G'DAY IN SYDNEY : A WHIRLWIND TOUR OF AUSSIE CITY'S PLENTIFUL PLEASURES.

Byline: Susanne Hopkins Daily News Travel Editor

We were treading the cobblestone backwaters of the Rocks, touring that colorful area of Sydney hacked out of sandstone by convicts two centuries ago, when, without warning, my imagination went amok.

The bright, clean shops, restaurants and art galleries, and the sleek skyscrapers of the modern-day city faded away, replaced by images of 1788: convicts, filthy and sweating, struggling to clear the rocky land, and erect tents and bark shelters; 11 square-rigged sailing ships resting at anchor in the blue waters of Sydney Cove; a British flag waving in the breeze over the new penal colony.

The words of an advertisement touting the pleasures of 1996 Sydney, now the quintessential Australian city, echoed in my mind: ``Two hundred years ago,'' it read, ``a trip to Sydney was punishment.''

Not anymore.

These days, a visit to this city of 3.7 million on Australia's east coast is more like a reward (for enduring the 14-1/2-hour flight from Los Angeles, perhaps?).

Come here and you'll enjoy California-style weather; a beautiful harbor that is home to the city's signature sight, the Sydney Opera House; plentiful beaches and water sports; a wealth of museums, historical sights and parks; inviting neighborhoods such as Paddington and Darlinghurst; world-class shopping with accommodations and restaurants to match; and enchanting wildlife.

Add to all this the fact that Sydneyites are already gearing up for the biggest party of them all - the Summer Olympics 2000, whch they will host - and you've got a great destination.

It's such a comfortable, likable place (as evidenced by the fact that more than one-sixth of Australia's 18 million people live here) that for a traveler keen on an exotic port of call, it sometimes seems too much like home.

(McDonald's, Woolworth's and Mobil are almost always just around the corner).

Still, as a waitress at the Regent hotel's restaurant remarked, ``It's a great place. Some people come here, grab a light breakfast and race out the door, there's so much to see. Others don't know where to start.''

Where to start. It's the traveler's eternal question - one made tougher if time is short and one is a first-time visitor. I had about two days - just enough time to squeeze in a little history, a little beauty, a little culture.

I started with a tour of the Rocks where, in 1788, the first shipload of 750 convicts was dumped. One Sydneyite called the now-restored area of shops, pubs and art galleries ``an embarrassment''; I found it raffishly charming.

``The Rocks has always had a sleazy, bawdy ... reputation,'' said our guide, Julie, as we wandered the pathways of cobblestone once used as ballast on the ships. ``It's always been the drinking quarter of town.'' (It still has a respectable hold on that title: at the Hero of Waterloo pub on Windmill and Lower Fort streets, it's said you should ``drink early and often, but leave before the singing starts.'')

Julie pointed out Cadmans Cottage on George Street, a small, white structure with mustard-colored trim that sits near the waterfront. Built in 1816, it's the oldest and only shingled-roof building left in Sydney (many of the area's structures were razed in the wake of bubonic plague that swept through the Rocks in 1900). It's now home to the National Parks & Wildlife Service information center.

Spouting colorful, historical tidbits, Julie led us past a brick building housing Bottom of the Harbour Antiques, whose foundation offered us a glimpse of the rocks that gave the area its name; by the workmen's cottages built right up the face of a rock; and down Sewers (also called Suez) Canal, a lane which, true to its name, was once a pathway for freely flowing sewage. (That may account for a pithy 19th-century saying: ``You can hear the Rocks a mile out to sea, but you can smell it two miles out.'')

We meandered down lanes once frequented by gangs who preyed on drunken sailors and we strolled past the Nurses Walk, once the site of a makeshift hospital where the order of the day was: ``If they can't bleed, purge or amputate (the problem), just lie down and say your prayers.''

Tucked behind the shops on George Street, we discovered the hidden Chinatown (not to be confused with today's Chinatown, located near Darling Harbour), where 350 Chinese lived in the 1820s and where the area's first banks were established.

With its narrow lanes and picturesque buildings, the Rocks was a window on the past - and the past set the stage for the present.

Present-day Sydney revolves around Sydney Harbour (official name: Port Jackson). Considered one of the world's most beautiful harbors, it's a 12-mile waterway whose fingers lead into an inviting array of inlets, bays and beaches. Six islands, one housing Fort Denison, Sydney's version of Alcatraz, dot the harbor.

While you can walk the Circular Quay around the harbor, the best way to see it is via a ferry or a harbor cruise.

On my late-morning cruise, sailboats, colorful kayaks, cargo and passenger ships, and yachts glided up and down the harbor. We passed the rim of the lush Royal Botanic Gardens; saw Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman's deluxe pink palace overlooking the water; gaped at Sydney's ever-changing, fascinating skyline; and chuckled at the giant, grinning mask that signifies Luna Park, a recently reopened amusement complex.

We snapped numerous photos of the famed Sydney Opera House, with its roofline that resembles unfurled ship sails, and the Harbour Bridge. Built in 1932, the latter, called the Coathanger, cost $20 million, took the city 56 years to pay off and is still a marvel of engineering. The mesh of steel stretches nearly three-quarters of a mile across the harbor and is decorated with massive pylons, one of which you can enter, climb 200 stairs and be rewarded with panoramic views of the city and the harbor.

Once off the boat, I made my way to the Royal Botanic Gardens on Mrs. Macquarie's Road. Established in 1816 on the site of Australia's first farm, it's 74 acres of extravagant greenery laced with meandering pathways and accented with ponds, conveniently placed benches, and some stellar city and harbor views. There are also a restaurant, pavilions and a well-stocked gift shop.

Through a gentle rain, I wandered among great stands of palms, lush ferns and a simulated rain forest with a canopy of palms. Here and there, slender white ibis pecked in the dirt.

Because I reached the gardens after 4 p.m., several features were closed: the Sydney Tropical Centre, two greehouses filled with tropical plants from throughout the world; the succulent garden; the lush fernery; and the old-fashioned rose garden.

But I did visit the replica of the first garden planted on this site in 1788 by Capt. Arthur Phillip. Corn, tomatoes and other vegetables flourish in season, along with a smattering of flowers.

As the rain increased, I hailed the Trackless Trolley. For $3, the covered vehicle took me around the gardens, stopping at key points to pick up and let off passengers.

The rain dampened plans to walk from the gardens out to Mrs. Macquarie's Chair. In 1810, Elizabeth Macquarie, wife of Gov. Lachlan Macquarie, ordered a seat hewn into the rock so she could sit and watch the ships go by. Now, the opera house a headland away is part of the panorama.

At some point in a visit to Sydney, most tourists will find themselves at Darling Harbour. Once it was a collection of rotting warehouses and wharves; now, the sprawling area is shopping, Chinatown and museums.

For about $5, I bought a day pass on the Monorail, a sleek, above-street train that runs around Darling Harbour. ``Nobody uses it except the tourists. We hate it,'' a Sydney resident told me disparagingly, noting that the rail that runs around the area mars the city's skyline. Still, it's a quick, inexpensive way of traveling the area.

Three of Sydney's main attractions are here, and I spent more time than I intended at each. At the National Maritime Museum, I toured the HMAS Vampire, the last of the gunboats that patrolled Australian waters; clambered through hatches to view the cramped Scorpion, a Russian submarine from the Cold War days; and viewed the collection of small boats moored outside the museum.

Inside, Australia's relationship with the sea - from the days its aboriginal people caught fish and traded with Asia to the first convict ships and the advent of surfing - is explored in interactive displays and artifacts. There's a nod to the U.S., one of the first countries to brook English law and establish trade with Australia (in 1812) and a key player in the battle of the South Pacific in World War II (``Australia was never the same again,'' says one exhibit.).

Across Pyrmont Bridge from the maritime museum is the Sydney Aquarium. Its exhibits need sprucing up and it does not compare with, say, California's Monterey Bay Aquarium, but it does offer up-close-and-personal views of tropical sealife not commonly seen by Westerners. Visitors walk through acrylic tunnels under two oceanariums, with fish floating above and on both sides of them. At one point, it seemed someone had turned off the lights; I looked up and spied a large bottom-dwelling ray plastered to the window above me.

A few monorail stops away from the aquarium, the Powerhouse Museum packs a real punch. It's a storehouse of fascinations for all ages. There are several floors of exhibits ranging from intriguing examples of inventions that almost worked to fantastical costumes created for Sydney's celebrated Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade. There are equally enthralling displays on computers, special effects (kids can make their own movies showing them jumping off a 20-story building and escaping the clutches of a sewer rat) and even birth-control methods from their earliest - ahem - conception.

If you're here on the hour, you can watch the show put on by the museum's Strasbourg Clock, a beautiful replica of the original in France's Strasbourg Cathedral. Intricately carved figures, representing the 12 apostles and Christ and the four ages of man (infant, youth, warrior, old man) whirl through doors on the clock's several levels. Perhaps the most striking feature: The clock is over 100 years old and still keeps good time.

Even if you can't get a ticket to the opera, you can get inside the Sydney Opera House (provided you're ambulatory and able to navigate 200 steps). A walking tour of the arts facility on Bennelong Point takes about an hour and, performance schedules permitting, allows visitors to peek into all four of the main halls.

You'll pick up some interesting tidbits as you march along with a guide: It took 14 years and $102 million ($95 million over budget) to build the facility; there are nearly 1,000 rooms; the massive Concert Hall Grand Organ boasts 10,500 pipes, one pedal and five manual keyboards; the hall's wood-paneled ceiling contains no nails or screws so the sound is undisturbed; and if you do hold a ticket to the opera, don't be late.

``Two prime ministers and our own general manager have been locked out and forced to watch on closed-circuit TV until a convenient interval,'' said our guide.

On Location

Sydney abounds with enough things to do and sights to see to keep a traveler busy for at least a week or two. Many of Sydney's sights are in the city center, accessible by public transportation or on foot.

All prices are listed in Australian dollars; one U.S. dollar buys 1.1729 Australian dollars.

The Rocks Walking Tours, the Rocks Visitor Centre, 104 George St.: $10 adults, children 10 and up, $6.50. Walks are 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. weekdays, 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. weekends and holidays. Maps for self-guided tours are also available for about 50 cents. Phone: [phone].

Royal Botanic Gardens, Mrs. Macquaries Road: open 7 a.m. to sunset; various gardens open until 4 p.m.; free, but Sydney Tropical Center admission is $5 adults, $2 children, families $12. Phone: [phone].

National Maritime Museum, Darling Harbour: open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; $7 adults, $3.50 children (family tickets available). Phone: [phone] or 0055 62002 (recorded information).

Sydney Aquarium, Darling Harbour: open 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily; $13.50 adults, $6.50 children. Phone: [phone].

Powerhouse Museum, 500 Harris St., Ultimo: open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; $5 adults, $2 children 5 to 15; seniors and children under 5, free. Phone: [phone].

Museum of Sydney, corner of Phillip and Bridge streets: open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; $6 adults, $4 children, $15 families of four. Phone: [phone].

Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point: Walking tours, $10 adults, $7.50 seniors, $6 children. Tours are available between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Backstage tours are also offered periodically. Check by phoning: [phone].

There are numerous ferries and cruise boats to take you on a tour of Sydney Harbour. Prices range from an $8 ferry ride to a $55 dinner cruise; you can pick up the rides at Darling Harbour or the Circular Quay.

Outtakes

Got a little extra time? You can rent a car - or take a tour - to the Lower Hunter Valley, Australia's more rustic version of California's Napa Wine Valley. It's a nice day trip that winds through some of Australia's wide-open spaces (you may get lucky and see some wild kangaroos hopping along, some lazy wombats, even some pink and gray parrots perched in the trees).

You'll also pass through some rustic little towns before arriving at the valley, which sprawls over miles of gently rolling hills. At various intersections, giant maps of the valley note the various wineries in the region; brochures with maps are available at all the wineries.

The area, which has produced wine for more than a century, is most noted for its chardonnay, but you'll get a taste of everything from robust red table wines to port mixed with brandy.

If money is no object, try Roberts at Pepper Tree for lunch (Halls Road, Pokolbin 2321; phone: [phone]). It's a country French place with great charm: used brick, flowers and lots of light, French doors opening onto vineyards and lovely grounds where birds and butterflies flit lazily about. It was built to complement an 1876 cottage to which it is attached. The food, gourmet with a French touch, and the service are impeccable.

The Southern Highlands not far from Sydney also make for a good day trip. Some locals, in fact, prefer the Highlands over the fabled Blue Mountains that draw hordes of tourists. ``It's much more remote, much more like the real Australia, than the Blue Mountains,'' said Ian Whiting, a long-time tour guide. ``(Tourists) would see a diversity of terrain, little country towns and villages, no commercialism, wilderness and national parks. Within an hour and a half of Sydney, you can walk where no person has walked before,'' he said.

Even if you don't make it to Australia's outback, you can't go home without seeing some of its prized wildlife, such as kangaroos and koala bears. You can see them at the Taronga Zoo in Mosman, a suburb of Sydney, but you can shake hands with them - at least the kangaroos - at Waratah Park in Duffy's Forest, about a half-hour from Sydney.

The park, which calls itself a ``bushland sanctuary,'' could use some sprucing up and certainly its koala cage - a chain-link and corrugated plastic-roof facility furnished with a eucalyptus tree - should be improved. But I enjoyed roaming a large grassy field and feeding the gentle kangaroos, who nibbled the feed purchased at the gate right from my hand. I did spot Tasmanian devils, emus and parrots, and if you happen to visit at the right time, you can have your photo taken with a koala.

Some additional Sydney sights you might want to take in:

Sydney's newest museum, the Museum of Sydney, at the corner of Bridge and Phillips streets, is on the site of the first government house and is dedicated to the early years of Australia, from 1788-1850. Its exhibits are few, but well done; great views of the city.

Walk with your head down along the Circular Quay from the Opera House toward the city center or you'll miss the Writer's Walk, where famous writers, both Australian and those who have written about Australia, are memorialized in circular brass plaques set in the brick walkway.

Poke through furniture, antiques, arts and crafts, and a jumble of other goods at the Rocks Weekend Market from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Head north on George Street toward the canopy that mirrors the look of sails.

The Earth Exchange, a geological and mining museum where, officials boast, you can even experience an earthquake (this is sure to have limited appeal for Southern Californians), at 36-64 George St.

The Museum of Contemporary Art, a repository of modern art displayed with flair in an art deco building on the Circular Quay running into the Rocks on George Street.

The Colonial House Museum, a private home that offers a peek into Australia's colonial past, at No. 53 Lower Fort St.

The Sydney Observatory in Observatory Park, which has a nifty little museum featuring interactive exhibits.

Chinese Garden in Darling Harbour, the largest outside of China, a serene place of waterfalls, ponds and greenery. You can enjoy tea and cakes at the Chinese tea house overlooking the lotus pond.

Sydney Mint, Macquarie Street near Hyde Park, where some stunning creations such as jewelry, ornaments and trophies crafted by Australian goldsmiths after the gold rush of 1851 are on display.

CAPTION(S):

6 Photos, 2 Boxes

Photo: (1--Color) The historic buildings of Syd ney's first settlement, the Rocks, form the backdrop for the Weekend Market.

(2--Color) Sydney's signature sight, the Opera House, reigns over the harbor and the Circular Quay.

(3--Color) Graceful sculptures enhance the lovely, peaceful grounds of the Royal Botanic Gardens.

(4--Color) A visitor to Waratah Park feeds a kangaroo, whose joey hangs out of her pouch.

(5) With Sydney's striking skyline in the background, a sailboat glides along in Sydney Harbor.

(6) Roberts at Pepper Tree, a restaurant with country French flair, is situated in Australia's Hunter Valley.

Susanne Hopkins/Daily News

Box: (1) On Location (See Text)

(2) Outtakes (See Text)