Happy new year! What an incredible start to 2009, but back to that later.

In the last blog entry, Lee and I were in Perth, camping in our borrowed tent, and spending lots of time catching up with friends. Its fair to say that pretty much describes the remainder of our time spent in Perth, which was about another 10 days. Highlights for us over our remaining time were attending the presigious Roleystone Musicians Club End of Year Bash with Matt and his friends Russ and Sharon. Basically the suburb he lives in is situated up in the hills above Perth, and it has a small Country Club for its local residents. Every year just before Christmas they host an end of year knee's up and anyone living in the area is welcomed to come and join in. The idea is that all local bands and singers can come along and entertain the crowds with some of their lively rock n roll tunes. This years theme was 70's, which Mattt failed to advise us beforehand, so almost everyone was in fancy dress except for us. Lee and I weren't really sure what to expect as we're not particularly into the whole rock n roll scene, but we went along open minded, and as soon as we arrived and saw everyone wandering around in their 70's get up and felt the buzz, we knew our concerns would be unfounded. The music was loud and rocking, the crowd were shiny and bouncing. Pretty much all the bands and soloists were really good and towards the end of the night, pretty much the whole of Roleystone Country Club was jumping around. Matt even tried to muscle in and show off his singing abilities at the end but was left bitterly disappointed when he was told that he wouldn't be allowed to sing as they wanted everyone to leave as the night was now over. We all then wandered back to Matt's and continued the drinking around his outdoor pool with the mozzies.

Another particularly memorable day for us in Perth was being invited by Luke and his flatmate Ash round for a barbie. We turned up with our bag of gourmet 'snags' and steaks to find out that they had decided to have a full on Sunday party bbq. More and more people started to arrive and fill up Lukes apartment and huge balcony. Luckily one of his friends is a top chef and knocked up some fab salads and other sumptous dishes. It so happened that it was also the hottest day of the year so far in Perth, and by mid afternoon it had been officially declared that the mercury had topped 38oC. Lukes apartment faces the Swan River, Perth's main river, and has fantastic cityscape views to the not to distant main city. Just below his apartment is the huge communal outdoor pool and spa which also share these amazing views. As the temperature rose, the obvious thing to do was to move the party downstairs to the pool area, so the music was kept pumping from the balcony as about 20 of us headed down with more than a few cold ones to keep things lively. Later that afternoon Lee and I were stood back on the balcony recollecting our time in Australia so far, and in particular our time and thoughts on Perth, and we realised that this could seriously be a place we could contemplate living in. I must admit that I wasn't initially blown away by Perth, but the more time we spent there, coupled with the fact that we have friends already living there, it suddenly became apparent that it does have the 'wow' factor that we hadn't quite found anywhere else yet. To us, Perth has the feel of a big familiar town in the UK rather than a bustling city. Yes it has its skyscrapers and shopping malls in the central business district as in any other city, but the roads are much wider and uncongested, the streets are immaculately clean, there is oodles of green open space all around and the people are open and friendly. The suburbs we got to see when we had the campervan still and from when we hired a car for a week we were also really impressed by. Yes there were some not so nice area's like in all places, and we did make the horribly cringy mistake of going into an Estate Agents in the unknowingly most expensive suburb of the city and ask what we might get for our proposed budget. After he nearly choked on his toungue, he kindly humoured us and suggested that we might be looking at a 1 bed studio apartment on a new development, but that we would probably be best looking in other areas. All in all, Perth has certainly left a very pleasing lasting impression on us. We were sad to be leaving after growing so attached to the place and spending time with our friends, but it was time to move onto the last part of our journey in Australia. I nearly actually welled up as the plane rose up and gave us our last glimpses of the city but just about managed to control it.

Four hours later we touched down in Sydney, back in another time zone and straight into the hustle and bustle of a hugely busy city. As our taxi plodded along from the airport to Bondi where we have been staying, Lee and I looked at each other as if it were almost a bit of a culture shock coming from such a clean, relaxed city to a gridlocked, noisy city. We arrived at Ingrid's in Bondi, pleased to be staying in a nice, clean house and to be staying in a nice, proper sized comfortable bed. After a quick freshen up we headed straight out to investigate the delights of Bondi High Street and check our proximity to the world famous beach. Again we were a little apprehensive that we had arrived in a mini London suburb, but the next morning we ventured back into the main city, and our eyes nearly popped out of our heads.

We decided to head straight for Sydney's top 2 attractions first and then form a plan of all the other places we wanted to see and things we wanted to do from there. Arriving at Circular Quay Train Station and stepping out onto the platform and looking over the edge towards the quayside, was literally a jaw dropping moment. Sydney Harbour Bridge to the left and Sydney Opera House to the right, and in between the 2, what seemed like hundreds of boats of all sizes, from mini water taxi's and private sailing yachts, to the famous green and yellow Manly Ferries and other harbour cruise boats. Leaving the station we really were unsure which direction to head in first as they were equallyl awe inspiring. It really was quite mind blowing stepping out into this famed area, being surrounded by thousands of other tourists, street entertainers and commuters alike. I guess it is a bit like going to Leicester Square for the first time, when your senses are suddenly excited as they are bombarded by all the new sights, sounds and smells etc of a positively thriving, bustling city. We basically spent the whole of the first day and night exploring all around the bridge and Opera House in the area that is known as 'The Rocks'. When we finally arrived back at Ingrid's that evening we were like 2 hyper children, still thoroughly excited at what we had discovered on our day 1 in Sydney. The next day we decided to go to Darling Harbour to discover what was on offer at this equally popular spot. Again, we were nearly knocked off our feet as we took in the surroundings and the buzzing atmosphere. There really is so much to see and do around this beautiful quayside, and we had soon whiled away another day and night, sampling some of the many fine places to eat and drink. As we headed back that evening we were starting to think that we may not have accounted for enough time for us in Sydney to be able to do everything.

The next few days leading up to Christmas we visited the Chinese Gardens, The Sydney Aquarium, Taronga Zoo, had a guided tour of the Opera House, went to the Imax cinema (which is the world's largest), and spent heaps of time re-visiting our beloved Rocks and Darling Harbour.

Christmas day was always going to be strange being so far away from family and friends, but our being in Sydney and Bondi in particular, was one of the main reasons we planned our whole trip the way we did.

We woke up Christmas morning to a warm but cloudy day. Lee and I opened the cards that we had been saving especially that had kindly been sent by our families ahead of our arrival in Sydney. We decided to take Cleo, the gorgeous little dog we have been looking after for Ingrid whilst she has been away, for a walk, before getting ready for the beach party we were going to be going to later that day. As we walked the streets we couldn't help but feel at a bit of a loss as it felt about as far from Christmas as you can imagine. A couple of hours later though and we were heading down towards the beach, ready and in the mood for the big beach party that we had previously bought tickets for. The event was held in the large Pavillion on Bondi Beach, and the ticket price also included 'Christmas lunch'. It really was a very strange sight and feeling as we approached the beach and saw literally thousands of people, all sitting in couples or groups or families, all sitting down on their picnic blankets and tucking into their improvised buffet style Christmas dinner. Some as you would imagine were even making use of the bbq's! What seemed the most strange was that just about everyone was in their beach attire, and loads of people in true festive spirit, were wearing santa hats. Even most of the people out surfing were joining in and wearing hats.

The event we brought tickets for was called 'Sunburn' and basically consisted of 3 main arena's of dance music withloads of DJ's and bands. The lunch as we expected was not a lovingly prepared traditional Xmas dinner, but more of a basic buffet style, bread roll with slice of chicken and coleslaw and some pasta salad. Not that it really mattered as it wasn't about the food, it was about celebrating Christmas on Bondi Beach with thousands of other party people! The party was really starting to liven up by the time we had made it to the front of the queue and got in, and by mid afternoon it was positivley rocking. By this time the sun had burst through the clouds and gave way to a truly scorching , sunny afternoon. Lee and I slapped on some more factor 30 and joined in with everyone else and danced our little socks off for the next 4 hours or so. We only stopped in the early evening as we wanted to head to the upstairs bar with veranda so we could do a spot of people watching on the beach. Once again we were overcome by how strange it all seemed but decided that we were having such a great time that it didn't matter that it didn't feel like Christmas.

Between Xmas and New Year we pretty much chilled out both on the beach and back at home in Bondi. I cooked us both a full on Christmas dinner with turkey and all the trimmings on Boxing Day so we did at least get to have a real traditional Xmas dinner, even if it wasn't on the correct day. We headed out on 1 day on a guided tour to the Blue Mountains, but typically it was also the busiest day of the year for this trip as thousands of other people in Sydney over the festive period had the same idea. The mountains themselves were a lovely area, but the day proved to be really hectic as we queued for what seemed an eternity to go on the rides at Scenic World, the cable car and funicular railway that lifts you over the Blue Mountains and alongside the famous Three Sisters rock formation and Wentworth Falls. There was time for a quick peruse in the beautiful quaint but extremely busy town of Leura, followed by a quick visit to a wildlife reserve and drive through Sydney's Olympic Park.

We also had a hectic day shopping back in the city, both of us trying to find something 'special' that we would be able to wear on New Year's Eve. We strolled the Oxford Street and Kings Cross area's of Sydney, before finally returning to our beloved Darling Harbour to the glitzy shopping mall that is 'Harbourside'. We stumbled across a small boutique and received the best customer service we had ever come across and were helped by the 2 nicest Shop Assistant ladies we had ever met. One in particular was really tuned in to my desperation at not being able to find anything and being completely unsure as to what might suit me. An hour later we left the shop fully laden with a complete new outfit, dress, accesories, stole and shoes, and I was so overcome by the helpfulness how nice the lady was, that I actually kissed her!

Finally the main event that Lee and I had been building ourselves up for was upon us - New Years Eve. We had previously brought tickets for Sydneys premier casino, The Star City Casino, on the basis that we would be getting great views over the whole city and especially towards the Harbour Bridge, whilst being entertained by a whole host of DJ's on 3 different levels, and the added option of being able to have a gamble as and when we wanted to wander to the main gambling hall.

Our taxi arrived and as we made our way to the casino we were full of anticipation for what lay ahead. As we drove through the streets of Sydney, particularly nearer to Darling Harbour, we both had complete nervous/excited butterflies as there was such a great atmosphere in the air. As soon as we entered the venue we were handed one of what was to be many free drinks (well not quite free, but the cost of tickets meant it was unlimited wine, champagne and beer all night). Seeing everyone all dressed up in their party best and standing on the balcony by the fancy water fountains, looking out over the city towards the Harbour Bridge, we were both so completely overwhelmed with excitement and happiness. We were soon treated to fantastic views of the 9'o'clock 'Children's fireworks', and were really gobsmacked at how impressive they were. As if the party was not in full swing before these fireworks, absolutely everyone was up on their feet dancing and generally buzzing around enjoying the amazing atmosphere. We spent the next few hours leading up to midnight supping on endless glasses of champers, and decided to venture down to the main casino gambling hall. We exchanged some of our dollars for some chips and were soon caught up in a fast paced round of Blackjack. We rode the high for about 30 minutes and then decided to rejoin the party after both losing a couple of rounds in a row.

Midnight was suddenly upon us and the moment we had been waiting, not only for the whole night, but our whole trip for, was just about to literally explode. As we stood on the balcony of the Lyric Theatre with views straight over towards the Harbour Bridge, we were literally besides ourselves as all of a sudden the barage of mind blowing fireworks were let off around the bridge and from the top of the bridge. Us and everyone around us was jumping up and down and whooping and cheering as amazing after amazing firework lit up the sky and created a magical glow over the whole city. We were treated to roughly 10 minutes of continuous eye popping fireworks and for a few brief moments it was almost like we had been drawn into a parallel universe as we felt like we were being drawn into the vortex like pyrotechnics.

Four and a half hours later we finally dragged ourselves away from the casino. We literally hobbled along the streets both in agony from the combination of our new shoes and from dancing for hours on end. We finally managed to hail one of the precious few vacant taxi's, and as we headed back towards Bondi we were both on such an amazing high and had the biggest smiles on our faces. New Years Eve, Sydney, 2009 will be a night that we will never ever forget and will always be with us, and I can honestly say it was quite possibly the best night of my entire life. Even thinking about it now I get tingles. An added bonus to the evening was coming home with more money than we had set out with. After the midnight fireworks we decided to have another go on one of the many Blackjack tables for a final flutter. An hour or so later we left with 3 times our original betting money!

Since New Years Eve we have pretty much spent our time chilling out around Bondi, and had a trip to Manly although we managed to pick a day when the weather turned grey and cold. We also did the famous 'Bridge Climb' a few days ago. We purposely booked it for a few days after NYE so we could be sure we would not still be suffering from hangovers. We arrived at the Bridge Climb Centre for our 2pm guided tour and were soon getting changed into the attractive boiler suit style climbing outfits. We had a 45 minute briefing session with our group of 15 or so fellow climbers and were then soon heading down the street in single file, looking like Ghostbusters, towards the entry tunnel and gate ready for the big climb. As you would imagine, there were lots of steps involved, and at regular intervals, the climb leader stopped us and gave us some interesting bridge and Sydney facts via our headsets. Did you know Paul Hogan, aka Crocodile Dundee used to work on the Harbour Bridge as a Rigger before he got his big break as an actor?

The whole training session and climb itself took roughly 3 hours and was overall, another fantastic once in a lifetime experience. As you would imagine, the climb up and at the summit, provided amazing 360degree views over the whole city, and out even as far as the Blue Mountains which are over 100KMS away. Unfortunately you are not allowed to take your camera up on the brige with you, and instead are given the option to purchase one of the pictures the climb leader takes of you whilst you are up there. They know they've got you suckered and when we saw the shot of us at the summit with a perfect view of the Opera House behind us, we relented and purchased it at the well over inflated price. After all, its not every day you get to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge!

Our time in Sydney and indeed Australia is all but over and we are both feeling a mixture of real sadness to be leaving a country that we have grown to love so fondly, yet a feeling of great excitement as to what lies ahead on the next stage of our travels. We have heard so many great things about New Zealand and can't wait to discover all that it offers for ourselvs. So, the next blog will be from New Zealand, and until then........