Little Feet Round the World: Stroll along Darling Harbour

My first destination is the nearest from the office other than Pitt Street Mall. Darling Harbour is one of the largest dining/shopping/entertainment precinct in Sydney. It extends from Chinese Garden all the way to Barangaroo. It comprises of Harbourside Shopping Centre, Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, SEALIFE SydneyAquarium, WILDLIFE Sydney Zoo, Australian National Maritime Museum and many restaurants, pubs and bars.

Fireworks show is held for most Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. They are sure crazy about fireworks here.

Darling Harbour was named by the former governor of New South Wales, Liutenant-General Ralph Darling, after himself. Previously, Darling Harbour was called Cockle Bay due to remnants of oyster shells and shellfish found at the shores. The native aborigines called this place Tumbalong, meaning a place where seafood is found.

Darlling Harbour is the place where the industry revolution technology was introduced to Australia by the European. In the nineteenth century, this place was the trading centre for many commodities, but mostly wool.

Darling Harbour was rebuilt starting from 1984. In 1988, Darling Harbour is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II with Sydney Aquarium as the first attraction. Since then, Darling Harbour continued to grow bigger and stronger. Nobody visits Sydney without visiting Darling Harbour.

Pyrmont Bridge, connecting Market Street to Darling Harbour

Pyrmont Bridge connecting Sydney CBD to Pyrmont

The 3 main attractions: SEALIFE Sydney Aquarium, WILDLIFE Sydney Zoo, and Madame Tussauds Wax Museum

During my visits in 2013, I visited these three attractions in 1 day. It's for sure achievable since the three don't really cover huge area. You can just walk out of one and enter another since they are side by side anyway. There is Sydney attraction pass that you can purchase for AUD 65 to visit these three attractions. If you are interested in visiting other partner attractions, i.e. Sydney Tower Eye and Manly Sea Sanctuary, you can purchase the ultimate attraction pass for AUD 70.

Australian National Maritime Museum

Australian National Maritime Museum is located besides Harbourside Shopping Centre at the Pyrmont side of Darling Harbour. It has been opened since 1991 and it holds 6 permanent galleries, historic vessels and some other exhibitions. The admission to permanent galleries is free but the ticket to cover all attractions cost AUD 30 per pax.

I have yet to visit this museum. I'll write when I do so!

Stroll along The Promenade

And I saw a proposal by the bay, aww.

I kept walking along the promenade until I entered Barangaroo area. This area is currently under redevelopment following the urban design competition in 2005. The winning design was announced in March 2006 and the concept plan was approved by NSW Minister of Planning in February 2007. Since then, there have been rounds of amendments on the concept plan. The construction has started since 2012 and targets to complete by 2024.

The construction area

I really think a construction hoarding should look like this, rather than just green metal thingy

I found there were not much things to see yet, or probably I did not explore enough. But, some areas seemed to be newly opened. I saw some new business areas. I heard all the banks would move from Darling Harbour to Barangaroo.