SYDNEY!!!!

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well, we made great time after Fraser and shot through down to Sydney as quick as we could manage(not before buying me a DIDGERIDOO!!Poor Jo!) , the most noteable small stop being in a small place called Nimbin, it's famous in Oz for being the weed capital of Australia, and we're not talking dandelions here folks!! you can buy cookies, cakes, whatever you want.....a really strange place!!
On arrival in Sydney we had the pleasure of being able to stay with one of Jo's friends, she met him in Canada and still keeps in touch, his name's Gordon, he lives with his folks in a beautiful house in the Sydney suburbs, what a brilliant family, they made us completely welcome, fed and housed us like kings and we ended up staying a bit longer than we thought we would, it actually made our stay in Sydney a hundred times better and the whole experience was unforgettable. Sydney is a beautiful city, somehow it doesn't feel like a normal city, we loved it, we climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge, took in a 3-D movie ( Sharks )at the I-Max theatre (The largest in Oz), went for an amazing ride on Gordon's boat in the harbour, stopped off for a Chinese meal in Chinatown with Gordon's sister Catherine and her partner Graham, followed by a ride home in the boat in the dark, as we passed under the harbour bridge we saw swarms of bats which must have been feeding on insects attracted by the lights all over the bridge, it was a real sight to see the bridge and the opera house all lit up with all of these bats also lit up like light bulbs! The next day, Graham and Catherine took me for two scuba dives in the harbour, the first was really choppy with strong currents which made it a bit akward but well worth it, we saw Wobbegongs (sharks with whiskers) and a blue Groper (massive type of cod i think) swam with us throughout the dive, you could reach out and stroke him.....amazing! The next dive was equally impressive, again we saw wobbegongs but the highlight of the day was being attacked by a giant Cuttlefish (sort of like a squid), i must have got a bit too close to his family, I'm much bigger than him but he sent me off with my tail between my legs, it was great!
On returning to Gordon's house we had tea, scones, jam & cream (very english afternoon tea eh!) before heading off again to get to melbourne. Thanks again to Gordon, the family and the cats for everything, you'll always be welcome in England!

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Photos

Sydney from the harbour.
Taken from gordon's boat.

The famous Sydney landmark.
That bridge in the background's quite nice too!!!

Phantom of the Opera!!
Somebody.....PLEASE put his bloody mask back on!!

Darling harbour
This is where we moored in the boat before going for a chinese!

Sydney at night
Taken from a nature reserve somewhere near to the city.

Jo & I on the boat.
Cheers again Gordon, what a great afternoon!

Replica of the " The Endeavour "
The boat that Captain Cook arrived on when he first discovered Sydney Harbour.

Ready for a dive.
If you think i look like a fat pudding with this wetsuit on, it's cause it was made for a fat pudding, it's about 4 sizes too big for me!I even thought about fitting Jo in there & taking her with me!We would have fit....honest!

Our host family in Sydney.
The Mc Cleans, many many thanks guys, you were wonderful!

Last word goes to the cat!
HMMM......If i stay still enough they might not know i'm here, not too bright these "humans".