Sydney NYE Fireworks at Bradleys Head

Celebrating our first New Years Eve in Sydney, there was really only one logical option on the cards – go and see the Sydney NYE Fireworks.

Sadly, when I finally looked at booking tickets our options were severely limited (lesson learned, book early for the fireworks). Either I had to splash out $500+ per person, to celebrate at Taronga Zoo or on the water, or book a far more reasonable $50 ticket, in an alcohol free zone (for some strange reason, these seem to fill up last). Being frugal, I opted for the second.

Since alcohol wasn’t going to be available at the venue, we decided to head over closer to 11pm, after lubricating at multiple other venues. The risk was that public transport could be packed, and we’d be late and miss the show (or that all the good viewpoints would be taken). Thankfully neither of these occurred, perhaps due to heavy downpours and storms earlier in the evening.

We climbed onto a completely empty bus just after 11pm, and made our way to Bradleys Head. There was a light drizzle as we walked the final kilometre down to the Mast Precinct, where I anticipated great views across the water. Sadly I’d missed one key fact – there were two types of ticket available for this venue, and I’d unknowingly bought the cheaper. As a result we couldn’t find any spots with uninterrupted views.

Somewhat despondent we made a bold move and started walking back up the hill towards Taronga Zoo. Our plan was to leave the road higher up, boldly bash our way through the spider and snake infested forest (in the dark), and to make our own viewsite.

Ignoring the muddiness, this proved to be highly successful as we joined a few other bold adventurers for what were perfect views of the fireworks.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The fireworks themselves were spectacular, and lasted an incredible 12 – 13 minutes. The highlight for me was the initial countdown on the bridge, and the word Sydney being spelled out in fireworks. After that it was mostly the sheer volume and number of venues that was so impressive.

With the fireworks done we made a very hasty retreat, and headed back up the hill to the bus stop. This turned out to be a great call as we made it onto the third bus. Looking back the queue stretched out of site down the road. Judging by the frequency of buses I’d guess some of those people would be queueing for well over an hour, with young kids.

Would I recommend Bradleys Head as a venue for the fireworks, well, yes and no. On the down side, viewing spots were limited, unless you purchased the more expensive tickets. There was a limited supply of food and sweats vendors. And there was no alcohol allowed. That said, if you put in the effort you could get a great spot. The tickets were cheap. And without alcohol it was a very kid friendly venue. So I’ll leave it up to you to decide if it’s the right choice for you.