Final morning in Australia. Thanks to help at the train station we got to the airport on public transport for only $4.40 each - bargain. Unfortunately we can't say bargain for the trip to Oz generally. It's noticeably more expensive than the UK (pint of beer ranged from $5 to $11.50 so £2.50 to £6.00) and after Vietnam seriously pricey. We spent £1500 in 15 days and hotels averaged out at £100 a night but it was a struggle to get good choices for that budget and at times we wished we had upped the budget. Sat in the airport with $10 left. David is voting for a bag of M&M and Yvonne wants a coffee but we can't buy both.
Our overall view of Oz is that it's nice but it will probably be several years before we come back. It's a bit of a cross between America and the UK but too like the UK to be an interesting holiday destination for us - we like holidays to be nothing like home. We get why people come and live here: generally the weather has been lovely and to Brits it's really easy to travel, shop etc. The food is a little traditional for our liking with a lot of pies and chips in Sydney particularly there was lots of Asian food available and sushi is clearly a popular lunch choice with the locals.
Best bits were the Sydney harbour bridge climb, great ocean road and west beach St Kilda. The cakes have been stupendous. We're pleased to be off to Phuket next. The cities of Oz have been hard work on the feet and 12 days on a sun lounger will be a relief. Yvonne particularly is looking forwards to the edible Asian delights and David can't wait to pay pennies for a beer again.