So we arrived in Sydney mid-morning and walked over the road from the drop off at Central Station straught to our hostel! It was amazing in terms of facilities - cinema, swimming pool, supermarket, cafe, bar as well as the usual internet, kitchens etc etc. We weren't allowed to check in until after midday so after grabbing a small breakfast in the cafe we made a start on the walking tour provided in the lonely planet guide. We managed to pack in St. Mary's Cathedral, the Australian Museum, the Royal Botanic Gardens and the Sydney Opera House before it started raining! The Australian museum was really interesting - there was an exhiition on wildlife photography as well as Aborigine History which I was shocked at learning as I wasn't previously aware of how they had been treated. As well as that there was a small area of stuffed Australian animals which I found disturbing as loads of people were stroking them and having pictures taken with them. The Botanic Gardens were good, although a lot of plants were at the end of their lives so I think we chose the wrong season to visit. There were however signs telling us to walk on the grass and to hug the trees!!! We walked around the garden which fronts immediately onto the harbour and around Farm Cove to get some great views of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. At the Opera House we got a guided tour which consisted of a series of videos documenting the history as well as seeing inside all the auditoriums and other public areas. It was really interesting despite knowing some of the history through studying architecture! When we got outside it was pouring down so we made our way back to the hostel where I spent time updating blogs etc etc. We then went to 'Woolworths', one of the major supermarket chains over here to pick up some food to cook for dinner. We settled on bangers and mash making us feel very at home! On the way there we were approached by a guy asking us for $1 for some weed! Sam found this particularly amusing and I had to chuckle - at least he was honest. Needless to say we didn't oblige and kept our dollars to ourself! After cooking we had an early night.

The next day, our first full day in Sydney, we finished off the walking tour where we left off and visited Darling Harbour, Circular Quay, the Museum of Contemporary Art, The Rocks, and Pylon Lookout. On the way down to the harbourfront we passed the monorail station which was quite lightweight and impressive compared to previous examples we have seen in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. The Rocks is an area which was originally very run down and has been transformed into an artsy trendy area. It's obviously very up and coming and the Museum of Contemporary Art is located there. Inside we got a free guided tour which was really informative as we learnt a lot about the artwork which we may not have known if we had looked around by ourselves. Afterwards we walked round circular quay to the Opera House again to take some more photos with a better (bluer sky) back drop. We then headed back to the hostel via the supermarket and cooked dinner before heading to bed. We had had a busy day and done a lot of walking so were all really quite tired!

Our second full day in Sydney, the thursday, was spent at the SCG (Sydney Cricket Ground) and Bondi Beach in the morning. At the SCG we had a tour around the ground as well as the neighbouring Aussie Stadium which is used for Football, Rugby and AFL (Australian Football League - Aussie rules). The history behing the SCG was amazing and I even got to sit in the current Australian Captain's locker booth in their changing rooms!!!! We also got to walk onto the grass and go in the away changing rooms which is split in two due to the nature of English Cricket (back in the day players were either professional and paid or not so had different changing areas). We then caught the bus to Bondi Beach, which reminded me of a Cornish Beach with the buildings around and the cove which it was located in. We spent a little while there but didn't see the shark(!!) unfortunately or should i probably say, fortunately. We then got the bus back to Sydney where we split up for the afternoon. Karl and Sam went off to the Olympic area whilst I went back down to Circular Quay to meet Liz to go over to Manly Beach. We spent a while there sitting on the beach and chatting and then decided to make the pilgrimage up to Palm Beach. For those of you who don't know, Palm Beach is otherwise known as Summer Bay or the home of Home & Away. The journey was a lot longer than expected and took 1.5 hours and 2 buses to get from Manly. When we were nearing the area the bus stopped at a harbour and the bus emptied. Thinking this may be the last stop we asked the driver if the bus carried onto the beach. He told us, "yes, stay on the beach is just round the corner - were we looking for anything in particular?". Our response was a very quiet "no, just the beach!" At hearing "Not where Home & Away is filmed?" we said in a very embarassed tone "yes" before being told exactly where to go! Apparently quite a few english make the same journey, and considering there is absolutely nothing else there it was probably pretty obvious we were on the tourist trail! The beach was just how it looked on screen and the surf club which actually is a surf club, but Palm Beach Surf Club had a Summer Bay sign on for the benefit of cameras with Alf Stewarts name as owner! We paddled and sat on the beach for a while before getting the bus back straight to Sydney, not arriving back until about 8pm! The boys had by this point gone out to meet the girls we met on Fraser Island who were also in Sydney. Liz and I went out for some food in China Town and then went straight to bed pretty knackered!

On the last day in Sydney I got up early and checked out, met Liz in reception and went down to do the Bridge Climb! We both climbed the bridge on the top arc to the middle, across and then back down the other side. It was absolutely amazing. The views over the harbour were amazing. On the same climb were 3 Germans and an 82 year old man from Scarborough called Stan. He was so sweet. He was booked on the Queen Victoria cruise and decided to do the bridge climb because his daughter had 20 or so years ago. He was so excited at one point I was worried he would keel over and have a heart attack. He had also been on the Queen Victoria last year when the Queen Victoria and QMII crossed in Sydney Harbour. For a man of his age he had such zest for life and was so happy and enthusiastic about everything he was truely inspirational.

Liz and I grabbed a burger for lunch - I had kangaroo (!) and then we headed back to the hostel where I grabbed my stuff and went to get the bus to Canberra to visit some relatives.