Birthday on the coathanger

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Sydney. A city of sun, surf, sand and sun... except when I arrived, and it was a city of drizzle, clouds and greyness. Then I sat next to a nutter at the station who told me I was sitting in the most dangerous seat in the building... what a start! But it didn't last long. I'd been offered a place to crash with Julia, a Sydneysider who I'd met in Africa, so we met at Central Station and made the short ride back to her place in Bondi. I was excited to be in Sydney for a number of reasons; 1) it was Sydney, 2) it was my birthday the following day, and 3) I was seeing Julia and Alex, a friend from Borneo who was flying over from Hong Kong for the week. Nutter forgotten, Julia rustled up some pasta and we remenisced about Africa over a few glasses of vino.

The next morning, I went with Julia into work then set off to meet Alex and her friend Cameron, an Auzzie returning home after a year in HK. I found them falling asleep in front of the Opera House after their nine hour flight. The Opera House is one of those buildings that I felt I knew even before I saw it. It's on so many images that you can't fail to know where it is, and in the flesh it's just as striking as I'd imagined, particularly as it's one million plus White Swedish tiles shone against the grey sky. Sydney's other famous landmark, the Harbour Bridge, sat in front of us... bigger than anything else, it would come to feature prominently in my time in Sydney! After a slow meander around Farm Cove and the Botanic Gardens, Alex and Cameron retired to their hotel for a snooze, and I stayed in town to meet Julia for dinner. Although Sydney's location is spectacular, the city centre is disappointingly ugly, with some gorgeous early 20th century remnants hidden by a mass of ugly concrete tower blocks. But Sydney isn't about the CBD, so I was glad to head out of town for dinner and drinks before turning in early ahead of my birthday, which was to start at 9.35am with an ascent of Sydney Harbour Bridge.

People have been climbing Sydney Harbour Bridge since 1998, and now some 2.5 million people have done it. So I thought I'd join them! I did, however, forget about the breathiliser test and was a bit worried that the previous evening's drinks would still be lingering on... luckily I was drinking schooners rather than pints, so I got the all clear and Alex and I suited up for the climb. It's a great experience that took us beneath and then through the bridge, finishing with an ascent of the outer arch, which is so big it was more of a gentle stroll than an arduous climb. The views from the top were amazing, and the opportunity to see such an impressive building (built by a British company, of course... :-p) is pretty rare. We came down on a high and celebrated with a steak for lunch.

We then headed back to Bondi and met Julia, who'd picked up her baby, Ollie the dog, from her parents ready for our afternoon walk from Bronte to Bondi beach. It was a beautiful walk, from sandy beach to sandy beach, with Ollie chasing birds and rugby balls as we went. We ended on Bondi and, despite the keen wind and cool water, strode out into the surf and spent a happy 15 minutes cooling off as the evening sun set behind us. I should note that Alex opted out of the swim... what a wuss. That evening, we all went into town for drinks at the Rocks, a small historic part of the city next to the bridge, and met Meg, who'd been in Borneo with Alex and I. We finished with the German beer and Maccy Ds at 4am - a good birthday all round!

My last day in Sydney started with a relaxed breakfast at Bondi beach, then a quick visit to Cockatoo Island for lunch and a few rays of sun gazing across at the Sydney skyline. Back in town we nipped up the pylon at the bridge (again!) for the view (free with our bridge climb), then caught the ferry out to Watsons Bay. We'd chosen the ideal time to go, as the sun was starting to set so we got a perfect view of Sydney nestled behind the bay's collection of boats. That night was my last reunion of the Sydney visit, as we all had fish and chips at Doyles with Ian and Julie, friends from Africa now living just south at Nowra. Excellent fish and chips and great company... the best end to my time in this vibrant, fun city.

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Photos

Photo 11
I'll assume you know what this building is...

Photo 16
On top of Sydney Harbour Bridge

Photo 14
Me, Alex and Julia at Bronte Beach

Photo 10
Leaving Circular Quay

Photo 12
Watching the sun go down at Watsons Bay