Vivid memories

Vivid Sydney is an annual festival held in Sydney. For the last 15 years, over five weeks, the cold, dark nights of winter have been transformed by an eclectic array of outdoor immersive light installations and projections throughout the central city. At times, the effect is simply dazzling.

Yesterday, Garry and I caught the tram into town to experience this year’s festival. We picked the perfect night to be outdoors. The sky was clear, and the weather was unseasonably mild for this time of year, with temperatures hovering around 17C for much of the evening.

We began our evening in Chinatown. Here, we stopped to admire an installation called "While You Were Dreaming" at Darling Square. It’s a five-metre-high sculptural face, split down the middle to reveal a swirl of colour and light.

However, I was stunned by the redevelopment that’s gone on in this area. The new Darling Square and the nearby Tumbalong Boulevard have completely transformed a space once dominated by the Sydney Entertainment Centre. This precinct is now a bustling pedestrian mall filled with shops, bars and cafes that lead directly into Tumbalong Park and Darling Harbour.

For the next hour or so, we made our way through Tumbalong Park, the shores of Darling Harbour and on to Stargazer’s Lawn, part of the recently redeveloped Barangaroo Reserve. Along the way, we admired floating sheep, iridescent clouds, and a dazzling array of light sculptures. We even walked on water. Well, a floating pontoon walkway that spans Darling Harbour.

We continued our Vivid tour by walking through a projected display inside the Argle Cut and watching the sails of the Opera House light up. We finished with a final stop to enjoy the always impressive light show projected onto the front facade of Customs House at Circular Quay.

With more than 10,000 steps under our belts, we went for dinner at the recently refurbished Argle Centre complex. What was once a slightly sad array of market stalls and shops is now a stunning collection of indoor and outdoor dining and entertainment venues. We dined at The Cut, a new French steak house. The meal and service were a little underwhelming for the price we paid. I doubt we’ll be back anytime soon.

We completed the evening with a quick stroll around Circular Quay to admire the lights on the Harbour Bridge, before catching the train back to Redfern. Another few thousand steps on the walk home saw us finish the night with a tally of more than 14,000 steps.