The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Sports and Racing in Sydney, Australia

On Christmas eve Sydney-siders rush to the Fish Markets but on Boxing day they line the harbour to watch the start of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. The harbour glitters as the big white sails jostle into position and the media helicopters fly overhead and it’s all a bit of a spectacle – perfect entertainment to accompany a picnic of Christmas leftovers on the cliff top.

The name of the race tells you the route – the finish line runs past Hobart’s Battery Point after covering about 1,170kms of ocean. Now a pretty popular event attracting some pretty impressive specimens of yacht and the international crews to go with them, it started in 1945 as a fairly civilised post Christmas cruise. The first jaunt was won in six and a half days but the record now stands at about 40 hours.

The media, who love it – what else is there to report over Christmas in Australia but bushfires – also call it the ‘Bluewater Classic’ and tend to hype to quest for line honours, which usually goes to the largest and newest maxi, rather than the handicap winner, which is the real winner of the race, once all the allowances for size is taken into account… But in most cases the highlight is the live start on the harbour – definitely a top outing for Boxing Day down under.

The Opera Bar

Bar in Sydney, Australia

Underneath the Opera House, this bar doesn't just have location, location, location – it's got another couple of usages of the word location and some great food and drink including home made honey beer and a decent selection of local wine. If that's not enough to impress think about the weather (the staff serving in the outdoor bar have to wear sunglasses) and then add to that the live jazz and other live music they tempt your ears with. Sunday afternoons here are one of the things I miss most about living in Sydney.

Australian Maritime Museum

Military History in Sydney, Australia

Considering Australia's past it's not hard to see why the country's maritime history is so important to the nation. We couldn't have been built on the sheep's back if we hadn't first been put on the map by the maritime industry – how would those sheep have made it out in the first place... So the Australian Maritime Museum with it's replica and original museum ships and crafts offers an important insight into what Australia is all about.

The exhibitions change but the real highlights are the ships. A working replica of the Endeavour (the ship James Cook discovered Australia from), is very popular when in port – it goes out on annual voyages giving people the opportunity to experience tall ship life - but the Destroyer, the HMAS Vampire and the HMAS Onslow, a submarine are always open for visitors, as is the patrol boat the HMAS Advance.

Gallery exhibitions tell the stories of the Australian navy and merchant navy and recall the experiences people had on the early crossings as the colony was just getting started.

Sydney Tower

Monuments & Landmarks in Sydney, Australia

It looks like a half eaten lolly pop, but it's a part of the Sydney skyline and the best place to go if you like to look at a city spread out below you. Lots of people still call it Centrepoint because it rises 305 metres out of Pitt Street's Centrepoint Mall, but in the 90's it got a refurb for the tourists and now has one of those 3D ride experiences as well as the observation deck at 250 metres up. Another 18 metres up there is an open air observation deck which you need to book a place on a tour to go out on. The tourists seem to like it – it could be because you can see it from all over town, but it's really only fun if you know the city well and can pick out your house and those of your friends – which you can easily if it's a clear day.

To go with the very 70's stylings of the tower there's a revolving restaurant where you can be served kangaroo and emu (the animals gracing Australia's coat of arms), which is typically touristy so don't ask me what it tastes like - it's not really a local specialty.

Hyde Park

City in Sydney, Australia

The music video for the Ben Lee song 'Gamble Everything for Love' was filmed in Hyde Park - and in other Sydney Locations. It's a good way to capture the vibe of the place - just sans the mysterious scent.