Hello there, still in Sydney and havin a great time!

Well after I spoke to you guys the other day I thought I would take the opportunity while I can to fill you in on my boring life and the last few days. . . hahaha. . . I did meet up with my friends Claire and Nick who I met in Fiji. . . . We met down in the city and went for a few beers and some lunch. . . . It was great to catch up with them and share all our stories about the travels we had done, etc. . . . They had many stories and we had a great laugh together!

Later in the week, me and Xanthe headed out to the Blue Mountains, which is about 2 hours by train inland from Sydney. Wow, the place was awesome, a huge National Park, with a massive canyon and dense forests. . . We got there about midday and walked from the train station down to Echo Point, an amazing lookout over the vast gorge. We then planned out a bit of a rough route and set off. . . . The pathway took us to different fantastic lookout points, rock formations and waterfalls. . . The trek was fairly easy and the day was great, the weather was awesome, really sunny, but not too hot, so great for walking in. . . . . There were rather a lot of steps though that did take there toll on the old legs! We walked (I reckon) about 12km all in all. . . . . On the way home, we stopped past Xanthes Ma n Pa’s and picked up some movies, more specifically Ice Age 2, as I have wanted to watch it for ages (Hey Sofie!). So that night, I just made us some food and we crashed in front of the tele and watched that. . . Hilarious, love it!

Anyway, on Friday, I just chilled out for the day down in Coogee and did a bit of a coastal walk before meeting up with Claire and Nick again mid afternoon. We had planned to go out with them on Friday night for a meal and a few beers. . . . Xanthe was walking, so the 3 of us had a few beers in the afternoon before heading back to Xanthes to get showered and stuff. We had some drinks there then headed into the city and to a Tapinjaki restaurant. Now for you guys who have never eaten at one of these establishments, I would definitely recommend it. . . . What a laugh. . . Now the basic principle is that you all sit round a hot plate and you get your own crazy chef to cook your food for you. . . .Slight problem though, he throws the food at you! Now that may sound a little crazy, well yes it is. . . But great fun, especially when you tell the chef that it is Nicks birthday and he picks on him. . . . Now yes, we had had a few beers, but Nick managed to spill some sauce down his t-shirt, but to be honest it didn’t really matter as it was soon to get even messier. So, picture this, we have been given a little bowl and the chef decides to throw eggs at us. . . . hmmmm. . . . . Me first, no problems, then Xanthe and Claire, no problems, all got in the bowls cleanly! Now Nick. . . . . . It was a classic, he couldn’t do it again if he tried. . . . The egg goes up into the air and down torwards the bowl. It landed on the edge of the bowl and cracked open all down his t-shirt! Now I suppose you had to be there and a little tipsy, but I was in stitches. . . . . ! Fortunately he had a spare t-shirt to put on some he didn’t look a chump all night! The meal was great and the food fantastic, we had a great laugh with the chef and it all got topped off by one of the lovely waitresses asking if I was a celebrity off the TV. . . .I should have played along with it a bit more, but it was still fun!

After the restaurant we headed to an Irish bar proceeded to get very drunk on Guinness. We had a bit of a dance and took far to many photos. . . We were all tired, so decided to call it a night reasonably early. We put Claire and Nick in a taxi and then we got the bus home (supposedly), think I was drunk! Now I know I say I don’t get hangovers, but in the morning, well. . . . . . Now I hope this isn’t the start of something new because I am 30, but blimey my head hurt! Hhhhhhmmmmmm. . . . . .

So, needless to say we didn’t do much on Saturday and As I was leaving that night we chilled round the house for the day and watched another movie. . . . So that was my week with Xanthe, A great time had again. . . . See ya again soon gorgeous, down in Melbourne in a few weeks!

So, that was Sydney again, back on a plane to Brisbane for my flight in the morning to New Zealand. . . . Wow, can’t wait! Brisbane was kind of cool though, because I took the opportunity to catch up with Pete (the cool guy I met at Rainbow Beach). I got a taxi and met up with him and his girlie and stayed at their place for the night. . . . We ate pizza, drank a few beers and swapped stories, while also reminiscing about the great time we had at Rainbow and Fraser Island! Was really nice to catch up with him. Plus his plans have now changed, so am gonna meet up with him again in NZ in about a month. . . . . Watch out NZ, that’s all I can say!

Pete dropped me off at the airport in the morning. . . . . . . New Zealand here I come! So speak to ya soon guys, take it easy!