New Years Eve 2017
Lightsabre dual before the Coogee family fireworks.
Local and Family Friendly
If you live in Sydney New Year’s Eve revolves around watching the fireworks. You have a couple of options. Head into the city or attend your local council’s fireworks display.
To get a good spot in the city it involves shelling out hundreds of dollars or getting there before lunch with a picnic (no alcohol) and sitting in your 2x2 meter patch for the next 9-12 hours.
The local fireworks generally involve turning up early if you want a swim, buy some fish and chips and have an uninterrupted view of the 9 pm fireworks. You can even drive rather than catch public transport. But you might not be parking close by.
A toast to 2018
Oh, what is that office? You mean I cannot bring in a bottle of champers for a midnight toast? Oh well, I will save it for next year when I go to Melbourne.
I know it is there for a good reason, some people overindulgence, and there is generally a blanket ban on BYO in public spaces in Sydney. Especially those hosting big events. But I am getting frustrated with the looks the tourists give me when I let them know.
Since an incident Christmas 2016 there has been a blanket ban on drinking in Coogee.
The Terrorist threat
Security was stepped up this year. Where roadblocks were once denoted by traffic cones you now have trucks blocking the path. For the first time in Sydney, 50 specially trained cops were armed with machine guns.
Circular Quay also had new exclusion zones with the streets leading to Alfred Street being blocked and left empty before midnight.
New Years is a celebration?
It is a good idea to bring your own fireworks incase you cannot see the main ones.
"Happy New Years, Hoooonk"
Getting home every year is tricky, it is just what happens when 1 million people all pull up stumps at the same time. This year they were quite controlling on where you could even walk.
There are generally two smells you get with New Year, the smell of explosives and horse shit. The second one is thanks to the mounted police. One of the most memorable parts of the night was hearing this being repeated over and over again.
“look out for the horse shit or you will step in it”
Besides the horse shit issue heading back to a train station was the most enjoyable than it ever has been. It was first thanks to a drum and these guys who would start dancing, and stop walking 20 meters down the road before starting back up again.
Once I got to Town Hall I bumped into another group this time with a sound system. Once again it would be intense dancing for about 30 seconds before they found the need to have an intense debate of what the next song was going to be.
Dancing down Pitt Street
Party at Town Hall
