Sydney Siders

Ah so there are a couple of things I should have included about our trip to the Outback. We slept in 'swags' under the stars which are foam mattresses encased in a groundsheet type covered, the material is similar to that of a wax jacket I'd say, and you slip you're sleeping bag inside and voila, you go to sleep. Much easier than the hassle of pitching a tent and the great thing is when you wake up in the middle of the night you just look up at the stars, lovely.

When we were in the outback we saw loads of constellations and a few satellites and also MIR space station, you don't get to see that everyday! They also fed us up with 'Chile con Camel' like chile con carne but with camel mince - yummy!

Anyhows, we spent a very weird Christmas and New Year in Sydney - it's just not right in the heat - and stayed in a hostel on Coogee Beach, the hostel was a bit rough around the edges but we got to meet loads of people who were there over the festive period. On Xmas eve we went down to Darling Harbour for Carols round the Xmas tree.




Xmas day was celebrated by a free lunch and goon. The lunch was a buffet with Chicken legs, pasta salad etc, and for those of you who don't know what goon is it is what they call cask wine here which is basically dirt cheap wine which comes in 4 litre boxes, tastes pretty horrible and gives you a massive headache the next day. Oh but it gets you drunk...(Personally I prefer beer).




Boxing Day was extremely hot, probably hotter than Christmas day and we watched the start of the Sydney - Hobart yacht race from Watson's Bay, I have never seen so may boats sailing at the same time! It's amazing they don't crash into each other. There's also loads of helicopters flying round for a bird's eye view.




We had dressed in our best clothes that day so we could go to the races afterwards as it was free entry and neither of us had been to the horses before.We didn't win anything but it was good fun to go along and we caught up with Shane and Louise, an Irish couple who we met at our 1st stop in Rio all those months ago...

We did the Coogee to Bondi cliff walk which was nice as we got to see all the little beaches in between but got pretty sweaty doing it! Bondi beach, although probably the most famous beach in the world, is not the nicest if you ask me but worth the visit just so say you've been there!

To go and see all the tourist sights, the Harbour, Bridge and Opera House we met up with Adam who was also ( and still is) in Sydney.

Here is the obligatory photo of us with the Opera House:



Its a lot smaller in real life than on the telly...as with Ramsay Street...(actually speaking of Neighbours we watched it last night, I won't ruin what happens for you but its all rather dramatic at the mo cos they've just come back from their Summer break, but much pleasure was had in the fact that we could point at the screen and say 'Been there'. Ha ha)

We checked out Adam's apartment which is really nice, in China Town and looks over Darling Harbour, its amazing how many people you can fit in one apartment!

Later in the day we walked around 'The Rocks' area which is a it older than the rest of the city and has lots of shops and cafes there.

In keeping with our budget, the following day we went up the Pylon Tower of Sydney Harbour Bridge, a fraction of the cost of a climb but with just as good views. We went down to the kings Cross area which is where quite a few hostels are and has a good selection of bars, we had been given some free drinks vouchers upon arrival in Coogee so this was a great opportunity to use some of them!


New Year's Eve saw the whole hostel rise early to go and nab a good spot at to watch the fireworks from. We got down to Cremorne Point which is north of the harbour at 11am and spent the whole day waiting for the big event. It was good fun cos there was a group of us, but it was bloody hot, we were chasing the shade and had a bit of an argument with one woman who had become a bit too territorial!

This is the spot in the day time:




We weren't the only ones who thought Cremore Point was the best spot to view the fireworks, Vicky Alexander and Jane Mansfield (girls from Mill Hill) where there too! Random!! It was good to see them, people are just the same wherever you are!



The fireworks were amazing and there was a real feel of excitement when they went off.

Before we left Sydney we went to the north of the city again to Collaroy, not far from Manly, to visit Claire and Martin and their daughters Megan and Eloise (so cute). They moved over from the UK 3 months ago and have a lovely apartment. Alot of discussion was had about the difference between Australian life and British life!

We traveled back across Sydney to Coogee, stopping off for a wander around Manly before catching the ferry back to the centre of the city. In the harbour was the biggest ferry ever, it was HUGE!

You can find the Perfect Friend

Although we have been in Australia for a month and half and are well on our way, let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start....

We arrived in Melbourne and stayed with Lizzie and Trevor who very kindly put us up. Their dogs Cassie and Iggy are a bit crazy, but absolutely lovable and a lot of fun! It was so nice to stay in a home for a while rather than a hostel.



We were staying in a place called Reservoir just north Melbourne and regularly caught the train into the city which I found to be a good service. We visited Victoria Market which is absolutely huge, probably the biggest undercover market I've ever seen and got carried away buying fresh fruit and veg, the strawberries were lovely.

Our trip to the Old Gaol was pretty morbid as you spend the whole time reading the displays about the inmates whilst standing in the old cells which aren't exactly spacious. It was here where Ned Kelly was hanged. Although the place was dark and depressing it was interesting stuff. They take you on a tour around the Watch Tower next door where you actually get treated like prisoners and they lock you in cell - fun?!



The homeless world cup was taking place in the heart of Melbourne in Federation Square while we were there and we caught USA v Cambodia, USA won 6-5. Afghanistan won the tournament overall, Scotland came 4th.



On the Sunday we were in Melbourne we went down to St Kilda which is by the beach. The place is buzzing with people, there is a market selling crafty things, lots of cake shops and the streets are lined with people eating at cafes Al fresco. St Kilda is also home to Luna Park where we rode the 'Scenic Railway' which is an old wooden roller coaster built in 1912 and includes a driver in the middle of the carriage with a lever for a break! It was a rickety, bumpy ride and rather uncomfortable. It wasn't til we got off the ride that we saw the rotten wood and lose wooden pins holding it together that we realised how dodgy it was!



Having 'done' the Great Ocean Road we stopped off at Mount Gambier for a night before arriving in Adelaide where the rain came down in sheets and sheets! It was not how I expected Australia to be at all - where was the sunshine?! Despite the rain I quite liked Adelaide which has a great market, Central Market, which is a food market selling loads of fresh fruit and veg as well as other tasty treats.

From Adelaide we made our 21 hour bus journey to Alice Springs which was an experience in itself, but not one I'd recommend. If you have the money, fly there! It was from Alice Springs we would do our 1st organised tour - not bad considering how long we'd been away. When walking around Alice you notice and 'buzzing' sound which sounds like an electric hum, this is in fact all the big loud bugs and it then that you are really aware of the climate you are in. Later in our trip we would discover exactly how big these bugs are...

On my insistence, we paid a visit to the Royal Flying Doctors, out of a feeling of nostalgia for another TV show (other than Neighbours and Home and Away) which illustrated to us Brits a bit of the Aussie life. I think it used to be on a Saturday late afternoon? Anyway it was great to see the work the Flying Doctors do.

Our Outback tour lasted 3 days and commenced at 6am the first day, although this was by no means our earliest morning! We visited Kings Canyon, Kata Tijuta ( The Olgas) and of course Uluru. It was great fun despite the distances we drove and we were lucky to have a really good group of people on our tour. We discovered the joys of Goon (dirt cheap cask wine that comes in a cartoon) and taught the Dutch, Belgium and French how to play 21s.

We got to see Uluru at sunset and sunrise which meant getting up at 4:30am when it was still dark! (obviously)



Oh and of course the bugs, here I am happily holding a praying mantis....



....I may have had a few drinks before this was taken.

We came back to Melbourne via Adelaide and this time it was sunny - woo hoo! So we went down to the beach and met some lovely people in the 'Bay Discovery Centre'. I think they were all retired volunteers as they were all a bit older but all of them were really nice, told us loads of stuff and were interested in our visit to Australia.

We spent a couple of nights with Lizzie and Trevor again in Melbourne, it was very kind of them to have us back! So this time we made sure we didn't miss the out on the place where good neighbours become good friends.....



Yes, Ramsay Street! Or 'Pinoak Court' in real life. I think we both got a bit excited being there. Oh and yes, it is smaller in real life than it looks on the TV but then that may have something to do with the fact that there were loads of cars parked on the road while we were there...definitely not enough room for a game of cricket. Oh the things TV makes you believe! But worth the 4 hour round trip anyway!

Big Things

No worries. Those were honestly the first words I heard on stepping off the plane at Melbourne. And we actually did have shrimp on the barbie a few nights back. All the cliches are true! And if you arrived in New South Wales at any point during the heatwave of the last week and a half you would assume that it really is exceptionally sunny every day.

But truth be told it hasn't been sunny all the time we've been here. And I don't think I've said "no worries" once (at least not intentionally. And we have eaten from the kitchen more than the barbeque (though I must point out that there are public berbeques for anyone to use in every single town we've been through, and the councils even employ someone to go around and clean them).

In Melbourne we were fortunate enough to stay with Lizzie, Trevor and their two dogs Cassie and Iggy. Lizzie is my Mum's cousin's daughter. Back when I was at work I was talking with my team as to what relative this family tree connection would be, second cousin, cousin once removed etc etc, but I can't remember what the outcome was or what we decided so I'll leave that one up to you. Whatever Rich was suggesting was probably the wrong one though.

Melbourne has load to see and do, including an ace museum, huge sporting arenas such as the MCG, and the Rod Laver arena which is probably being used right about now for the Australian open, and Botanical Gardens. Every city in the world, Australia especially, has Botanical Gardens. Some are good...and some are not so good, but always being free, they're quite often on our list. Melbourne and Sydney's are great, Brisbane's we weren't so bothered about, Adelaide's we didn't get to see and I think Canberra has replaced every tree in their parks with a memorial.

In 1964, someone selling Bananas in Coffs Harbour, NSW, came up with the idea of constructing a Big Banana outside the plantation to encourage people to stop and buy some. It worked. It also worked in encouraging over 150 more big things to be built, and idiots like me to become a little bit obsessed with seeing and photographing as many of them as possible. It started with Larry the Big Lobster in Kingston SE on the way to Adelaide; it will hopefully end (on this trip) with Big Captain Cook in Cairns.