Well I arrived!! Sydney on the 14th July in the glorious winter sunshine haha! You seriously wouldn't think it was winter here in NSW..

I got off the bus at Central station and made my way to the nearest hostel. I booked into Nomads for a week (cheaper rate) even though it didn't look much compared to other hostels I have stayed in. After settling in and finding myself a bottom bunk I ran out to try and catch the sunset at Circular Quay. A beautiful setting with the Opera house and the Harbour bridge before a blue to orange sky and a setting sun; some really great photos.

The next day I left early to make the most of my day; I walked through the city back to Circular Quay to see the Harbour in the sunshine. Really impressive to see and I know it sounds strange but I can't quite believe I'm here...I guess it hadn't really sunk in that I'm in Australia until I saw the Opera house. I love the feeling.. I'm on the other side of the world!!

I spent the day exploring the botanical gardens, walking along the water front to the docked Navy ships on the other side. Near the ships I found Harry's, a famous Pie take away shop that has been going since the early 1940s; a pretty awesome pie, peas, mash and gravy! After that I just sat in the sun waiting for it to set behind the Opera house and the Harbour bridge. Now this was a sight, I was on the opposite side and the sun was setting directly in front of me. As it got lower and lower in the sky its colour changed from a deep blue to orange giving a glow about the Opera house and the horizon in the distance. I took photo after photo and it was really nice to be here on such a beautiful day in an amazing city.

Before heading back to the hostel I got a message from a friend! She's staying here in Sydney.. She lives in Manly and I'm going to see her tomorrow afternoon before she goes to work! So looking forward to seeing her again! Up and out early I bought a ferry ticket and set off to the Northern beaches. Some great views of the Harbour from the boat in the incredible sunshine.

I hopped off the ferry really excited to see Georgie! She was waiting for me outside the gate and I ran over to give her a big hug. So nice to see her!! We went to a bar for a catch up and spoke about our travels and what we have been up to. She's doing so well and looks really really great! I've missed her!

We walked to the beach and found a nice spot where we could get a great view of Manly. A beautiful view with great company it was really nice to sit and chat before we went back to the beach to get something to eat. We walked back to the main beach and found a popular fish and chip shop, sat down on the sand and ate our food. Stupid seaguls!! The film Finding Nemo got it spot on with how annoying those birds are, wouldn't leave us alone! We caught the ferry back to Circular Quay and saw an absolutely awesome view...the city in the distance under a pink sky, so cool! We stayed by the harbour having some drinks, playing what's the story and people watching. A really good day. Same again tomorrow!

The following day I met Georgie for a McDonalds ice cream (30 cent! the cheapest thing in Australia haha) before we walked across the Harbour Bridge. We climbed up the bridge pylon to see the city from a birds eye view...cool view of the Opera House, the gardens and the city. We crossed the bridge which was great fun and went to go on a few rides at Lunar Park. Unfortunately for us the park was closed so we just caught the train to Darling Harbour; we just had a laugh, funny photos, some food and playing on a park...another great day with Georgie!

Well, it was really nice to spend a few days with Georgie but sadly she was off to Fiji for a week and then she was going back to England!! I'll have to see her before she leaves! In the meantime though I caught the ferry to Taronga Zoo; just doing all the touristy things in the city before I finally run out of cash and have to get a job haha!! The zoo was good, it was built on a hill and so there was another great view of the city in the distance. I saw pretty much everything...the highlights though were the seal show and the bird show! I was like a kid, laughing on the front row haha, I didn't care..the show was awesome :)

After the zoo and back in the city I wandered over to the Sydney Eye; the tallest tower in the city. A beautiful clear day and a really pleasant afternoon I thought a view of the city at sunset might be worth checking out. I got up to the top at 5ish and waited for the sun to go down. Absolutely gorgeous. A 360 degree view of the entire surroundings, a blue sky and an ever sinking sun. The sky turning a deep orange and slowly fading whereas the city lights increasing in number below me. Great to see high in the sky and so glad I managed to go up the tower at sunset, highly recommend it!

Well so far I have loved every minute of Sydney! And already a few touristy things that I can tick off my list! There is still loads of things I'd like to do but hey I'm here for a while and I'll get to do them all fingers crossed.

I'll keep you posted!

Nathan