Landing in Sydney and being welcomed by Simon & Katrina was really great after spending the past 3.5 months in Asia. Sydney, Simon & Trinks immediately made me feel welcome and at home. Sly & Trinks have a wonderful flat in Mosman and it was great to have my own room and bathroom after sharing for sometime. The following day we went and saw the sculptures around Bondi beach. We then had a swim at Tamarama beach. It was great to be in the sun and swimming in the surf. That afternoon we went for a mountain bike ride around Manly Dam. It’s a lot drier & rockier than in the UK. It was great to be out on the bike again in real off road conditions. The next few days I spent cycling to Manly beach, body surfing, sun tanning, running and generally taking advantage of the weather. On the Friday I joined Sly & Trinks and friends for the Critical Mass ride which once a year goes across the Sydney Harbour bridge. Yes I got to cycle over it J. The Saturday Simon took us out on his folks boat so that we could go waterski. I have not done that in 16 years, but found that I could get up easily and managed to stay on. Greg and Simon are old hats at this and did some awesome slalom skiing and wake boarding. On the Sunday I went to the Koala sanctuary and got up close with a Koala bear. That was an awesome experience as I think every kid wants a Koala when they are growing up. Their fur is soft although the do stink of urine! We topped the day off by having a BBQ with Simons folks Peter & Trish at their place in Cremorne. It’s a beautiful place overlooking the harbour bridge.