We were driven to the Blue Mountains yesterday by John. A two hour drive from Sydney and a world away. The landscape is of high stone cliffs and deep forests with dramatic rock formations and waterfalls. We also visited a now almost deserted village called Hartley. Its claim to fame is that the buildings are still as they would have been in the 19th century when convicts were used as a workforce in the area. The village once had around 1000 inhabitants and was the centre of justice for the area as it was then a 2 day journey to Sydney by horse and therefore costly to transport people there just to try them so a substantial courthouse was built and suitable punishments for petty offences decided by the presiding judge. Punishments were harsh on both the local free people and the convicts who worked in the area. Use of a cat o' nine tails was used on men only and female felons normally endured solitary confinement in a small brick cell for up to 10 days.

Laura had suggested we would enjoy a meal at the Skytower, a revolving restaurant 380 metres up in the centre of Sydney. What a wonderful experience! We had a 360 degree view of Sydney centre as well as being on the same level or above the roofline of the surrounding skyscrapers. One revolution of the restaurant took just over an hour and we managed 2 and a half turns! A three course lunch with a glass of wine and coffee was $65 - good value and excellent service. The cars on the freeway looked like model ones and we could even see planes taking off and landing at the airport. We then walked around Darling Harbour before catching the regular ferry to Manly, a suburb of Sydney with a good surfing beach. The ferry took 30 mins and on arrival we walked to a headland at the end of the surfing beach to watch the sun set before catching the return ferry. As it was dark by the time we pulled into Circular Quay, the area of Sydney Harbour where most of the ferries and harbour cruise boats dock, we had the perfect opportunity to photograph the bridge and especially the opera house as it was lit up with red lights giving it a new look.