Sydney

28 December – 2 January

Tuesday:

We arrive in Sydney and immediately feel our collective blood pressure go up.  We’ve become country bumpkins over the past 3 months and aren’t used to the hectic, fast pace of big city life.  We find our apartment fine, but finding a parking space so that we can unload is a five times round the block job.   But we do manage to get checked in and unloaded.  This is extreme luxury compared to what we’re used to – probably because this is the first thing we booked (even before flights) way back in March.

Next step is to drop off our car, which has been a second home for 52 days.  Despite having clocked up 14,500km, there’s no damage on the car.  Whew. 

We spend the afternoon checking out the sights of Sydney: a walk through the bat-ridden botanical gardensto the Opera House (which is gorgeous, and fascinating up close).  Then a stroll through the Rocks and a walk over the bridge, with an ice-cream to boost us for the walk back.

We take our first ferry across to Darling Harbour to get some food, then crash out in our plush pad. 

Wednesday:

Ali & Andrew bought us tickets for Toronga zoo as a leaving present, so its another scenic ferry trip across the harbour to the zoo in the morning.  Sydney is playing up to the crowds today and is all brilliant blue skies and sparkling water. 

At the zoo we get to check out all the classics, as well as the Ozzie wildlife we’ve not yet been lucky enough to spot: wombats, platypus, echidnas, Tasmanian devils etc.  It’s great fun.  By lunchtime we’re flagging a bit though and our resistance to screaming kids is wearing low, so we head back to grab lunch. 

Freemantle Laura has come over to Sydney for New Year.  We get a call to say she has arrived and is heading to Bondi for the afternoon, so we grab a bus over to meet her and her friend Emma.  It’s a nice enough beach, but it’s also packed.  A swim and a lie in the sun later, the crowds aren’t bothering us anymore.  We go for wine and pizza in the evening, then end up walking for miles trying to dodge the bus queues back into town.

Thursday:

After a lazy start to the day, it’s back to Circular Quay to get a ferry across the harbour to Manly.  It’s still very busy, but a longer beach than Bondi, so easier to find a quiet spot.  Laura and Emma come over to meet us a bit later.  We have a relaxed arvie on the beach, then head back for a bit of self-catering and a film.

Friday:

Dec & Suz are arriving in Sydney today – we’ve politely gate-crashed their honeymoon.  We take a wander about the shops in the morning waiting for them to arrive.  We know there’s some kind of plan for NYE tonight, but we’re not sure what it is.  There are various viewing points for the fireworks, but most of them fill up early (Laura and co had a spot stacked out from about 1pm).  When they arrive it’s xmas all over again.  They have friends in Sydney: Geth and Lynds.  Lynds works at the Opera House and has sorted us all out with flashy gold wristbands, which let us into the area around the Opera House to watch the fireworks. 

You couldn’t ask for a better view.  Weirdly enough (for Londonites anyway), it’s not particularly busy in our little area and (shock horror) there’s no queue for the bar or toilets.  Ever.  The fireworks are amazing, the atmosphere great and best of all, it’s a quick 30 min walk back up to our hotel.

Janet adds: Loving NYE Sydney style.  And not met Lynds yet, but she rules!

Saturday:

We wake up not to shockingly worse for wear, which is always a bonus on 1^st January.  Laura comes round in the morning.  She flies back to Perth this evening and we’ve offered to stash her bags.  We’re all operating in slow motion today, but eventually at about 2pm we decide to head to the beach.  Laura leaves us to our devices, and we get a ferry over to Manly again with Dec and Suz.  This time we head round the corner from the main beach to Shelly beach.  Geth and Lynds are meeting us there.  It’s a lovely little beach (and a lovely way to spend New Year’s Day), and with the help of a borrowed snorkel I get to see some fishies and a ray.  The weather is perfect and we’re on the beach till 7.30pm, when we collectively decide that it’s beer time.  Drinking beer overlooking the beautiful harbour I realise that I’ve fallen in love with Sydney. 

I’m even used to the big-city crowds again – and if you’re going to do big city, it may as well be one with lovely beaches and sunshine.  After a few drinks we go for some food.  The ferries run surprisingly regularly and late: it’s close to midnight when we decide to venture back.

Janet adds: such a lovely day out with friends old and new.  Sorry Geth and Lynds for chewing your ears off – that’s what a glass or 5 of wine will do for me.  And thanks again for the loan of a snorkel. 

Sunday:

I wake up today feeling worse than yesterday, which is great considering we’ve got to get up and checked out.  The carhire place had warned us that today was going to be chaos and that there was no point in coming in early to pick up our car.  Luckily Dec and Suz offer to accommodate our luggage until we have wheels again.   We kill a bit of time then head to the carhire place for midday.  Two and a half hours later we make it to the front of the queue, only to find that we’re missing an essential bit of paper.  So we have to head off to find an internet café… Sigh.  Eventually we get a car though.  Same as our previous one, but a different colour.  As we drive off to pick up our luggage I realise that I’m without my camera.  At the same time Laura texts to say that she has accidently kidnapped my phone charger back to Perth.  It’s stacking up to be a cracking day.

It’s not all bad though: my camera turns up intact at the internet café and we eventually make it out of Sydney at about 4pm.  Our itinerary is a little bit out the window, but we get an hour or two up the road and find a lovely campsite on a riverbank in Morisset.  I won’t pretend otherwise: after 5 nights in luxury camping is feeling like hard work, but it is kinda nice to be out in nature again with more adventures to come. 

Janet adds: right, forget any nice thing I said about camping ever: after our knackered mattress deflates again in the middle of the night and I encounter a spider the size of a dinner plate in the ladies…  Oh, and did I mention that it chucked it down with rain all night?