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So we made it to Oz and its half way through our trip now which is pretty scary as it only feels like we've been away a couple of weeks. Of course we are missing you guys a wee bit, NOT!!
Anyway we landed in Sydney and spent a few days there checking out the tourist must sees. The Opera House was pretty cool and at that point it sunk in that we were in Oz, til then it just seemed like we were still in NZ. We heard that the Opera House was a bit grubby so decided to go there in the evening and take some photos then, after half an hour messing with our cameras we finally figured out how to get the night setting on so took loads of pictures, then sat on the subway on the way home having to delete all the rubbish pics we'd taken first!! Got a few goodies of the bridge and opera house so Dave you can see what you missed (other than you're darling lil sis!). On our second day it was anzac day which is kinda like a remembrance day for aussies and new zealanders so everyone has
the day off, goes to the pub and play 2up. We decided to embrace the aussie culture and went down the pub too although we chose not to play 2up as the stakes were too large for us backpacking paupers! In fairness i wanted to go in for a $100 bet but the girls decided it was a tad risky to bet 2 days budget on what is basically a game of heads and tails - good thinking girls! Also all the servicemen were out in their uniforms... however it was more Forrest Gump than Officer and a Gentlemen unfortunately!!
The day after we had planned to do some sights but the weather wasn't so good so we decided to give the sky tower the swerve as all we would see is fog and we could see that in England if we wanted! so we ended up just having a wander around Hyde park and the Cathedral and popped into a few shops to ogle clothes we cant afford!
Due to the weather we decided to head back to the hostel and have a little sauna and swim before heading out on the tiles again. Went to a
few bars before finding some decent music and had a little dance off, its amazing how good a dancer you feel after a few drinks - i thought i was john travolta!!
So the next day was a right off really as we had two days worth of hangovers but we did manage to rent a new car and managed a free upgrade, the bitchmobile is a mitsibishi sedan with leather interior and a cd player so unlike our nz rental this one does go uphill and we don't have to listen to our reggae tape anymore!! However the best part is that it has cruise control which come in handy as guessing by our speeding ticket they're pretty hot of that here!! Yep three weeks driving in NZ and we got a bl**dy ticket, we suspect it was when Jem went speeding passed the copper in Waitomo - wise move!
After Sydney we headed down South to Melbourne as we'd met a few people on our travels from Melbourne who said we should go there first. It was a bit on the chilly side but in my opinion a nicer city in general than Sydney but without
the famous landmarks, well other than Neighbours. Yes we did the extremely tacky Neighbour tour of Ramsay st and considering it was early morning after a night out i was less than impressed, Jem however who's revealed she's a closet Neighbours fan loved it!
Although sunbathing wasn't an option we popped down to St Kilda beach and had a little wander down the pier which was nice and gave you a great view of Melbourne.
After Melbourne we headed back up to the blue mountains which are just outside Sydney, arriving quite late at our hostel we were a tad put off by the resemblance to the hotel in The shining but as it was only one night we stayed anyway and just prayed we would wouldn't meet with jonny! the next day we put on our old trusty walking boots (well i did, the girls sent theirs home to make room in backpack for billabong purchases) and headed to the mountain to do a trek. The trek consisted of a cable car across a gorge then a trek down the Giant staircase - not the best idea given my still pained knee.. 861 step later we wandered/hobbled
to the train which shot you back up to the top at about 100mph on an angle of 80 degrees - quite fun although i didn't feel incredibly secure with just a plastic string to keep me from falling out.
After our one bit of excercise for the month we headed back to sydney for one more day - this time staying in Bondi to appreciate the beach area of Sydney, wasn't quite warm enough for swimming so we just lay like beach bums toasting our little selves!
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Don and janet
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Aussie
So you have arrived in the great land of Aussie - its one of out ticks in the box to do but don't think e will make it - too long a flight for herself! Green with envy! Very glad to see you are all enjoying it - wonderful experience. Looking forward to your nex blog. Keep them coming. Love us to you.