Hey Guys!

Sorry (again!) for not being in touch for a while! Laura has been here for the week and we’ve just been soooooo busy cramming all the Sydney highlights in! Her week just passed so quick though and I’m totally knackered! (poor me, I know!) She’s been gone 2 days now, was ace having another person around to go sunbathing and shopping (Rob refuses to do both,can’t think why…!) Can’t believe Laura didn’t suffer from jetlag! She managed to sleep every night (even though we all 3 of us were squashed in the van, think rob was scared of the spiders in the tent!! See photo!!) I’m actually in the van right now, crazy thunder and lightening happening! I’m all cosy in my sleeping bag, though and feeling hot - got burnt today on beach, face is all tight and my body is like a radiator!! Rob and I are in Port Stephens at the mo, 250kms north of Sydney, decided to come up here for a beach chill week before Debs and Ian.

Well in the last couple of weeks I‘ve had the best time, had an especially great time with Kate and her family and friends, really loved Melbourne, definitely somewhere I could see myself living….!! It was so great to have her show us round the city. On the last weekend there we went to one of Melbs parks where they have a moonlight cinema, loved how it was still warm in evening to sit out with a picnic and watch a movie outside! She also took us to her families beach house out at Sandy Point, beautiful place, her family were so lovely and welcoming. We spent a couple of days there, Kate and her bro Charlie took Rob and I for a surfing lesson, oh and I was ACE by the way! Seriously, I was standing up and everything, I’m a natural apparently! J I really loved it though, would love to take it up as a hobby but the -45° waters of sunny Aberdeen doesn’t quite have the same appeal! We also went on a few nights out in St Kilda, love the eating strips there and the cake shops, mmmm hmmmm….love cake! Went to the Night Cat club in Fitzroy the sat night, ace place with a really funky live band playing, sounded very jazzy soul-like! Kate’s mate Ally also had a party at her house on the Sunday, met some very nice people and had great banter! Definitely had a great few weeks there, looking forward to when she comes to Scotland for a visit!

On the journey up to Sydney we met up with Rob’s mate Tucker and his girlfriend Caz in Jervis Bay for a couple of days. It’s just a small coastal town with very little but the beach is supposed to have the whitest sand in the world, we obviously expected paper shavings! It was very white, surely not the whitest! The dull weather didn’t help much though, even had a game of tennis in the rain! Also went for a few drinks at one of the bars and also for a very nice (but very hot) thai curry!

We arrived in Sydney a couple of days before Laura was due in, since then we’ve had an amazing time getting around Sydney - was so much fun! We’ve actually not stopped - up at 7am and in to the city until all the hours, very tiring actually! Clearly Laura wanted to go shopping on her first day, - Sydney has some beautiful shopping malls all in historic buildings with a wonderfully ornate interior, plus at the weekend Syney has loads of markets, we went to Paddy’s market in Chinatown, it had loads of cheap stuff! Ace! In the evening Rob’s mate Paul invited us round to his new flat - amazing place!! Right in the centre of town with a huge rooftop garden that overlooks Darling Harbour, had a BBQ and a few drinks there. The next day we caught the ferry to Manly beach, great trip as you get the best views (at the cheapest price!) of the Harbour bridge and the Opera house as the ferry passes right by! Once we arrived we did a lot of sunbathing and swimming - loved the waves there, so huge! On the Monday the weather was dull so we went for a tour of the Opera House, stunning building! After seeing some of the great halls, I can’t wait to go see an opera, going to wait until Debs and Ian arrive for that. Also went to the top of Sydney’s tallest building, the Sky Tower, to see the views over Sydney. On Tuesday we went drove out to the Blue Mountains, unfortunately the weather wasn’t the greatest therefore there wasn’t much of a view! It did clear up a little though and we did get to appreciate the high altitude, eucalyptus haze stunning scenery, plus we did a little walk over to this huge waterfall that fell hundreds of ft into this spooky thick mist! We also drove out to the Jenolan caves, was an interesting journey! Rob and Laura were s&*^ting themselves as the road there just runs long a steep cliff face for about 15 miles, I’m sure my quality driving skills reassured them a little! Hehe! The caves are amazing, probably the biggest limestone caves I’ve ever seen, one of which you can drive right through in your car. As it was dusk when we eventually left, Laura got to see loads of Kangaroos, you got to drive so carefully around them though as they are gather on roads and leap out in front of vehicles. The following day the weather was nice and sunny so we drove North to Palm Beach, also the place where Home and Away is filmed! Even seen filming on the beach, unfortunately Alf was nowhere to be seen! We met up Ginger (who I went to school with!) and 2 of his French friends before leaving to find a new caravan park to stay in. On the Thursday we made our way to Bondi beach. Didn’t think Bondi would be as good as the other beaches, expected it to be rather seedy and shabby but I was wrong - beautiful place!! Has the finest white sand, turquoise waters, trendy cafes and boardwalk. Loved it there, rather busy though! After being at Bondi for a while we headed back into the city and did the BridgeClimb on top of harbour bridge, was an amazing 3½ hours, with wonderful views and very scary at times - at certain point you are literally walking on top of wire meshing that allows you to see the ground! It’s a bit pricey though but I suppose it one of those things I can now say I’ve done! In the evening we met Paul for a few bday drinks in a nice rooftop bar. On Laura’s last day we had to go back to Bondi again before meeting Ginger and friends in the city for a few farewell drinkies.

Think Laura had a good time and felt the 36 hours of travel there and back was worth it!! Was sad to see her go - good to have someone else around! Plus started to feel a little homesick after she left but looking forward to next week when Debs and Ian arrive for a month!

Hope you are all happy and warm at home! Thanks for all the messages - keep em coming! Love hearing what you are all up to!

Speak soon

Nikki and Rob xx