As i'm sure i've mentioned, Australians are not great at celebrating Christmas. But i'll give them their due - they sure know how to party at New Year!

Following an eighties expulsion on Christmas Eve and a damp squib at Bondi on Christmas Day, anything was gonna be an improvement - especially if i managed to remain on the premises until the end of the night!

Predictably, this didn't happen. Following six cans of lager and two litres of goon (to the uninitiated, goon is an Aboriginal word for 'pillow' and refers to those bags of wine which you buy in boxes) opening a bottle of Southern Comfort was always likely to end in disaster. And it did. In a typical example of my drunken idiocy, i stumbled to the lavatory (or at least to the tree that everyone else was urinating under) to relieve myself only to be confused by the onset of darkness and my unfamiliar surroundings. Having failed to locate my friends i meandered home via Hungry Jacks (aka Burger King for UK readers) and watched the spectacular fireworks display from the gents toilets in our hostel. The view was genuinely brilliant. And at least i remember the pyrotechnics - poor Rachel has no recollection at all.

In the UK, New Year's Day has always been a day for slobbing around, feeling sorry for myself and watching football. But not this year! The first day of 2010 saw me attend my first festival of the year. As an overcast sky gave way to one of the hottest days since we arrived down under, we imbibed overpriced alcohol and danced from afternoon to evening to the sounds of Cassius, Roger Sanchez, Architecture in Helsinki, Datarock, DJ Yoda, Major Lazer, Fake Blood and the estimable 2manyDJs. Without the infamous cordless phone, comedy moments were instead wrung from plastic picnic chairs and Dan & Jason's endless quest for golden tickets. Nobody got kicked out - not even me! Who knows if i'll make it back to the UK for festival season, but if i don't i'll be glad that this was the only major music event i attended this year. Thanks to all the Kanga House Crew who made it my best day yet in Australia.

As we prepare to leave Sydney on an overnight bus to Byron Bay, here are a few observations which might stand future visitors in good stead:

1. Don't believe the hype: Tim Tams are just McVitie's Penguins in different wrappers.
2. Australian TV is rubbish unless you like endless repeats of British reality TV shows. It is redeemed only be the fact that you can watch Seinfeld almost 24/7.
3. Goon is the only cost effective way of getting drunk - $15.99 for five litres of wine!
4. It rains in the summer time. And this summer it rained a lot!
5. There are loads of places where you can drink and watch the New Year fireworks.
6. Shelly Beach near Manly is the best in Sydney - and has free barbecues.
7. Bizarrely it's easier to get a hot pie than a cold sandwich.
8. If you don't drink either coffee or fresh juice you might dehydrate.
9. The fruit bats you see everywhere are flying foxes. Or vice versa.
10. The Opera House is nothing more than a photo opportunity. But the Australian Museum is amazing!
11. Be careful with your condiments: supermarkets tell you you're purchasing mayonnaise but it's actually salad cream!