....and so onto Sydney!!

Our first view of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge was AMAZING!! Its so famous, having seen it on telly so many times it really does make you realise you're down under!!

We were staying in a hostel in Kings Cross, the red light district!! Ha ha!! It was fab!! We loved it!! We went out there quite a lot, to various clubs and bars - even an Irish Pub!!

Highlights have to be the Opera House and Bridge though, it was so sunny and lovely we got fab pics!! I walked accross the bridge with Ricks and Nic, but Barn went the whole hog and climbed it!! (Moore was camping on the great ocean road with her new beau, who's name escapes me....Moore probs can't remember herself....(lol, just kidding Mooreus!!)

After Sydney, the two main things I'd been really looking forward to visiting in Oz were Uluru (Ayer's Rock) and the Great Barrier Reef . Unfortunately, I had discovered by this point that I couldn't afford to go to Ayre's Rock (Quantas have a monopoly on the flights to Alice Springs and they charge a FORTUNE!!) and after an in depth conversation with a diving instructor in Fiji, consisting of many attempts of popping my ears by holding my nose and blowing (ha ha), I had it on fairly good authority that I can't equalise my ears and therefore scuba diving the Reef was out!!The girls were planning on staying in Oz and getting jobs too, which really didn't appeal to me at all - especially seeing as I was missing Jim like mad by this point!! So I made the desision to come home..

On my penultimate day we visited Bondi Beach (and WOW - those guys can SURF!!), and Barn and I "stumbled" accross The Cheesecake Shop" (we definately did NOT go miles out of our way and spend a fortune in a taxi to find it....ha ha!!) On my last night we all walked round Sydney together to see the harbour Bridge and Opera House at night- they look fantastic all lit up!! And there are loads of bats around which makes it really eerie and cool. We decided to spend most of the time all holding hands in a line too, it was hilarious!!! The next day we went to the Blue Mountains and then the girls dropped me at the airport. A few tears were shed (mostly me and Barn, who else??!! lol) and then off I went on my journey home!!

It took me nearly 2 days to get back, lol, had to fly Sydney to Brisbane to Bankok to Heathrow!! All by myself, ha ha!! Made a friend in Brisbane, she started talking to me and, being about my age and waiting for a flight to Bangkok, I assumed she was a fellow backpacker....nope....just on her way to Bangkok for a boob job!! ha ha!!

It worked out for the best as when the girls got jobs in Oz they ended up staying for AAAGGGEEESSSS!! They had a wonderful time!! I was worried they wouldn't come back!! ha ha!!

Nothing can compare to how happy I was to see the 'rents and Jim!! (Knowing Ricks had come home around the same time as me helped me keep my jealousy of the others in check!! ha ha) I was initially planning to go back out to meet the girls in Asia, but now I'm going in October with the boyf!! (Barn's the only one who made it there in the end, lol, and she loved it so I can't wait!!!)

So there you have it!! I'm back in good old Shirley!! I would like to go back to Oz one day, when I'm loaded so can afford to see Uluru, and after hopefully haveing had chance to try scuba diving at some other (cheaper!!) resorts to better my equalising so I can dive the great Barrier Reef!! As for now though, I simply can not wait to get to South East Asia with Jim!!! Roll on October 30th...Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia here we come!! xxxxxxxxx