Sydney NYE 2018

Woohoo! Happy 2018 everyone!!

Living in Australia I felt the best way to bring in the New Year was to attempt to see the iconic fireworks over the Opera House and Sydney bridge.

And I totally made it work, for free!

But there’s a catch....

Here’s what we did to get this view.

Most places sell tickets to get up that’ll cost you upward of $300. If you are like me and just can’t stomach coughing up that much for a potential good view then this is a pretty good alternative.

The place we went to was Mrs Macquarie's Chair. This is a free viewing spot by the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney.

Queuing starts at 7am gates open at 10am. We got there at 8:30am and there was already so many people there we were a few lines down on the football field. We made some friends who got there at 6am and there was still 2000 people ahead of them. So if you want a really good spot you gotta get there EARLY.

We waited in nice rows until 10am when they opened the gate but then.... instead of having nice rows slowing getting let in it turned into a mob that all pushed together trying to get in. It was a mess. We spent 2hrs being pushed and shoved and getting wayyyy to personal with strangers before making it through the gate.

(The mob of people who had been there before 10am heading towards the gate while a new queue is being started)

They do have a cut off on how many people they allow into the park and this usually happens early afternoon. But if you know what’s good for ya, get there early.

Once through the gate we were greeted by... another line. At least this one was much more civil and personal space was returned. We spent another two and a half hours slowly working are way around the line before being let in. We made some friends and once through into the park we cozied up with them on a hill, along with a thousand other people.

The view from this spot wasn’t terrible. You could kinda see the opera house and the bridge, there just happened to be a tree in the middle. But it was totally worth it!

The “baby show” was at 9:00pm and it lasted about 6min but was very impressive.

Prior to the “baby show” I went down by the gate and got a couple good shots before the crowd came in.

If you are looking to get this shot for the entire show, get ready to stand by the gate from 8:00pm to 12:12am! Cause once you move there I’ll be 5 people ready to take your spot.

Inbetween the 9:00pm show and the midnight show boats were going by all lit up!

The main firework show at midnight lasts for about 12min, it is truely beautiful no matter where you are. The good thing about these is that the fireworks are so big you can practically see them from anywhere in the park! So sit back and enjoy.

Here is the view we got for the best show at midnight, trees included but still great!