Dec 17th - Dec 18th - Days 31 and 32 And so with a twinge of saddness I headed to Brisbane airport and the monster journey back to England. Said my goodbyes to Tim and Hels and headed for my plane to Sydney and the first leg of my journey. All went well really, bags checked through to London in Brisbane so that was one hassle removed and even cricket to watch in Sydney International. The flight also went okay, long and boring, interrupted at regular intervals by food and drink breaks. First stop Singapore, to refuel and change a few [View Full Entry]

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Dec 16th - Day 30 Headed back to Brisbane today to spend my last full day/night with Tim and Hels. The journey went smoothly and but for a little confusion at Brisbane airport met up with Tim and Hels no worries. It was really nice to see them again, and it seems like ages since I was last here. It was also good to catch up on news of Simon and Lisa who as we speak were cruising down the east coast in their newly acquired camper van, with Simon living the life of a true sufer dude. We headed into [View Full Entry]

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Dec 15th - Day 29 Woke up this morning with shopping in mind. Not my favourite thing but had to be done, and in the end wasn't that painful. Across the road from the hotel is the famous Paddy's Markets and this was crammed with all manner of souvenir stalls. So with most shopping done headed to Pitt Street to see what the malls had to offer. These were mostly regulat shops so I found myself back at the markets several more times during the day. Shopping all but done, decided to investigate the aquarium in Darling Harbour. It had been [View Full Entry]

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Dec 14th - Day 28 Headed back down to the Circular Quay again today on route to the ferry to Manly. It was a beautiful day and the ferry was full of youngsters on their way to the beach. So along with the crowds first stop was the beach itself. It was quite a long sweeping beach and by the time I got there, there wasn't a lot of free sand. Had a bit of a paddle, wasn't that warm, and a people watch. It's good to see that the bikini is as popular as ever, and for the ladies its [View Full Entry]

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Dec 13th - Day 27 I realised (with a slight panic) today that I had so much to see and so little time, so with that in mind I strode along Pitt Street on route to Circular Quay and the ferry to Taronga Zoo. The ferry was just a hop really, but it was good to get on the water and see the harbour from a different perspective. The zoo itself was quite large and sprawling and had a good collection of animals, but, some of the cages were a bit small for the number and types of animal in them. [View Full Entry]

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Dec 12th - Day 26 Woke up very excitesd today with the thoughts of climbing the harbour bridge. The day was lousy, very overcast and dreary. But headed towards the Rocks with a spring in my step, and soon arrvied, very early for my climbing slot. Also caught my first glimpse of the bridge and the opera house, which was also very exciting. Even on such a dreary day both sights were incredible to see. Then into the bridge climb office, through to the briefing room and beyond. We had to put on natty grey jump suits and harness belts and [View Full Entry]

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Dec 11th - Day 25 Had booked the Skylink shuttle to the airport and this got me there with plenty of time to spare. The flight to Sydney passed in no time and before I knew it I was on a train bound for the centre of the city. It was then a short walk to the edge of Chinatown and my hotel. The room was quite small and a little cell like, but home for 5 nights, and was okay really. Sydney is the home to the dreaded funnel web, so as long as this stays away then I'm happy [View Full Entry]

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DEc 10th - Day 24 A leisurely start to the day, fully emmersing myself into the Aussie Sunday. A slow start followed by a coffee and croissant and a read of the local paper. A former shark attack victim, well it is Australia, had advised a recent victim to get back out surfing. Bit difficult with only one leg. The previous victim had lost an arm and was now a champion surfer. The took the time to better explore the Botanic Gardens, which was nice and also included a rest under a tree and a chapter of my book. It wasn't [View Full Entry]

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Dec 9th - Day 23 Another very hotday to day, touching 41 degrees, so it was with some trepidation that I hit the city. First stop coffee and a muffin, followed by a walking tour of the city sights. Most of these were based along the North Terrace and included the art gallery and museum. All very grand buildings. Its quite ironic that South Australia is the driest state yet it is full of fountains and green parkland. I guess the city is an oasis of sorts, but with water being so scarce are people really facing the problems? Continued my [View Full Entry]

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Dec 8th - Day 22 After breakfast and another chat with my new friend I set off in the direction of Adelaide. It was going to be 38 degrees today so was keen to get moving before it got too hot. Again the drive was quite boring, miles of straight roads with very few towns to break the monotomy. Approached Adelaide and started to follow the signs to the airport, which usefully diasappeared as I neared the city centre. Luckily my preparations had included a mapand I managed to work my way through the outskirts and back onto track. Ha! On [View Full Entry]

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