Well here we are down under in Sydney....we have been here for a week and leave this afternoon for Singapore to start the Asia leg...it has been hot hot hot here- up to 35degrees. It's the first heat we've had really and it's nice to wear our summer clothes after the rain and cold in New Zealand.

We spent the first couple of days wandering around and went up the sky tower which is the tallest building and gives you a fantastic view over the city. Tuesday was the real highlight though- we had decided to go to bondi beach but became victims of what seems to be a bit of a silly system for the buses. We waited at the stop then jumped on the bus when it came only to be told no get off you need a ticket first- fair enough, just like London. Except that we couldn't buy a ticket anywhere! There are no machines you have to go into newsagents and they had all sold out...so we ended up a bit frustrated- we wanted to go somewhere, could pay, the buses weren't full but noone could give us a ticket- it seemed very strange. Anyway in the end we walked down to the "Rocks" which was the first settlement here and is a beautiful historic area. We sat and listened to an aboriginal guy play the didgeridoo fantastically in the lovely sunshine and then at 5pm we went to climb over the top of the Sydney harbour bridge. It was brilliant!

We had to put on special blue jumpsuits and harnesses and then we walked out onto the catwalks underneath the roadway. When we got near the middle we climbed 1467 steps all the way up to the very top where the flags are at 134metres. The view was just stunning, we could see the opera house just in front of us, the harbour laid out with little islands in the middle and of course the city itself. As we stood on top of the world we watched a beautiful sunset in a perfectly clear sky.

As soon as the twilight hit thousands of bats that live in the botanic gardens took to the skies and surrounded us. You could hear their high pitched calls as they
swarmed out to forage for dinner. When we turned around all of Sydney was lit up and it looked fantastic as we sadly tore ouselves away from the view and made the climb back down in the dark. The whole thing took 3 and a half hours and it was the best time of day to do it to see the city in daylight, the sunset and the night sky. Freddy our guide on the Inca trail said that when we had made that pilgrimage to Macchu Picchu then Pacchumama (mother earth) would look after us and it seems he was right- to seeing a whale in Milford Sound to the most yellow penguin sightings and the guides saying that our harbour climb was the best for months in terms of the cloudless sky and stunning sunsight we seem to be being very lucky.

On Wednesday we hired a car to drive to the Blue Mountains and again lucked out. We had booked the most basic model from budget and when we arrived they had upgraded us to their top of the range convertible due to a shortage of cars! We put the roof down and headed out of the city... The wrong way! We got stuck on the Pacific highway but at least we got to go over the harbour bridge again...twice (once on the way and then again when we turned around to go back on the way back!) Still we made it in the end and stopped after an hour at Featherdale wildlife park. Sadly there were lots of birds in caves which I hate but we went to see the kangaroos and koalas of course that weren't in cages. The red and grey kangaroos hopped around everywhere except for the babies who were snuggled in their pouches and just poked their heads out now and again. They were very friendly- especially when you bought them food! The koalas were
also gorgeous- fluffy and very cute with little ones hanging on their backs. After hanging out there we made our way to the village of Katoomba in the heart of the blue mountains to spend the night, only stopping briefly at the Ugg boot outlet store to make a couple of purchases!

On Thursday we went out to enjoy the blue mountains. We started with a
lovely brunch in Katoomba and the headed to "scenic world" which is a very disney like term for what is actually a beautiful area of the national park. Firstly we rode the skyway which is a huge cable car that goes over a 300metre deep gorge and has a glass floor. It's a very weird feeling standing looking down through your feet but a beautiful view of the stunning plateau. All you can see is miles of trees that form the rainforest below and valleys winding through huge
beautiful mountains. On the other side of the valley we walked to a lookout point with a stunning view of the Jameson valley and then round to the top of a 200metre Katoomba falls.

After getting the skyway back we got another cable car down to the bottom of the valley under the tree canopy and walked around, taking in the old mine shafts. It was lovely with the smell of the plants and the sounds of the lyrebirds in the trees. When we came to the end if the path the steepest railway in the world (52 degree angle) was ready to take us back up to the top. Originally back in the 1930's it had carts to lug the coal up to the top but the public always used to beg lifts so they designed a carriage to take people. When the mine closed it was
changed into a scenic railway. It was funny getting into the seats where you had to lie down so that when it went up the hill you were upright. It chugged away steeply upwards and through a tunnel in the rocks up to the top. In fact it was so good we didnt get off and rode it back down and then up to the top again!

After there we went to have a look at Wentworth falls which gave us another beautiful view over the valley. After dinner in the evening we went to look at the "three sisters" rocks at the edge of the valley all lit up. They looked lovely and you could see bats flying around.

On Friday we jumped into our car early to drive back to Sydney as it had to be returned by midday. In the afternoon we went for another walk around town, to the harbour, back down to the Rocks where there was a market and to the park where there were loads of gorgeous rabbits that looked like pet ones not wild ones. Apparently 4 months ago a lady was moving house and couldn't take her 2 rabbits with her so decided to release them in the park- there are now 40! We then had our last fish and chip supper sitting on the edge of the harbour and chasing away the seagulls trying to steal them.

Yesterday we went to Manly beach on a jam packed ferry. The reason we went was for a surf lesson at Matt Grainger's school who is apparently a famous surfer. Unfortunately on the way there I read a newspaper article about a pro surfer who hit his head on a rock and is now in a full body cast but we are brave so we climbed into our wetsuits and carried our big long soft boards down the beach. After a few practices at getting from lying down and paddling to the standing up position on the beach it was time to go into the water and give it a go. Paddle paddle paddle paddle it was very hard work getting out to the bit weher the instructors were standing- then they would turn you round, give you a massive push when the wave came and shout "stand Up, stand up" while you jumped and then took a nose dive off your board. Both Charles and I nearly stood up one time and it feels great for about a second until you crash into the water...

And then the jellyfish came. There were thousands. Massive purple ones everywhere that even sometimes tried to come surfing on your board with you. I spent most of my time after that sitting on my board watching them but everyone else carried on. Of course I'm the only one who gets stung. I'm watching a massive on in front of me and I put my hand into the water to paddle away and grab a fistfull of Jellyfish. It was very painful and actually still is 24 hours later...Anyway that aside we liked surfing but don't think we'll become proffessionals anytime soon- it is incredibly hard work especially on your neck and back and I fell off loads of times just even paddling out!

So that was our week in Sydney. It is now raining because I think it is very sad we are leaving....our flight to Singapore is over 7 hours and kindly meeting us the other end will be Charles' cousin Kelvin to take us to his Uncle and Aunt's house where we are staying.