When we arrived in Sydney friends Matt and Michelle Chase picked us up from the airport and we drove to a bar in town for a drink and bite to eat. It was a Belgian bar and the cider there was really good so we were happy! We didn't stay long though and went back to Matt's parents' house where we have been staying. The house is lovely, the shower is great and our bed is really comfortable so we are really thankful to them for having us after 4 weeks of not so great showers or real beds!

On our first day in Sydney we took a train to Circular Quay and walked along to Sudney Opera House where we did the Explorer Tour, learning about how it was built and we saw a few of the concert halls. Buying this ticket meant we got a discount on NYE Gala tickets so we went and checked this out and went for it as the original plan meant saving a spot in the gardens for the majority of the following afternoon, missing out on seeing something else in Sydney.

Phil wanted to do the walk up Sydney Harbour Bridge that afternoon but it was booked out and the times they had free while we were in Sydney were inconveinient so instead we did the jet boat ride around the harbour. It was quite different from the ones we had done in NZ as it was in deep water with big waves. We got soaked through to the skin and it was a little bit scarier than the other rides but we enjoyed it none the less.

That night Matt and Michelle had us round for a BBQ and then we got an early night in anticipation of NYE.