So today is New Year's Eve! And we're in one of the best cities in the world that you can see the New Year coming in.

The biggest thing to see and do in Sydney for NYE is the fireworks at the Sydney Harbour Bridge. There are about 42 different parks etc that are set up as viewing points but there's only a few that have a good view of the Harbour Bridge. And the worst thing...NO ALCOHOL allowed to be taken in!! Then there's only a couple of parks out of the 42 that even serve alcohol. It's crazy and everybody is having a good moan about it. There's been a lot of ideas of how to sneak it in though - vodka jelly, dig out the middle of a baguette and put the wine in the middle, the same with a loaf of bread, keep hold of the bottle and put a towel over...all sorts.

We decided to go to one of the best spots - Mrs Macquaries Point. They allow around 20,000 people into the park, but apparently it's one of the most popular places to go, so you have to be there early.

So we got ourselves up at 6.50am! We were out the hostel doors just after 7.30am with our two picnic bags and a backpack. Pesto Pasta, salad, turkey with stuffing and cranberry sandwiches, crisps, carrots, dip, chocolate, water, lemonade, and....Goon! What the Aussies call cheap-ass wine. We had about a bottles worth left in the 5 litre wine box we bought for Christmas. So what we did was take the wine bag out the box and put it at the bottom of our cool bag, and because they're both silver, it blends in.

We arrived at the park at about 8am....there were plenty of people queuing already! I mean like a few hundred. We got in the queue and I went to scout out where exactly the entrance was and how many people were queuing. There were LOADS! I reckon up to two thousand people, already! I saw a tent, there were people in sleeping bags, people sleeping all over, then right at the front was a massive group of Chinese people. Literally the first 200 people were Chinese.

It was absolutely boiling as well. So warm. The doors didn't open until 10am, and even then the queue went down slowly. We queued there for 4 hours!! So yes, it was 12pm by the time we got into the park. Oh, and we had no problem getting the wine in!! They didn't move anything around in the cool bag, just had a quick glance inside, then didn't bother to check my rucksack or Therese's handbag! We spent hours trying to work out how to smuggle alcohol in and debating on what to risk taking! Typical. If we'd have brought loads though we'd no doubt have got caught and wasted a load of money getting it confiscated.

It was really busy inside and we had to search out a decent spot. Fortunately, the early start paid off and we got sat with a good view of the Harbour Bridge. We got talking to two girls called Emily and Rachel who were next to us in the queue (from Shrewsbury actually) and set up camp with them.

It was warm in the queue, but nothing compared to where we were sitting out in the open sun! We couldn't last more than 10 minutes sat down because sweat was just pouring off us. Not often you say that on New Year's Eve!

We really fancied a beer in the sun, but the tent didn't open until 2pm. And at 1.30pm people started queuing!! There were two queues, and about 15 people in one of them. So I started queuing in the empty one - first person in the queue waiting for a beer. At about 1.55pm, the price board went up...$7 for one can of beer!! Ridiculous! But I'd queued all that time so had to get one.

We had clear blue skies all afternoon. A bit unbearably hot at times so we all kept having to go into the shade. It was so warm though, you couldn't really do much other than concentrating on not sweating all over! It was nice though being out on New Year's Eve in the sun having a picnic and having such a nice view. We could see the harbour bridge, the opera house and lots of boats anchored waiting for the fireworks.

The shade finally got to us at about 5.30pm. The sun was lovely but it was nice to get a break from it. And we could finally do something other than sweating and trying to cool down! A group of 7 of us played a game of cards called Spoon. We learnt it in Cambodia. Really good quick game.
We cracked open the wine we'd brought in too. Just one small glass (I mean plastic cup!), had to save it until closer to the celebrations otherwise we'd have none left.

The views were really nice as the sun was setting. All the buildings and the bridge, plus the boats made a really nice scene. We were sat on a banking, then just below was a small pavement, then another small banking. A lot of people were trying to get onto the pavement below us to take pictures but the security kept sending most of them back. I'm sure it's for safety as it's one of the few places with such a good view in the park but the problem is, is there's thousands of people wanting to get to that small point. Plus the security knew it wasn't fair for all the people like us who'd got there early to get that view.

They were a bit arsey though the security. We went down to the pavement a few times to cool down and was told to go back to our seats or told to stand more on the grass and not the pavement. And then they were even telling people to stop clapping and chanting!! There were a few people getting songs going and clapping etc. They were proper useless security people.

At about 8.30pm the first part of the celebrations started, which is the cleansing of the harbour. It's nothing too big, just some flashy lights and a couple of fireworks and then some sort of aboriginal voodoo cleanses the harbour. But what happened was the pavement just below us was stormed by loads of people. Then everybody had to stand so our view got blocked by trees. Everybody was going mental. We'd been there since about 12pm to get a good view and then all these people who came late think they can just walk up and take the best view. It was a joke. And there's only 3 security people to sort out the massive area where we were alone!

None of the people moved and then the first set of fireworks started at 9pm. It's a big fireworks show for the families so that they can get there kids home after. Well we couldn't see it properly because we had to stand up due to all the idiots on the path. So annoyed!! Once the fireworks had finished, the security came along and ushered everyone away to clear the path again.

I knew from then on that there was no way that the path was going to stay clear for the midnight fireworks, so we'd have to get down there ourselves.

Then at about 9.30pm some fighting between the crowd and the security broke out. There was a bit of tussling and these two security guards and this lad knocked all the temporary metal fencing over and tumbled down the hill. It was a bit chaotic from then on, and people started taking over the path again. So I went down to get me and Therese a good standing view on the pavement. As I did that, more and more people started to crowd the pavement. 5 minutes later, Therese, Rachel and Emily joined me with all the picnic stuff and bags packed up. It got busier and busier, but then security came and started yelling for people to get off the pavement. We started going back, but then Therese pulled me back because then they started telling people to sit down so we sat on the pavement. Then Rachel joined us too. The security guy was saying keep sat down and you can stay where you are.

We were sat down for about 15 minutes all squashed in and really uncomfortable. Then this other security guy came and said everybody off the pavement! Fortunately, pretty much nobody listened and the security guy gave in after moving a couple of people. But it went on like that a few times where they'd say we can all stay, then say we all have to move. Absolutely ridiculous, neither of them knew what the other was doing. The pavement was practically full before long anyway. Some people on the banking behind us were going mad too about everybody taking over the path. But we weren't going to be polite again and wait up there because we knew that if we didn't take a space on the path, somebody else would. And we haven't come all this way and been queuing since 8am to miss this!!!

We were sat like sardines in a tin for 2 hours! It was awful. Fortunately I was sat on a towel. Therese and Rachel were sat on concrete for a while and then had to grab anything they could find to sit on. It was a funny experience in some ways. We couldn't even have anymore of the wine we'd smuggled in either because a) we had no room to move and b) we didn't want to be needing a wee!!

At about 11.30pm everybody started to stand up because more and more people were trying to get to where we were even though there was literally no space, and because some idiot shouted stand up. We wanted to stand up, but we knew as soon as we did, people would start pushing to get closer to the front. And at the front it was pretty dangerous because of the metal fencing which was on a slop! So if anyone had to lean on it because they were getting pushed, it would fall over really easily. Anyway, there wasn't too much pushing.

We were then talking to someone stood next to us. They'd been in the park since.....5pm....!!!!!!! 5pm!!!!! We'd been queuing since 8am this morning and these guys came along 9 hours after us and have got the same good view as us!!! Absolute joke. The gates are supposed to be closed at 3pm. Well, apparently they were closed at 3pm, but they let them in at 5pm anyway!! It's got to be one of the worst organised things I've ever been to. Really really poor.

Finally...midnight! The fireworks started on the Harbour Bridge and we had a perfect view. The fireworks were absolutely spectacular. Unbelievably good. You know those big organised firework shows that we get at bonfire night back home and they have a big finale firework, you know like ONE big firework that foes off and everyone is amazed? well every single firework was like that! And there's absolutely loads of them going off. $8million worth of fireworks going off over 12 minutes. There's barges all down the harbour, so there were some going off close by and some just behind the bridge that we could see. Then loads going off on the bridge itself! It was amazing and I'm sure there won't be a firework show that I see that can top that off for a long long time if at all. It really was worth all the queuing and sitting on concrete for two hours. So glad we decided to get to Sydney for NYE!! Once in a lifetime experience really.

There were so so many people trying to get out the park. There must have been more than the 20,000 people capacity.
Then when we got down to the George St and Druit St junction, there were thousands of people walking by. Loads of people were pouring down George St from the ferries.

We were absolutely shattered from being up so early and all the stuff we've been doing the past few days. So it was straight to bed for us. A quick shower first though - felt grubby from all the suncream and sweating!

More New Year celebrations tomorrow though...