Rich and I decided to spend New Years Eve on a boat watching the Sydney Harbour fireworks display. Who knew if we would ever be in Sydney for New Years Eve again after all!
We boarded the Arafura Pearl at six thirty in the evening and had a whole night to enjoy Sydney Harbour on the boat. The sunset cruise started off well, with fizz on arrival and a Hawaiian lei to get us in the party spirit!
Our departure from Circular Quay took in the sights of the city, the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge and as we made our way around the harbour we passed the Super Yacht ‘Octopus’, owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. The largest yacht I have ever seen, with two helicopters on board and it’s own submarine!
As we made friends with our fellow party goers, we ate delicious canapés and followed drink after drink after drink, the ‘free’ bar having certainly been paid for in advance with our ticket prices.
We were treated to not one but two fireworks displays. The first at nine o’clock, known as the children’s firework display, was impressive with fireworks going off all around the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and on barges in the harbour.
Once they were complete we tucked into a delicious BBQ and our boat joined in the Harbour of Lights parade. This is where a select forty-five boats, decorated in orange rope lights, circle around the harbour within an exclusion zone set out for the parade.
The boats in the parade get the privilege of watching the midnight fireworks display from within the exclusion zone which the other three thousand boats must stay out of.
So not only did we get a tour of the harbour at night, seeing all the boats outside the exclusion zone and all the houses on the shoreline with parties in action, we also got prime viewing spot for the midnight fireworks.
Unbelievably, our boat ended up at the front of all of the Parade of Lights boats when they stopped and lined up to watch the midnight display, so we had the best seat in the house – even better than the Octopus super yacht, although I’m sure they had more luxurious surroundings on their boat!
We watched the midnight fireworks in awe at the magnitude of them, they were amazing and seemingly never ending. They erupted in the sky all over the place and made the Opera House and Harbour Bridge seem tiny in their shadows.
The grand finale, watching the Harbour Bridge turn into a waterfall of fireworks before hundreds of fireworks erupted across the sky to mark the end was spectacular and we knew we were extremely lucky to have been watching them from our prime spot in the harbour.
After the fireworks were over we continued the party back inside the boat, dancing our feet off and enjoying the first couple hours of the new year.
We had an amazing New Years Eve in Sydney and one I’m sure we’ll struggle to top in the future.
Lambs on the loose 