Sandstorms and shivering in Sydney!

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We had a great 14 hour (!) Quantas flight from Buenos Aires to Sydney. GG was entertained with a huge choice of TV programmes and films. At one point we were flying over ice sheets near the South Pole which was amazing to see! Despite the long flight we felt surprisingly awake when we arrived in Sydney, so much so that we had enough energy to go for a nice Thai meal! It was lovely to have a nice tasty dish after the many bland meals we'd had in South America! On our first full day in Sydney we visited Darling Harbour and the Rocks area which has many bars, cafes, shops and great views of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Late afternoon jet lag finally hit us hard! Due to this we decided to have a chill day the next day - JP browsing the local Glebe market and shops and GG in the pub watching rugby! We loved the vibe in the Rocks area so we went back for the big weekend market on the Sunday. Lots of great souvenirs (jewellery, photos, t-shirts etc) but unfortunately it started raining! The weather was a lot colder in Sydney than we'd been expecting (12-13 degrees C) and unfortunately GG had ditched all his cold weather gear in South America - what a muppet!!! The next day we walked over Sydney Harbour Bridge. We took the safe pavement option as opposed to climbing over the top of the bridge as it's very expensive and GG isn't a fan of heights! We then went to the Opera House to take photos but our camera battery packed in after a few shots - multiple muppets! There were some great views of the Opera House from the Botanic Gardens so we'll need to go back there for photos when we return before flying to Singapore. On our last day we caught a ferry to Manly where GG paid an extraordinary amount of money to have our photos backed up onto DVD!! (It's a real tourist trap area - mug!) Manly Beach is really nice but there is a lovely, quieter beach if you walk further along the coast to Shelley Beach. Again it was cloudy and cool so no sunbathing for us. When we woke the next morning it was very windy and the sky was dark orange in colour - typical, JP and GG were in town when a freak sandstorm hit the city (and surrounding areas) and covered absolutely everything in a thin film of orange dust. The local advice was to stay indoors but we were due to leave Sydney that day for The Blue Mountains (1.5 hours west of Sydney) so we collected a hire car and got quickly out of the city!

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Comments

[Juliet]

Sydney
Hi there, so jealous to see you in Sydney. We were there for 10 days in July 2005 and stayed with friends. Had coldish but beautiful weather and no sandstorms - you are so lucky! The boys swam in Manly Beach - I kept a lookout for sharks! We also went to the Blue Mountains and went to the Seven Sisters site and then onto Hunter Valley for some wine tasting and kangaroo spotting!

[Auntie Sylvia]

The Muppet Show
That's the way to go to Australia - in stages! 14 hours sounds a lot more bearable than 24! The hours must have flown past while you were immersed in your films, Gordon! What did YOU find to pass the time, Jennifer? Loved the photos and very impressed with the arty ones. So you ditched your warm clothes in South America, Gordon? That's a pity. Still, that'll leave a bit more room in your luggage for Jennifer's purchases should she run out of space. Trevor is in Oman at the moment and has promised to bring me back a camel so could you bring me back a kangaroo? Lots of love, Auntie S xx