Hey everyone :) So our final night in Sydney ha arrived boo hoo. I have loved every single bit of my time here, it's fantastic! I spotted the PWC building today in town and have been having day dreams ever since about the possibilties hehe...

Anyway, so we arrived on Monday evening, checked into to our hostel which was really lovely. Nice rooms (with a TV!) and the staff were so friendly which always makes such a difference. We chose to stay in Kings Cross which is a short walk from the centre and it's been amazing, would defo recommend the area to anyone visiting Sydney. The next day we headed into the city centre to see the sights. It was a gorgeous day and we started off walking around Hyde Park (slightly smaller than the one you're all thinking of!) and the Botanical Gardens which was really pretty...although a lot of the trees are packed full of bats! So bizarre! We then walked along to the Opera House and saw the Harbour Bridge which was really exciting...a few months ago I would never have dreamt that I would have a photo of myself on the stairs outside the Sydney Opera House...amazing! In the afternoon we went up to the top of the Sky Tower for some really great views of the city then mooched around the shops before heading back to the hostel. That evening we went to Chinatown for dinner (yum yum) and then came back to Kings Cross for a night out on the town. The hostels here are really cool in that they organize a night out every evening which is handy for us who didn't really know the places to go. We ended up going to World Bar...similar to the one in NZ with the teapots but it didn't really compare hehe.

The next day we moved to a new hostel just round the corner which to our delight was equally as nice as the first...with free breakfast and cheaper dorms which was an added bonus! We headed back into the centre in the morning to finish off our sight seeing. We walked over the bridge and went to see The Rocks which is a historical, quite quirky part of the city with lots of cute cafes and shops...although a bit pricey for us travellers. After lunch we headed over to the famous Bondi Beach and sun came out just as we arrived which was perfect. The beach was gorgeous and packed full of surfers so we were happy girlies haha. We also arranged to meet up with some of the northern guys we were on the Kiwi Experience with while we were there because they're staying in Coogee which is just south of Bondi. It was so good to see them again! Really good day :)

The next day we went to the Blue Mountains. The weather was sooooo miserable though which was a shame because we never really got to see the 'blueness' of the mountains because of all the cloud. Apparently the blueness comes from the Eucalyptus trees releasing vapour which gives the mountains a bluish hazy effect from a distance...pretty cool but i'll just have to trust the guide on that one lol! The first stop off on the tour was the Kangaroo stop which was amazing, we were so close to them. Next we headed out to a lookout point where we saw the valley looking 'mystical'...a tour guide's word for cloudy haha. We also got a first glimpse of the Three Sisters...made me think of you Em and Lydi :) We then went on the Leura Cascade walk which takes you down to some really pretty waterfalls. After luch we headed to the Blue Mountains National park where we walked down the 1000 steps of the valley, all through the rainforest, to the base of the Scenic Railway which is the steepest railway in the world at 52 degrees...and caught the train back up to the top. On the way back to the city we stopped off at the Olympic Stadium for a photo. I'd actually taken a photo of it from the top of the Sky Tower so it was cool to see it up close too. Really good day :)

And that brings me to today...our last day in Sydney :( In the morning we went to Paddy's market and then headed over to the Sydney Aquarium which was awesome and put London Aquarium to shame! My fave fish was the Pineapple Fish...it literally looked like a swimming pineapple haha. It was amazing walking through the glass tunnels with sharks and sting rays swimming all around you...and they had penguins yay! After the aquarium we caught the ferry over to Manly to check out the beach in the early evening sun which was lovely.

So tonight we're all pretty exhausted lol. It's been a very busy few days here in Sydney but also a really awesome few days. I just can't get over how changeable the weather is here...one minute your walking along in the gorgeous sunshine and the next your rummaging around in your bag trying to find your kag. We've had a few thunderstorms since we've been here too...please don't tell me the sun is shining over in England haha.

So tomorrow we're up at 5.30 am to board the Oz Experience bus which will take us up the East Coast to Cairns...where I will begin my journey home! 5 weeks to go...crazy stuff!

Anyway, more updates soon :) Take care everyone xxx