We had a fantastic 6 days in Sydney, and we are very grateful to Jennie and Marcus who were our fabulous hosts. Thanks so much guys. Marcus kindly collected us from the airport and in good old Aussie spirit we went straight to the pub! We caught the final rounds of the pub quiz and had some great Thai food. On the Wednesday (25/11) we ticked off the usual tourist attractions; Botanical gardens (the tree are home to thousands of bats); Art Gallery; and of course the Opera House. It doesn't matter how many times you see this wonderful building it still seems pretty amazing to see one of the world's most famous icons. That evening we went for drinks at The Blue Horizon, a super chic bar at the top of a hotel tower with spectacular views of Sydney.

On Thursday we caught the ferry from Circular Quay to Manly, a beach resort home to plenty of locals and tourists a like. The ferry itself gives you fab views of the harbour and only takes 30 minutes. The sun had eventually come out and it was a beautiful day. We walked along the coves and then joined everyone for dinner at the very exclusive Sydney Cafe. Again this tower top restaurant had fantastic views over the city, but this time we got all dressed up and sat outside. The restuarnt even provides blankets as it gets pretty windy!

The next day Adam and the boys (Marcus and James) got up very early and went fishing. They hired a boat and took it out on the harbour for the morning. The weather was really lovely to start with and Marcus caught a dogfish, but as the day went on the weather turned and the rain set in. That evening we had a true Aussie meal; a barbie and went to the local pub to meet all a load of friends who were either visiting Sydney or are living there on secondment.

Saturday we met up with Sally for coffee, she has moved to Oz from Reading and now lives in Newcastle (just north of Sydney). We then went to the Museum of Sydney and to the controversial Contemporary Art Gallery. On Sunday we went to the famous Bondi beach, and walked along the coast in the baking sunshine. A lovely was to end our week as the next day we collected our hire car and drove north to Newcastle to stay with Sally and her fiance Ben. Thanks guys for a really lovely stay. We had a really lovely meal (and lots of wine!) and Ben was good enough to give us a tour of the city. We walked along the beach the next morning before going to a local nature reserve with Sally. We saw Koala, Kangaroos and plenty of multi-coloured birds. Then we were back in the car and driving further up the east coast. Next stop Port MacQuarie where Mair thinks she may have left one shoe!!