Today is officially the hottest day on record in Sydney at an absurd 45oC and as a result, we are currently experiencing a DefCon 4 situation and all movements have been restricted to absolute necessity!! Any other day and we would be absolutely loving the weather, but after spending the best part of twelve hours out in the sun yesterday, it's all getting a bit much.

Friday was another hot one as we set off for a leisurely cruise around the harbour to get a different perspective of the area. We got ourselves booked onto one of the many operators that all seemed to be offering exactly the same service for exactly the same price - don't think they've really grasped the concept of competition here - and spent the next hour relaxing on the banks of the harbour listening to a guy playing the steel drums while we waited. Unfortunately, one person that clearly wasn't listening to the sounds coming from the steel drums was the guy that was bashing the hell out of them!

Once on the boat, the olds took up position on a couple of chairs towards the front deck while those of us that could cope with standing for an hour or so, headed up to the sun deck on the top level. The cruise was pretty informative and we learned about the history of some of the buildings we were passing, and we got a great view of the back of the Opera House from the water, complete with people rushing around preparing for the next day's festivities. We headed out of the harbour, passed the zoo that we had visited just last week, alongside Fort Denison and out towards Watson's Bay before banking around and heading back to the harbour. The scenery that presented itself to us was amazing; with sloping hillsides that seemed to drop straight into the water and the harbour opening up in front of us out into the ocean and beyond as well as the million-dollar-plus houses that occupied spots looking out all the way back to the harbour.

It wasn't until we got back onto dry land that we realised just how much sun we had soaked up, and as the breeze disappeared we made a hastened retreat back to the safety of the apartment to freshen up and head out for dinner. At the second attempt of asking we ventured to the Hard Rock Cafe as we had yet to experience the 90's icon, and this time we found that they were still serving food! After being served by possibly the most enthusiastic waitress in the history of time, and hearing the word 'awesome' more times than you could shake a stick at, we retired for the evening suitably stuffed and waddled off into the night.

Yesterday was truly amazing and will live long in the memory for two reasons: the first is the unbelievable fireworks display that saw in the New Year; and the second is the excruciating wait that accompanied the spectacle!

We had carried out much research into where the best places to see the fireworks would be, how to get to said areas, what time the events were kicking off, what we would and wouldn't be allowed to take in with us and generally what to expect from it all. We had exhausted the Internet resources, read every pamphlet and brochure available and listened intently to every news item and advertisement on both TV and radio over the last week and felt that we were well prepared for the day.

It had been advised that people get to their chosen vantage point by lunchtime to avoid disappointment, so at midday we set off to the harbour in the sweltering heat to grab our slice of the action, with water in hand and a jumper each in case it got cold in the evening. However, once we were through the security checks and into the harbour side, we discovered that we had grossly underestimated the lengths that some people would go to in order to get the best spot in the house. There were people with enough food and drink to feed the starving millions, people with rugs and tarps fashioned into a suitable tent structure that wouldn't look out of place on Survivor, and (not to suggest the security was slack) people that had quite clearly smuggled in quantities of alcohol so vast that it would raise a suspicious eyebrow on a ferry back across the Channel from Calais!!

While Alan and Lorna took a walk around the top of the harbour side, we attacked the lower levels in search of somewhere to view the evening's entertainment. After much debating we settled on a nice spot on the lower level seats, just next to the bar area that was to be closed off later in the evening. With just under eleven hours to kill, we took it in turns to save the spaces while everyone else escaped into the shade to save their skin from melting completely off the bone!! With a group comprising of us two, Alan and Lorna, Stuart and Toyah, and Elaine and her boyfriend, we managed to achieve a fairly impressive rota that saw every single one of us burned to exactly the same degree!! As the hours ticked by, more and more people crowded into the harbour side until a seemingly impossible number of people occupied every available space and we were all packed in like the proverbial sardines.

After a few hours, the bar area that we were perched next to was closed and we allowed ourselves a rather smug smirk at those that had now been ushered away. We felt an even greater sense of superciliousness (like that one? You gotta love the Word thesaurus!!) when the bar started to fill up with people in tuxedos and evening gowns drowning in their own sweat, that had paid several hundred dollars for prime views, and were in fact only metres from our free little spot. How glorious that was!!

At 8:00pm we had a taster for the nights display with the children's fireworks that were impressive enough by any standard - we have discovered that one thing they do really well out here is cater for families with young children and this was just another example. As the night wore on and people began to wake up from their drunken slumber, or indeed pass out into one, there was a sense of excitement in the air that is impossible to explain. Needless to say, everyone was expecting something special from the night's display.

As soon as the time reached 11:55pm everyone was buzzing and those that had previously seemed to be out for the count in a drunken haze, suddenly sprung to life with the focus of a secret service marksman as they awaited their target. Of course, everyone's watches started beeping as they reached midnight and people were looking around as if to say "well, MY watch says 12:00am so where are the fireworks?" and this went on for a good two minutes with mumblings of confusion. It was as if people suddenly expected the lights to go off or something, like they were waiting for a film to start in a cinema, completely oblivious to the fact that it was midnight and they were outside and it was already dark!! Suddenly however, everyone's attention turned to the Harbour Bridge and thousands of pairs of eyes focused on the pylon lookout, as it was lit up with the official countdown to the New Year. As soon as 'one' had been shouted out and cheered by a cacophony of voices the fireworks began in earnest.

What followed simply cannot be described, except to say that it was by far the best firework's display that any of us had ever seen. The sheer volume of fireworks used was beyond comprehension as the sky was alight with colour for the next fifteen minutes as they exploded above the Harbour Bridge in front of us and above the Opera House behind us, as well as over Darling Harbour away to our left in the distance. It was like being inside a giant kaleidoscope! The finale was a sparkling waterfall that cascaded down from the bridge as yet more fireworks flew out from the top or the arch, while a singular beacon of light shone out from inside a heart that was placed upon the side of the bridge. Words really don't do it any justice, and the atmosphere was one of complete euphoria throughout the display.

By the time the display had finished we were all exhausted from a combination of spending the day waiting in the baking heat and the excitement at the end of it, and we followed the masses out through the security gates like sheep being herded through a series of twists and turns on "one man and his dog".

Unsurprisingly, it was a late start to the day today, and we were instantly hit with the unprecedented heat that engulfed the city today. After spending the majority of the day in the comfort and safety of the apartment, we waited until the late afternoon before braving the elements in order to get some food - oh the power of the rumbling belly! As soon as we walked outside, the heat assaulted us as if we had just stepped out behind a jet engine, and even the wind provided no help as the hot blasts surrounded us at every corner. The five-minute walk to the shop took on a whole new meaning and it wasn't long before we were back inside for the day, waiting for the onset of night before venturing out again.

This next week is going to be spent seeing and doing the last few things that have eluded us so far before our time in Sydney comes to an end.