Sydney!!

Woo Sydney, we left Surf Camp at 7am on Sunday and got driving. We had a long drive so the driver put 2 films on and everyone slept pretty much.

We got to Sydney in really good time (about 3pm) and checked in to Base Sydney. Team Extreme were all in the same room for the first time! This was great :) We were all very tired after the long day and we were aching all over from surfing (it was worth it though - everyone wanted to try again) so we had a quick tea after booking the Blue Mountains tour. Craving some dairy products clearly, Kyle, Amber and I did a supermarket sweep, we had strawberry yoghurt, rice pudding, aero chocolate moose and custard! A very random mix but it was just right. Kyle was teaching Lynn to play her guitar (a very patient teacher!) whilst us 3 just chilled out. Then some of the Irish popped along and we were all laughing so much - a very funny evening where nothing happened really and no one was drunk - we just got on so well! After the Irish went, we all went to bed, and Kyle was nearly asleep by this point, then I got the giggles so bad, I find it really hard not to laugh when the room is silent! So I was laughing, then someone said "goodnight y'all" in a American drawl and that set us all off in fits of laughter! "Goodnight Katie Poole...goodnight Liam Girdlestone...goodnight Amber Suckling....goodnight Kyle Mardell....Lynn, what's your surname? Goudie....no that doesn't work!" Ha ha so funny :)

The next morning we had made a group decision to go on the FREE walking tour of Sydney (if there are 2 favourite words of backpackers they are FREE and CHEAP!). We were so glad we did as well because the tour was brilliant. The woman was very knowledgeable, and we actually walked a long way but we didn't realise it as she was telling us so much. The tour lasted 3 hours, and we saw all the major places in Sydney, with all the history with it! We finished at the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House. So...ice cream time! The best ice creams ever were bought here (see the photos!). We then all walked across the bridge. An immense structure, huge! We were all scanning the harbour for sharks (typical Brits!) but sadly didn't see any. We got back to the hostel after stopping off at all the crucial stops such as the amazing cupcake shop we saw earlier on the tour!

Roll on possibly my favourite night out of travelling so far! We went next door to the Scary Canary (perhaps this should be the new nickname for Norwich City Dad?!?!) and within minutes had signed ourselves up as a group of 11 (the 5 Irish, Kyle, Liam, Gillian, Lynn, Amber and me) or "Team Extreme" (naturally!) to take part in the karaoke that night. The place wasn't exactly banging but we rocked! We first sang our travelling song by Black Eyed Peas - "I've got a feeling....gooooooooonnnnnn! That tonight's gonna be a goon night!" and we sang beautifully! We sang after this "Summer Nights" by Grease where we did Boys vs Girls...the Girls obviously won! It was Gillian's last night travelling after 8 months travelling all over the world so we were all on fine form that night, getting nicely tipsy! By the end of the night and after much more singing (debatable!) we were all dancing and having a great night :)

We took a walk to the nearest McDonald's - Ian one of the Irish got shouting "Mcdonaaaaaaaaaaallllllddddddddddddsssssssss" as loud as possible...Clare's laugh was ridiculed by another backpacker...he said only dogs could hear her laugh! She does squeak, it is true! And we saw Kyle's Chinese lookalike in McDonalds (Lynn - a brilliant hairdresser - she cut my hair in Byron- straightened Kyle's naturally curly hair and it was so funny that he looked Chinese!). All in all, it was a funny funny funny night and we didn't get to bed till 3am. Not good when our Blue Mountains tour was leaving Sydney at half 7am!

Ouch! That hurt the next morning. Up at 6.30am for a walk on to the pick up point. It was just Kyle, Amber and me for this trip - it was pretty expensive and money does not flow very freely for backpackers but we had set our hearts on the tour so we just thought we would do it. We got there, met our (strange) tour guide called Smokey...and got going for about an hour's drive.

We stopped in a quiet town for breakfast (toasted banana bread is the way forward people!) then went and saw some kangaroos which by this stage just felt like seeing a house cat or dog (as we had seen so many kangaroos!) but I took 8 photos on Amber's camera (just in case!) and then we got going again. We drove up into the mountains and stopped for a 2hour bush walk. We went down the steepest stairs ever to Wentworth Falls, an absolutely beautiful waterfall, and the trek back up the stairs was a killer. It was more than worth it though and the scenery was jaw-dropping. At one stage there was nothing beneath us for 420 metres! Madness. Amber found the 1500 stairs we climbed/went down that day so difficult but she did so well!

We got back up to the top and had a nice salad lunch. Then we went on to the Three Sisters formation in another area of the Blue Mountains and were told the Dreamtime story which explains the formation. Kyle loves these stories but he felt this one was a bit of a let down! We went down yet MORE stairs called the Furber Stairs and Smoky told us a lot about the area, he was really interesting but his commentary was like a slow commentary about golf or cricket...pausing every 2 seconds! So frustrating! He was nice though, just annoying!

The highlight of the day was the 52 degree angled train called Katoomba - the Steepest Railway in the World! It was pretty crazy steep, pulled on a taught cable, a flat set of 3 cards yanked up the mountain. There were bars to stop us falling out but Amber and Kyle (who HATES rollercoasters!) found it pretty scary! I loved it! It was only 2 minutes but I was trying to take loads of photos of Amber and Kyle who were really scared. It went so quickly up the mountain pretty much vertically!

After that exhiliration, we got back on the bus and all promptly fell fast asleep. Worn out by all those stairs!!! We got back to Lynn and Liam at 7pm. We then went out for tea down by the Harbour and the boys had all you can eat ribs (they took the restaurant up on the offer - I think they have hollow legs?!?) Us girls had a really nice meal each, then a desert as a treat :) It was our official last night together as Team Extreme, very emotional! We vowed to visit and keep in touch though, but we are all missing each other already!