Cockatoo Island

The best thing about having friends visit from outside Australia is getting motivated to do things that we, as new locals, have not yet done.

5 days after arriving back from our trip to Kangaroo Island and Barossa Valley, Adam and I had two new visitors. Meghan and Sims, both coming from The U.S. for their first trip to Australia. They had quite a wild ride and after visiting Melbourne and going up to Cains, they came down to Sydney to visit us for a week.

Adam had heard about Cockatoo Island, an island pretty much people-less with the exception of a bar that only recently opened to the public. Cockatoo Island opened in the mid 1800's as an imperial prison but became Australia's largest shipyard in the 20th Century. However, all maritime activities ceased in1992 leaving it pretty desolate most of the time.  We went on a Monday evening and as it turns out its the only night the bar is not open!! Ugh! Still it was pretty cool getting to see the Island where movies like "Wolverine" with Hugh Jackman were filmed.  Check out our pictures and some of them should remind you of the movie.



A quick and beautiful ferry ride from Circular Quay will get you there in no time. Its about $13 for a return ticket but keep in mind ferry times to and from the island are limited and the Island Bar is not open on Mondays.

The Island also offers over night camping and is a great venue for outdoor concerts and parties.