June 8th (Monday) - Day 99 - Sydney
We had to catch a really early bus. Shockingly there were not many buses from Tea Gardens. We were very early for the bus so ended up waiting around in the rest stop for almost an hour. Once we got going it was not long until we were in Sydney. The place instantly took me and I knew I was really going to love Sydney and everything about it. It was also nice to see a large city again. I seem to be drawn to them. The towering sky line and the millions of people make me feel at home weirdly. We got dropped at central station and had to make our own way to Kings Cross. After months of being picked up everywhere it was odd. However it was really easy to find the right train line and once in Kings Cross we found our hostel quickly. We could tell as soon as we checked in the place was not that nice. (But being dirt cheap we would end up staying there for the next week!) Once in our slightly run down room we walked down to the harbour. The first thing you realise is the sheer size of the harbour. All natural. We walked north from our hostel to the shore line and followed it right around to the CBD. Very soon the harbour bridge came into view followed shortly but the opera house. The sky was really clear and it gave it the whole picture postcard look. It was a bank holiday Monday so there were loads of people around. We walked through the harbour gardens and around to the opera house. We took some pics and walked towards Circular Quay. On the way over we saw a number of speed boats zooming around. We had to give that a go! We jumped on one and headed out. We luckily/madly got a front seat. This mixed with the fact the driver wanted to give us the best time possible meant we were going to get very wet. Surly enough we got soaked. He kept getting into the wake of other boats and stopping, this meant we stopped sharply and also meant it sent loads of water right over us. We had 30 minutes doing this. The boat was so fast we managed to get to Manly and back in that time. (The ferry is normally 45 minutes each way!) Very wet we walked down into the main town area taking in the size of all the sky scrappers before walking back to Kings Cross. Wandering around kings cross we found a pub that did jugs of beer for $6 (3 quid) so we ended up spending a lot of time in that place over the next week.

June 9th (Tuesday) - Day 100 - Sydney
We did the same walk as the day before down to the harbour and along the gardens. We booked onto a tour of the Opera house. The tour guide gave us all head sets. This was so he didn't have to shout. There were loads of people on the tour mainly Americans. One made me laugh as we were walking up about 10 stairs and she said "wow what a workout". We got to see one of the smaller theatres before being taken up into the largest one. There was a band practicing so we got to see a free show! The theatre was huge. It holds about 5,000 people. We were not meant to take any pictures inside but I managed to sneak one ;). We then got to see the other large theatre. The views of the harbour were amazing from the top. Along the way we got to hear about the story of the designer. He got pushed off the project half way through and never got to see the finished building before he died.
After the tour we had to hot foot it over to the Sydney harbour bridge. We had booked on a climb. Once checked in we had to get suited up in one of there sexy boiler suits. As it was windy at the top of the bridge we also had to be given loads of other things including the kitchen sink. We had to take a fleece, a rain coat, hanky and gloves. Along with the radio and all the safety equipment. Once all that was clipped to us in one way or another we had to do a test climb on the indoor practice bridge. You get clipped onto a continuous rail and have to drag a pulley with you the whole way. The practice was to make sure we could use it before getting out on the real thing. Once complete we made our way over to the bridge. The guy clipped us all on and we walked off in single file. The first part involved walking along the gang way about 40 metres off the ground. It was horrid looking down. After about 10 minutes we reached the main ladders and climbed them one at a time. This brought us up onto the bridge just above the traffic. It was zooming past below our feet. Once everyone was up we climbed to the summit. The views of the area were breath taking. On one side you could see the sea, the whole length of the harbour and on the other side you could see the blue mountains as well as buildings as far as the eye could see. We spent about 10 minutes looking around. Unfortunately we could not take camera's up so there are no pictures of it. We then had to take the long walk back down. All in all it took about 3 hours from start to finish.
Shock horror we went for a well earned drink afterwards.

June 10th (Wednesday) - Day 101 - Sydney (Manly)
We jumped on the ferry over to Manly. It was the first cold day we had had in well 101 days. The wind was really bitter and neither of us had coats. The ferry over took about 30 mins. The first thing we did was head for the beach. We walked around and then decided to get some lunch. We went to a café on the sea front and ordered. 45 minutes later our food had not arrived and after complaining it turned out they never put the order through. So we made a fuss and left. We weren't going to wait any longer. We found another café and the food there came out in a reasonable time. We went back to the beach to sit down and chill out for a bit. Hidden behind the wall it was quite warm so we did not move for ages. Once we did move we went for a walk up the hill to get a better view of Manly. We went off the path slightly and ended up walking along some very questionable paths on the cliff edge. Great views though. For some reason at the top of the hill there was a long lime stone wall. It was the most pointless wall ever and I still don't know what it was used for. Anyone know? Once back in town we had a look around the shops before getting the ferry back to the centre. We then wanted to get the ferry around to Darling harbour but there wasn't another one for an hour so instead we walked over. We had a good look around the harbour. It was all lit up by now as it was getting dark. The sky scrapers were amazing to look at. We had a wander around the shopping centre and tried to get into the Casino but they would not let us in with bags hence we gave it a miss. We then jumped on the ferry back to the centre. It was brilliant seeing all the buildings from the water. We then went under the harbour bridge (again all lit up) and around the corner was the Opera house. We were so lucky as Sydney had a "vivid" festival on and one of the exhibitions was a light show off the sails of the Opera house. There were some funky colours and shapes. It was amazing to see. Afterwards we headed back to the hostel.

June 11th (Thursday) - Day 102 - Sydney (Bondi Beach)
To see a bit more of Sydney we got on the hop on, hop off sight seeing bus. It also went to Bondi beach which was a bonus. We started in Kings Cross and took the 2nd half of the tour first. We went round seeing sculptures, churches and all manner of things. We were going to jump off at central station and get on a Bondi bus but the next one was not for an hour. So I thought we could do the first part of the tour and jump off at a stop close to central and walk back. So we did the first ¼ of the tour but it seemed to be taking forever and we could not have had enough time to make it back. So we ended up jumping off miles away from the centre and as such had to walk really fast (and far) to make it. Luckily we had enough time and caught the bus. It didn't take long to get to Bondi beach. My first impressions were of amazement. It was such a perfect beach. And hardly a sole on it because it was so cold. We walked along the beach and then up into the town to grab some lunch. After lunch we walked along the side of the beach and along the cliffs. We could see from the beach that some huge waves were crashing over the cliffs and I had to see it up close. Afterwards we then got the bus back into town. Sarah wanted to look around the markets. Most of it was junk but I ended up buying a coat and Sarah got a hat. We then had the rest of the city tour to finish, so as it was only 90 minutes we did the whole route from start to finish.

June 12th (Friday) - Day 103 - Sydney (Blue Mountains)
We opted to do a trip to the blue mountains. We had to be picked up at half 7. Way too early! We then drove around picking everyone up, which took ages! Finally we were on our way. We stopped about half way to the mountains get some morning tea (and so the driver could collect cash). It was then another hours drive into the mountains. Our first stop was to see some Kangaroo's in the national park. The driver cheated and asked another bus driver were he had seen some. There were some long winding roads and the scenery was stunning. We found the kangaroo's sun bathing on a grass verge. One had a joey in its pouch. It was sticking its head out eating grass. All of a sudden it jumped out. It could hardly stand but went off hopping around like a mentalist. Our next stop was to see the huge gorge. From the look out point you could see everything. For the first time we could see why the place was called the blue mountains. The haze given off by the tree's makes the air look blue. It was so amazing.
After taking in the view we drove into a small mountain town to get lunch. After lunch one guy from Jordon was missing. He was having problems with his credit card so we found him on a phone box at the other end of the town. It was the only one and someone had been on it for almost an hour before him. We then had to wait even longer while he got cash. It was so funny as the bus driver could not stop and we ended up circling the town 3 or 4 times. Our next stop was "scenic world". There were a few methods of reaching the valley floor. The one we went down on was a massive cable car. It held about 100 people and it was full when we went down. It was so steep and people cringed once we went over the edge. At the bottom there was a temperate rain forest. We walked around for about 30 minutes before coming back up again. The method to get up was a cliff railway. The steepest in the world at 52 degrees. It was fine to start with but on the steep part it was almost impossible to stay in the car. It didn't last to long. At the top we got to feed some parrots. Our final stop was at some amazing waterfalls. Taller than Niagara falls. However no were near as much water going over. On the way back to Sydney we got a short look at the Olympic park and then we were dropped off at the ferry terminal to have a cruise around Sydney harbour. It was dark again so got to see the Opera house all lit up again.

June 13th (Saturday) - Day 104 - Sydney
We had been looking at Sydney tower all week and decided it was time to go. Once at the top we had some amazing views but the experience was a little disappointing. We have been to the top of lots of things and this was a little dull. Nevertheless we still enjoyed it. They also had a free side show which was a look into the types of area's found in Aus. However the main part of it was broken. So we decided to do the first part just in case we did not have a chance to come back. I wish we didn't. It was also really dull. We sat in some seats and there was a little show in front. The best bit was changing Sarah's language to Japanese the whole time. We then jumped on a train, followed by a bus to get to the Olympic park. We wanted to see the park after the short glimpse we had had. There were numerous tours but the best one was the main stadium tour. We ended up on a tour with some kids who had some mental issues. Each one had a carer but they still acted up. First we drove around the outside of the stadium before entering a long service tunnel. Along the tunnel they showed a laser show. We then drove around the basement of the stadium. Right in the guts where the public don't normally get to see. We then got to view the whole VIP area. Starting at the top we saw where the platinum members got to see the game from. They paid 34,000 dollars for a 40 year membership. Mind you that's not much seeing as they get 2 tickets to everything in that 40 years. The stadium itself was huge. It did hold about 110K people during the Olympics but they cut the number back as its now a football stadium. We then got to see the press area and then the best thing about the stadium. It can host rectangle and oval sports. They can move one side of the whole stand back and forth to suit the game being played. Finally we saw the changing rooms and some of the history made in the place. Such as the shirt Jonny Wilkinson wore when he kicked the winning conversion in the rugby world cup. We even got to stand on the podium used during the Olympics.

June 14th (Sunday) - Day 105 - Sydney
We had a real lazy morning and didn't get moving until lunch time. Our hostel had hit a new high - there was loads of water leaking from the bathroom into the kitchen. It lasted for about 2 days before anyone did anything about it. We headed down to the harbour and found our whale watching boat. It took about an hour to get out to sea. We found a pair of whales quite quickly they were coming up for about 30 seconds and then going under for 8 minutes so we didn't see much of them. There was also a speed boat that was frightening them, I thought we were going to see some more but instead headed back. Not the life changing experience I had expected. We headed back to the tower to do the second part of the show. We could not skip the first part so we had to sit through the same show again. Korean was my language of choice for Sarah this time! The second part was alright, you sat in seats that moved so it felt like you were flying over the harbour to floating down a river.

June 15th (Monday) - Day 106 - Sydney
Sarah still needed a coat so we headed to a factory outlet centre. It was quite big but outlets can be very hit and miss. Unfortunately it was a miss this time round. In one shop they had some really amazing deals but it was not until Thursday. We knew we could have moved on by then. That afternoon we headed back to the hostel as we needed to book loads of things. It took us about 4 hours to book all we needed. We had been wanting to go to this all you can eat pizza place all week so we headed off there. The beer was cheap so we pigged out on pizza and drank a little bit to much!