Sydney with Teenagers: Museums, the Opera House and an Unexpected Holiday Park Find

Eat Clean, Health and Dream | Summer Adventure with the Boys

After pretty much nine hours with breaks of driving through torrential rain, darkness and mist, we had finally made it to Sydney.

Well… the outskirts of Sydney at least.

Our home for the night was the IBIS Budget Liverpool, and after the previous day's mammoth drive from Melbourne, we were all more than ready for a decent night's sleep.

Or so I thought.

Teenage boys and the breakfast alarm clock

The boys weren't particularly interested in sightseeing first thing.

They were led by their stomachs.

Thankfully, I'd thought ahead when booking the hotel and paid the extra £10 for breakfast through Expedia.

For what we got, it was actually pretty good value and I certainly wouldn't have got breakfast for all of us cheaper elsewhere.

It was a pretty standard budget continental breakfast:

Pancakes.

Cereal.

Tea.

Coffee for me.

Enough fuel to get us moving.

We packed the car up once again, fired up the sat-nav and prepared ourselves mentally for the bit I'd been slightly dreading:

Driving into Sydney.

Sydney by car – and a few wrong turns

I'd been warned about parking in Sydney, yet I hadn't pre-booked anything.

I'd done a bit of research and had a multi-storey car park on Goulburn Street in mind.

Simple. Find it. Park. Explore.

Except, as anyone who has driven in an unfamiliar city will know, simple and sat-nav don't always belong in the same sentence.

There were a few wrong turns.

A few extra turns.

And, as we discovered afterwards, a few toll check points we'd somehow managed to pass through oh and the tunnels, kms of them.

Eventually, though, we found the car park.

And parked.

Right at the top.

Which wasn't necessarily ideal because the temperature had dropped and the wind was absolutely biting.

I'd already told the boys to layer up.

It was sunny, but the wind made it feel considerably colder than we'd expected.

And I was beginning to notice that Albie wasn't quite himself.

He was quieter.

Less animated.

And definitely not his usual bright, outgoing self.

I thought part of the problem was that, like many teenagers, he really didn't want to wear a coat or trousers despite the temperature.

The fact that we were standing on the top floor of a multi-storey car park with the wind whipping around us probably wasn't helping!

Our FREE Sydney sightseeing plan

Once we were down at street level, it was time to become tourists.

I'd deliberately created a free Sydney day out.

Our first destination was the Australian Museum.

But getting there meant we could take in a few of Sydney's other landmarks along the way.

Hyde Park.

The Anzac Memorial.

The Pool of Reflection.

And plenty of the city streets and architecture in between.

It was a good way to explore without trying to cram too much into one itinerary.

The Australian Museum

The Australian Museum really does command its space in the city.

For anyone familiar with London's Natural History Museum, it gave me a similar feeling.

And the best part?

Entry is free.

You can make a donation if you wish, but there's no expensive family admission ticket hanging over you.

That's exactly the sort of attraction I love when travelling with teenagers.

Because you never quite know how long their attention span is going to last!

Thankfully, the boys have always enjoyed museums and places where they can interact, explore and learn about wherever we are visiting.

And this wasn't just a collection of things behind glass.

The museum brought together Australia's natural, marine, animal and cultural history in a really engaging way.

There was plenty to look at.

Plenty to read.

And plenty to learn.

Even Craig would have loved it.

Especially the ocean exhibits.

And the opal displays.

Those were absolutely the sorts of things he'd happily spend hours exploring.

Every museum visit needs a café stop

Of course, eventually we needed a snack.

Albie opted for an iced dinosaur shaped biscuit.

Because obviously.

Arch and I went for a dirty chai and latte.

And there was another little win that made me smile.

Our drinks came in reusable lidded cups.

As someone who is increasingly conscious of sustainability and reducing unnecessary single-use plastics, both Albie and I appreciated that.

It's such a simple thing, but when you're travelling, the amount of disposable cups, bottles and food packaging can quickly add up.

So whenever we can make the reusable choice, we do.

Fuelled again, we headed back into the museum for a little more exploring.

From museums to the harbour

Eventually, though, the boys had reached their educational and factual limit. This museum is definitely a must on any Sydney visit kids or adults there’s something for everyone.

Time to move on.

We headed down through the Botanical Gardens towards the waterfront. Again another ideal way to get the kids out and most of the time these gardens in different locations are free or donation based.

The gardens were beautiful.

We stopped to look at the colours, plants and different displays as we wandered through.

But as we got closer to the water, the wind really picked up.

The temperature felt colder.

And Albie in particular was beginning to feel it.

I could see the enthusiasm disappearing.

Still, I had one more idea.

"We're here now… shall we just go around the corner and see the Opera House?"

The boys agreed.

And I'm very glad they did as it is such an impressive landmark.

Because as we rounded the corner and the Sydney Opera House appeared in front of us, it was one of those travel moments where you stop and think:

Yep. We're actually here.

The Harbour Bridge sitting behind it made the view even more iconic.

Of course, I couldn't resist a few photographs.

The boys even cooperated and allowed me to take some snaps of them with the Opera House and Harbour Bridge behind them.

Memory captured.

Job done.

And obviously… I checked the water

It wouldn't be one of my trips if I didn't have a look in the water.

We wandered down onto a little pier pontoon and, thankfully, the boys were more than happy to join me for a quick marine-life investigation.

We spotted some tiny fish.

A couple of little puffer fish, which Albs was over the moon about.

And a few rays.

It might not have been the Great Barrier Reef, but for me, a quick look beneath the surface is always worth it.

I can't seem to walk past water without wondering what's underneath it, it’s something that draws me in and guess I know that the ocean is incredibly important to me and takes a role in my life.

And fortunately, the boys have inherited enough of that curiosity to humour me.

City boys?

Definitely not.

By this point, though, I knew we'd reached our limit.

"Shall we go and check out a beach and make a plan for later?"

Both boys nodded.

And on the walk back to the car, their pace noticeably increased.

So did the wind.

It was probably the perfect time to leave.

My boys are definitely not city boys.

A few hours wandering around a city, seeing some major sights and having a museum adventure was more than enough.

They wanted space.

Beaches.

Wildlife.

And somewhere they could actually relax.

Fair enough.

Was Sydney parking worth £25?

Back at the car park, I begrudgingly paid the equivalent of around £25 for a few hours of parking.

Ouch.

I wasn't thrilled.

But once I thought about it properly, it wasn't actually terrible value.

For that parking fee we'd managed to see:

• The Australian Museum

• Hyde Park

• The Anzac Memorial

• The Pool of Reflection

• The Botanical Gardens

• Sydney Opera House

• Sydney Harbour Bridge

• Some additional city landmarks along the way

And we'd done most of it for free.

So actually, for three people and most of a day exploring one of the world's most famous cities?

It wasn't quite as painful as it initially felt.

Bondi… sort of

Next stop?

Bondi.

I wanted the boys to see it.

We drove across relatively easily and eventually found our parking bearings near the beach.

The plan was to get out, have a wander and take in the famous Bondi atmosphere.

The reality?

It was starting to spit with rain.

The boys were tired. Archie in particular was starting to show his anxieties and uncomfortableness in not having accommodation booked in advance. As he was already asking where staying tonight etc. He’d been doing this since the airport.

And nobody seemed particularly enthusiastic about getting out of the car.

So we had a quick look.

Then got back in.

Sometimes travel is about knowing when to call it.

There was no point forcing a beach walk simply because I'd written it on an imaginary itinerary.

We'd had a full day.

The boys had done brilliantly.

And now they needed rest.

Another spontaneous accommodation decision

Back in the car, I pulled out my phone and started looking at accommodation.

The boys seemed happy enough to drive a little further.

They could sleep in the car.

I could make progress north and it was raining now.

And then something jumped out at me.

Ingenia Holidays Middle Rock, One Mile, Port Stephens.

A holiday park.

Cabins.

Great reviews.

Looked clean, out of urban environments and in nature.

And, importantly, insect screens.

Now, I have to admit, I was slightly reluctant.

A holiday park in New Zealand?

Absolutely.

Australia?

Hmm.

What about the spiders?

The snakes?

The mysterious Australian creatures that might decide to move into your cabin overnight?

Normally, Craig would be there to humour me and conduct the obligatory nighttime inspection of corners, behind picture frames and anywhere else I imagined a creepy crawly might be hiding.

But Craig wasn't with us.

It was just me and the boys.

Still, the reviews were excellent.

The place looked clean.

There were insect screens.

There was stuff for the boys.

And it was affordable.

So I took a breath and booked it.

One night.

Let's see.

And I'm so glad I did.

Because what initially felt like a slightly questionable idea turned into one of the best accommodation finds of the trip.

The cabin was clean.

Comfortable.

Affordable.

And, most importantly…

No insects.

Not one that I saw anyway.

Sometimes the best finds aren't planned

That's becoming a bit of a theme with this road trip.

The route wasn't completely fixed.

The accommodation wasn't always booked weeks in advance.

And some of our best experiences were the ones we found because we were tired, hungry, cold, wet or simply needed somewhere to stop.

The important thing was that we were moving in the right direction.

North.

Towards Brisbane.

And the east coast adventure was beginning to unfold.

Sydney had given us museums, gardens, iconic landmarks and a very cold walk by the harbour.

Now we had a cabin at Port Stephens.

A beach somewhere nearby.

And another day of Australia waiting for us.

The boys were already settling in.

And I was beginning to realise something.

This road trip might actually work.

Next stop?

Port Stephens and the adventures further north.

And hopefully, fewer spiders than my imagination had prepared me for!