Time is flying and the temperatures and petrol prices are rising as we move northwards. On wednesday we caught the bus into Sydney from Sea Shells our Bondi appartment. Craig and Aimee gallantly climbed the Sydney harbour bridge a two hour climb after an hour of kitting up. The rest of us climbed the pylon 250 stairs (almost as high as the bridge) for a look see and then headed into The Rocks for some lunch before taking refuge from the sun in an air conditioned museum about Sydney. Deciding we'd done enough walking we caught the ferry to Manley and caught the end of the day swimming before dinner on the beachfront. Our return ferry to the circular quay took us back past the Opera House and Bridge as the sun was setting. This should be recommended in travel books, perhaps it is as the ferry was very busy. Sydney seems a friendlier city to fourteen years ago when we were last here and didn't really enjoy it. Perhaps it is because it is Christmas time there is a feeling of festivity about. We even saw a bus driver dressed as Santa. It still doesn't feel like Christmas being summer. Even to our african roots it feels wrong.

Back in Bondi on Thursday we decided it was abeach day. Factor 50 liberally applied we hit the beach, swimming in the high tide and being dunked by waves before retreating back to Sea Shells for a couple of hours respite from the sun discovering to our horror that Zoe and Craig had missed a few bits when applying sunscreen. Hey ho we went back for more later in the day as the girls had a surf lesson booked. It seems it was money well spent as they should now be able to borrow or hire surf boards and have some fun by surfing properly. Perhaps the rest of us should have joined in. Bondi is defintely the beach for people watching what a mixture of fit and very fit all constantly displaying their talents.

For dinner we were joined by very dear friends who we haven't seen in nine years. Craig's best man Richard, Val and James joined us for a beachfront dinner while we all played catch up with our lives over the last decade. It felt like we had only said our goodbyes yesterday in the UK. Fortuitously they are heading up the coast in same direction as us so we get to see them again on Sunday at Valla beach for a braai.