Good afternoon from Lennox Head. We have made our way north up the New South Wales coast via the Blue Mountains to this little surfing village just south of Byron Bay. But first I will fill you in on our last few days in Sydney. Tracy and Pete had a fantastic time on the the Harbour Bridge walk. They said the views from the top were stunning and that the climb itself wasn't too difficult. They were on the bridge for two hours in total which gave the guide plety of time to tell them all about the bridge. Apparently the Harbour Bridge has 6 million rivets compared to the Effiel Tower which has only 3 million. That makes the Harbour Bridge twice as rivetting! (That was the guides joke, Pete told me to included it.) Photographs were taken at nine points along the bridge so they have plenty of proof that they have climbed up there. Whilst they were high up above the harbour I was underwater in the harbour at the Sydney aquarium. The aquarium is built on the side of Darling Harbour with underwater viewing tunnels built in the harbour. There are two enclosed areas one containing the seals and the other containing sharks and rays. I thoroughly enjoyed myself walking around staring at all the bizarre fish on display but the highlight had to be finally seeing a platapus.

The day before the bridge walk we caught the bus out to Bondi beach and walked along the coast to Coogee beach. After seeing the beaches in WA and in Thailand, Bondi didnt really compare. It was pleasant enough but it was packed and the shore line was all built up. It was a really nice walk along the cliff top but it was incredibly hot and the sun was beating down so we were glad to stop at a restaurant half way to rehydrate and grab a bit of lunch. It was here that I had myself a sandwich containing only vegetables - aubergines, mushrooms, courgette, cous cous and other things I don't eat. (You wouldnt have believed it Mum, I ate the whole thing.)

On our last day in Sydney I got up early and caught the ferry to Manly. The ferry gave you great views of the harbour so I took a few more photos of the bridge and opera house. Once at Manly I had a stroll around the national park and then to Manly beach. It was absolutely rammed, there must have been 20,000 people on the beach. The surfers couldn't find a way from the promenade to the water there were so many people, they resorted to climbing down the cliffs at the end of the beach. As i made my way back to the city centre Tracy and Pete had got up and caught the ferry out to Watsons bay to have fish and chips. Watsons bay has a superb fish and chip restaurant with fantastic views looking right down the harbour to the bridge and city.

Since then we hired a little hatchback and took to the road again. First stop was Glenbrook where we took in an aboriginal cave and a campsite teeming with kangaroos. The kangaroos were quite happy for you to sit a couple of metres away from them. So I took a few too many photos. After all the time me and pete spent hunting for a good photo of a kangaroo I got thirty in one go, unbelievable! We then moved on to Katoomba which is right in the heart of the Blue Mountains. The town was built on the top of some enormous sandstone cliffs which gave awesome views over the Blue Mountains national park.

The last couple of days we made our way up the coast stopping overnight in the towns of Newcastle and Port Macquarie. Along the way we have made a variety of stops at places with fantastic beaches (Tea Gardens and Nambucca Heads), quality pie shops (Frecklington) and at places with giant replicas of various objects (an Ayres rock, a big banana and a giant prawn). In Port Macquarie we visted the Koala hospital to see Koala that were being nursed back to health after bush fire and collision with cars. I think Tracy is willing to move out here to work at this hospital rather than Crumpsall (apprently the patients are far more cuddly). They had an operating theatre with a viewing window where you could observe the various procedures taking place. We appeared to be viewing a colonic irrigation - it wasn't pleasant.

Last night we arrived in Lennox Head. All the accomodation in Byron Bay was full so we decided to book into the YHA here. It is a real nice place with boogie boards, wind surfers, bikes, canoes and surf boards available to borrow. Although, Pete and Tracy are actually staying in the owners spare room and sharing their bathroom. Which they are find a tad strange. It could be a blessing in disguise not getting a place in Byron as Lennox is a gorgeous little surfing village. We have spent the morning on boogie boards getting pounded by massive waves. A couple of times I got dumped face first into the sea bed but I also managed to catch quite a few big waves. It was great fun! I have just left Tracy and Pete sat in the shade by Lake Ainsworth which is across the road from our hostel. It is a far more peaceful place for a resfreshing swim. Tomorrow we are going to visit Byron Bay before returning south to Sydney as unfortunately Me and Tracy have flights to catch bck to the UK on Sunday.

A massive huntsman spider has just wandered under my table! See you later.