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!