Vivid

Having awesome ex-Sydney based friends meant we saw the best of Vivid. Eating our ice creams, we walked from Milsons Point across the Harbour Bridge in the dark. We were treated to fantastic views of the Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay and the city all lit up for the second night of Vivid.

It wasn't until descending off the bridge into the Rocks that we hit any crowds and they weren't too bad. We found a spot on the grass to sit and watch the light show projected onto the Museum of Contemporary Art. Everyone enjoyed the chance to rest a little.

From the Rocks, our aim was the Botanic Gardens. Cath had a tricky way to go so with everyone holding a child's hand, we weaved through the crowds which were quite thick trying to keep in sight of each other. Up a glass elevator away from the crowds we were wowed with views of the Harbour Bridge.

Wherever Cath was taking us, it was a great move as there was absolutely no one...or possibly that was a sign? She had a plan to enter the Botanic Gardens in the middle section and from there wander around the Vivid exhibits. However her plan was thwart when we arrived at the Botanic Gardens to discover the gates were locked and there was a one way system with entry at the gates adjacent to the Opera House. So back into the crowds we descended.

Shuffling along with the mass of people, we enjoyed the first few exhibits....

the Warratah

the Kiwis

and the sunflowers

as well as the dandelions

From there though the road narrowed, the slope increased significantly the crowd was thicker and pace slower. I eventually picked up Katy who was becoming increasingly sandwiched between people in the dark! The exhibits seemed to be few and far between in this section. We were all secretly wishing that the end was near and thankfully it was. We squeezed our way out of gates and were soon heading towards the ferry. The crowds at Circular Quay were fairly crazy but we easily made it on to our ferry for a cool ride back to our tents.

Again we were the only ones to disembark at Cockatoo Island. The girls were exhausted from an awesome day and were looking forward to bed. Imagine our surprise when we returned to our secluded spot to discover 30+ teenage scouts milling around our the camp kitchen waiting for their supper.....luckily within half an hour they too had disappeared off to bed leaving us in peace.