Australia Day 2000

The 26th January is Australia Day - a national holiday to commemorate the day the First Fleet sailed into Sydney Harbour to establish the colony that became Australia.

It's a very significant day for Australians, and a great excuse for an all-day party! We walked down to Cremorne Point to watch the Ferry Race - a race between the normal everyday ferries that criss-cross the harbour every day. For the race they're decorated with balloons and streamers in the colours of various sponsoring companies, and they race from the Harbour bridge, past Fort Denison and up the Harbour before coming back again. Lots of people pack Cremorne Point to have a picnic and watch the race.

After the race we caught a ferry across into Circular Quay to have a wander around the Rocks and soak up the atmosphere there. The place was heaving with people exploring the markets and food stalls. The harbour is the focal point of any celebration in Sydney.

After a while we decided to escape the crush and head down to Hyde Park to the food & wine festival. There were dozens of different food stalls and quite a lot of wineries showing off their produce. We decided to buy a bottle of wine and some cheese and have an impromptu picnic on the grass.

Later, we wandered across to Darling Harbour to see what was going on there. More food and wine stalls! Including evidence that our families are expanding Down Under - click here for details! There was also a music festival going on there.

After a fairly long day we headed home and watched the inevitable fireworks display from the comfort of our lounge! It seems we made the right decision because just as we left it started to rain, but I'm sure that didn't dampen the enthusiasm of the partying masses.