Green, Green Grass of Home

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It was a 5 hour flight to Sydney on Jetstar (Qantas’s budget airline). It was an easy flight as we had seats either side of us free, but you know how it is with night flights, decent sleep rarely comes, after dinner and a film there was little time left anyway. But it was definitely one of the flights where you wake up and you have dribbled on your own shoulder. Besides that, we had a rather late one the night before, thanks to Bali Hai and a Balinese Elvis impersonator.

So we arrived in Sydney around 7am feeling tired. We waited another 1 hour for our oversized luggage to come through (surfboards), and then we joined the chaotic queue to pass through customs and immigration. This wasn’t really a queue, more a disorganised pushing-in frenzy by Japanese travellers (If only we had pretended to be a couple of whales then we would have had some attention). Customs in Australia are seriously strict, they are extremely concerned (…..?paranoid) that travellers may bring in some parasite/disease/pest that is highly infectious and destroy their island. The fact that our male, long haired travelling friend has more parasites then they have definitions for, we were in for the long haul. They were searching everyone, thoroughly, along with the Spanish inquisition about what you are carrying. We sighed in dismay at the further delay and worried that the custom people would not have enough disinfectant to remove the numerous Smith diseases.

We knew that poor Geraint was waiting the other side and hoped he had not given up on us. Then we had a stroke of luck. A lady with the authority to provide us with a little green stamp that would enable us to pass through the queue without being searched thought we looked safe (How? with that haircut) and plucked us out and gave us a get out of jail free card, we were out of there, passing a little smug grin to all the others still in the queue as went.

Geraint had been waiting for us for over 2 hours, he was 6ft 3in when he started, and now he had to take out a mortgage for the car park fee and had shares in MacDonalds coffee. He later told us that too much coffee doesn’t really agree with him, which explains why he was doing cartwheels across the floor when we met got in the arrivals lounge (He was feeling kind of seasick…. as well… but that is another story). I had never met Geraint and Stu hadn’t seen him in a few years, but the Welsh rugby jersey gave it away.

Clarice and Geraint, for those of you who don’t know, are friends of Frank and Jen that go back a very long way. Maybe back to the Ice age but we have not carbon dated any of them yet. They are originally from Wales, and are fiercely proud of that fact, still speaking to each other in Welsh when at home in Sydney, which has been their new home for the past 17years. They also happen to be the most welcoming and warm people you could ever meet. Geraint took us back to his home in a Sydney suburb called Penrith, which is not too far from the Blue Mountains. It did look a little like Ramsey Street, much to our delight, I know that’s in Melbourne, I hear you cry. We spent a couple of hours looking for Jim, Charlene and Bouncer but to no avail.

We spent the rest of that day chatting to Geraint getting to know the area and recovering from our flight. When Clarice came home from work later in the evening we were spoilt with a fantastic home cooked roast dinner, which was just what we needed.

The weather in Sydney was a bit of a shock to us. It was winter in Australia when we arrived so comparing it to winter in the UK it was not that bad, but it was 12-13 deg and rainy, and we had just come from tropical Bali at 30 deg+.

The next day was Anzac Day, which is a public holiday in Oz. It commemorates the efforts of the armed services during the war and pays respect to those who were lost in battle. It also is a time for many of the younger population to get extremely drunk. It is all done in good spirit, the day starting with a dawn mass and parade, with the beers flowing shortly after. They play a gambling game with coins that is called “Two’s Up”. In Wales have a similar event. It is when “Dale releases his balls on a Saturday”.

We took the opportunity to do a bit of sightseeing, we saw the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour, Luna Park, and took a boat trip through the harbour, as well as grabbing a spot of lunch. Sydney is a cosmopolitan city, with lots to see and do and a great feel to it. I know we saw the main tourist attractions, but I am sure there is a lot more to explore beneath the surface if time would have allowed.

In the evening we went out for a drink to a local ‘club’. These are not like ones at home. No glow sticks, podium dancers or ‘Pasha Reunion’ nights, these are sports clubs, and everyone belongs to one. Australia is all about the gambling, particularly ‘pokies’, its serious stuff. The women are mad for it; they even queue up and wait for the club to open so that they can get their machine, a bit like the dole queue but with better odds. The clubs combine eating, dancing, drinking, pokies, betting and childcare. It’s a crazy mix of people of all ages and types and it kind of works. The best thing about it is that you have to be a member, but it is free to join if you are a visitor, you only pay if you are local! The first place we visited was called a ‘Panther’ club I think, it was a bit brash, and reminded me of a family version of Zeus, for any that ever admit going there. The second was much better, it was an Irish club called “The Gaels”…to be sure, to be sure, and it was a good crack! Also we met Clarice’s brother and his friends, who were a good bunch and had been celebrating Anzac Day appropriately. Needless to say it was a good atmosphere and we stayed for a few.

The next day was Saturday and the shops were open again business as usual - well sot of. So we took the opportunity to do a little phoning round to get prices on a campervan. We settled for a little 2 ½ berth Toyota Hiace HiTop conversion (The half was to be Wheatley- ‘child size adult’). It was brand knew from a company called Around Australia Motorhomes. They gave us the best deal compared to all the rivals. Geraint kindly drove us to the other side of Sydney so that we could have a look and settle the paperwork - ready to pick up on Monday am. That evening Clarice’s brother and his wife came round for a BBQ, and we were joined by their daughter Laura and not forgetting Kerry the dog. It was a fun Aussie/Welsh evening, with enough food to feed the street. We were treated to some Rocky Road, which is marshmallow and chocolate, and Anzac biscuits, which are like oat cookies, both were really good, definitely worth an extra trip to the dentist.

On Sunday we were again entertained by Clarice and Geraint. They took us into the Blue Mountains, at Katoomba, the 3 Sisters and to Wentworth Falls. We had a picnic and everything, it was a fantastic day. I hope the photos do it justice, it’s a breathtaking place. We also took a stop at a grand building that housed the Hydro Majestic Hotel. It reminded me a little of the Hotel in The Shining, without the creepy bits of course. Later that evening we met Clarice’s other niece Cara, and her boyfriend Adam and they gave us surfing tips for NSW. Which were invaluable as we would have been urinating into the wind otherwise, please don’t try that as it always ends up messy.

On Monday morning, Geraint had to go back to work and Clarice was taking part in a golf tournament. We picked up our van that was to be home for the next few weeks, and we said our sad goodbyes. We were excited at starting the next phase of our journey, but sad to be leaving Sydney and the Mathias household. They were so kind and warm and helpful to all our needs. They fed us home cooked meals that we hadn’t had in over 3 months, and went out of their way to make our time in Sydney fun and easy. Although we were across the other side of the world it felt as though we had come home.

They mentioned that is anyone would like to stay with them, even if you have previous convictions then give them a call. We are going to post their address onto the web anyway.

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