Every year the city of Sydney plays host to its biggest winter festival, encouraging thousands of people to flock to the city's CBD and surrounding areas in order to witness its beautiful landmarks transforming into various interactive creations of light. For the last three years I have attended Vivid and have been blown away by the result of hours of hard work and design that goes into creating this winter wonderland. However, this year I unfortunately didn't get a chance to participate in the walk along the harbour, instead opting for experiencing something different by attending Vivid at Taronga Zoo with a one of my best friends.
We caught the ferry over to the zoo and honestly Sydney is such a beautiful city when it is lit up. If you don't catch the ferry very often I highly recommend going into the city for a ride, it is so much fun to sit back and enjoy the view in a way that you hardly ever get to see if you never ride on the harbour.
One of my favourite parts of the festival is when animations get projected onto buildings. It brings all my childhood fantasies to life in ways I never could have imagined.
These two monkeys were my favourite aspect of the walk through the zoo. They reminded me of my best friend M and I because for the last six years we have just been through everything together and always have been and always will be by each others side through everything life throws at us, no matter what.
This little (big) guy was one of the few sculptures that moved so it looked like he was swimming through the air with his webbed feet!
I loved the detail and colours of the turtles. They looked as majestic as I imagine they are when they swim through the ocean.
The thing I loved about the Zoo walk compared to that along the water is that there was less of a crowd and it catered a lot more to families and the elderly. It flowed in one direction and the installations could be enjoyed at a much slower pace as there were less people. There was honestly no rushed feeling at all, which was such a nice change to previous years.
The crocodile was another one of my favourites, he was so mesmerising.
I thought it was great that the theme for the lights display on the Opera House was a tribute to the Indigenous people, past and present, of Australia and their incredible culture. I honestly believe that it is something that should be incorporated into the festival every year.
If you ever find yourself in Sydney around Vivid I highly reccomend making a night of it and organising a trip into the CBD with family or friends. There are plenty of water front restaurants, bars and take away food trucks to suit everyones needs and ensure that a good night is had all round.
One rule I live by is that there is no shame in playing the tourist while exploring your own city.
