Cruising

1 – 3 February 2016

Monday morning I woke up early and I was so glad that I didn’t have a hangover from the day before. It seems that I am immune to jetlags and hangovers, or at least up until now. I started the day slow by having a proper breakfast and writing down the events of the past few days. After that I headed to my office downtown.

I was going to do my sales & marketing internship for Captain Cook Cruises, a well established small-ship cruise company in Australia, but especially in Sydney. If you ever visit Sydney and travel around the harbour area, chances are that you’ll use one of their ferries or go on one of their lunch or dinner cruises. My internship would start on Wednesday, so I still had two days until I would start working full time. The reason I went to the office was to meet Sophie, the intern coordinator. We’d been e-mailing back and forth for the past few months now, so it was nice to finally get to meet her in person. Sophie’s in her twenties and she’s always cheerful and friendly. She showed me around the office, introduced me to my colleagues and made me feel right at home. After we finished all the introductions, she offered me a day ticket for one of their ferries, so I could explore the harbour area.

My first destination was Taronga Zoo. I boarded the ferry at Darling Harbour and from there she goes underneath the large Sydney Harbour Bridge that spans the harbour to Circular Quay, where you can find the famous Sydney Opera House. This was the first time that I saw these famous landmarks and at that moment it hit me that I was actually in Sydney! When the ferry stopped at Taronga Zoo on the north side of the harbour, I didn’t actually go to the zoo itself. Instead I followed the Bradleys Head Walking Track through the park with the same name that stretches along the coast. During this walk I passed by a beach from where I had an amazing view over Sydney’s skyline in the distance. Despite the fact that the weather was cloudy, the view was still breathtaking and I stopped for a while to take in the view before heading back to the ferry.

My next destination was Manly; the easternmost suburb of northern Sydney. On the one side of Manly you can see the CBD’s skyline on the far side of the harbour, while from the beach on the other side you look out over the South Pacific Ocean. Manly has a very relaxing vibe with its main features being the beach and the Corso promenade leading towards it. I spent some time at the beach looking at the surfing class that was going on. By then, the clouds had made space for a bright blue sky and a beaming sun and the temperature rose quickly.

The last stop on this trip was Watsons Bay, located on the South Head peninsula. Here I visited the Gap Lookout National Park. It is a beautiful and peaceful area with cliffs overlooking the South Pacific Ocean. I didn’t spend that much time here, since it was already nearing the end of the day and I had to catch the ferry back.

The next day I spent some time with another new friend of mine, Hao. He’s from Vietnam, but now he lives in Sydney. We went for a touristy walk around the CBD. We started at Hyde Park, next to the beautiful St. Mary’s Cathedral. From there we walked through the park towards the Anzac Memorial. ANZAC stands for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and the memorial site is built to remember those who fell during the First World War. On Anzac Day and Remembrance Day the ceremonies are helt at this memorial site. The building itself is quite impressive. Inside the Hall of Memory you find the Dome of Stars; a domed ceiling that is covered in approximately 120.000 golden stars, representing the state’s volunteers that helped fund the building. The building also houses a small museum and an impressive statue of a fallen soldier. After our visit we continued our walk to Town Hall and then to the QVB, where we had an Asian lunch. I ordered some Teriyaki chicken with Takoyaki (octopus balls).

After our lunch we headed to the famous Opera House where I of course had to stop to take some pictures. Adjacent to the Opera House are the Royal Botanical Gardens. The gardens opened back in 1816, which makes it the oldest scientific institution in Australia and one of the most important historic botanical institutions in the world. It covers quite a large area and offers stunning views of the harbour and the CBD’s skyline. The gardens themselves are also beautiful and it takes a while to walk around the whole area. After we walked through the park and sat on the grass for a while, we continued to the Conservatorium of Music; a castle-like building right next to the gardens. Hao told me that he takes lessons here and he showed me inside one of the buildings.

Afterwards we walked back to Circular Quay, where the Opera House is located, and watched a giant cruise ship depart from the harbour. Sydney is a popular destination for cruise ships from around the world. These ships often travel to or from New Zealand and from Sydney they either go south along the coast to Melbourne or north towards Brisbane. After we hang around Circular Quay for a while, I went back home to prepare for the upcoming day. Because that day my internship would officially begin.

The next day my internship at Captain Cook Cruises finally started. I spent the morning learning more about the company and their products. In the afternoon I was invited to go on one of their high tea cruises. The best way to learn about your products is to experience them yourself, right? So I spent my first afternoon at work sailing across Sydney Harbour, taking in the views while nipping my glass of sparking wine and eating fancy cakes. The weather that day was also amazing; sunny with a temperature of 27°C. While standing on the deck looking out over the city’s skyline I realized just how privileged I was to be able to experience all of this. Everything had gone so smoothly since I had arrived; I already met a lot of people and made some really nice friends. I used this little moment of appreciation to also promise myself not to take anything for granted and to go and enjoy every second of it.