19th May 2009

We were up and out of the hotel by 9 as we had a far drive still to go.We stopped at the information centre (which are in every town) to get some maps etc then started our 2nd day of driving to Sydney!

Today the drive was fairly dull, the weather was abit grey and there were loads of roadworks on the way. So after another 6 hours we were heading for the city. Only 20ish minutes away my lame map reading skills meant we ended up even further
away from the city! But after being told off by Mike for not concentrating properly and messing around I had us back on track and heading back into the city. Within 20 minutes I was like a satnav! So about an hour delayed, in the dark and by now pouring rain, a wheel spin trying to hill start and a stupid cyclist that shot out infront of us causing us to do an emergency stop and skid we managed to find a hostel and drop our car off!! The hostel is called Travellers rest on Victoria Street in Kings Cross (the red light district), we went to about 4 others before hand and they were so disgusting, really really dirty and smelly. One was actually a mad house I think, we walked in and got surrounded by 3 old men that were either mentally retarded or on drugs! So after leaving there quickly we found Travellers Rest, not the best but our room is pretty good, TV, fridge, sink, toaster and kettle!

Tonight we just headed to the supermarket to get a few bits, had some dinner then headed to our room to research Sydney and what we wanted to do here.

P.S. Forgot to say I (Amy) start at York Uni on the 21st !!!!!!!!!!!!!

20th May 2009

This morning we walked into 10/15 mins into the city, stopping on the way to take a few pics of St. Marys Cathedral, the largest in Sydney. Once we got into the city we got on the City Siteseeing Hop on Hop Off bus. After a about 20 minutes on the bus I asked Mike to get me my Cardi out of his bag, in doing so he managed to throe my glasses which were on the top of his bag over board the bus!! So we had to jump off at the next stop and Mike ran back to get them, after popping one of the lenses back in we were good to go again!! The bus is a good way to see alot of sites and attractions around Sydney. We got off near the Harbour Bridge and Sydney opera House and spent a couple of hours around this area, taking lots of pics. The weather was pretty dull this morning but really brightened up in the afternoon and was pretty warm. We walked around the rocks (a famous area here) then got back on the bus again to go round the rest of the tour. We then got off at Central Station and got a bus to Bondi Beach. Arriving here, the weather turned really bad, it chucked it down and was really windy.
So after having a quick walk around there wasnt much else we could do which was a shame as in the Summer it is meant to be awesom here. We jumped back on the bus and went back to our hostel. We chilled in our hostel in the evening as we were both
so knackered from walking miles, and it was belting down outside!!

Today a State of Emergency was declared in Brisbane as there have been some really bad storms and floods which havent been
seen so bad since 1974!!!

21st May 2009 - MIKES FIRST OFFICIAL BLOG ENTRY !!

We woke up bright and early with birds singing in the autumn breeze!!! After a breif convo, Amy informed me that wew ere going to go up the Sydney Tower to take in its breath taking views! The highest building in Sydney, which also has a revolving restuarant at the top! Once there, we paid $45 to go up the top of the tower and to go on a simulator ride that takes you on a trip around the different parts of Australia. Did you know that cowboys in the outback use helicopters to round up their heard?? Th esimulator was actually pretty good, despite the fact we had a American Basketball Team sat infront of us who were all ove 6ft, the tallest being 6'9 i think!!

After this we got the lift up to the top of the tower, about 3 floors up Amy began to get scared, we only had over another 80 floors to go!! At the top there were some amazing views, helped by the free binoculars!! No idea why Amy wanted to go up the tower as she is scared of heights and refused to stand anywhere near the edge. So when i leant on the glass with curved out slightly she freaked, lol! It was lucnhtime when we came down, one of my most favourite parts of the day as it involves food!! As always we had our packed lunch strapped to my back! Due to the crappy weather we set out to find shelter! Opposite the Town Hall was a food court, so we went in there to eat, we were the coolist geeks on the block!

After lunch to headed off to redeem our free vouchers for a drink in a few bars. They were spread all over the city so couldnt get to them all but we did quite a few! The first 3 were all pretty close so Amy had wine and i had a free beer in each! We stopped to play on some amusements on the way! I kind of accidently lost the map so en route to our 4th bar we ended up going into wicked travel and booking a Jucy Campervan for a week to drive up to Brisbane!! It was the cheapest out of all the campervan companies, no one-way fee and they dont want $1000+ as a holding payment! CAMPERVAN BOOKED - 8 days - $440 !!

We then carried onto central station to get the train back to Kings Cross, Sydneys Red Light District. We freshened up then went back out to get more free drinks and a by one get one free macy'd's, happy days!! Darling Harbour was the next place we went to. There was a big ferris wheel which Amy wanted to go on, so we did!! Wow, what a blast that was!! You could actually see quite alot from the top. I was sternly told off by my dear lady for rocking the carriage as it stopped at the top! After composing myself from the frightening speed of the ride, we took a romantic stroll along the Harbour. I was however slightly disappointed with Amy's refusal to join in the fun of playing on the kids climbing frame. The harbour is really nice and even better on a night when its a lite up. There are lots of bars and restuarants aroundhere, so we found one where we got another free drink so stopped there!

After this we headed back as were due to get up early tomorrow to head to the Blue Mountains!

Thats it for now, ill write again in a month maybe. Muchos Love. MJW

22nd May 2009

After quite a few drinks yesterday, our plan to get up early to head to the Blue Mountains was delayed slightly! The weather was still grey, dull and cold, but not raining. Once we were up we headed to the train station to cathct the train to Katoomba in the Blue mountains. After a 2 hr train ride we arrived around 1ish to heavy fog, wind and alot of rain! We left the station to wait for a bus to take us to Scenic World as we thought we should make the most of the day despite the weather! But after waiting over 20 mins, still no bus and by this point terential rain, we thought it would be stupid to attempt to even see the Blue Mountains, so we went back to the train station to wait in the warm. 5 mins before our train was due, the rain stopped and it cleared slightly, so we changed plans and headed back to the bus stop again, with phonchos we had brought! Once we were on this bus it started to chuck it down again but we decided to go with it this time!

We arrived at Scenic World which is where the Blue Mountains, rain forests and various other sights and attractions are. Here, we paid $19 each to take the steepist railway in the world (we didnt know this until we started to head down a mountain vertically with nothing holding us in or to hold on to!), a walk around a very wet rainforest and mines, and a cable car 545ft from the ground back to the top again. Despite the crappy weather it was a good afternoon and we are glad we did it! We then got the train back to Sydney and packed that night ready to collect our Campervan the next day!!

Next Stop...8 days in our campervan up to BRISBANE !!!! (If we dont get caught in the floods!)

xxxxxx