The blue mountains, Billgola and palm beach

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We arrived in Sydney a little bit dazed and confused after our Goa-Bangalore, Bangalore-Singapore, Singapore-Sydney flight. I didn't know where or when we were. The multiple glasses of red wine probably didn't help matters but hey, its free right? The other very confusing thing was that it was raining. Rain in Australia?! Not just that but miserable grey spitting rain, it was like they were trying to make us feel at home.

In our confused state it was very welcome to be greeted at the airport by my cousin who was very kind in putting us up during our brief visit to Oz. After a dip in the pool, a gorgeous home cooked roast and a few glasses (bottles) of wine we crashed and tried to adjust to the time difference.

The next few days were spent exploring what Sydney has to offer. Being driven around sightseeing made our lives a lot easier and we got a trip to the Blue Mountains, Billgola and Palm beaches.

The Blue Mountains are so called due to the vapour that comes off the eucalyptus trees, giving the whole mountains a blue tinge. We drove up to the lookout point at the three sisters rocks and had a buffet lunch in the revolving restaurant. The views of the mountains are stunning and as it was a hot day it was nice to escape the heat. We got to see an aboriginal busker playing the digeridoo and using a boomerang as percussion. You just cant get more Australian than that. I was also treated to a giant spider which I ran away from and Steve stopped to take pictures of. As you do.

Speaking of spiders we asked our hosts Jools and Larry just how bad the spider situation was in Sydney. Larry decided to find us a red back so that we knew what to look out for. I didn't realise just how common these spiders are as he found us five just in the garage and back garden. So now I know. They are quite small but pretty fierce looking and the venom will only kill you if you are a small child or elderly person. For an adult it will just make you very sick. I wasn't going to take my chances so i got out of there pretty quick.

I did get the pleasure of seeing a huntsman but only in a zoo. After seeing it I was extremely glad that I hadn't come across one in the house as I would not have coped very well. They are the spiders that nightmares are made of. Completely harmless but they are huge hairy monsters and I hope never to have to see one again in my life.

Another day trip was spent at Billgola and Palm beaches. One look at the sea at Billgola and there was no chance of me getting in it. The waves were HUGE! I had also read in the paper of shark attacks around Sydney so there was no chance of getting me in there. the kids didn't care of course and went running in getting knocked over by almost all of the waves and having a great time.

We moved on to Palm beach which is best known for being the setting for Home and Away. We took a really nice picnic which we had just set up when the clouds came over and again it started to rain. Just like at home. We packed up and got in the car but steve was a true tourist and took pictures despite the weather. We also took a drive to see some aboriginal rock art and took a walk through the woods.

The rest of the time was spent playing with the kids in the pool and catching up with the family and we had a great time. Thanks Jools and Larry x

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