Sayonara Sydney

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Well All the time has come for us to pack up and move on to the 3rd leg of our trip. We're esentially now heading home. I've been organinsing or at least trying to since I got back to Melbourne.
We're flying up to Cairns on Tuesday then taking 3 1/2 weeks to drive in our campervan back down to Sydney. We've booked a 3 day and 3 night sailing trip to the Whitsunday islands and what looks like a really luxurious yacht. Maeve has been dreaming of going sailing since we started planning the trip and considering I talked her into spending 3 weeks wedged into the cabin of the trans-Mongolian train I'm sure I can share a luxury cabin on this yacht for 3 days - give and take and all that!!! We get to scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef on this trip. We're also planning on going to Fraser Island and Noosa and Byron Bay on this trip. We've had plenty of other suggestions of places to go so I'm sure we'll have a good time. Then we'll have a long weekend in Sydney and then on to NZ and South America.
One of the things on our to-do list was to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge. That's now been ticked off the list. It was great Maeve, Alan, Aidan, Jenny and I did the twilight climb last week. You start climbing when its bright and then it's dark when your finished. It was well worth it and not nearly as arduous (and more liberating for some) as I was expecting.
Maeve also had the chance to practice her 'hen' by going to Wendys' hen. Wendy also works in AIB and Maeve and a group from AIB went along to celebrate. The lads went 'bowling' instead. Not ten pin bowling mind but lawn bowls bowling. We were expecting lod grannies and grandads but it's actually quite a 'hip' thing to do in Australia. There was plenty of beer involved and no tea or deep heat.
On Saturday night we headed down for 'a few' with Aidans friends who were in Sydney on they're honeymoon. Needless to say a few lead us from the Opera House to Paddington to Oxford St, to Kings Cross where I apparently had an 'attitude problem' with a bouncer. Luckily Aidan stood up for me (not that he was better able to stand ((or remember where we were drinking!!!)) than me at this stage).
Since then we've sent 3 boxes of stuff home, rearranged flights (again), cleaned the apartment and generally got ready to move on. We'll be back for a final send off in a few weeks.

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Photos

Farewell
Saying bye to Nessa and Aoife

Hens Partying
Wendy and Maeve celebrating