Hi guys we've been in Sydney for a week now so here's what we've been up to.

We left Byron Bay really excited about going to Sydney as it's such a famous city. We got to the bus stop half an hour early thinking we were really organised and anxious to be on our way to Sydney. A bus pulled up which said "Brisbane" on the front so we thought that this couldn't be our bus as we were going south (and Brisbane is North). Anyway after waiting a while and watching this bus leave we began to panic thinking that had been our bus after all and that we'd watched it leave! After another hour wait our bus to Sydney did turn up - it was just late after all! Panic over!

So we arrived in Sydney after 15 hours of travelling on the bus, at 2 in the morning. We were so tired we got a taxi to our hostel even though it ended up being just down the road from the bus station! But hey, it was dark and there was nobody about and we didn't know our way around the place.

On our first day in Sydney we took it easy and just explored the area around our hostel. We went to Paddy's market, which is a famous market full of tack - or crap as Ben calls it! Then we walked round Chinatown and sampled some food from stalls, all of which was delicious.

On our second day we visited Circular Quay which is where Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge are. We took loads of pictures but it was absolutely tipping down with rain and freezing cold so we got soaked! (You'll be pleased to hear it has been hot and sunny here ever since!) It was really weird to see such famous landmarks close up, especially the Opera House. Next we walked round an area called The Rocks which is the oldest part of Sydney. There was yet another market for Ben to enjoy here where people were selling arts and crafts. In the afternoon we visited Sydney museum and the Police and Justice museum. The Police and Justice museum was really interesting and had exhibits of real murder weapons and forensic evidence for crimes committed throughout Australia's history. On our way back we went to a really tacky Australian souvenier shop which sold, amongst other things, bottle openers made of real Kangaroos "ball bags!"

The next day was Easter Sunday - no Easter Eggs for us boo hoo : ( We visited Darling Harbour. It was a really clear sunny day and the harbour buildings reflecting on the water looked lovely. There were some huge ships docked at the maritime museum and tall skyscrapers along the harbour's edge. We went to Wildlife world where we saw Koalas, kangaroos, snakes and spiders. Next we went to Sydney aquarium which housed huge sharks, jellyfish and a crocodile. It's quite scary how much of Australia's wildlife can actually kill you! As the saying goes in Australia, if it doesn't sting you it'll bite you!

The following day we went to the Chinese gardens which were beautiful. They were so peaceful and quiet which was weird being right in the heart of the hustle and bustle of the city centre with the skyscrapers right outside. We ate dim sum and drank chinese tea in the teahouse next door and almost felt like we were back in Asia. After that we explored the city centre with all it's streets and shopping malls.

The next day we had to visit the Qantas Airlines office which is right near Circular Quay, so we went back to the Opera House and Harbour Bridge to take some pictures in the sun! After that we visited Hyde Park Barracks which is a museum about the convicts who used to live at the Barracks. It was really interesting learning about their lives and the conditions they had to live in.

We fly to Uluru tomorrow for 2 nights and then we come back to Sydney for another 5 nights as the city is so big and there is so much more to see and do.