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Published: February 25th 2008
Early Monday morning Kathryn dropped us off at the Gold Coast airport and we caught a plane to Sydney (about 1 and a half hours flight).
John and Rona were waiting for us at the airport and we drove up the coast and stopped at Coogee beach. It was a beautiful beach and we had a walk around the bay before finding an appropriate place for lunch. Before we left Rona and I were determined to have a paddle in the sea. I was reluctant to leave the area and would have loved to have spent more time by the sea.
Once again we relied on Rona’s excellent navigational skills to get to our destination which was the Oaks Gainsborough Hotel in Darling Harbour. It was a great location with good facilities.
After a quick change in the hotel we were out again to explore the city. We all decided the monorail was the best and fastest way to get around. Once by the harbour side we booked on a happy hour cruise. A good decision as in about 1 and a half hours we got to see most of the key sites in Sydney including the Opera House
and the Harbour bridge. That night we had dinner in China town and later David and I stayed up to have a late drink by the harbour side.
Thanks to Rona packing “all but the kitchen sink” we were able to have breakfast in our apartment before navigating our way out of Sydney bound for Canberra. Sydney is a fascinating city, well worth a visit. Obviously we would have loved more time but we will return on our next visit to Oz.
We made a few stops on our way to Canberra and saw a typical old Aussie town where we stopped for lunch.
Before they took us to their home John drove through Canberra to show us some sites. It was good to finally see where John and Rona live after all these years. That night we ate at the local Thai house- delicious food and a good bottle of Taylors wine picked from Johns cellar.
The next day John was determined to take us up Mount Taylor (which is just behind their house). We had to drag David out because he had started to repair their decking- think he is missing work! It was good
to stride out and breathe in the fresh Canberra air (much less humid than Queensland). We even saw some wild kangaroos on the way up.
We had lunch at the Botanical gardens and then a wonder around enjoying the wildlife and the plants. Then a short drive across to the Australian war memorial, a fascinating yet emotional experience especially the Victoria Cross section.
That night John wanted to show us something different so we left David on the internet to find an appropriate restaurant. He picked out an Australian restaurant called Iron Bark. We had excellent food- John had the Tasmanian Possum stew and I had a skewer of Croc, Emu and Roo for starters!! The Kangaroo was especially tasty!
Later on we had a drink in the A Verb bar and to John and Rona’s surprise we found ourselves on the next table to the Australian leader of the opposition party, Brendon Nelson!
The next day it took us about 3 hours to get back to Sydney on the greyhound bus. It was comfortable and roomy so I managed to have a little snooze whilst David watched Harry Potter on DVD.
That evening we had
a short flight back to the Gold Coast where Kathryn and Sonny were waiting for us. It was good to see them again. It almost felt like coming home breathing in the Queensland humid air.
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Jean and Brian
non-member comment
give our love to John and family
Hi Beryl and David what a wonderful time you are having it was lovely to see John again please give him my love (from jean ) and all the best from Brian The photos are great thanks for sending me your blog Beryl have a wonderfyul time and much love to Kathryn and Sonny see you when you get back Love Jean and Brian xxx