Sydney 4th - 14th September We came down to Sydney from Taree on the not so speedy "Express" XPT train. It was the same day that Steve Irwin was killed in Queensland by a Manta Ray, quite weird that we were at the zoo only a few weeks ago - a sad day for the crocs. We were staying with Phil's distant cousin Ben and his partner Jonathan, who both emigrated to Oz earlier this year. They're renting a nice 3 bed house in Glebe, a very pleasant suburb of Sydney. We did the Harbour Bridgeclimb on our first day which was a good move as it was our last day without rain for a week! We saw the end of the sunset and were at the summit to see the City in its full glory with all the bright lights. It was really impressive and well worth doing, despite the expense. You weren't allowed to take your camera up the Harbour Bridge (as they were scared you might drop it on a car below!), so we did a couple of observation decks. One from the bridge pylon, which offered great views of The Opera House. The second from The Sydney Tower, which had a good view of the harbour, but not the bridge and Opera House, as the view was blocked by other skyscrapers. We made a day trip on the train up to the Blue Mountains, just two hours west of the city. We began the day at Scenic World - the cheesy touristy end, where we rode on a cable car followed by "The steepest train in the world" 52degrees! It was like a theme park ride! We had lunch in a pretty town called Leura and then did a clifftop walk all afternoon, with several breathtaking lookouts that went right up to the cliff edge! We managed to find some sun to visit some of Sydney's beaches. We walked from Bronte to the famous Bondi Beach, along an extremely windy cliff face! We were privileged to see Bondi on probably the least busy day ever! We chose a pleasant day to see Manly Beach, where we did another coastal walk. The ferry ride there and back was nice because you could see the harbour from a distance, and with the sun setting beneath the bridge (on the way back). We managed to find loads to do in Sydney including a tour of The Opera House, The Royal Botanical Gardens, Chinatown, The Fish Market and plenty of shopping and eating! Our favourite place was Darling Harbour and we tended to gravitate there most days for its waterfront cafes, funky water features and rainy day activities like the Powerhouse Museum and IMAX cinema. We felt like we'd stepped back into Japan when we visited The Chinese Friendship Garden. We also spent a few days looking around Sydney's many markets, however they don't tend to turn up if its raining! Don't think that would work very well back home, maybe some of you should suggest it to your bosses! The Rock's Market was the best for its arts, crafts and infinite gifts. Plus it was partly sheltered! All in all we found plenty to do in our 10 days in Sydney - despite the rain!