The oz bit with the mamma! (spot the theme...)

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So, we do the whole airport thing - whicih is nowbecomin a real good thing for me... get to updatethe ever-late journal; take in the comings an goins of others an watch heart-warmin reunions or sad goodbyes... pretty cool places! - separately then meet up at our hostel over in sydders, manly beach!

I'm here after Ma an we find each other wanderin along the vast expanse that is the long thin manly beach... After a WELL cool ferry ride over past the harbour bridge an opera house an away form the huste an bustle of main city sydders i haul my backpack, sweatin like a swetay thing in sweatville, tothe guesthouse, whichis truly the MANKIESTplace i've stayed yet, but close to the beach an with nice staff... guess its holiday season all round! Cannae get used to the its 30odd degrees in winter to me an summer here.... Mental!
So we spend a few days hangin out i manly, goin over an walkin round the opera house, botnaic gardens an over the harbour bridge doin the proper touristy things that are WELL fun around here! Its odd, everyone reckoned i'd not be too keen on the place, but i get good vibes from sydney, so we'll see...

Get in touch wi 2 belginas imet in NZ an we arrange to meet inthe botanics for NYE08. Go there at like 9am an it.is.mobbed! and BOILIN! End up queuin in the sun for like 4 hours, then goin thru bag checks an gettin down to a decent place to see the op house an bridge then hangin out there all day... bit odd, really - we still gotlike 11 hours to go! Now what?!? So we sait an chat an hang out a bit an it feels like a T in the Park wi no actual music or bands.... then the sun goes down an the bots wi their crazy lights float around for a bit, the mini display's oin at 9 an we hace a few vinos before seein the actual stuff... WOW! Total lifelong ambition sylee thing as we watch the firewaork over the actual sydney harbourbridge... Pretty cool! Head back on the ferry to the stinkpit, sorry guesthouse, then have a few dyas beachin it around manly an over to palm beach, aka home an away beach. Pretty class, they even got a wee "lifeguard on duty: A stewart" sign... Now, anyone who knows mum will no daoubt realise she goes well mental at this bit an we all do the crazy touristy pics for a bit... Had a well fab esxplore an saw some of the weeer an funner bitsif syddrs: Deewhy beach is well nice, great views from the clifftop walk but i SWEAR the number of bloody golf courses ruinin the oz scenery is CRAZY! (see the first of a SQUAGILLION here, an t becomes my bigbear!) Bloody game! a, its crap; b, it ruins the local lands and c, its crap! Anyhoo, in Oz,ao who gives a monkey's bum?!?

Head down to the lvely, smaller an a bit more chilled ot an groovy melbourne where we check out the harbour, theatrey bit am stay in a fab wee guesthouse in poshvilee, i.i. suoth yarr... Get RIGHT into the trams in melbourne - they even got a free and GODD tourist tram to take ya around! Its well funny to sit on, FULL of swaety tourists lookin confused, ah we fit right in!

Headed from there over to Uluru (ayers rock) an the Katajutas (olgas) for a few days... now THAT was proper hot! We nearly baked to death just walkin from one side of the complex to the other! We wanted proper oz, we got it! ed sand, boilin weather an a bloody big rock! The one thign i wasn't keen on s the total monopoly that the one resorthas outhere - all very self-comtained, but we managed to find a pro-green tour - with a WELL dishy colin farrell-alike, oh yes laides! as our guide... yum! So we went out an mum did the bus tour as i walked around the rock. It is well coll! got to do sunrise brekkie an saw some fab colours as the suncame up, then got a bitof the dremtime stories an maori background an geology as we walked round... Well cool! I had to cave an buy a well dafy straw cowboy hat to stop me dyin off oot here (but it only lasted this part of the trip; now i got a floopy hippyesque, fit RIGHT in in Byron number...)an thank godi did! Oh and the flies! wow! TheyLOVe ya out here! at first i was woinderin what the hell the metalists wi the nets on their heeds were up to... 10 minutes later i was askin where they got them from... i swear ya never saw anythin like it in yer life! It was crazy!

Met a lovelygal from england who lives out here now at the pool - ah, it is lovely to have a ppool here! an chatted wiher for a bitthen the next day i got up an had a swim then we went to the katajutas, the 30odd big pebbles all in one bit... That is well stunnin! The uluru thing makes yafeel evry humble, an it is HUGE foir one big rock, but it is just that realyy, er, a big rock! The kats ahve all these crazy factets an random trees growinan WELL cool wee tracks of geckos an stufff in a wavy line wi little circles in threes where their feet go... I seem to have developed a bitof an obsession with reptiles whilst outhere in oz, not quitesure why but they INTRIGUE mE! Gorgeous things when ya get up close!

So we did that at sunset then had bubbles as the sun went down, an off backto sydders the next day to get sorted then see mum off at the airport... uite sad actually. As much as igot used to doin it all on myown i kinda got used tohavin her around too. Strange to have someone form the past work an regular stuff life here in the present TOTSALLY different places an people an me, i guess. Been great fun! So say bye an i run off before i start mytypical facial leakage... back to sydney an itsthe proper aloneness now! Met a fab gorl Nore afrom Paris i the hostel here tho, so we get chattin an now she an claire from later adventures an i are the sydders gals... crazy travelbuds!

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