OZ here I am - first Sydney

---

I left Singapore for Sydney in the new king of the sky in passenger travel: an Airbus A380. This airplane has two floors over the entire length of the plane. It was impressive and comfortable!

I arrived in Sydney in early morning and had booked ahead a backpacker hostel for a couple of nights. I was sharing a 4-bed dorm room with 3 other guys: another Dutch, a French and an Indian guy. Since I didn't sleep much on the plane, the first day was mostly relaxing and sleeping. On the second day I went sightseeing with a walk around town. I met my friend Sandy in the morning for coffee. She lives in Sydney and showed me around the Opera House and botanical gardens. It was only a short visit, because she just gave birth to her second child but it was nice to meet.
That day I walked and walked, and did the main sights, like the famous Opera House. I also crossed -on foot- the enormous Harbour Bridge, the tallest steel arch bridge in the world. The views from the bridge are amazing. It is possible to climb all the way to the top on a tour, but I only went up on one of the brick towers, which was good enough for me :-)

Sydney also has a beautifully restored quarter called "The Rocks", which is at the foot of the Harbour bridge on the south side. Old 19-century buildings are restored and turned into shops, restaurants, cafes and apartments. Very nice to walk around.

Unfortunately, that first day was the most of Sydney I have seen so far. After that, it started raining continuously for 3 days. On one of the rainy days, I went to Manly, a beach and suburb in the Northeast, together with my Dutch and Indian roommates. The weather was not good, but we went anyway. Despite the weather, the surfing, where Australia is famous for, was still on. I'll come back to explore more of Sydney and the surroundings before flying to New Zealand in March. And I'll have plenty of chances to see more surf in action as I'm renting a car in Sydney, and driving it all the way up North along the east coast to Cairns; about 2500km! I have about a month to do it, so no rush!

---

Photos

St Mary's Cathedral
Hyde Park fountain in the front