We have arrived in Australia! We landed at Sydney airport on Christmas eve and took a free shuttle bus to town. We're staying at the Nomads Westend Backpackers hostel which has a great location but is a bit of a dive inside! The place just smells funny and there are unidentifiable stains all over our carpet, but we do have an alright en-suite bathroom so it's not all bad! The hostel is in a really good central location but is very 18-30s styled and whatever time of day, there will be someone beyond drunk walking around! It is also the home to the slowest lifts in Australia! I think half of our time in Sydney has been spent in the lifts!
So, after the fire alarm in the early hours of Christmas day, we had a big lie in! We eventually got up and took the bus to Bondi beach for Christmas day. The beach was busy as expected but was so nice! And the sun was out, although the sea was absolutely freezing!
By the time we had got back and showered it had gotten really late so for our Christmas dinner we had a pie with a face on it! Not what I think we all wanted, but we will appreciate our dinner next year much more! We all spoke to our families back home on Skype which was nice to see them just starting the day!
On Boxing day we went shopping in the morning which was a little stressful as we had a petty argument over peppers, salt and basil! Once that was over, we headed down to the Darling Harbour, then had a walk around the Opera house and harbour bridge. We sat for a while watching all the good street art acts then came back to cook our first meal for a month! The hostel has a big kitchen area so we have decided to utilise this and save some money at the same time! However, the hostel facilities are in short supply and most mornings we are eating our cornflakes with a fork and taking it in turns to drink a cup of tea out of the one mug available!
The next day we went to visit Ruth's relative Mel, her husband Dave and children, Natasha and Isaac who live here at Coogee beach. The weather was quite cloudy so Mel and Natasha took us on a long walk over to Bronte beach and back. Isaac wasn't feeling too well so stayed at home. The sea was really rough, plus it was a bit cold for a swim! Apparently this year is unusual and Sydney is having a cool start to summer. The weather did pick up enough for us to have a BBQ back at their house. It was a really nice day spending some time in a homely home! And was good to stretch our legs in the fresh air. We are planning to see them again later in week.
The following day we had planned to climb the Sydney harbour bridge, so we got up early, but then got held up as we couldn't find our breakfast food in the big storage fridges and spent ages looking for it!! By the time we got to the bridge, the bookings were all full for the type of climb we wanted to do. Instead we booked it for the next day and just walked along the footpath over the bridge. We decided to check out some locations where we could watch the fireworks at New Year. We went over the bridge to Luna Park which is a little amusement park by the river side. We asked in the bar here and it was quite expensive so we walked back again and asked around the bars near the opera house for prices. These cost between $250 and $1000 (£175 and £700). We also went to the tourist information office where they had massive lists and maps of all the free vantage points to watch the fireworks. The problem seemed to be nowhere close to the harbour bridge let you take or buy alcohol, and it may be difficult to get back at night from far away. So, we were left with the decision whether to pay for a good view or get up early and go to the one point where we could buy a drink to toast the new year! Plus, we had been told the opera house vantage point only let 1000 people in and usually people camped over the night before. While we pondered what to do, Jade, Ruth and me went on a guided tour of the opera house, which was really good! After this we all took a walk through the botanical gardens through to Mrs Macqueries Point. The gardens were really big and a nice peaceful place within the busy city. Mrs Macqueries point was the only firework vantage point where we could buy alcohol and overlooked the river, opera house and bridge and was still really close, so we decided we would come here.
That evening me and Sally took a walk down to the harbour to see the sights by night. They all looked very pretty lit up and was a peaceful but trendy place to be.
Thursday was the day we climbed the Sydney harbour bridge. The whole climb took 3 and a half hours, although getting fitted in our suits, the safety talk and practice climb took about an hour. Once out on the bridge we walked along a little narrow walkway then had to go up some steep ladders to get onto the bridge. Ruth was feeling the nerves a bit, but one of the guides said on the bridge itself, the floor is the width of a bus so when we walk up the middle walkway, you can't see down to the river below, only out to the sides to see the sights. I think this made her feel a bit better. The walk up itself was quite slow. You are not allowed to take your up, so the guide takes pictures of everyone at various points which takes a while, plus we had to wait for groups in front of us to finish their photo shoot. But, the climb was quite easy and the views spectacular. We were at the back of the group which was nice as we could take our time and take it in, however it was really windy at the top so our complimentary hats kept blowing off - but they were clipped to your suit so there aren't a load of caps floating around the harbour bridge! Eventually we all made it down safe and sound!
The following day we took a boat over to Rose bay which was recommended to us by Mel. It was very nice and the weather was good. Sally and me took a kayak out for an hour which knackered our arms! They told us to avoid the middle of the harbour, which, we somehow ended up in on the way back so were stranded for a while in the choppy waters surrounded by hundreds of jellyfish! But we powered through and were glad to be back on dry land!
That evening we met Ruth's relative Mel and daughter Natasha at the outdoor moonlight cinema to watch the singalong version of Grease. It was so strange to be sat outside with the stars out and bats flying overhead while watching the film. Mel brought loads of beanbags and blankets and we collaborated our drinks and snacks to have a really nice picnic! The Ozzies are very enthusiastic when watching the film and were always clapping and wooping and all got up to dance at the front at the end of the show!
So, that's everything we've been up to so far in Sydney. Tomorrow is New years eve so we are planning an early start. This will probably be the last post for 2011 so we will write again next year!!

Amy x