Well we are finally in Sydney! The flight from Perth lasted about 4 hours and we arrived at Sydney domestic airport about 6 in the evening on the 27th of Dec. Once we collected our baggage we had to get a train to central station, and then a taxi to the hostel. We got completely ripped off by the taxi driver though as he charged us $15 to get to the hostel even though it was only a minutes walk away. Obviously we hadn't worked that out yet, but I think I still would have paid it as my bag is much too heavy for me to walk for long with it on my back now, even after sending things home. We haven't really had to live out of our bags for a while so it will take some getting used to again. The hostel is ok, it's huge and so easy to get lost it - hence the name 'Maze.' A girl we met in Thailand said it was the worst place she stayed in in Australia, but I don't think it's too bad. It's liveable for the week anyway, and it's in a really good central location. We didn't really do much the first night as it was late by the time we checked in and we were tired. We just went for a meal and then back to the hostel for a sleep.

On our first day in Sydney we decided to get the 'jobs' we had to do over and done with first. We had to go to the Greyhound bus office to pick up our bus tickets for our trip up the east coast, and then wait in a queue at the immigration office for what felt like a lifetime so we could get our visa printed into our passports. Once that was over with it was time to have some fun. We went to Darling Harbour and Cockle Bay Wharf, and it's really lovely there. There are loads of bars and restaurants around the harbour and we walked around one side then the other, and across on the Pyrmont bridge, a famous pedestrian bridge that connects each side. It was a really nice hot day luckily so we just went and sat in Jumbalong park for the rest of the afternoon. We even went into the Maritime museum, which wasn't particuarly interesting but it was free! That evenig we managed to find a pub that did steak and chips for $5 (thats 2 pounds fifty to you people) which was great, and then went back to the harbour for some drinks. It was even prettier in the dark with all the lights around.

The next day we got up fairly early to do some food shopping, then we went out for the day with the hostel. They had put on a free BBQ at Cogee beach, which is one along from Bondi. Again the weather was great but I couldn't believe this was the first BBq we had had in Oz. It was good to meet some new people, and we went out with them again that night. The hostel took us to a bar that had an hour free drinks. Being poor backpackers anything that mentions the word 'free' means we are right there. Everyone else has the same mentality though because the bar was so crammed I only managed to get two drinks. I couldn't even move in there, and it was like that for the rest of the night. We all had fun though so it was worth it in the end.

In the morning we had a bit of a lie in to recover and the walked to the main harbour to see some more sights. Luckily it doesn't really take that long. Obviously we saw the Opera House and harbour bridge and took many, many pictures of the same things! Although it's not as impressive as you expect it to be, it's still good to see. We also got some really good views of the harbour and the sights when we flew in on the plane though. After that we walked around the Rocks, which is the old part of town right on the harbour. The market there is quite famous too, and we had a walk around. There was some really nice things there, and it's a shame we can't carry much around, but at least it stops me spending too mcuh money. We went back to Darling harbour for lunch and met with two of the girls we were on the tour with in Thailand etc. It was really good to catch up with them, and we spend the rest of the day together just hanging out, then went to the cinema in the evening. Considering we went so much before we came away it was strange to go after nearly two whole months! We then had to buy some food and drinks to take to the park for the next day - New Year's Eve of course! We are going to meet some of the other people we travelled with and it should be a really good night. It is the best place to be for New Year's Eve of course!