The Sydney Fireworks have held a special place in our collective psyches. Each New Year Eve morning, the morning shows would start with a re-cap the the fireworks and rave about how elaborate the display was. That would be the beginning to our New Year Eve celebrations while we were back in North America. We were especially excited to be able to see this in person on our Australia trek. We made sure to schedule the Sydney visit to include the 31st of December. What we did not realize the huge variety of viewing possibilities. From a $4000 condo balcony rental, to spaces on a private boat to meals and table service to sitting on the ground in a park. It took us hours of work to decide which venue and then book our seats at the "Midnight at the Oasis". This event was held at the Botanical Gardens. Like anything unknown, we had some level of trepidation and concern about how the event would unfold. Luckily all the concern was for naught as we found the whole experience to be well worth the money and effort. The gates open at 6:30 PM. After a 20 minute walk from the apartment we were at the gates and in line at 5:45 PM. There were different lines on either side of the line we were in: silver tickets, gold tickets and the Point tickets, some moving and some stationary like ours. That gave us lots to people peep as we were entertained by the choice of clothing and shoes of our fellow revelers. Soon enough the gates opened and in another 15 minutes we were at our specific event location. The reasoning for the staggering of entry times became apparent as we saw that the Point event was located just past the Midnight at the Oasis location. We were allowed to enter after all the folks for the Point have already passed our area. Our table was L8 and we sat down right after getting our drinks. Since we were in the front of the drinks line we did not have to wait for those drinks. The line to the bar got longer and longer as the night wore on. We had some salads right away and met our table companions, Sylvia and Trudy from the UK. We talked about travel in the UK and they shared some of their travel experiences with us. At 8:15 we were scheduled to pick up our dinner, chicken for Leslie and beef for me. The food was tasty and cooked perfectly. At 9 PM the "family" fireworks show began. It was a worthy display but it was only the warm up. We explored the area from the waters edge to the band area and dance floor to the grandstand area. We saw a boat parade there were lights on the large boats. These lights seemed to be synchronized with the bridge. Soon we were counting down to 2023 then a hearty Woo Hoo! From there on the fireworks exploded in all directions non stop.
We saw helicopters all morning long
The lines stretch out as far as the eye can see
The serving crew has arrived
The lines on either side have dissipated
This is the tree we read about in the reviews
Almost there...
The last barrier to our entry
We have arrived
Not a bad view from our seats
The sun is catching the windows as it sets
Fresh from the UK Trudy and her grandmum Sylvia
Sitting pretty
Packed in for a night of partying
This vessel was very bug and was motoring fast through all the anchored boats. It was a New South Wales Police boat
The layout of the tables
The sun is going down and this gives the crowd a boost
The band played on
Winner of the wackiest shirt contest
Beef, Chicken or Veg?
The hardest workers of the entire operation
its 9:00 and time for the family show
There were three areas that the fireworks were launched
Off to the north
Off of the bridge
Cool spotlights on the top
Another launch area to the south too
After the 9PM show we noticed that there was a boat parade. The boats in the parade had lights on them
These lights were synchronized to the lights on the bridge
Looking over to the Opera House over the dance floor
Whoo hoo
The calm between the storm
A rainbow of lights and some of the boats were in rainbows too
Moved to the grandstands and we could hear the band
The countdown begins!
Turn up the flame
Sensory Overload
They are pulling out all the stops
Using every part of the bridge to launch magic
Just when you think this might be the end...
All the colors
Like jewels
The bridge, the bridge , the bridge is on fire!
The finale time
The end is here!
Polite applause and an orderly exit
