First day of the 5th test - Hazel, Ian and Scott head to SCG in search of tickets (unsuccessful); we meet A-Ms old flat mate Andrew in town and between popping in and out of pubs to keep an eye on the cricket, we size up the possibility of some final purchases before we leave Australia (in particular, we have an illusive hunt for ski boots for A-M in preparation for our next tour of duty).In the late afternoon, we head off on a Sydney moonlight cruise (xmas prese...

After a leisurely start to the day, we headed off to Balmoral Bay for a walk around part of the inland watercourse of Sydney Harbour. After oysters, praws and pasta salad on the beach, we headed off on a track that seemed to have been put in relatively recently (which was nice) http://www.harbourtrust.gov.au/downloads/acrobat/otherpubs/walkingmapt2b.pdfIt was pretty quiet out and it was a great walk (apart from the previous nights detritus on some of the beaches ...

Our overnight train from Melbourne to Sydney was cancelled. In its place we had an overnight bus! How we laughed! Under the circumstances it could have been worse, and at least we were used to overnight buses from China, Laos etc.Checked into our apartment in Wollstonecroft (North Sydney), and after admiring the views (270 degrees of Sydney skyline, including a good view of the bridge) we immediatedly decided to catch up on some sleep.Hazel, Ian and Scott arrived...