
When flying to Australia, the foreign traveller is most likely to arrive in Sydney. The airport is located to the South of the city in Botany Bay, where Cook originally arrived. This bay was originally intended as the place for the city Sydney, but the subsequent fleet found an even more beautiful spot (this one even had fresh water - the Tank Stream, which now flows underground, its course now shown only by markers in city footpaths) in Port Jackson, also known as Sydney Harbour. The Opera House and the Harbour Bridge are located there.
And that is probably where you want to go after you arrive deadly tired in Sydney. It has been a long flight -- from where-ever you came from. Change some money on the airport and then jump in a cab. And let it drive you to your hotel 'downtown' (in the 'city' they say here). It's going to cost you approximately $35 Australian dollars ($23 US). You can also take the yellow-green airport-to-city buses, if you want to save money. Trains also run right into the city, but are a bit more expensive than buses.
Whether arriving in the winter or summer, in rain or sun, two things strike you about Sydney the first time you'll arrive: (1) what a mess the traffic is (it was said to improve before the 2000 Olympics, but of course hasn't) and (2) the beautiful landscape Sydney is built on (the habour is fantastic).
But to really enjoy Sydney, why don't you experience 'A Perfect Day in Sydney'?