It was the 31st of December in Sydney and that means serious celebration. New Years celebrations come and go with ease back in Ireland but we were warned to expect big in Sydney so we came into the day with some massive expectations. Let’s hope Sydney can deliver!
We got ready to head to Wollstonecraft (Dani and Joe’s area) to decide on where to go for the celebrations. We were warned to leave bright early in order to get the good spots so 1pm was early enough for us. After a few discussions we decided North Sydney would be a good location to view the Harbour Bridge which is the centre piece for the celebrations. We found the perfect spot after some spot searching.
Our spot was a rock about 70 metres up from sea level so the views were quite good. We were also a couple of kilometres back from the bridge which ensured we had unrestricted views of the pinnacle of the celebrations. The time was 3pm: 9 HOURS TO GO!
At this point Dani and Joe decided to head off and let the musketeers do the spot minding or in other words the dirty work. Time was spent doing a little sun bathing. Isn’t it great to be able to complain about sitting outside in 30 degrees of heat?
Dani and Joe arrived back. The whole of Sydney crowd around the bridge on the 31st to view this spectacle and as a little reward a mini fireworks show is provided at 9pm. So it wasn’t long to go till we got a teaser of the main event. The many highs and some lows of 2008 were discussed aswell as a few drinks downed. Spirits were high. It’s hard to believe we were all in Galway celebrating 2008 this time last year.
The 9pm show went off with a bang. The fireworks illuminated the whole sky providing Sydney a temporary return to daylight. The fireworks lifted into the sky and burst like a good water balloon. There were so many different colours it was like something you might see in a musical. The fireworks burst and made shapes like hearts and stars. It was spectacular to think this was only the kid’s show. After what seemed liked an hour the show stopped. The time was 9pm: 3 HOURS TO GO!
A few more drinks were to be had in between the celebrations. The rock we were on was not really a rock but more like a cliff so concern was needed and Dani choose to act as mother for the Group that now increased from 6 to 9 with the arrival of Ro, Charlie and Ger (The lads). If anyone moved near the edge Dani would put them in their place. To keep the 1.5 million or so punters happy a boat show was provided in the harbour. The theme was aquatic with lots of fishy boats. It was entertaining but everyone wanted the main event.
After 9 hours of waiting it was nearly time for the finale. We being a bunch of Irish messers decided we would call in the New Year early. So at about 11:55pm we shouted “10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 HAPPY NEW YEAR”. Everyone erupted with celebration but to realise that we were just trying to be funny. Another three attempts and it was really time to shout Happy New Year.
Bang, Whack, Kappam, Whoop, Boom, Smash I know that sounds like Batman but it was the sound of the fireworks airborne from the Harbour Bridge. The fireworks show was even more electrifying then the previous show. The fireworks soared through the sky with only the intention of radiating Sydney’s dark heavens. The harbour bridge temporarily turned blue, red, yellow and back to blue again with every snap and bang.
It was only after about a minute we realised it was New Years so we all did some group hugs to celebrate 2009. Dani continued to emphasis the rules of no crossing the line. Some champagne was cracked open to celebrate what we all hope will be a great year in Australia.
Eventually the sky turned back to it’s naturally darkness now only brightened by the Sydney Sky Scrappers in the distance. A few Irish songs were covered by the lads before we decided to crash a few house parties. One by one we made our way in. After a few games of Guitar Hero we decided to head back to Dani and Joe’s for a nightcap.
It was very late at this stage so we decided to head back to our own Gaff after enjoying the day. We hit the beds at 6am zzzz.
The Irish may know how to celebrate Christmas but New Years is owned by the Australians.
Happy New Year,
Conor
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