I spent my teenage years avidly watching Neighbours and Home & Away, and ever since then I just knew I would love Australia.

We arrived in Sydney just over a week ago to bright sunshine and warm enough to wear a t-shirt - not bad for late Autumn I thought.

We'd pre-booked a private room in Eva's Backpacker hostel in the heart of Kings Cross. We chose that one because it had a good reputation for cleanliness and free wifi in the kitchen/dining area. It wasn't the cheapest at $70 a night for the room (about £35), but the reviews were accurate - the bathrooms were spotless, and the whole place was good value for a city centre pad.

To begin with we found it so weird having a proper bed to sleep in and so much space after being in the tin can for 6 months. It's surprising how used to an environment you become.

We dumped our bags in the hostel and went out to explore. Kings Cross is not only the main backpacker area, but also the red light district. After spending a year working in the media hubbub of Soho in London I felt quite at home. The bright lights of the city and people buzzing around felt so much more our thing and was such a refreshing change to the quiet and peace of New Zealand.

Our main aim in Sydney was to find a vehicle to take us on our 9 month trip around the country. We'd pretty much decided before arriving that we wanted to be a bit more hard core and buy a four wheel drive car so we could travel along some of the more remote areas. After speaking to various backpackers who'd just completed their 4wd trip we decided it was definitely the way for us.

Inbetween looking for a car we fitted in a bit of sightseeing even though we will be coming back again in the summer to see Sydney properly. We went down to the harbour and saw the famous Opera House and Harbour Bridge. In the harbour were various sailing boats which made the setting even more picturesque. We had a wander round The Rocks area which is where the first convict settlement was established.

We still haven't found the right car yet, but in the meantime we are just enjoying ourselves and soaking up the atmosphere.

I have to say though that even just after a short time in Sydney I absolutely love it. It has the character of London, the climate of Greece, beautiful harbours and lots of beaches. What more could you want? It certainly ticks all my boxes.

Katy