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Published: November 6th 2007
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Sydney
We arrived in Sydney and at the airport called around various hostels to try and find some work for accomodation. We finally got lucky and found work at Base Sydney setting up breakfast in the morning from 7 - 11. Base was an awful hostel, it was filthy and the only reason we stayed there was because it was free. The staff were so disorganised and every morning we had to run to the shops because they hadn't ordered any food. The rest of the day was ours and we visited the Sydney Opera house and the famous harbour bridge. This area was called Circular Quay and was very beautiful with street entertainers and a guy playing a digeridoo with a mixer. We visited the many districts of Sydney including Chinatown, The Rocks, Darling Harbour, Kings Cross and Manly. Kings Cross is the backpackers area of Sydney and here we met Kelvin one of Lee's friends and Yana and went to a club called Lincoln followed by Favela. We visited Manly for the day and went to the beach which was so beautiful. We also did a cruise along sydney harbour and visited the observation tower at sunset for
a great view over the city. On the 28th of Septemeber Lee, Sams brother, came from London to visit. He picked us up from our hostel with Kelvin and we stayed at his for the next few days. It was fantastic to see him after being away from home for over 6 months now. That day we went straight to Bondi Beach where Lee and Kelvin hit the surf whilst we relaxed and watched them. We also visited Bronte and Coogee beach that day. At Bronte we had a huge burger followed by ice creams at Coogee. They had lots of unusual flavours including ferrero roche - It was gorgeous!! That evening we met Yana from work and went for a drink. The following day we went for brunch at east ocean and had dim sum. Its where they bring round lots of dishes for you to try including lots of things we had never had before. The restaurant was full of chinese locals (majority of the population in Sydney) and we were the only tourists which must have been a good thing. It was delicious!! That afternoon we went to Toronga zoo where we see a great bird show
and lots of kangeroos, koalos and other australian animals. That evening we went to the sydney opera house and watched The Gondeliers in the main opera theatre. It was a fantastic show and the first time we have ever seen opera. We got to see the opera house and the harbour bridge lit up at night and they looked magnificent. The next day we went to Bondi beach and had thai lunch and that evening went to the Parklife after party at the pavillion. It was a really good night. The following day we went to Tarama beach and did the coastal walk to Coogee which was beautiful. In the evening Kelvin's flat mate Bree cooked us vegetarian casserole which was delicious.
From Sydney we rented a car and drove to the Blue Mountains. We visited Wentworth Falls and had a picnic. From there we went to Katoomba where we viewed the three sisters. We walked down the great stairwell and onto one of the three sisters rocks with amazing views of the Blue Mountains. We then took the scenic route home via orchards and some great view points. That night we had our last dinner with Kelvin, said
goodbye and left for Newcastle.
Newcastle - Port Maquerie - Coffs Harbour
When we arrived in Newcastle we played water volleyball with the local Australians at the hostel. They were really friendly and it was great fun. We visitied a couple of the beaches including Nobby's beach and had some great sandwiches. We then left Newcastle for Port Macquarrie. In Port Macquarrie we visited the koala hospital. Here there were lots of koalas that had been brought in mostly because of bushfires and road accidents. We see a koala being tagged in surgery so the hospital could keep an eye on him. The koalas were treated very well, they were looked after until they got better then released back into the wild unless they were unable to look after themselves. We then left Port Macquarrie for Coffs Harbour. At Coffs Harbour we rented a canoe from our hostel and canoed down the river nearby. It was beautiful views but hardwork. It was a threeman canoe and we kept zig-zagging down the river so in the end Lee took over and Sam and Sam watched him do all the hard work! We then walked to Mutton Bird Island which
is a great viewing point to watch for whales. Unfortunately we didnt get to see any but we did see great views over Coffs Harbour. We left Coffs Harbour to go to Byron Bay.
Byron Bay - Surfer's Paradise
We arrived in Byron Bay with no accomodation booked. It was Saturday night and almost everywhere was full. We ended up staying in the Arts factory, all in seperate rooms. That night we watched the Oz v England rugby game in a local bar. There were more English there than aussies. We won that night and the aussies left, their heads held low. Byron Bay is the most easterly point in Australia so we walked to this point where we could see beaches either side of us. There was also a light house and it was really windy it was hard to stay standing. Our hostel the Arts factory was a cool hostel, we were sleeping in our own island hut. They also had huge tee-pees to sleep in with bunk beds made from tree branches. We visited the bar onsite called the Buddha bar and see fire and talent shows. Whilst in Byron we visited the beach but
several afternoons there were huge thunderstorms. One afternoon it was so bad there were hailstones like we have never seen before they were huge! In Byron Bay we said goodbye to Lee who was off to Noosa and Fraser Island. We stayed in Byron a while longer and did a surf lesson whislt we were there. On the day of our lesson the surf was really good but too strong for us to learn in. We had an old guy teahcing us and he suggested going to this creek. We thought he was off is rocker at first as there were no waves to be seen but soon enough like he said waves appeared and they were really good. We had a lot of fun surfing and we managed to stand up no problem. From Byron we travelled to Surfers Paradise. We didnt realise until we were there but at the same time we were in Surfers it was indy weekend. The biggest weekend of the year there. We stayed at a really nice hostel withour own tv and en-suite bathroom. We had some really nice girls in our room which always makes a place nicer and went on a
plan B party tour. We visited 6 different bars and clubs with a free drink in each. It was really cheesy and we had to wear stickers, red or green to say yes or no. We were also given nuts and bolts and we had to see if they would fit together. Despite the cheesiness it was a fun night. In surfers we went to the beach which was beautiful and went shopping for those must have boardies. We then left surfers to go to Brisbane.
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Mum J
non-member comment
Beautiful Country!
Hi Sam and Sam What a wonderful time you are having. Really good photos again girls! It just makes me want to go to all these places. I would have loved to see the koalas in the hospital, they're so cute. Bring one home please! Really glad Lee came out to see you and so good to know you're both doing fine. Look after each other. Lots of love Mum J XXXX