00:00Sydney Harbour. It's a waterway of exceptional beauty. The grand entrance to the Great Southern Land. A waterway straight out of paradise.
00:12No wonder world travellers are having a love affair with her. She's been consistently rated as one of the world's top destinations.
00:21Sydney Harbour's secluded bays, pristine beaches and rugged windswept coastline stretch over 150 miles.
00:31Spanning the North Shore with the city over Sydney Harbour is the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Its massive trademark arch, visible from the remotest of backwaters.
00:41Now more than 75 years old, the coat hanger, as Australians love to call it, still holds the record for the world's longest steel arch bridge.
00:50It's a working bridge, with more than 150,000 cars crossing it every workday, not to mention commuter trains, cyclists and pedestrians.
01:01It's also one of Australia's premier tourist attractions, with Bridge Climb offering climbers stunning views of the harbour.
01:09Launched in 1998, Bridge Climb offers climbers two routes to the top, the inner or lower arch, or the top arch.
01:17And on both, cameras are banned to prevent tourists dropping them on motorists below.
01:23The bridge towers over another famous landmark, the Sydney Opera House.
01:29This is one of the wonders of the 20th century, an architectural masterpiece which took 14 years to build and cost over 14 times the original estimate.
01:40Its unique design has put Sydney on the world map, although its Danish designer, Jørn Utzon, has never seen the finished building.
01:49In great controversy, he left the project soon after the shells were constructed, never to return.
01:56Another prominent landmark towering over Sydney Harbour is the Sydney Tower.
02:01This is Sydney's tallest freestanding structure, and the second tallest in Australia, standing 305 metres above the Sydney CBD.
02:10This is one of the most prominent tourist attractions in the city, being visible from a number of vantage points throughout town and from adjoining suburbs.
02:19Take the elevator to its basket-shaped structure on top, and you're rewarded with an observation deck and two fine revolving restaurants.
02:29And on the southern shores of the harbour, the birthplace of modern Australia, the rocks.
02:34This is where modern Australian history began in 1788, when 400 settlers and 750 convicts arrived from Britain on the first fleet of 11 ships,
02:45and started the first permanent settlement on the shores of Sydney Harbour.
02:54Close by, circular quay, is the hub of the city's harbour transport system, with ferries, jet cats, river cats and much larger vessels,
03:04bringing commuters and visitors right into the heart of Sydney's central business district.
03:15Around the eastern suburbs, multi-million dollar mansions line the harbour.
03:25Mansions like Craigen, a former US embassy, which had its dome installed as a reminder of the Taj Mahal.
03:34Carthona, built by the 1840s Surveyor General Major Thomas Mitchell, to look like a British castle, and houses six children.
03:46And the impressive Rose Bay, home of historic aviator Lawrence Hargraves, with its statue of Lady Annabel, Lady of the Waters.
03:56Dominating the eastern headland is Kincopple, the convent boarding school for girls.
04:05Strickland House, built for Sydney's first Lord Mayor, and used between the wars as a repatriation hospital.
04:12And the Hermitage, owned by the fashion guru, the Hemmys.
04:21Part of the beauty of the harbour is that even with all that development, virgin bushland still lines much of its shores.
04:32In the midst of that, there are six squatter shacks at Dobroy Point.
04:37And on Middlehead, gun emplacements erected to defend Sydney in the First World War are still standing.
04:51It's here, in the tranquil backwaters of the harbour, that many of Sydney's wilder residents live.
05:01There's a rich array of birdlife.
05:07Sulphur-crested cockatoos.
05:13Rainbow lorikeets.
05:18Silver gulls.
05:22And pelicans.
05:25Sunbaking on the rocky foreshores are eastern water dragons.
05:30Fierce, prehistoric-looking creatures which are actually harmless to humans.
05:39When hungry, they'll scavenge for smaller reptiles, insects and spiders.
05:45This superb young specimen is a fairy penguin, part of a colony that nests along the rocky inner harbour shoreline, close to North Head.
05:54Cute and inquisitive, they'll spend their day out at sea, fishing right through until dusk.
06:08More exotic creatures reside at Taronga's harbour.
06:12More exotic creatures reside at Taronga Zoo.
06:15Far from their homelands, their compensation is this spectacular view.
06:28This native Australian red-tailed black cockatoo is happy and at home here.
06:33Further west, the houses of other well-known Australians.
06:37The Billy House, the Prime Minister's Sydney residence.
06:43And Admiralty House, where the Governor-General stays when he's in town.
06:49Now 150 years old, Admiralty House retains all of the regal grandeur and elegance you'd expect from arguably Australia's premier piece of real estate.
07:07When the sun comes out, Sydney Harbour really comes alive.
07:38On inner harbour beaches, the only quandary is whether to swim,
07:49play,
07:57or just bake.
08:08Out on the water, there are those who are simply active.
08:19And those who are totally competitive.
08:27Another super aerial perspective of the harbour can be seen from the Sydney Harbour seaplanes.
08:37Flying out of Rose Bay under the command of Rob Britton.
08:49Rob is flying one of a fleet of four beavers, taking off from an historic site.
09:07Another popular way of experiencing the harbour is by boat, whether it be by the paddle-wheeler, the Sydney Showboat,
09:22or on a grand old square rigger, like this replica of Captain Bligh's ship, the Bounty.
09:53Skipper Glenn Gray is at the helm, and that's Ruth Cardia, clambering up the rigging.
10:07For those who'd rather be waited on than working out, there are tranquil harbour tours on the Captain Cook Cruises.
10:14How about a dinner cruise with a touch of opera on their $10 million super liner, the Sydney 2000?
10:29The waters off Sydney Harbour become packed with boats on days of big celebrations, such as Australia Day,
10:36with its ferry race. Four ferries racing, 4,000 spectator craft in pursuit.
10:44The harbour churns as the sprightly catamaran ferries sprint towards the finish line.
10:50The ferry, Charlotte, takes line honours.
11:21But there's even more events in store today.
11:37Flyovers and parachute jumps.
11:51And a parade of the square riggers, including the Bounty.
12:01Apart from Australia Day, Sydney Harbour dazzles on two other major occasions.
12:08Boxing Day sees a harbour awash with racers and spectators for the annual Sydney to Hobart Classic.
12:21And just on sunset, only five days later, the true finale of the year.
12:28Every year it gets better and better, with each display surpassing the last.
12:50Sydney Harbour, home and mother, magic harbour, life and love does.
13:09A pyrotechnic celebration of a truly magic harbour.
13:39.
