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We passed the international date line on the way to Australia which meant we were transported into the future, no flux capacitors needed. When you pass this line it instantaneously becomes the next night, I'm not getting any younger so it wasn't appreciated.
This was to be my first visit to Australia and everyone I know who has visited has only great things to say about it. Plus we were getting to spend time with friends we'd not seen for a while, this was going to be a good Christmas and new year!
Lisa and Lauren met us at the airport and after many squeals and cuddles we were on our way to Bondi Beach. Lisa and Mark were very kind to let us use their home as our home during our stay and a nice place it was. They made sure we were very comfortable. A short walk and you were at the beach, I can see why so many people leave the delights of the UK to live here.
Our first full day was to be a guided tour by Mark and Lauren around the harbour, starting off with breakfast at this little cafe which served
amazing bacon sandwiches . Although we were in a different country it definitely has a familiar feel to it, maybe it was the bacon sandwich, maybe it was because we were with friends but I do think it did feel like home - only with much better weather! We got a ferry from Rose Bay to the main harbour which was cool as you got to see it emerge before you. The buildings and bridges you'd usually see on TV or postcards. The Opera House, the bridge, the cityscape..... all very picturesque. It was a Sunday so the harbour was busy, so dodging through the crowds and past buskers playing trance on their Didgeridoos (a bit disappointed we didn't buy one of their CDs) we made it to the side streets. A short walk up some steep streets and some steps and we were on the harbour bridge. From up there you get a great view of of the whole harbour, the nooks and crannies and the rest of the city. We also spotted some preparation work for the New Year celebrations happening on the bridge, wetting our appetite for Sydney's famous New Years celebration. They day wouldn't be complete
without having a couple of overpriced schooners , Champagne for the girls, by the Opera house to meet our mate Gilly. Again lots of squealing when Gilly arrived, mainly from the boys, a few drinks later, a catch up and it was a back home to chill and catch up with Lisa, who's Christmas holidays didn't start until Christmas Day. The joys of working, I've almost forgotten what that's like!
The next day it was Christmas Eve! Me and Jen went for a quick stroll down to the beach, which was only a 10 minute walk! Bondi is such a great place if you want a good social life, you've got the beach close by, great restaurants, shops, bars and it always seems to be busy with young and beautiful people. Plus you have the amazing weather. The rest of the morning was spent at the shopping centre buying last minute pressies and learning about pie stacks, they looked tasty - it's a pie with mash potato peas and gravy on top. We also visited the 'old school' pet shop, IE they had puppies and kittens in cages! Morally questionable but super cute at the same time. Later was
a BBQ at Gilly and Claire's, our first one in Oz..... Not a Shrimp in sight though?! But he did have some amazing spicy corn on the cob, must remember to get that recipe. Later it was onto Beach Road, a local pub (as in 20 meters from Mark and Lisa's front door) which consists of about 4 separate bars a restaurant and a nightclub. We didn't stay out too late at we didn't want to bump into Santa while he was delivering the presents.
Christmas Day arrived........... and it rained! Apparently it happens without fail every year. It scuppered our plans of a picnic on the beach but it didn't dampen the spirits. We decided to have the picnic at home. But before all that we all opened our pressies, which were great, then a stroll down to the beach and a quick swim. You don't often get a chance to swim in the sea on Christmas Day, although it was raining it was still great fun dodging the waves. The rest of the day consisted of great picnic food, board games, Christmas songs, Christmas movies and a quite a few drinks. All you could want from a
Men at Work
Bronte WalkChristmas Day with your mates. Boxing Day was going to be the day for our traditional Christmas dinner, which was amazing. We all helped out did some dishes each, Jen and I did Brussels Sprouts with Bacon bits and Cauliflower Cheese (which included a whole block of Cheese - yum). My memory escapes me for who did what else but it was safe to say everyone did there bit and we had an amazing dinner! Christmas dinner is definitely one of my favourite meals of the year. More games, films and drinks and the day was complete!
We wanted to see a bit of the surrounding area so we want to the Blue Moutains with Mark, Lisa and Lauren. It's about an hour and a half drive away but what a difference. The views were spectacular, wooded mountains and rocky outcrops as as far as the eye could see. It's definitely the sort of wilderness you would get lost in. Fortunately we saw it from a high view point on the edge of a town Katoomba. We took a walk to the Three Sisters, it's a high rocky outcrop which you take some steep treacherous steps and a small
suspended bridge to get to. Your so high above the trees on what feels like not much rock that it's hard not to feel a bit woozy. I think it's a big place for Trekkers and campers. Oh and I've heard you can rent some cool houses at the weekend with hot tubs! After those dizzying heights we took a trip to a little town with a quaint street of souvenir shops, bakeries and an amazing chocolate shop.... where we all had to buy something. A great little day out.
One of the advantages of such good weather is the outdoor activities, so we did some canoeing in Rose Bay. We rented a couple of 2 manners and me, Jen, Mark and Lisa spent a couple of hours out on the bay. A great way to exercise but there are Sharks in the bay and you always had that in the back of your mind, not Great Whites or Tiger Sharks, Bull Sharks I think. But it was enough to make sure every effort was made not to tip the canoe. We did have one incident of Jen falling in but that was right by the shore when we
were trying to get back on to the canoe. I can't be sure but I think Jen walked on water at that point.
There's a walk on the sea front of Sydney called the Bronte walk, it's starts at the 'Iceberg' - an iconic swimming pool situated to the side of Bondi beach which when the waves get high enough, sea water goes in the pool. Jen states this is her favourite walk in Sydney and had told me all about it before going so I was looking forward to seeing what the fuss was all about. The walk is very pretty walking around the rocky shore line, broken up with smaller beaches, parks and plus you get to see all the houses most people, including myself, could only dream about. What's also great about the walk is the parks have Gas BBQ facilities for everyone to use, you only need to bring your food and a bit of oil. Everyone really looks after them and makes sure they are clean so they are always in good nic. So of course in good Aussie style we had ourselves a BBQ along the walk. Happy days. Followed by a swim
/ dodging waves for the boys and sunbath for the girls. The things these guys have on their doorstep, I was getting a little jealous!
New Year's Eve and we had a double celebration, New Year and Marks birthday! We enjoyed a birthday lunch at the Bavarian Bar, a German pub that sells some nice German beers and typical German food. We loved it their, the food was amazing. I had a selection of German sausages with mash potato and Jen had belly Pork, I'm salivating now while I write about it! Next up was the New Years celebrations. We managed to get a great spot to see the whole show, we were on the opposite side of the water to the Opera House, right next to the harbour bridge. We didn't have to que or wait hours on end as we'd been invited to a party (thanks Lauren) at a flat that over looked the harbour, well when I say flat I mean there communal pool area looked over the harbour. It was such a great night, made loads of new friends, got to see the double amazing fireworks (they even brought a tear to Jen's eyes, well
it is something she has wanted to see for a while and the Gin probably helped), got to see some amazing stunt planes entertaining the crowds, hundreds of boats passing by all with flags and just generally getting involved. It's such a great spectacle and what a way to bring in the new year!
No trip to Sydney is complete without a trip to Summer Bay, many a time was spent as a young lad in front of the TV watching Alf working at the Surf Shack so this was a dream come true...... well kinda. It's such a lovely area with great views from the lighthouse high up on a hill. Summer bay is on a thin piece of land that pokes out into the sea and you can see that very well when you are high up. Unfortunately they'd knocked the Surf Shack down so sad faces all round. After that we made our way to Manly beach for a couple of reasons, first to check it out as we'd been told is was a really nice area with a great beach and second to meet our traveling friends, Ben and Lou - the Aussies we met
in Bolivia on the salt flat tour. Ben couldn't be there as he was working, we were a bit gutted about that but we met up with Lou and had a right good catch up. It was great to see her and hear about the rest of their trip. It means we'll have to come back again so we can see Ben! Manly was great, a nice stretch of beach with some great restaurants, bars, shops etc. expensive though if you wanted to stay it a hostel, it made us realise how lucky we are to have friends in Oz that would put us up. Lou walked us to the start of the Manly walk and we said our goodbyes. The walk is a long one, it took about 4 hours in total but we enjoyed it and the scenery. Lizards and Spiders were aplenty on this trail. I would recommend this walk to anyone.
Our last night came too quickly but we'd decided we wanted a decent curry as a good send off. We weren't disappointed, a great curry so far away from home! The next time we will be seeing everyone again it would be on Koh
Samui for Mark and Lisa's wedding..... exciting.
I can see why everyone really likes Oz, especially Bondi Beach. You can have such a great lifestyle here. The food is good, the weather is great, beaches are at your finger tips, the social scene is busy and there's good money to be made! Who wouldn't want to live here! The cost of living is a bit more expensive, especially the important stuff like, you know alcohol but I guess the wages make up for that. Just talking about alcohol, did you know there are drive through off licenses here?
Next stop... Brisbane.
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