Well we are very late in saying it but HAPPY NEW YEAR and all the best for 2011. Our feet haven't touched the ground since we touched down in Sydney on the 29th of December and have had a lot to do and sort out. First things first though, as soon as we found our hostel we found out the location of our friends Kathryn and Alex and met up as quick as a flash. It was great to see some faces from back home once more. After a catch up over a few cold beers we hit the streets of Sydney and made our way through Hyde Park and into the Botanical Gardens that leads down to a view of the whole harbour, with the Sydney Opera House sat on the harbours waters looking like a surreal sculpture of an armadillo as the crowning glory of the Sydney Harbour Bridge sweeps over the skyline just behind it. We strolled through the gardens soaking up the sunshine knowing that in a few days time the bridge would be alive with over twenty million dollars worth of fireworks lighting up the night sky. The views were great but for some reason we expected the harbour to look a lot bigger than it does, don't get me wrong it's still massive but as you walk around it, it feels a lot smaller than you would imagine it to be. We spent a few hours slowly walking up and down the harbour stopping off for a beer and a bite to eat. Kathryn wasn't 100% and was suffering with a heavy cold and they called it a day with a good rest in mind. Me and Ash took a slow walk back down the harbour to our hostel taking the opportunity to look at the Opera House close up and climbed the stairs to investigate the different buildings with their spiked peaks jutting out towards the sky at all angles. We finally arrived back at our digs to meet our roommates as this was the first time we had stopped in a mixed dorm, because in Southeast Asia it was so cheap to just get a private room. We were sharing our room with two friendly Dutch girls who asked a million questions about everything and anything and told us everything about them too. Funny though, after all they told us about themselves, I can't even remember their names.

The next day we spent all our time generally walking around Sydney researching the best site visit to watch the New Years Eve fireworks. After changing our minds 167 times we finally decided on making a trip over to the other side of the water to Bradleys Head. This sounded the best choice as it was free to get in and you could take your own alcohol unlike the majority of other sites. We had been in contact with other people that we had met whilst travelling who were also in Sydney for the New Year and we were all in agreement that that was the spot for us. With our spot chosen we hit the supermarket for all the necessities for a good old picnic and the bottle-o for our booze. We took a walk down to Darling Harbour after our shopping trip for a drink in the sun. After a while we were picked up by one Mr Jace O'Conner who had recovered fully from his travelling illness and was ready to become our unofficial tour guide to Sydney. We were taken to a Vietnamese restaurant in New Town to catch up, eat and meet Jace's friends who wasted no time in having a laugh and taking the Mick out of all of us. A good sign that they like us I am informed. We had a great night and were happy to see Jace back to his old self again. The next morning we were up early and out the door by 7.30am to walk down the road to meet Kathryn and Alex so we could walk to the harbour wharf to catch the 8.45am ferry to take us across the harbour. After 15 minutes or so on the ferry we were at the Taronga Zoo wharf and laden with our heavy bags of grub and booze, made our way up the hill and towards Bradleys Head in the baking morning sun. People had already started to queue by the time we got there but we were just relived that the queue wasn't huge and that we would defiantly be able to actually get in. So we found a nice little patch on the grass and set up camp for the next few hours. Shortly after, Adam and Louise met us and our little group was expanding. Bradleys Head wasn't supposed to be open to the public until 6pm. People kept trying to get past the tape and by 11.30am, the staff gave up and let people through. It was great and everybody was rushing to get a good spot. Adam and Louise had been there a few days before to check it out and Adam knew exactly where he was going "You carry the stuff and I will sort out the spot!" and with those words he was off like Billy Wizz. After a bit of a dash into the park we eventually saw Adam down in an opening of the park smiling like a Cheshire cat and waving his arms to signal "Down here!" What a spot he had got, hats off I have to say. Looking straight up the harbour with everything in sight and the water just a few meters away if we fancied a dip, you couldn't really ask for anything better. As soon as we set down our bags we had a mini celebration to our final resting place of 2010. James and Natalie turned up not long after and our group was complete. The sun was shining, music was pumping out, spirits were high and all the ingredients for a good day were on the table.

The day flowed nicely with a great atmosphere as everybody was enjoying the sun, sea and sand down by the harbour. As day rolled into night the excitement grew and a big cheer went up as the sun set.The skyline was beautiful with the sky changing from clear blue to orange and red, with the black backdrop of high rise buildings, the Opera House and the bridge setting the sight off a treat. The drinks were flowing and as time ticked on the anticipation grew.At 9pm the short firework show for the kiddies began. It only lasted around five minutes and it was amazing, we were thinking if that's only the small one the big one must be out of this world. A massive cheer erupted once more and the excitement for New Year was nearly boiling over. The hours past quickly and the clock hit 12am. The sky was lit up with fireworks of all colours, shapes and sizes. It looked like glitter falling through the sky in every direction and it kept going and going for twenty minutes solid. We have never seen a fireworks display like it and we were totally blown away as our heads tilted to the sky with "OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH" and "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH" being the only thing we said for the duration of the display. It was a little overwhelming and you couldn't help but feel a little emotional with the spectacular sights on offer. After the fireworks the crowd dispersed rather quickly and making our way out of Bradleys Head was a busy and bustling affair. We managed to lose everybody we were with in the crowds but made it to the bus and back into the city centre with relative ease, even though Ashleigh had to put up with me drunkenly asking the same questions over and over "Are we going the right way? How did we lose everybody? You think we will defiantly find the bus to take us back?" We finally made it back to our hostel and crawled into a shared bunk at 3.30am and were more than ready for some sleep.

New Year's Day was a bright sunny day and what better way to spend it than sat on the beach finishing off what food and drink we had left from the day before. We met up with Kathryn and Alex and caught a bus from central station where we also met Adam and Louise to take us to Bondi Beach. The place was packed out with everybody recovering from the activities of the day before with a bit of sun, sea and sand. Bondi is a great beach and we couldn't believe how busy it was with practically every grain of sand being laid on. After a while we were joined by Jace and his mate Paul who we had met a few nights before. The day was spent on our backs in the sun and it was the perfect way to spend the first day of the year. The next day we had planned to visit Manly for a few days but with the festive season everywhere was booked out and what we could find was far too expensive. Kathryn and Alex found a hotel in Bondi and we made our way there for another day by the sea. We hadn't found a place to stay and we had to call in a favour. We were planning to stay with Jace a week or so later but we asked if we could stay sooner as we were in a bit of a tight spot "Hey no problem!" was the answer we got and we were over the moon. After a day by Bondi we left Kathryn and Alex and headed to Sydenham via bus and train to Jace's mothers place. It was great to meet Deb face to face as we had spoke on the phone before whilst Jace was ill and in hospital. With us turning up a lot earlier than planned we felt a little embarrassed as Jace hadn't told his mum we were coming, typical of him. But we just have to say that we are so grateful to Deb for putting us up, you're a life saver!

The next few days were spent opening a bank account, sorting out our tax file number and looking for jobs to get some extra travelling cash. I managed to pick up a few days a week job working for Jace's mate Paul who has his own industrial waste removal company. Its tough work but I see it as getting paid to work out as you're constantly lifting and moving building materials. We have also been going to interviews via a job agency for travellers that we joined. The only problem is that these companies want you to commit to at least four to six months employment with them and we can't commit that much time to one place. At the end of the day we are travelling and would like to be able to move around a bit more frequently. But for now we are happy with the wage I am pulling in at the moment. It defiantly helps our bank balance.

We had booked up to do the Sydney Harbour Bridge walk on the 6th and we couldn't wait. We met up with Kathryn and Alex and made our way down to the bridge with plenty of time to spare. We went through the safety procedures and put on our bridge climb jump suits, harnesses and radio headsets. We were in a group of twelve people and after completing a quick simulator of the bridge stairs and rails, we clipped our latches to the safety wire and we were off. We started walking through the underside of the bridge leaving from one of the towers and were given information about the bridge and how it was built by our tour guide Chris. I always thought that the Tyne Bridge was a built first as a test of the techniques used so they could build the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The Harbour Bridge was actually built first but the designer of the bridge had seen the plans for the Tyne Bridge and used the arch design that he had seen and based his design on the Tyne Bridge plans. We climbed three ladders one at a time that took us to the base of the arch and once we were all there, we started the climb up the arch of the bridge. The views were absolutely amazing and the further up we went the better they got. It is such a shame you can't take your own camera up with you because the views are worthy of thousands of photographs. The 360 view of the harbour is breathtaking and you can see as far as Bondi beach to the east. When we finally hit the top we stopped for a few minutes to take in the sights. My heart was in my mouth and was beating fast as I was feeling a touch nervous, not because we were stood at the top of the bridge, but because what I was about to do. In a moment of quiet I asked Ashleigh to marry me. Her reply shook me a little as she said "What, are ya joking? Honestly!" all I could reply with was "Errrr, no I'm not joking" a smile spread across her face and she started to giggle and she gave me a massive kiss and cuddle. "Is that a yes then?" I asked as I still didn't really have an answer, "Of course I will you daft b*****!" They are the greatest words I have ever heard! Ashleigh turned to Kathryn and Alex and spread the news and we had a mini celebration of kisses and cuddles on top of the bridge. Alex told our tour guide of our happy news and he told the rest of the group via our headsets, a cheer went up and the congratulations were passed up the line putting massive cheesy grins all over our faces. On the walk down we couldn't help but smile and giggle at each other and we couldn't wait to go celebrate. The night was spent having a good few drinks, eating kangaroo pizza's and informing family and friends of our happy news, what time we got home is anybody's guess.

The following weekend was spent up at Paul's farm in Bathurst. Paul said it could be my first Buck's weekend. We set off early at 6am so we could catch a glimpse of the Blue Mountains on our way. After a few hours we arrived at Katoomba were we would be able to view the Three Sisters and the rest of the Blue Mountains. Unfortunately they were swamped with a thick fog and we couldn't see a thing so we got back in the car to drive the last leg of the trip up to Bathurst. As we hit the country roads, we got the feeling that this is what Australia is all about. Driving through winding dirt roads with lush green fields and trees that are slightly scorched by the sun, set against a backdrop of vast bright blue sky. After a few hours we arrived at the farm and wasted no time in getting out and about. First taking a look and trying some fruit from the fruit orchard and then taking a drive down to the river for a spot of lunch, a game of cricket and a swim in the mid day sun. We made our way back up to the farm after a few hours and were in for a treat, our first trip hunting in the bush. Paul loaded up the riffle and we were off to see if we could find anything for dinner. We had travelled up in two cars so there were seven of us in total. Jace and his mates Paul, Walshy and Tony, me and Ashleigh, a girl we had met in Cambodia called Lucile and not forgetting Tony's dog Spence. We walked on our hunt for about an hour but there was nothing worth taking a shot at. We spotted two kangaroo's up ahead and they had obviously spotted us too and were off in a shot. Both jumped a two meter high fence in a single bound and they were out of sight within seconds. Even though our hunt was fruitless it was a great experience all the same. We made our way back to the farm house for a night of relaxing on the farm porch with beers and a good old BBQ where the food would keep coming and coming. We watched the sun go down and after a while a guitar appeared and a sing song broke out. A particular highlight was Walshy's on the spot made up comedy songs, making his way around the group ripping it out of everybody one at a time. We laughed so hard that our stomachs hurt. The morning after the night before we were all a little worse for wear but Paul and Jace sharp made us feel better by lighting the BBQ and cooking up a monster of a breakfast. After the big clean up to make sure we left the farm as we found it, we completed our recovery by chilling out watching a movie before the long drive back. We set off at 4pm and got back into Sydney at 9.30pm. All that remained to be done was to have a shower and climb into bed.

Today we went shopping for a ring to pop on Ashleigh's wedding finger. We hunted high and low looking for a ring she loved and we finally found one. It looks amazing and she hasn't stopped staring at her hand all day. The smile that was on Ashleigh's face as I put the ring on her finger was the happiest smile I have ever seen, it was even better than the one on my face a few days before when she had said yes to me and I didn't think that that could be beaten. She described the feeling as being like a kid that gets so excited that all they can do is clench their teeth and shake. A funny thing we noticed after we bought the ring was that we bought it from a jeweller called A&C, the two letters that will be Ashleigh's initials once we get married. We loved hunting for the ring and were both over the moon to find it. We have been on cloud nine all day and long may the happiness continue.

Love Peter and Ashleigh x