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Published: February 16th 2008
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Having been in Sydney earlier on our trip it was weird to come back to the same place again, almost like we were coming home as we already knew our way around. Flying in from Alice into Sydney we went from 40c down to 23c, so we had to find those jumpers which were buried at the bottom of the backpack!
We stayed in Manly, a beach resort 30 minutes by ferry from Sydney centre, and also where we spent Christmas day a month earlier. We met Elaine's parents the following day at the airport and it was great to catch up after 4 months away, and hear about what is happening back in good 'ole Blighty. We acted as tour guides round the city, re-visiting the places we enjoyed, such as the Botanical Gardens, Circular Quay and The Rocks. It was also nice to relax in Manly, especially as the apartment block we were in had a pool and great sea views!!! To get to the city we got to enjoy the great ferry ride through the harbour up to Circular Quay. The ferry was always packed no matter what time of the day we used it and its
not only used by tourists but also commuters... what a great way to travel to work compared to sitting in the traffic in London!!
One thing we missed out on the first time in Sydney was the Harbour Bridge climb, we plucked up the courage (OK, I plucked up the courage by Simon dragging me along!!!) and did the 3 hour climb across with spectacular views of the city. They dressed us up in jump suits and harnessed us up to the safety wire as we made our way across the mesh floor under the bridge. The most difficult part was up the vertical stairs, next to the traffic whizzing past your head, to the bottom of the arch, as once we were up the stairs it was really wide and you couldn't really see straight down... the only problem was that we had to go back down the stairs to get back!!!! We made it and it was definitely worth climbing even though my legs were shaking by the end! It's just a shame you can't take anything up there with you, so no photos other than the ones you can buy in the gift shop afterwards.
On the 26th January it was Australia Day where a whole host of activities were taking part in the city, ending in another fireworks display in Darling Harbour. We joined in the day by purchasing some Aussie flags and enjoyed another picnic in the park. We watched the boat races in the harbour, and in the evening met up with friends, Martyn and Alison, to see the fireworks, which were good but nothing compared to New Years Eve. It was good to be there to see how they celebrate Australia Day. There was one strange moment when a plane flew over the harbour and wrote 'Sorry' in the sky with smoke... it took a while to work out that it was all part of the new government's promise to say sorry to the Aboriginal people for past atrocities, although not a lot was made of it from what we saw that day, as other than the writing in the sky, there was nothing else around the city.
The penultimate day before we left we enjoyed a great evening cruise around the harbour, with a lovely meal. We met up for drinks to say goodbye to Martyn and Alison beforehand,
with the confirmation paper in our hand that said we could board from 7pm for a 7:30pm departure... a few drinks later as it was approaching 7pm as we slowly wandered round, standing outside the terminal saying goodbye... only to find out that they were just closing up and about to leave! A rushed goodbye to Martyn and Alison and the boat practically sailed off as soon as we set foot on it! It turned out to be a very good evening, though it was very unbackpacker-ish which we enjoyed for one night!
We're sad to leave Sydney, and Australia after our 2 months stay, it is so easy to see why people decide to stay longer, the Aussies are really friendly, everywhere on the coast has superb beaches, the cities are great to walk around, and you are never too far from a good cold beer. We will miss the heat and sun although it did rain a bit at times (serves us right for going in the wet season!!). We'll also miss the Kookaburras laughing in the morning and the chance to see more Koala's. We managed to see 2 wild Koala's while we were in Oz
and as at lot of Australians have apparently not seen one as they are so rare, we were really lucky.
However, we did miss out on a bit of culture... if it is over 100 years then it is ancient here. What great culture they do have with the Aboriginal history is impossible to get to know, as part of their culture is to keep the stories and ways of life to themselves. They can only past the stories down from children to children, which is a shame for us as we would really like to know more.
We said a sad goodbye to Elaine's parents who left a few hours before us to fly of to Melbourne for a few days and then on to Perth for their Oz adventures. We now head off to New Zealand, or Middle Earth for Lord of the Rings fans, neither of us know too much about New Zealand but hopefully it will be full of adventure!!!!
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Mum and Dad
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Thank you
We can't tell you how much we enjoyed our stay in Sydney with you, thanks for letting us be part of your round the world trip. Stay safe and enjoy the rest of your adventures. Love Mum and Dad.xx