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 start the New Year, we decided to go there too and join them in celebrating. So, the week before New Year, we looked for accommodation for 31/12 for one night. There wasn’t much choice, but we found one we liked.
On 30/12 we drove to Sydney and camped at a free campsite an hour and a half outside Sydney. In the morning we drove on quickly and reached the hotel at 10am, bought some food and took the train to Milson Point.
We arrived at noon and were glad that Luca and Josh were already there and had found a very good spot. We were so lucky, at about 2pm the VIP area, as we called it, was closed and the remaining thousands of people who wanted to secure a seat spread out on the square in front of it. It was enormously crowded, which was due to the fact that you were allowed to watch the fireworks free of charge. However, the long wait was totally worth it! Our area wasn’t crowded 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 again made the waiting more bearable. Two planes started an air show and a fireboat was a small attraction on the river.
At 9pm the children’s fireworks started, which were already amazing! Luca and Carlo were searching quite a while for a good spot to set up the cameras and found it on a wall with a clear view. 14 beamers per side were needed to light up the columns of the Harbour Bridge and show pictures of animals.
At midnight, the fireworks started. If the 8-minute children’s fireworks seemed long, the 12-minute fireworks had toped everything. The countdown started 10 seconds before and was followed by a huge firework show. 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 forever remain something very special.
The whole show
Watch the full video of the 2017/2018 New Year’s Eve show in Sydney in this video.
