I have had Papua New Guinea on my bucket list ever since I had visited an exhibition around traditional village life in the Sepik region in Frankfurt’s Weltkulturen Museum years and years back. I only found few trips into the country – most were either very specific (e.g. trekking the Kokoda Trail) or very limited from an itinerary perspective, all came with basic accommodation at a rather steep price – and none included a taste of the Sepik. During my 2017 Greenland trip I realized that there were expedition cruises covering the country – and all my “must-do” things – so I got booked for April 2020.

Well – we all know, what happened in 2020 – needless to say, the trip got cancelled and I – as everyone else – ended up in lock-down at home.

Now finally in 2023 – the trip was to happen – and I was looking at an epic trip from Fiji to Palau via the Solomon Islands and the island world and East coast of Papua New Guinea – on the way in with a stop-over in Sydney, to get a break between flights and adjust to the timezone changes.

I got into Sydney during the evening of April 1st via Singapore (with just enough time for a laksa breakfast at Changi Airport); the path through immigration, customs and bio-security was quick and to my surprise, I found myself in my hotel a bit more than an hour after landing at Sydney Airport.

I woke up early today, wide awake at five o’clock in the morning. I realized, there was no point, to stay in bed and got up – heading out on a quest for an early breakfast (which indeed was a quest on an early Sunday morning in Sydney’s central business distract). I made my way to Circular Quay, attempted the walk over to the opera (in torrential rain) and on my way back ran into a 24-hours restaurant, where breakfast was easily arranged.

The rain had subsided when I had finished a healthy breakfast (well – that’s what it was called on the menu) – and I ventured out towards Harbour Bridge and the Rocks area – only to walk into the next hard rain shower. I soon was drenched; luckily my hotel was not too far away, so I made the way back, to change clothes and (after consultation of the rain radar) have a break.

When I ventured out again about an hour later, the worst of the rain was over with only a light drizzle here and there. I made my way over to the Royal Botanic Gardens, spent some time walking around the park and taking in the various areas. Of course I also made my way to Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, to get to see the great views of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera. From here I continued (once more) to the Opera House for a close-up view – and then on to a train stop, to make the trip out to Bondi Junction for the bus to Bondi Beach. The beach – probably Sydney’s most famous – was interesting to see, but I was really heading for the Bondi to Bronte coastal walk with its stunning views over the ocean and coast line.

Well – it was here … during the coastal walk (and with no shelter around) that I was caught up by the next shower. I abandoned my walk and looked for a quick way back into town. Needless to say, I was drenched once more – and quick to get back to the hotel for another change of clothes (the clothes, I had used during the morning were dry by now – so the change has been an easy one).

The rain radar told me once more that a break of about an hour would be a clever thing to do – so after some tea and cookies I made my towards Darling Harbour and then all the way South into the Haymarket area, passing by/ through China Town. I was hungry by now (deserved – I did not have lunch), so started looking for a place to eat … and eventually ended up in a craft beer bar / restaurant for a burger and some good beers.