Flying into Sydney you are aware of how much water surrounds the city. We hopped straight on the metro and we were in the city centre in a matter of minutes. The city is vast and very modern but has a timeless quality. Having the harbour hug the city, along with island ferries and a multi level train system makes for a very unique and cool landscape.

We spent a wonderful long weekend staying with Peta and Dean and young Otis. The first morning was spent trawling the campervan shops in Kings Cross trying to negotiate the best deal on a van for our road trip over to Adelaide. Then a leisurely wander round the coast, through the botanical gardens and onto the majestic Opera house and the iconic harbour bridge for sunset drinks overlooking the quay. The pace and energy of the city captivated us as we sat sipping our expensive beverages.

At the weekend we all took a trip to Bondi farmers market and the famous Bondi Beach. Even though it was winter the water temperature was a balmy 18 degrees! This was a pleasant shock to the system after the wintery weather of New Zealand.

We spent a leisurely afternoon in the park of Parsley Bay before kidnapping Otis for a trip on the ferries to Circular Quay and then back to Double Bay (the Doubleday's were at Double Bay!). You could tell that Otis was happy around other people and very well travelled, (just like his parents!) as he didn't complain once about being away from mum and dad. The boat ride was only trumped by collecting the various tickets which Otis was keen to add to his collection.

The next day we swam in the warm crashing waves at the 'Home & Away' beach aka Palm Beach. Our Australian friends still thought we were crazy for jumping in the sea in the 'middle of deep winter'. If only we had this balmy hot weather for our winters back in the U.K. It's amazing how a bit of warm weather can change the atmosphere of a place.

The weekend was topped off with a posh dinner wedding present, where Bee managed to get away with wearing her hiking boots at 'The Chiswick'. Oysters, lamb, refreshing cocktails and some good Australian wine, mmmmm!

It was then time for us to bid a sad farewell to our friends. Sydney and our friends had been amazing, hopefully it wouldn't be another 4 years till we'd see them again.