G'day mate(s)!!

So after departures finally opened following the last blog entry, we departed New Zealand bound for Sydney, Australia…

We arrived at about 16:10 local time and as we dismounted the plane you could feel the difference in temperature instantly between here and what we had become used to in the south island of New Zealand. Even though it was late afternoon it was still really bright and mild.

Gold star for Oz already.

We had been warned a while back about Australian customs being really strict in terms of what you can and can't bring into the country with you so as we entered Sydney airport to be greeted by sign after sign depicting all the items that were banned and that if caught with such items you would be heavily fined, well, the panic began…

Aimee started having all sorts of visions of us being hauled off to a little room filled with a single table and two guards playing 'good cop' 'bad cop' with us.

Me, all I had flashing through my mind was the sight of rubber gloves being stretched out ready for action…

That was it - time to fess up to the small bag of nuts and dried Yum-Yum noodles we had 'smuggled' in with us, so off we went, heads bowed, to the first customs official we could find to confess our sins.

We were directed to the next available officer following collecting our bags. It was a woman. She was wearing rubber gloves.

As it turned out though, there were no in depth searches (praise the lord!), however the nuts were promptly confiscated.

Next task was to find our way to our hostel (the Mountbatten Hotel), which was somewhere in the middle of the city about half an hour from the airport, which was easy enough as they seem to have a number of private companies running shuttle services from the airport around the major areas of the city, for a fee obviously, but worth it.

I think it was a Turkish chap that was driving the shuttle (and he seriously should see a doctor about his lead feet). Anyway, ours was the first stop as we pulled over on a busy cross roads to see our hotel (which is really a hostel) behind us, situated just outside of China town above a pub.

First impressions as we walked up the stairs was the odour of Chinese food that seems to fill the place, which was promptly followed by a young Chinese lad who was apparently manning the reception.

He was a laugh.

Lets just say he wasn't really sure how many of us were coming (and wasn't too bothered by the looks of things), as a result they hadn't made one of the beds, he told us absolutely nothing about the place as he just gave us the key to our room and carried on with whatever he was doing.

Sorry pal, were we interrupting?
That wasn't the worst part though, ill come to that shortly…

So after finding our room, which is a 6 bed dorm, we headed off out for a quick look around the area, which is actually quite nice, plenty of bars and café's around. The business district and the heart of the city is a 10 minute walk down the road, with Sydney harbour being a further 15 minutes or so in the same direction.

Also across the road from us is a huge food hall, very similar to the one we frequented in Auckland, so obviously, we had to have a look and inevitably ended up eating there.

It was really nice as well and just as cheap as the one in Auckland. We really should get these kind of places at home, their fantastic!

After digesting the huge portion of curry we ate (including a vindaloo, sorry roommates, whoever you are!) we headed for the bar that's directly below our hostel for a quick drink as we watched the hordes of people passing by.

It was here that we noticed the strange man behind us that kept glancing over. He seemed normal enough at first - until we noticed him drinking from a hip flask in his coat and becoming quite animated talking and gesturing to himself.

Ah well, no worries, drink up and we'll head upstairs to our room. That's what we did anyway, only for the door of our dorm to open about 5 minutes after we got there…

No prizes for guessing who walked in. That's right, the strange drunk man that was just downstairs talking to himself. Fan-bloody-tastic.

We both had a double take of the guy as we thought we were seeing things. Aimee's first thought was that he had followed us in somehow and had come to rob us.

No, were not that lucky, he's staying here. So anyway, the strange man decided it was time for lights out (at 8:30) as well, this was a bedroom for sleeping he informed us (in case we didn't know).

We weren't particularly bothered as we were both exhausted anyway (and obviously didn't want to antagonise the weirdo) but needless to say we were not amused at our new roommate.

The next morning (after waking a few times to check the weirdo wasn't rifling through my knickers) we headed downstairs for the hostels hearty continental breakfast (cheap corn flakes and toast) before venturing out into Sydney's morning air.

As you walk down George street (where we're staying) towards the harbour you pass through the central business district (CBD) along with its huge high-rise towers and the mass of suited business executives milling about hurriedly, followed by what you would probably call the centre of the city, with all of the retail outlets.

It just had the feel of any other city really up to this point. It was only as we started catching fleeting glimpses of the water approaching, before finally, through the tree's as we neared the harbour was the silhouette of possibly the most recognisable Australian building, the world famous Sydney Opera House.

We were both really excited and upped our walking pace down to the water front for a better view (and plenty of photo's). Neither of us likes opera but its just one of those iconic places that you have to see.

As you pan to the left the next thing that comes into your view, along with the skyline of the city towering over the blue water of the harbour, is the other main landmark of Sydney, the harbour bridge, or the 'giant coat hanger' as it often seems to be referred to as.

As we stood and admired the view we caught sight of what appeared to be a line of convicts walking along the walkways halfway up the bridge. It turned out however to be a group in the process of completing the bridge climb. Rather them than me.

After soaking up the early afternoon sun strolling around the circular quay (which is an area at the harbour side) and through the famous 'Rocks', which was the site of the original Sydney founded in the late 1700's, and is a labrynth of alleyways preserved from the old days of the city which were once planned to be demolished. Today however it was hosting a weekly market. Very arts and crafty but quite cool to stroll around trying the free samples of everything!

I thought it was a great idea to try the hottest sample on 'The Chilli Man' stall. It was rated at 10++ on the chart. I immediately regretted that decision.

By mid-afternoon we had walked across the harbour bridge and back before deciding it was time for a spot of lunch. We stopped at a pub in the Rocks which had rooftop seating looking out over the harbour, had some food and an ice cold beer each.

By this point we were loving Sydney.

We spent three nights in total (which were booked before we arrived) at the Mountbatten Hotel (hostel) before making probably the easiest decision of our lives so far, to leave this place and never return.

In fairness our last night was probably the best as we spent the night watching 'Spooks' and playing s***head with our new Norwegian friend, Morten Leonhardson and a German lad who didn't share his name from what I remember.

Morten turned out to be an Everton fan, but was still ok though. We found out his surname after discussing the many Norwegian imports in Liverpool teams of the past, with him delightedly stating that he shared a surname with one, Oyvind.

Anyway, the following morning (Tuesday) we checked out and waved goodbye to the Mountbatten before heading down to our new home, The Base Backpackers which was about a ten minute walk towards the harbour from the Mountbatten.

Its in a nicer area, closer to everything and more importantly, does not seem to house crazy old folk with a lights out policy of late afternoon.

We were sharing an 8 bed dorm this time with a group of people who have been staying here, working for Base promoting their bar next door for the last month or so in return for their accommodation. An English brother and sister along with an American couple from Seattle (who also had a huge fight on our second night, ending with someone being punched and them both storming out and swearing quite a lot).

Anyway, most of the day Tuesday was spent lazing under the sun in the Botanic gardens down by the harbour as we had a picnic (ham roll and a banana each), read, and watched Sydney pace through its day around us.

After a few days of wandering around the city and lazing around the park we decided that Wednesday we had better start sorting ourselves out ready for work and more importantly moving out of Sydney, beginning our journey up the east coast.

In order to work though there were a few things that we needed to do first, such as opening an Aussie bank account, applying for a tax number and organising an Aussie phone number (which was a requirement to open a bank account).

So pretty much most of Wednesday was spent wondering around Sydney sorting this out and arranging for our hostel to collect our post for us, such as when the tax numbers get sent out in around 4 weeks.

They don't charge a fee to hold mail so we were pleased, the plan being when we head out of Sydney we can call them in a few weeks and arrange for our mail to be sent to us.

It was also today that the weather started really changing. Its still mild here but we've had some really heavy downpours of rain. As a result we haven't really been venturing far from the hostel.

Thursday was pretty much the same weather-wise with intermittent rain, so we decided to take the opportunity to head off to the cinema up the road to see The Night At The Museum 2. It was ok but nothing special to be honest and not as good as the first one.

My official review would go something like: Wait for the DVD release.

We're booked in to our hostel here until Monday morning now as we wait for our bank cards to be prepared. They should take between 5 and 7 working days so should be ready for collection Tuesday at the latest.

Depending on when they arrive we may be staying here an extra few nights, which is no real hardship though as we've both liked the city and we have yet to visit the world famous Bondi beach or Darling harbour here in the city.

That brings us up to date for the time being as I sit writing this in our new 6 bed dorm (we were moved after extending our stay) and chatting to a recent arrival from Southampton. An 18 year old lad whose name we have forgotten already but we think its Andy.

This is Andy's first time in a hostel and after seeing the checkout time of 10am in his welcome pack he asked us if that meant that he had to be out of the room by 10 every morning even though he was staying for 2 nights.

We were tempted to tell him that yes, it did, and watch him struggle up and stand to attention outside the room door at 10am with his bags but well, we're not that cruel.

So tomorrow, depending on the weather, we may hop on a bus to have a look around Bondi beach and whatever surrounds it.

Update…

So the following morning it was still overcast and pretty miserable outside so we decided to give our Bondi plans a miss and head for Paddys market instead, which is one of the largest indoor markets in the city, similar to Fantasy Island in Skeggy but bigger.

The market is situated back at the top end of George street away from the harbour, near where we stayed originally and is absolutely massive when you get in there.

They sell pretty much everything you can think of as well as some things you couldn't and the whole place is a complex labrynth of stalls.

We spent a couple of hours looking round, linking hands tightly and laying bread crumbs as we went so to avoid getting lost and never again seeing daylight. We also witnessed a fight between a skinny foreign chap and a Chinese stall holder and came incredibly close to being molested by armies of male Chinese masseur's hell bent on giving us back rubs.

So after escaping the market we headed back to the hostel for a bite to eat and a planned early night. I say 'planned' as it didn't turn out that way as, following chatting to Andy it was decided that we should go out for a couple of pints to celebrate the looming arrival of my quarter century of existence (I think I've reached the stage where birthdays are no longer a good thing).

Anyway, a couple turned into a few, followed by a few shots (naturally), with Aimee discovering her new favourite - the "gay cowboy", which consists of a shot of honeycomb liquer topped with a baileys (in case you were wondering). Me, I was introduced to the 'Jagerbomb' and it was goooooood. Tasting very similar to strawberry jelly sweets.

The rest of the evening was spent touring the various fast food joints before eventually arriving back, as if by magic, to our beds.

The following morning - my birthday…

Whats that? Did I hear "congratulations"?

Why, thanks very much.

…we awoke and that last Jagerbomb was very much regretted. After dusting ourselves down though we showered and headed out, 5 minutes around the corner to Darling harbour, the lesser known of the two harbours here although quite possibly the more picturesque.

Darling harbour looks as though it has had extensive renovation work there in the recent past as it is very glitzy around there with numerous up market restaurants and wine bars lining the waterside as you stroll around. It is really nice though and you can see why the beautiful people of Sydney often frequent this area.

As you walk past the restaurants and cafes, just around the corner sits the aquarium along with the cities maritime museum, whilst at the harbour itself is docked a number of interesting vessels that you can look at free of charge (always a bonus) including an exact replica of Captain Cooks own ship, which looks stunning and very much as though it has come straight from 'Pirates of the Carribean'.

Whilst strolling around considering which expensive restaurant we could possibly, maybe, just about, afford to eat at later (possibly along with extensive pot washing) for my birthday we discovered that there was a firework display later that evening to celebrate Darling Harbours 21st anniversary.

We ended up therefore deciding that expensive restaurants were not the way to go, especially on our budget and especially when we also discovered that one of the expensive restaurants also has a take away section. At approximately 7:30 we purchased a generous helping of calamari and chips (in a proper box with lemon and everything) each - it was a celebration after all - and sat at the harbour side whilst watching the firework display.

They even played 'happy birthday' over the speaker system. I was told that it was in recognition of the harbours own birthday but I remain convinced that someone had tipped them off about my big day.

All in all it was a really nice evening.

We did finally manage an early(ish) night though after heading back to the hostel and as a result awoke relatively early the following morning.

As we peered through the peppermint curtains in our dorm to see blue sky we immediately decided that today was the day to visit Bondi.

One train journey - our first on a double decker train - and one bus later we arrived at Bondi, with the beach on the other side of the road.

We were both a little surprised that the beach was literally in amongst a township with a shopping centre opposite. Im not quite sure which romantic images we had both drawn up but it wasn't quite the same. It was still very nice though, really clean golden sands with HUGE waves crashing constantly along with countless surfers trying to catch them, some more successfully than others.

We even witnessed one poor individual being hauled out of the water by one of the lifeguards, pretty much by his neck. He walked away quite merrily when he was back on the beach though which confused us slightly, what with the aggressive manner of the 'rescue'.

After strolling along the beach for a while and having a look around the various shops and stalls that Bondi had to offer we headed back to our hostel to relax for what was left of the afternoon.

Main reason for that being that the final day of the football season was looming large with kick off at 1am local time so a cat nap was in order. Aimee spent the evening reading whilst I popped downstairs to witness the Geordies serve up a shocking excuse of a performance and deservedly find themselves being relegated.

Its safe to say that the army of Geordies that are staying at the hostel were not particularly impressed.

Jeez this is a long blog, you all still with me? Hold on, not long to go now I promise, cubs honour. Dib dib dib and all that…

Monday morning all of the people that were sharing our dorm departed for their various destinations leaving us with the feeling that we too, should really be on our way. As a result we decided to chase the bank regarding our cards even though they had 'promised' to call us when they arrived.

Well would you Adam and Eve it. Not only were our cards there but they had actually arrived last Friday!

After collecting our cards the good news however did not end, oh no - our tax numbers had also arrived at the hostel even though they apparently take four weeks!

Well this was a cause for celebration if ever there was one so we immediately headed for Woolworths and purchased a celebratory tin of 'on offer' soup each…

Celebrations over we began looking through the Greyhound bus routes and deciding where we wanted to head to first now that we could finally leave Sydney.

We're pretty indecisive at the best of times but today however it was taken out of our hands due to severe flooding further north along the east coast around Byron Bay (apparently its been on the news at home). Anyway as a result the majority of buses departing Sydney up the coast had been cancelled due to road closure with only a single service running to Port Macquarie which is between Sydney and Brisbane.

Having been in Sydney for over a week now we decided that we would just take that one and then book onto the next one going further when the buses are back running again so at present, further flooding permissing, our bus will be leaving Sydney at 1pm on Wednesday! We're both really happy that we've got our first bus sorted as well. We both like Sydney but I think were ready to see something new after growing used to moving regularly from place to place over the last few months.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) we don't currently have anything planned besides the monotony of packing and other such dutiful tasks in preparation for our epic 8 hour bus journey.

That's about it for now so we shall update you all further following our next few stops.

For now though we shall bid you goodnight.

Love and (man) hugs

Mark and Aimee x