New Years Eve!!

We were up surprisingly early and were still undecided about where to go for the day/evening! There are so many points to choose from and its hard to know which would be best to see everything from! We went to the supermarket for some bits for a picnic to take with us and packed our bags! Our room mates couldn't believe we were going so early but we were ready so though we may as well. We left at about 11.15AM and arrived at the entrance to the Botanic Gardens just before midday. The queue was huge and we couldn't even see where it ended but we were advised that we had a good chance of getting in and that 8000 people were already in and that they would take 22,000 altogether! We joined the end and it moved surprisingly quick, well it seemed to! We queued for 2 hours in total but it felt like much less than that! We were entertained by the rain, Mexican waves and 3 belly dancers!
Once in the park we wondered along eyeing up good spots to sit to ensure that we'd have a good view of the bridge. There were areas which were already packed, mainly those with the best views and some where you could see a little of the bridge. We settled for one of these to start with, mainly because we were hungry and decided to look again after lunch. We spotted an area where there was just a single line of people sat where they could see through the trees to the bridge. We decided it was a good spot so joined them! We set up and proceeded to chill for the afternoon! This involved reading, eating, beating Mark at cards, people watching and bug killing. While stretching my legs I spotted a familiar face in the crowd and stopped to chat to a friend of a friend! Was weird seeing him there, considering the amount of people in the park and the amount of places where you could watch the fireworks from!
There wasn't much entertainment in the park so we waited until 5pm when it started across the harbour. To start with there were vintage planes flying across the harbour, not as many as we though there would be but still nice to see. A bit later on there was the cleansing of the harbour where boats move along spraying water as they went to cleanse the harbour ready for the new year.
We decided to indulge in some drink as it was NYE afterall, but as you weren't allowed to bring your own we had to pay the extortionate prices! They had a good system though where if you returned your glass bottle you received $5 back, and $1 for cans.
Then at 9pm there was the first set of fireworks. It was all very exciting and everyone jumped up to see them! It was very impressive though as they seemed to be coming from all around us, even from the tops of some of the skyscrapers! We knew that we were in for a treat at midnight as these were so good. Once they had finished lots of people started leaving, mainly those with children. The couple next to us had been and investigated and found that there was more space further along and that security weren't been as tight on where people were standing anymore. They had decided to move and we followed! It meant standing for a couple of hours but worth it for a better view! We made friends in the crowd and stood chatting which made the time pass quicker!
The harbour looked so lovely with all the boats lit up and reflecting off of the water. When the time finally came we didn't even realise as there was no count down or anything!! The fireworks were going crazy and we were presented with the most impressive firework show we've ever seen (in real life)! It was much better than on tv as there were fireworks all around us once again! The fireworks built up gradually and got more and more impressive! It was all very exciting and made the queuing and hanging around it soooo worth it!!
Once it was all over we headed along with the crowds out of the park and back to our hostel! There was such high spirits everywhere and such a good atmosphere! We made it back in impressive timing considering the amount of people and collapsed into bed! Needless to say, our legs were aching from all the standing! A jolly good day, and we're so glad that we can now say, we've done NYE in SYDNEY!!! WOO!! Happy New Year!