both menus)

Goats curd with frozen sorrel and green tea.

Salad of summer squash, sheep’s milk feta, lemon jam, young almonds

Regular Tasting Menu

Raw smoked Blackmore wagyu,
horseradish soured cream,
fermented rye crisps,
raw funghi

Southern uni, koshihikari rice,
salted yolk, maw, sweet prawn,
caterpillar mushrooms, umami broth

Slow cooked abalone,
smoked confit pig jowl,
fermented shiitake chawanmushi,
bamboo, koji cultured grains

Crayfish, XO sauce, organic radishes

Roast masterstock duck,
scorched pickled cucumber,
sorrel, iceplant, agretti, karkalla

Vegetarian Tasting Menu

Eggplant tartare, horseradish soured cream,
fermented rye crisps, raw funghi

Green asparagus congee, egg yolk emulsion

Fermented shiitake chawanmushi,
hen of the woods mushrooms, bamboo,
koji cultured grains

Silken tofu, XO sauce, organic radishes

Stone pot organic green rice, mountain spinach,
spring cabbage stems, seaweed

Optional cheese course $25
Ours was an amazing swiss cheese cut into a flower shape, on top of a bed of grains and quince.

Desserts – same for both menus.

Snow Egg

Cream, honey, almonds,
muscovado, oloroso caramel, prune

Coffee, Tea and Quay Petits Fours

The staff surprised us with an adorable bonus cupcake to celebrate our anniversary.

The view! Doesn’t get any better than this.

Gorgeous cocktails with a stunning outlook.

Even my bag was well taken care of with a Quay branded purse holder.

We had such a wonderful evening at Quay. From the kind, thoughtful and efficient staff, to the amazingly created food and the snow egg dessert that was well and truly the best dessert either of us has ever tasted, Quay went above and beyond to deliver a dining experience that we will never forget. What a wonderful way to celebrate our anniversary.

Quay Tasting Menu is $235 pp 8 course degustation

Quay Restaurant
3, Overseas Passenger Terminal, George St & Argyle Street, The Rocks NSW 2000
Reservations
Get Directions

Sydney by Sea: All Aboard the Sydney Ferry

January 3, 2016 / Outdoor Play, Sydney, Sydney Life / 0 comment

The best way to see Sydney is by sea. I love to hop aboard an iconic Sydney ferry and enjoy the sea breeze in my face as we sail through the iconic harbour. Circular Quay is the hub of the ferry network (right next to the train station). Take your pick from 37 other wharves to sail to, ranging from Manly at the northern end of Sydney Harbour, through to Eastern and Lower North Shore suburbs, suburbs adjacent to the Parramatta River, the Balmain peninsula and Darling Harbour.

A few destinations the Sydney Ferries can take you to: Balmain, Double Bay, Manly, Parramatta, Taronga Zoo, Darling Harbour and Cockatoo Island. Honestly though, with a view like this, the journey can be even more beautiful than the destination.

A note about accessibility:
Stroller and wheelchair accessible wharves:
Circular Quay* wharves 2, 3, 4 and 5, Abbotsford, Balmain (Thames St), Cabarita, Chiswick, Cremorne Point*, Darling Harbour Terminal, Garden Island, Kissing Point, Manly, Meadowbank, Milsons Point / Luna Park, Mosman Bay, Neutral Bay*, Parramatta, Rose Bay, Rydalmere, Sydney Olympic Park, Taronga Zoo and Woolwich.

Wheelchair accessible wharves are also indicated on the Sydney Ferries network map.

* Assisted access may be required at low tide.

Get more info on Sydney Ferries.

The Best of Sydney with Kids: Manly SEA LIFE Sanctuary

January 2, 2016 / Animal Experiences, Sydney, Sydney Life / 2 Comments

*** Please note this aquarium is closing down *******

Beautiful Manly, on Sydney’s northern beaches, is a great day trips not just for a swim in the sea. The Manly SEA LIFE Sanctuary has been a popular place for families to get up close with ocean life since its opening in 1965. The sanctuary is located 200 metres from Manly Ferry Wharf, making it a super-easy outing using public transport.

The focus at Manly SEA LIFE Sanctuary is animal conservation, with their rescue, breed and protect program. They are passionate about rescuing sick and injured wildlife, nursing animals back to health and releasing them back into the wild, as well as protecting their natural habitats.

One of the reasons I really enjoy this aquarium is because it’s small – you can see everything in about an hour, including at least one of not two feeding demonstrations or keeper talks. I also like the conservation message the aquarium teaches its visitors.

Entering the sanctuary there is a stroller bay just inside to park your buggy. The middle level is stroller-friendly, but there is no elevator-access to the lower or upper levels.

On the entry level of the sanctuary is where you’ll discover some of the incredible and bizarre animals that call Sydney Harbour home.

Seahorses, cuttlefish, lionshish and clown fish, to name just a few, can be found on this level. There are more species of fish found in Sydney Harbour than in the entire Mediterranean Sea – and this is the place to meet some of these beautiful creatures up close.

Keep a look out for the aquarium’s baby Port Jackson, Bamboo and Epaulette Sharks who were all born at the sanctuary.

One of the biggest hits on this level with kids is the interactive rockpool, where visitors can touch a shark egg, hold a crab and explore other animals such as star fish.

A stroll down to the lower level takes you to Shark Harbour. A 4 million litre oceanarium with massive stingrays gliding overhead. Cheese’s favourite was ‘Sea Biscuit’, the rescued Green Sea Turtle. We all watched in awe as stunning Grey Nurse Sharks with very pointed teeth swam past.

Join a free daily tour to learn the animals’ stories, or, if you’re feeling particularly daring, you might want to jump in with Shake Dive Xtreme and meet a shark face-to-face.

The very top level of the sanctuary is home to 20 adorable little (or fairy) penguins. We were just in time for the penguin talk, where we learned that the sanctuary is very involved in conserving Sydney’s penguin colony in Manly, where there are 60 breeding pairs of little penguins needing protection from dogs, cats and, of course, humans.

A fun fact about penguins: they have a salt gland under their beaks that enables them to sneeze out the salt from salt water. What genius in-built water filtration.

The exit is back on the middle entry level, right next to the new Shipwreck Shores experience. What a fantastic idea to place an enclosed soft play area within the sanctuary for kids to be able to safely run around like maniacs for a few minutes.

The play area is in the shape of a sunken ship and even has a surprise on the inside with a few undersea creatures waiting to be discovered.

A note on accessibility: Please note pram and wheelchair access is limited to the mid-level of the sanctuary. Access to Penguin Cove and Shark Harbour is via stairs only.

Buy tickets online in advance and save between 10 and 30% off admission prices.

Manly SEA LIFE Sanctuary is CLOSED
W Esplanade, Manly NSW
Prices: Adult $25, kids 4-15 $17

More things to do in Sydney

Find a list of the best things to do in Sydney with kids here.

Find things to do in Sydney for free here.

Get a list of the best kid-friendly beaches in Sydney.

Find the best animal experiences in Sydney here.

Visit the best kid-friendly restaurants in Sydney here.

Find the best high teas in Sydney here.

Head to one of the best museums in Sydney here.

Check out things to do in Sydney on a rainy day here.

Enjoy one of the best ocean pools in Sydney here.

First time visiting Sydney? Get tips for first time visitors to Sydney here.

Sydney’s Best Family Day Trips: Watson’s Bay

January 2, 2016 / Beaches, Outdoor Play, Sydney, Sydney Life / 2 Comments

With stunning harbour views and gorgeous beaches, Watsons Bay is a great place for a day trip with kids.

Where to eat: Doyles on the Wharf Seafood Takeaway & Bistro
Doyles is famous for their seafood. Being vegetarian this isn’t a great option for me, but if you do like your fish and chips, Doyles is the place to go in Sydney.

At Doyle’s on the Wharf, you can get fresh seafood in generous portions at reasonable prices – and enjoy a world-class view inside Doyle’s al fresco seating areas or picnic in Robertson park. A basic fish and chips is $13.80.
Doyles on the Wharf Seafood Takeaway & Bistro
Hours: Daily from 10am until 5pm.
Fisherman’s Wharf, Watson’s Bay

Where to play: Robertson Park
Right in the middle of Watson’s Bay is Robertson Park. A very large park with large trees and wide green spaces, it’s a popular place to picnic and for visitors to play games. The park has a breathtaking view of the harbour, too.

Families love the gated playground with shade cloth on top, positioned right next to bathrooms.

Robertson Park
Marine Parade, Watsons Bay

Where to swim: The Beach or Watson’s Bay Baths
Sydneysiders have been bathing in this harbourside tidal pool since 1905. After a significant renovation in 2010, the baths now include a new Olympic-size pool with two floating turning board/sunbathing pontoons, boardwalk, better seating, Australia’s first deep water wheelchair access to a tidal harbour pool and increased views of the harbour.

Head to the adjacent Teagardens for shaded outdoor kiosk seating, toilets and change room facilities.
Watson’s Bay Baths
Marine Parade, Watsons Bay

Where to indulge: Gelatissimo
Gelato made fresh in store every day from an authentic family recipe. Flavours include Salted Caramel, Pistachio, Mango, Chocolate Truffle, Burnt Caramel & Pecan and Lychee. Ask for a tiny scoop for kids – it’s not on the menu and is slightly smaller than a regular single scoop and a bit cheaper, too.

Gelatissimo
Military Rd, Watsons Bay

Watson’s Bay
Limited on and off street parking
Get there by car, ferry or bus

Sydney’s Best Beaches For Kids: Parsley Bay

January 1, 2016 / Beaches, Outdoor Play, Sydney, Sydney Life / 0 comment

Parsley Bay Reserve in Sydney’s east is a tiny little slip of a beach at the very pointy end of Vaucluse. It’s right next to the very popular Nielsen Park, and yet has remained under the radar thus far. We dropped by on New Year’s Day, as is not only our custom, but most of Sydney’s, by the looks of how popular some of the beaches were that day.

The bay is popular with local families due to the enclosed swimming area, picnic facilities and children’s playground. I also enjoyed the cafe that was happily open on New Year’s Day and the clean changing facilities.

While most families set up their rugs and picnic chairs and bunker in for a day on the beach, if you’re more athletically inclined there is a short bushland circuit (15-20 minutes return), that takes you to a waterfall at the head of the gully. We did try to find it from one direction, but ended up back on the main road so I think we accidentally took a scenic exit rather than the circuit that leads to the waterfall. In any case, there are no signs to tell you where to go on the bush trails.

There was, however, a sign to also let us know that in summer Eastern Water Dragons sun themselves along the watercourse. We sadly didn’t see any water dragons, but that wasn’t too surprising considering how many small children were out that day.

Most people drive as it’s the easiest way to get to Parsley Bay. Parking in the eastern suburbs, however, is an entirely different matter. We were happily surprised at how quickly and easily we found unmetered street parking in the shade, right next to the stairs that lead down into the bay. There is also a small carpark available from Parsley Road (Horler Avenue).

If you park on the street like we did, there is pedestrian access available from The Crescent, Hopetoun Avenue and Horler Avenue.

Parsley Bay Reserve
Parsley Rd, Vaucluse NSW
Get Directions

More things to do in Sydney

Find a list of the best things to do in Sydney with kids here.

Find things to do in Sydney for free here.

Get a list of the best kid-friendly beaches in Sydney.

Find the best animal experiences in Sydney here.

Visit the best kid-friendly restaurants in Sydney here.

Find the best high teas in Sydney here.

Head to one of the best museums in Sydney here.

Check out things to do in Sydney on a rainy day here.

Enjoy one of the best ocean pools in Sydney here.

First time visiting Sydney? Get tips for first time visitors to Sydney here.

The Best of Sydney with Kids: Wild Life Sydney Zoo

December 29, 2015 / Animal Experiences, Sydney, Sydney Life / 1 Comment

We somehow picked what was probably the most popular day of the year to visit WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo in Darling Harbour. Cheese has been asking to go to a zoo and I thought this one was a good size to be manageable with a small child, as well as being easy for me to get to.

WILD LIFE Zoo is in a larger complex with SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium and Madam Tussauds Sydney down in Darling Harbour. I’ve been to the aquarium on many occasions and never had a problem with going straight in, but somehow this was the day that every visitor to Sydney decided they wanted to visit one of these three attractions, so the queues were out of sight.

I would usually buy my tickets online in advance as there is a saving of 30% if you do, but this time I had a voucher for one adult free with one child ticket, so I lined up in the “WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo” line for over an hour to get our tickets. As a side note, the line next to us was for collecting prepaid tickets such as bought online, and it wasn’t any shorter or moving any faster, so apart from the price difference, I don’t know what the advantage of buying the tix in advance was!

After a very, very, very long wait, we finally made it to the entrance. As the ticket desk is now one huge one with all the attractions, there is no counter when you enter the zoo. The whole zoo is stroller-friendly, which is lucky as I had brought mine for the journey and wanted to check it when I arrived, only to find out that there was nowhere at the entrance to check the stroller or large bags etc, so it came with us the entire time.

The zoo is indeed very small. Cheese is now 4.5, and together we saw everything we wanted to see in an hour, including the crocodile feeding show and the sugar glider animal experience.

There are additional options you can pay for such as “Wild Flight”, where you can zoom over the top of the trees in the zoo connected to a harness for an extra $10 (kids have to be age 7 and up), or having your photo taken with a koala (an additional $15). There are wild life talks every half hour or hour from 10:30am-5pm around the zoo which are great for learning more about the native animals.

WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo focuses on Australian animals. This makes complete sense as the area where the zoo is is a bit of a tourist mecca, with visitors who are desperate to meet a koala or pat a kangaroo.

The zoo is designed in sections to mimic Australia’s famous landscapes – the Butterfly Tropics, Wallaby Cliffs, Devils Den, Daintree Rainforest and so on. For a zoo that is almost completely indoors, I though it was designed pretty well, with large enclosures for the animals with plenty of natural light from open roofs. I don’t *love* zoos, so I was relieved to see the animals we saw looked happy and well cared for, including enrichment toys such as in the echidna den.

The first enclosure – and my favourite – was the Butterfly Tropics, where butterflies roam freely and get up close with visitors. One curious creature landed on my hand, and another on Cheese’s head, much to her delight and then terror.

Other highlights included “Topsy” the Tasmanian Devil who looked like he wanted to pounce on us, the snakes and extremely active lizards, “Ringo” the wombat who was taking an adorable snooze when we visited, and “Princess” the cassowary, who appeared as queenly as her name.

In the Night Fall area, with nocturnal animals, I was excited to see a spotted quoll for the first time, and Cheese was delighted to see the ghost bats in flight.

The one exhibit that scared Cheese was Rex, the massive 5 metre crocodile in the Kakadu Gorge section of the zoo. We learned that when crocodiles in the wild reach five metres they are classed as nuisance animals by wildlife protection offers (they like to eat dogs and tourists alike, apparently) and so are often removed for safety. They used to be shot when they got too big, resulting in a massive decrease in large crocodiles in the wild. Rex was captured and taken to a crocodile farm, where he didn’t play very nicely with the other inhabitants (read: tried to eat his female companions), and was lucky to end up at WILD LIFE Zoo instead of being made into a fancy purse.

Cheese’s favourite part of the zoo was the animal encounter with two sugar gliders. One, whose name I’ve forgotten, has been starring in her own animal show for a while, so was very happy to be gently touched by visitors, and show off her jumping skills. The tiny little gliders only weigh 100 grams, and have the softest fur I’ve ever touched.

The last cute animal mention goes to the echidnas, who were very active during our visit and extremely adorable.

WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo
1-5 Wheat Rd
Darling Harbour
Prices: Adult $40, kids 4-15 $28 (buy online to get 30% off)
Hours: Open daily, 9:30am-6pm. Special hours apply during holiday periods.

Christmas in Sydney 2015

December 24, 2015 / Cheese, Sydney, Sydney Life / 0 comment

Christmas in the Southern Hermisphere is a funny time of year. It’s gets crazy hot, and we have wintery decorations popping up all over the place. It never feels as festive as it did when we were living in New York, but it certainly has its own charm that I love.

In Sydney, this is what Christmas looks like around the city:

David Jones shop windows are usually a festive highlight. They were a bit of a let down this year however, so fingers crossed for a better display next time.

The Swarovski tree in the Queen Victoria Building is one of the most beautiful trees I have ever seen.

Post a letter to Santa on the top floor – he actually writes back, too!

The best Santa photo in Sydney in the Queen Victoria Building.

The free Christmas kick off concert in Hyde Park. The City of Sydney has a whole series of these free concerts at the beginning of the season. Despite the rain we had a wonderful time singing Christmas carols and dancing with friends.

Life-sized gingerbread House at the Shangri La Hotel by master pastry chef Anna Polyviou.

The Christmas Tree in Martin Place runs digital messages all over it, so you can SMS a personal message to loved ones and see it on the tree.

Circular Quay Customs House tree is a tree with an amazing view of Sydney Harbour.

Merry Christmas friends! What does Christmas look like in your city?

Storytime Ballet: The Sleeping Beauty

December 23, 2015 / Cheese, Sydney, Sydney Life, Theatre / 0 comment

The last of our wonderful theatre outings for the year was the brand new Storytime Ballet The Sleeping Beauty by The Australian Ballet.

The Storytime Ballets are a new initiative born out of a growing demand for ballets suitable for children to enjoy from an early age. According to The Australian Ballet’s Executive Director Libby Christie, over 420,000 children participate in dance activities across Australia every week (including little Cheese!). Designed for children aged three and up, the Storytime Ballet has been created from start to finish with young theatre-goers in mind.

Last week we were lucky enough to see another version of The Sleeping Beauty, the Once Upon A Time version also by The Australian Ballet. I wasn’t sure how the two performances would differ, and was really happy to see that this brand new Storytime Ballet show was actually a completely different performance in every way. Unlike the Once Upon A Time ballets, which are almost the same as the original performances with a few tweaks, the Storytime Ballets are built from scratch to engage children with an interactive performance.

It’s really the perfect way to introduce very young children to the ballet. A narrator, who is also part of the cast of characters, talks through the performance as it is happening to make it easier for little kids to understand the story (I get it, ballet mime can take a bit of getting used to!). The kids felt like part of the show instead of just observers thanks to interactive moments where they were asked to use their magic to drive the story forward. I particularly appreciated the acknowledgment of parents too, when it was suggested that, instead of magic, we “use the force”.

A smaller cast and set allows the show to travel nationally – and also made the show a lot less overwhelming for children. It’s much easier to focus on what’s happening when there is less to take in. I did notice that the kids, even little toddlers who looked to be under the recommended age of 3, were highly engaged throughout the show, and I think that this, as well as the addition of the narrator, certainly helped to make this ballet a success. At just under an hour, the ballet is also the perfect length to entertain kids before they lose attention.

In the foyer outside the Drama Theatre are a range of free activities for kids to enjoy before and after the show. iPads set up with ballet-themed drawing activities that can be sent to parents’ phones, there are ballet costumes for kids to dress up in and also an irresistible store stocked with ballet-themed gifts such as clothes, wands, tiaras and The Sleeping Beauty music on CD. The proceeds from sales all to back to The Australian Ballet and supporting their amazing work.

While we saw The Sleeping Beauty at the Sydney Opera House, kids around the country will be able to enjoy the same show as it tours nationally over the summer.

STORYTIME BALLET: The Sleeping Beauty tour dates

Arts Centre Melbourne 16 – 20 December 2015
Sydney Opera House 23 – 27 December 2015
The Concourse Chatswood, Sydney, 30 December 2015 – 3 January 2016
The Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Wollongong, 7 – 9 January 2016
Evan Theatre Penrith, Sydney, 12 – 16 January 2016
The Playhouse Canberra, 20 – 23 January 2016
The Arts Centre Gold Coast, 29 – 30 March 2016
Brisbane Powerhouse, 1 – 2 April 2016
Further dates and venues will be announced early in 2016.