G'day neighbours!

we have now been in Sydney for 6 weeks and spent a lot of our time job hunting! Yawn!

We are both dissapointed that despite thinking we are both highly employable, we have had very little interest - boo! My feeling is that it is mostly due to our visa status - Steve needs full sponsorship which companies are wary of (more so than 3 years ago the agents are telling us), and my working holiday visa lets me work for 6 months - but a lot of the jobs I've gone for as a contactor want someone who can possibly stay beyond the contract, or pay beans. We have also encountered a bit of racism - "POM's over stealing our jobs, go and pick fruit" etc - guess they don't know about the 500,000 Aussies in London hey!

When not job hunting, calling agents, watching the bank balance diminish and wringing our hands with worry (!), we have had lot's of nice days out, mainly on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. There is a peninsula that runs from Palm Beach down to Sydney and a whole series of lovely, sandy beaches along it, backing onto a waterway called the Pittwater. I think we have explored all of them, and some of them several times. We liked the town of Dee Why from the outset, and have rented a perfect beach house just a 10 minute walk from Dee Why in a town called Curl Curl - known to the locals as 'Curly'. Our new address, no joke, is:

28 Surf Road, North Curl Curl, NSW 2099, Australia.

I know, you couldn't make this stuff up! We got a very flexible deal with the lady that owns it and just pay week by week which is fab as it means no lease or big fat deposit cheque. It is also very modern, unlike some of the holes we saw in Manly which is backpacker-ville. No kidding, I would not keep a dog in some of the places we saw.

As the place is a holiday let, it has it's own website so you can check it out at the following URL:

http://www.beachhousesydney.com/apartment5.html

We have been doing lots of walking as the rain has stopped and we have had a week of gorgeous sunny weather - around 17 degrees, which is a little cool at night, but perfect for walks. Yesterday we walked from Curly, to Freshwater, to Manly and over to North Head - a popular viewing point. We got a fantastic, clear view from there over Sydney Harbour National Park to Sydney beyond it - awesome, as the locals would say! Then nipped to 'Coles', one of the big supermarkets here, and got food for a picnic on Manly Beach - not too shabby! Lots of people were out and about as it was a Bank Holiday here for the Queen's Birthday. Guess they're happy to associate with the UK when it suits them!

We also had a day out in Sydney a few weeks ago, walking from Circular Quay out to Potts Point and the Naval Base at Wooloomolloo (where the cruise ships and war ships dock), down to Ultimo, which is the area for Sydney University in the south of the city, up to Darling Harbour for a swanky lunch (plus wine of course) and then up to the central bus station at Wynyard to get a bus home. It was a lovely sunny day and we ended it by baby sitting for the Lally-Gray's so they could have a night off too - everyone's a winner.

Richard and the kids came over to see our place on Sunday and we built a sand castle tunnel on the beach with their nearly-4 year old, Aaron; and watched their 1 year old Sienna showing off her brand new walking skills around the playground! Very cute!

I've also had a couple of boozy nights out with Lisa and her girlfriends - a really fun bunch of girls, and we loved going to see "Sex and the City 2" en masse about 2 weeks ago - definitely one for the girls! It did bring it home to me how far I've fallen into back-packer crappy-chic, and spurred me on to job search harder so I can get some new clothes! A long way off from a new hand bag at the moment, that's for sure! :)

Steve has gone for a surf lesson today and is really looking forward to improving his skill, and having a bit of a laugh away from me! It can get quite intense when you are both sharing a lap top and a phone, trying to job hunt in an unfamiliar surrounding and all the emotional ups and downs that come from such an ego-battering process. It has been tough at times.

So we will see how the next couple of weeks go. I've got a telephone interview for a business analyst role with AMEX this afternoon, which is not really my skill set, but hey, its a start!

We also plan to go up to see the Hunter Valley wine region, Central Coast and down to Melbourne over the next month in order to see some of the country and make the most of our time here. We looked into New Zealand but it is very cold there and frosty, so unless we wanted to go skiing it wouldn't be the best time to go. Save that one for next time hey!

Hope you are all doing well and enjoying World Cup fever in the UK and / or some sunny weather.

Lots of love and hugs from us,

Kathryn and Steve xx