Spending New Year’s Eve in Sydney was probably more of a spontaneous action than days of planning, but definitely a good decision!
When we found out that a friend of ours was coming to Sydney with his travelmate to celebrate the New Year, we decided to go there too and celebrate with them. So the week before New Year, we looked for accommodation for one night on 31/12. There wasn’t much choice, but we found one that we liked.
On 30/12 we drove to Sydney and camped on a free campsite an hour and a half outside Sydney. In the morning we drove on quickly and arrived at the hotel at 10am, bought something to eat and took the train to Milson Point.
We arrived at 12 o’clock and were glad that Luca and Josh were already there and had found a very good spot. We were so lucky, at 2 o’clock the VIP area, as we called it, was closed and the remaining thousands of people who wanted to secure a spot spread out on the square in front of it. It was extremely crowded, which was due to the fact that you could watch the fireworks there for free. However, the long wait was totally worth it! Our area was not full and we had the perfect view of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.
And then? 12 hours of sitting and waiting. But with Monopoly and good company, the time flew by! After 5 hours, the game was over and small show units made the wait easier again. Two planes started an air show and a fire boat was a small attraction on the river.
The children’s fireworks started at 9 pm, which were already huge! Luca and Carlo spent a long time looking for a good spot to set up the cameras and found one on a wall with a clear view. 14 projectors per side were needed to light up the pillars of the Harbour Bridge and show pictures of animals.
At midnight, the show started. If the 8-minute children’s fireworks display had already seemed long, the 12-minute display had surpassed everything. The countdown started 10 seconds beforehand and was followed by a huge firework display. It was breathtaking. It wasn’t until 0:12 that everyone started wishing each other a Happy New Year. This New Year’s Eve will remain something very special forever.
The whole show
Watch the full video of the 2017/2018 New Year’s Eve show in Sydney in this video.
