Oz : Sydney

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Finally got online to write my final Australia entry. For those who don't know, I've changed my plans around and going to be back in good old blighty for Christmas. Good job really, as I'm way over budget having done everything I wanted to already. Nearly everything anyway, the rest is coming up in New Zealand.

Anyway, I arrived in Sydney on 25th November and stayed until 1st December, in Bondi beach of all places. It was gloriously sunny the day after I arrived, which meant Bondi was awash with surfers - there were hundreds of them in the water! Thought about trying surfing but given that I wasn't going to invest a lot of time in it, I suspected I'd just end up looking stupid and breaking something - I'll stick to diving and snorkelling.

Sadly the sun didn't last. The following day the heavens opened and it pretty much stayed cold and bleak for 4 days after that. In a show of British determination I didn't let that stop me though, and ploughed on with the traditional tourist attractions I'd come to see.

Opera House: Smaller than I expected. Great seen from a distance but get up close and it looks a bit dated. Good point at which to enter the Royal Botanical Gardens and have a wander round though, whilst all the city types jog around you. See photo.

Harbour Bridge: Became the 1,xxx,xxx person to climb the bridge so no great claim there, but it is a pretty good view from the top. On booking I asked if there were any weather conditions under which they'd cancel the climb, to which the agent answered "only 200kph winds or electrical storms". You can imagine how uncomfortable I felt when I saw a flash of lightning just as we reached the bridge's apex, can't you! Thankfully it didn't get any closer and we just got rained on instead. Woohoo!

Manly Beach: Took the ferry to Manly, mainly so I could see the harbour from the river without paying extortionate prices for a cruise. Manly is quite a nice place though, and another good beach. Very similar to Bondi but not as commercial.

Sydney Zoo: Always a good place to go when it's raining, and this one didn't dissapoint. Not as big as Chester but it's got all the essential ingredients, with the Aussie twist. Koalas, Kangaroos, Possums, Wallabies, etc. They do a great bird flight show too, with eagles and the like flying really close over the audience's heads.

Sydney Aquarium: Fantastic! SO much to see and arguably the most impressive shark aquarium in the world, barring the open sea. A must-see if you're here and it's right in the middle of the city, on Darling harbour.

That's pretty much my Sydney entry done. Late I know, but I'm going to get straight into the New Zealand one now. I've put some more pictures on here, some from the Whitsundays and a couple from Sydney.

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Photos

Whitehaven beach
The most photographed place in Australia, apparently.

Whitsunday sunset
I know, I'm blocking the view.

Sydney Harbour
This view is from the Royal botanical gardens. I've walked to the top of the bridge, where the two flags are.