And back to 30 degree weather!

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Feels a bit strange that 15 hours ago we were wearing jeans, shoes and jackets and then getting off the plane in Sydney it was instantly back to our flip flops and shorts, and almost like we never left! Our flight was full again, but it was surprisingly one of the better flights we have had and we both even managed to get some sleep which rarely happens for us on planes. Might have had something to do with how exhausted we were at the end of the trip, and the colds we had both managed to come down with and therefore the cold medication on the flight helped. But it seemed to go faster than the flight there, so there were no complaints from us. We were surprised to see the flight almost completely full again, and when we were talking to the woman at the check in counter in Vancouver, she said they fly everyday to Sydney and every flight is almost full. Might have something to do with the fact that it is summer down under right now, while it is winter back in Vancouver.

We picked up our rental car from the Sydney airport to head back down to Wollongong, which worked out cheaper than taking the shuttle since there was 2 of us. It was great to see the sun and feel the warm weather again, and we picked up our truck at Brett's cousins and our caravan which we had stored at a storage yard, and it was back to the caravan park in Shellharbour that we had stayed at before we went back to Vancouver in November. It is really busy since it is school holidays for the month of January, so the park is full and lots of kids. We spent the rest of the first day setting up and cleaning up the caravan which somehow got pretty dusty in the last 6 weeks. We spent the next couple days sorting our bags and clothes out, transferring the winter clothes back into our luggage, and summer clothes back into the caravan. Who knew we had so much stuff?? Still not a lot compared to what we would have if we had a house, but when you are living in 14 feet, you don't have much room!

Our friend Tarra who is living in Melbourne and her friend Cortney who was visiting for 3 weeks from Vancouver drove up for a 5 day visit with us, and it was great to see some familiar faces since we got used to having friends around back in Vancouver. We spent the first couple days around Shellharbour and Wollongong, with a trip up the coast to the Scarborough Pub along Sea Cliff Drive. We also spent 2 days and a night in Sydney where I met up with a work contact I have about a few projects that are coming up which will be great, and also showing Cortney the sights. We hit all the usual spots - Bondi Beach, Watsons Bay, the Gap (the park, not the store), Darling Harbour, a ferry ride to Balmain and Cockatoo Island, Circular Quay, the Opera House and the Rocks. So we managed to cram quite a lot in! And no sightings of Prince William who is in town at the moment. The weather was perfect, sunny and about 28 degrees. We were loving it. By the time we got back to Shellharbour the next day we were all pooped and had and early night. We spent the last day with Tarra and Cortney before they headed back down to Melbourne at the beach in front of the caravan park relaxing and even saw a little turtle in the water and a little penguin. The water temperature is great, must be about 22 degrees.

Now we are just planning our next steps... or kilometres...

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