Sydney Harbour, which actually is only a small part of the entire Port Jackson makes only a part of the entire harbour. In fact, the Harbour is divided into three parts in general; The North Harbour, Middle Harbour and ofcourse, The Sydney Harbour. Port Jackson also extends westwards on the other side of the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge from the single entrance known as Sydney Heads and encompasses all tidal waters within the North, Middle, Sydney, Darling Harbours and Parramatta and Lane Cove Rivers. If you notice, the harbour is heavily embayed with the bays on the south sides tend to be wide and rounded and home to beautiful coves and beaches while those on the north sides are generally narrow inlets.
Port Jackson which was formerly a river valley is 19km long with and area of 55km² and a massive perimeter of 317 km making it the largest natural harbour in the world. The Harbour which also have one of the most ‘local yacht’ traffic in the world is also home to several islands, yes it is large enough to have islands within the harbour. Those island includes the famous Fort Denison, Goat Island, Shark Island and Rodd Island (and many more actually, some island including the Bennelong Island were subsequently linked to the shoreline by land reclamation.
Sydney Harbour, what a way to view it from Sydney Tower, Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Dr Mary Booth Reserve and even the Royal Botanical Gardens. But none of those is as close as being on the harbour itself along with hundreds of other yachts. Yes, yacht tours seems like a must more me on most of my travel diaries and I must say, this one is a must do. If you find it expensive to get a yacht tour, Just hop on to their water taxies using their bas pass or locally known as ‘opal card’ and experience the harbour from a different view.
The most common place that these yacht tours will pick up from is from Circular Quay, that is where all the major harbour transport will pass by (you can google map it if you want, they even have their sea routes mapped out). It is also where large cruises such as the Royal Caribbean will dock which their patrons are out and about. Located in between the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House, it is the perfect location to begin the tour. The one we got onboard was operated by Captain Cook Cruises.
The Sydney Harbour Tour begins as it heads East towards the North and Middle Heads, its is also where the inlet (opening) from the Tasman Sea, a part of the South Pacific Ocean is. Along the harbour are homes to many residence, with an opening price of AUD$10 million (those are the one with the least picturesque view). Wealthy you might say? And impossible to afford such views you might say? Well the Australian NSW Government have made it a rule to allow access to most of the coves for the public without coves. Well there you go, although spaces can be quite tight, you can always sink in the view from the coves and bas as they are usually surrounded by nature reserves.
The yacth tour which lasts about almost 90 minutes takes you up east and also a little west. So you not only will be able to experience the pushing current as you approach the opening out to the Tasman Sea, you will also be able to get a view of the Darling Harbour on the other side of the bridge.
So there you have it! Another Yacht Tour! I will strongly advise a tour like this to be able to see the city from a different view. So if you cant afford to book your own private yacht in Sydney (apparently they are quite expensive there), and yet you don’t really want to don on a ‘public transport’ kinda tour? Well you can always check out shared Harbour tour services, there are several companies which offers such services you can definitely try! The one I went for is as follows, G’day mates!
Wharf No.6 Jetty Circular Quay
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia