Our alarm woke us at just gone five. Perth was drizzly and overcast. We showered, got our bags together and then at just before half six we went to wait outside for the taxi that we had booked. Just as we were leaving 'Alf' was stirring and we were sent on our way with an early morning shout and holler medley. It was like bird song on acid! We both felt sad to be leaving Perth but we will definitely be returning here in the future. The taxi was bang on time and the really friendly driver whizzed us over to the domestic airport where we checked in for our flight to Sydney. At just after 10 we were in the air and beginning our flight across this vast country. It took us months to drive from Sydney to Perth and now here we were flying back there in just three and a half hours. We landed in Sydney at about half four local time as Sydney is three hours ahead of Perth. Perth and it's airport had been calm and relaxed but when we emerged with our bags from the airport Sydney was busy and frantic. It was also a lot hotter here than Perth being over 30 degrees with a cllear blue sky. We found our way to the shuttle bus area where we hoped to get a transfer to our hotel , Rydges, which was at the international terminal. It took us a while to find it as the signage was fairly cryptic. Once there the scene before us was completely chaotic. Most people were wandering around confused and not knowing where to go. A woman with absolutely no people skills whatsoever was trying to get a load of people onto a mini bus in hilarious fashion. She seemed stressed to the eyeballs and was snapping at anyone who dared ask her anything. You really couldn't have made this **** up. Luckily there was one sensible guy there who told us that we were in the right place and that our transfer bus would be here soon. A mini bus with Rydges on the side soon appeared amidst this now apocalyptic scene. We boarded the bus looking a bit out of place amongst the smarter people and watched the chaos of the domestic terminal slide away behind us. It took about ten minutes to get to the hotel which was right next to the international terminal. We checked in and took the lift to our room on the top floor. We opened the door and gasped in wonder as we set our eyes upon the poshest hotel room we have ever been in. It was very contemporary and tastefully decorated. We even had a mini bar but we didn't dare to open the door. The prices were scary! We were absolutely knackered and were leaving for our next flight very early the next morning but we just had to go into the city centre and see Sydney one more time. We had been hoping to catch a train to Circular Quay in the city centre, a journey of only fifteen minutes, but the guy on reception had told us that the train line was closed for maintenance this weekend. Apparently though there was a bus replacement service. We wandered over to the bus station just across the road from the hotel and were directed to the bus to the city. The journey to Central Station took just over half an hour and the bus was rammed. It felt weird to be back in Sydney especially being so soon after leaving Perth. It felt like we were in another country. It had a different look and feel. Sydney is so different to Perth and this is really noticeable when travelling between them so quickly rather than taking months going by road and letting the change be gradual. When we got to Central Station we emerged to another chaotic scene. It was really busy and there were people everywhere. After the calm of Perth all this hustle and bustle was a shock to the system. I wrongly assumed that from here we'd catch the train to Circular Quay. This wasn't the case as all the trains in the city had been replaced by buses. Eventually we found where to go and forty minutes later we stepped off another bus at Circular Quay. Sydney was completely disorganised tonight but it was still good to be back here. Despite the chaos it felt right to have our last night in Australia in Sydney by the iconic bridge and Opera House. By now it was dark and we walked through to the harbour and saw the city's lights shimmering in the water. It felt extremely surreal to be here. The bridge was on one side and the Opera House was on the other. It felt almost like it wasn't real. We both walked around in a bit of a tired and dazed haze. We had a quick meal in one of the restaurant's lining the harbour with a view of the big and beautiful bridge, soaked up the busy and vibrant atmosphere, and then absolutely shattered we caught two buses back to our little sanctuary of luxury at the Rydges Hotel. The buses back were nowhere near as chaotic as earlier thankfully. We collapsed into bed and snuggled up in our plush surroundings. We set the alarm for 5am again. We have a flight to catch to a whole new country tomorrow. The adventure continues in New Zealand.