It's goodbye from Sydney and Goodbye from Me

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G'Bye Sydney (as the locals might say).

Tomorrow I'm off to the West to Melbourne, home of trams and cafes.

It's a long entry this one so settle back with a cup of coffee!

Had an adventurous couple of days in the Blue Mountains. Had an early wake up call on Wednesday at 6am to catch the bus at 8.05am. Got there and found that the tour company knew nothing of my booking so me and another girl got chaffuered driven by the owner in his landrover instead of the mini-coach. The Blue Mountains are so called due to the sun reflecting off the eucalptys vapour and producing a blue smog.

The views all around were spectacular. At one point called Echo point there is a Wildnerness for 100km+ as it's not allowed to be built on due to the World Heritage status. After lunch in Blackheath (named after the place in England) went on a 3 hour trek through the Grand Canyon. It was led by the owners father in law who lived in the area and a proper Aussie. We climbed down 200m and more (which later we had to go back up!). There were paths but a bit scary walking along. Most of the time was spent looking down to see what we were going to trip or slip over next. We were completely in the wilderness and it was so peaceful. The air really gets down into your lungs. In the grand Canyon is were the forest meets the rain forest. After a lot of sweating and panting to get back up to the top (get those dirty images out of your mind now!) went to the hostel which was absolutely beautiful and had a good evening with some other Brit backpackers (which I'll come on to later!).

The next day I did a cliff walk called the Prince Henry Walk. It took you right around the edge and was about 3km long. This time there were proper paths and barriers to keep you in at certain hairy moments. Walked to Echo Point (also known as Tourist ville) where I had to stop myself from laughing at some of the tat that was being sold. Walked round a bit further to some waterfalls/cascades, got there just as the big red london bus that takes tourists around turned up.

Today I went up the Pylon lookout on the Harbour bridge and had a look around the museum that tells the story of how and why the bridge was built. This is the cheaper way to get on the bridge, the other way to go on it is to do a bridge climb which costs $189. Walked across it and sat in a park underneath the North Side. The North of Sydney isnt featured on any maps in the tourists guide. Back off to the hostel in a moment to pack my bags and finish up my food.

So what happened on Wednesday with nthe Brit backpackers I hear you cry (or not). Wed marked the official 20th anniversary episode of Neighbours. I know I was in some beautiful scenery but 1. It was dark so couldnt see it at 6.30pm and 2. I was knackered. Some of the old cast came back for a street party and at the end there was a video that had some other cast member acting as their character and saying why they loved Ramsey Street. All throughout the video we were going 'Isnt that...' and 'OMG thats...' and 'Do you remember..' I wont spoil it for you who's on it.

Well must dash things to cook and pack

Karen

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