New Year's Eve in Sydney

New Year's Eve fireworks displays don't come any more famous than Sydney's and in the run up there was no shortage of hype. People were contemplating getting there at noon, there was a sense that there was no better place in the world to be, and phrases like "once in a lifetime" were being banded around the hostel. Thousands upon thousands of tourists and travellers were ready to be able to say "I was there for 2014" and we were stoked to be amongst them.

But would it live up to the hype? So often a big build up seems to lead to a bigger disappointment. Indeed, after I finished work the day became increasingly frustrating. The problem was that the group from the hostel was just far too large to coordinate or make any progress. Getting out the hostel was the initial challenge, as we were always waiting for one more person to be ready. A group of eight  (4 Italians, 2 French, 1 German, myself) eventually managed to escape to the train station, but half the gang were forced to alight before our destination due to bursting bladders. Therefore we had to wait at the Sydney station for the next two Cronulla trains to arrive - one containing the toilet foursome (which arrived without the German) and the next carrying the rest of the hostel group. Of course given that eight people couldn't last a direct one hour train journey without separating, a squadron of twenty had no chance of sticking together in a crowded Sydney. Yet people wanted to try and predictably it was a disaster. Meeting places were confused, different opinions on where to go were vented, some guys couldn't get into certain areas because they had alcohol, stoppages were made by individuals for McDonalds, photographs, and flashing devil ears, one faction were holed up in a bar, and with just 15 minutes to go until the 9 o'clock fireworks we were just standing around uselessly. It wasn't a good advert for the EU. Our group wanted to watch the fireworks from the best spot with alcohol and all of their friends, which simply wasn't going to happen. I decided enough was enough and disbanded with a friendly British guy to watch the early pyrotechnics in Darling Harbour.

From then on, the night was magical. The 9 o'clock 'family'  fireworks were a great support act and special in their own right, lighting up the magnificent Darling Harbour. We then made our way towards Sydney Harbour Bridge for the midnight display and although the city was teeming with people, it wasn't suffocating. Actually, it was fun to be among so many people, all eagerly anticipating the arrival of the New Year. The Circular Quay area which contains the Opera House was full, so we headed up to Observation Park where we amazingly stumbled upon a group from the hostel! Taking a seat on the hill with a great view, we were happy to be where we were and with the people we were with.

The wait for midnight passed quickly and with minutes to go we manoeuvred ourselves into a prime position with no sight of the Opera House, but uninterrupted views of the Harbour and its famous bridge. The fireworks were breathtaking. From our vantage point, we could see displays going off simultaneously from about five different locations, including from the Bridge. It was hard to know where to look. At one point, golden lights descended spectacularly from the underside of the Bridge, while colourful rockets peppered the night sky above. The whole show lasted around 15 minutes and the finale was customarily grand. It was of course the greatest fireworks display I had ever seen, but it was also surreal to actually be there and it installed a sense of optimism for the year ahead. It lived up to the hype. I was there for 2014.



Sydney Harbour Bridge fireworks