Our first full day in Sydney was jam-packed as we purchased the four-park package, including an entrance into WildLife Syndey, SeaLife, Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, and the Syndey Tower Eye. Walking towards Darling Harbour, we stopped in to the ANZAC memorial located in Hyde Park across from our Airbnb.

Our first stop was the WildLife Syndey Zoo. From the outside, it didn’t look like it was going to be much, but it turned out to be bigger than we thought it was. This zoo focused on the animals native to Australia and included exhibits on tree kangaroo, echidna, Tasmanian devils, kangaroos, various reptiles from snakes/lizards to crocodiles, and of course koalas. 

We ended up staying in the kangaroo exhibit to listen to the guide give a talk about them. I had yet to learn about some of the facts the guide told us about these animals. 

• They are only pregnant for about 30 days before the Joey (the size of a jellybean) travels from the uterus into the pouch, where it continues to grow for several months.
• Kangaroos and Australian sea lions can experience embryonic diapause, meaning they can pause their pregnancy for up to 1.5 years before completing the cycle. 
• They are only active at dawn and dusk, while they are resting most of the day and night. 

Brittany’s favorite part was getting to touch the kangaroo! Afterward, we continued through the zoo to the final portion, where we saw the koalas. In New South Wales, they’re not allowed to have guests touch or hold koalas, so the next best thing was to get some close-up pictures with them! The baby in the exhibit was very active while we were there, so we got to grab some good shots of her before leaving. 

Our next stop was Madame torsades wax museum. None of us had been through one before, so we didn’t know what to expect. It was one of our favorite parts of the day, as we had fun posing and taking pictures with all the figures. Of course, we didn’t know some of them as they were part of Australian culture, but there were still plenty we came across that we knew. It is honestly crazy how lifelike they make these wax figures. 

Our last stop was the SeaLife Aquarium, as we saved the Tower Eye for the following day. This was probably the busiest of the three, as it seemed smaller than the other two locations. We were sad as we had just missed the boat ride that takes visitors through their penguin exhibit. But we did get to walk by and see the penguins native to Australia. There supposedly is a penguin beach down south, but it was too far from Sydney to explore. One of the cool things about this aquarium was seeing their dugong, which is only the second or third in captivity. It has very similar characteristics to a beluga whale. 

After finishing our activities, we headed back to the place to rest and figure out where to grab some dinner. This was a struggle as anything we found we liked was either closing soon or was closed due to Easter. We found a pizza place that sounded good and headed that way. However, when we got there, it turned out it was closed, but there happened to be a pizza parlor right next door, so we tried that. And the pizza was delicious! We tried a Mediterranean pizza and a Mexican pizza and ended up eating two large pizzas between the three of us. 

Grant wanted to enjoy the night a little more, so we headed to a nearby bar to grab a drink. It was a small bar with a friendly beach vibe and killer drinks. I’m not really a martini fan, but I tried Brittany’s espresso martini, and it was probably the best I’ve ever tasted. They also had some games to play, so we grabbed Yahtzee and played three rounds (I lost every one). 

We ended the night visiting a boutique little bar called Kandi Luxe. All of their furniture was velvet, and there was a whole red velvet room. We got to meet the owner, Trishy Dishy, who told us her life story about how she left the Jehovah’s Witness religion and became Australia’s party queen. They’ve even made a documentary about her life called Witness My Journey (see trailer below). She was super friendly and even showed us pictures of her family and grandson and some of the parties she’s thrown over the years. It sounded like we missed quite the party the night before at this bar. 

We headed back to get some rest before we had a full day of walking planned the next morning.