Let’s face it, we’ve all been recipients of both good and bad holiday gifts. While now, being an adult has made me less interested in materialistic objects, there was a time when it was impossible to keep still after receiving a holiday gift. I can’t say I have a favourite one, but there is this recent experience that now stands out whenever I think about holidays. As the holiday season is just around the corner and in the name of sharing, here is how the New Year’s Eve dinner cruises on Sydney Harbour turned out to be the best gift I have ever received during holidays.

The tale of two plus one

Before I start raving about being the beneficiary of the best experience gift ever, let me tell you a bit about Jasiah and Bulma, the ones who gave me the gift. Jasiah was my high-school friend and neighbour, we have spent many holidays together as our families were close too. But after school he had to move away to the West Indies, and a couple of months later I moved to Sydney as well. Although we stayed in touch, there was no sign of a reunion as we both were busy, by this time had met his now wife, Bulma. And then out of the blue, Jasiah mailed me about their plans to spend New Year’s Eve (NYE) in Sydney and wanted me to join them - I was beyond thrilled!

“After a long time”

Time passed rapidly and the day finally arrived. I picked them up from the airport and had lunch in a small expensive French restaurant right in the Central business District. Although we ordered a sumptuous lunch, we never got to enjoy it as there were a gazillion tales to be shared by all of us - everything, except what their plan was for the night! After lunch, we headed to my apartment to unpack and continued with our stories over a couple of drinks. I lived in a two-roomed apartment near the Domain, we were pretty close to all the happenings, including the fireworks shows. It was quarter past five and it was time to head out, we found a cabbie, who dropped us near King Street Wharf.

A big surprise

We traversed along the harbour footpath and surprisingly, Jasiah led the way. It was still unclear (to me) where we were heading but I could see their faces light up with a wide grin as we kept moving forward. And there it was! A massive boat docked at the wharf, waiting for us to board! Nothing in the world could prepare me for what was about to come! Thankfully,  I had dressed right for the occasion or this blog would never be! We carefully boarded the mighty vessel, which was dark bluish in colour with white stripes, and had spacious outer decks on both its sides. I knew I was getting in line for something special, and it was!

POV: Sydney with new eyes

The Sydney New Years Eve cruises are one of the highly-sought after NYE activities every year and to get a reservation means they have planned it way ahead. For this, I thanked them a  bunch.

 As the vessel slowly started to move away from the wharf, we were treated with several harbour attractions one after the other, each complementing their neighbouring vistas, this included the well-known Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Luna Park and plenty more. The views were nothing short of stunning and the outer decks made it all the more easier to get splendid close-ups for the ‘gram. 

The night only got better with the deluxe spread which featured mouth-watering mains and heavenly desserts, the drinks were also tasty. After that, we spent our time out on the decks, soaking up the harbour fiestas and waiting for the iconic fireworks show, and when the clock finally hit midnight, golly! What a sight it was! Although I’ve seen it many times before, it was a whole new experience watching it from the vessels! Safe to say, it was the cherry on the icing on the cake!