Sydney - 6th March to 10th March

So....Sydney, Australia, our last stop on our roller coaster of a journey down the east coast. We pulled into the transit centre on the Greyhound around midday; with no messing about we jumped straight on the train to Bondi Junction to head to Olli's flat which would be our base for two nights. Unfortunately I could not catch up with him as due to personal issues he had flown back to the UK but his sister was there to keep us company for a few days. Arriving in Bondi we caught the bus to Birriga Road where we dumped the bags and made our way to the world famous Bondi Beach, a place where numerous TV shows are filmed and a vast number of surfers have lost limbs due to shark attacks. So swimming hmm… Rachel didn't funny enough but hey, no pain, no gain, right. The area itself is very relaxed and reminded me a little of Byron bay without the weed and hippies. You have the beach and the walks that wrap around the cliffs and the shops that line the beach front. In the dead centre of the beach is the famous life guard station that is the base of Bondi Rescue and a place that many trainee life guards dream of working at. The sand is beautifully white and the sea is fantastic...very warm and very lively...the amount of people exercising or running on Bondi astounded me...it's like the fashionable thing to do as very much like most of Australia where people are health conscious and everyone is out to look and feel good. As for the beach itself, well I have to say it is amazing and really worth the visit. Surfing here must be great fun, excluding the fear of being attacked by a Great White of course. We chilled on the beach for a little before meeting up with Olli's sister, Ali who also happened to be on the beach. After the introductions and a little bit of sun bathing I headed for the sea. As I strolled down to the beach my head played the jaws theme tune over and over but I soon forgot about it once I was in the water. I will go on record now and say I have never been in waves like it, these things were unreal. The height of them scared the c**p out of me. As I rode numerous waves in I found my face on more than one occasion being smashed into the sea bed. Well I guess when you stand waiting for the big ones that's what you have to expect. The surfer's had it sorted with their boards but me, not quite. After around 2 hours in the water I felt it was time to exit. I took the last wave in… rinsed again and jogged up the beach like a Bondi lifeguard!!

Having spent the day on the famous Bondi beach we headed back to the apartment where we chilled out and cooked up our remaining food from previous shops. After relaxing for a short while watching 'Old School' we met Olli's flat mate, Simon, who also lived with him on Khartoum Road on Sheffield. For those who don't know that was where I lived in my final year at Uni. After a long social we headed for bed and it was not long before we both crashed only to awake early the next morning to the glorious sun and a day where we knew every gay and lesbian would be in Sydney. After mooching about in the morning we caught the train to Sydney Central where we spent the day doing more sightseeing returning to many of the places we had visited on route to Melbourne for batter look. After a couple of hours in Paddy's Market we revisited the delicious Asian Cuisine and filled our boots with duck, noodle soup and sizzling lemon chicken. After lunch we looked around a few shops and witnessed a young lad reach over the till of a souvenir shop to steal some cash, which nearly turned in to a full on fist fight as the lad was wrestled to the floor by the shop owner. With the sun shining and the main event of Mardi Gras still to come we took the chance to head back to the Harbour Bridge and the Opera house and to chill and relax in the Royal Botanical Gardens. Both attractions are stunning and play a huge part in the Sydney landscape. The Sydney Opera House is a beautiful building...just to see it in the flesh is amazing ...and although you know what its going to look like from photgraphs you can't fully appreciate the magnificant architecture of the building until you see it first hand.

The Opera House, as well as being architecturally beautiful, has a fascinating history. It was completed in 1966 but the idea of it was first announced in the late 40's by the conductor at the time of the Sydney symphony orchestra. It was planned and budgeted as a 3 million dollar project to be completed in 7 years but ended up through much political controversy costing $102 million and took an astonishing 16 years to complete. Further to that there were that many problems that the architect was sacked halfway through and the new government put a new team in place to finish it. But, still after all that Sydney needs it and the money that it brings in to Sydney from tourism cannot be replaced.

As we headed for Hyde park and Oxford street the place was starting to bounce. Although the parade was still over 3 hours away the streets were becoming packed, music boomed out from surrounding pubs, flats and peoples cars and the parties were already starting. Wandering through the park and heading up the street we found a good spot where Rachel managed to slide to the front, much to the anguish of some rude Australians. A mere two hours later, after a vast array of display's of sexual content especially from the flats overlooking the street, the parade got underway with 'Dykes on Bikes'. No I'm not being homophobic, that was their name by choice. What followed is pretty clear in all the pictures; loud music accompanied by colourful proud gay displays of unity. The different floats were all unique and entertaining, as people joined together to admire people's choices of individuality. After a long 3 hours of dancing and elaborate homosexual viewing the parade finished so we headed down the street ,along with the other 300,000 spectators, hoping to find some food. We settled for trying Korean food, an idea put into our heads from the day in Canberra. We indulged in some different food, tasty in places but not so much in others. After a long day we headed back to the flat at around 1am where we collapsed until the morning.

The next day started slowly, feet and knees still aching from the night before we climbed tenderly out of bed. However, the excitement of moving to luxury soon took hold and pushed us on to get our bags packed ready for Coogee Beach but not before four episodes of The Simpsons and a visit to Bondi Beach for one last swim before making the short journey down the coast. As per usual I spent the few hours we had on Bondi playing in the waves, alone, as Rachel feared her tiny body would make perfect shark bait. However, I enjoyed the swell that seemed to grow as the day went on although a little after lunch time the weather turned, funny that a full moon had passed only the previous night. As the cloud built the rain started to fall so Rachel pulled me from the water and we headed back but only after a quick look around Bondi's Sunday Market. We collected the bags from Olli's joint and caught the first of two buses to Coogee Beach. As the rain had started to fall heavier we were thankful that we were in the confines of Sydney's public transport. We rolled in to Coogee directly outside the Crown Plaza so strolled up to reception, booked in and made our way to our room. At last luxury (thanks Ginny) and a double bed to beat all double beds, although before jumping on it I had promised Rachel I would shower and wash so as not to dirty the covers. However, before settling too much we took on the driving rain and grabbed some snacks from the local convenience store so as to avoid the temptation of the mini bar in the room. Once showered there was silence, peace and quiet away from everyone and anything. We laid back and reflected on our time in Australia and the experiences we had been fortunate to have. Before the night grew too old we ordered dinner from the local Domino's and get this - the cost for two large pizza's was $10! That divided by 2.2 equals £4.54 which is £2.27 per pizza, oh my word how dirt cheap is that? Now, Australia is expensive for some things, like bread and water but a take away pizza that in England costs a week's wages is cheaper than a public toilet in Liverpool Street station in London, Crazy. Well, once I got over the excitement of how cheap dinner was we spent the rest of the evening enjoying the hotels facilities and Foxtel.

On our final day in Sydney and of course Australia we headed straight for the city centre. As we hopped on the bus and brought our tickets we were once again greeted by other bad mannered servicemen before making the 20 minute journey to Oxford Street. On leaving the bus we immediately noticed the street looked in a lot better shape to what it was a few nights ago during Mardi Gras, although there were still plenty of 'alternative people' wandering around. We visited a few shops to pick up some warmer clothes for New Zealand and a couple of souvenirs from our trip to Australia and then relaxed with a couple of sizzling Asian Dishes and a Starbucks. Then it was over. In a blink of an eye the sun started it's descent and our time in Australia was over. We headed back to luxury to change before heading out for dinner at an Italian on Coogee Beach. Following another sound night's sleep in the hotel we arose early to meet the shuttle bus to take us to the airport for our flight to New Zealand and onto the next adventure of our travels.

Australia has been a whirlwind adventure that has taught us both a great deal both in appreciating life at home and seeing how we can improve life in the UK. The country itself is young and therefore its history is far shorter than many others. Once the British took over the land previously held by Aborigines, Australia was formed and soon developed into a trading nation. Although the place is still naive to its path in to the world recession it still has its chance to learn from other nations mistakes. Although one thing that has become clear to us both is that it is a nation with serious race, diversity and cultural differences from both sides. Many of the native Aborigines have been offered a great deal in terms of compensation from a sorry government for its mistreatment of them in early years but both still seem to be fighting a cold war. As we made our way from Cairns and northern Queensland, a place very rich in Aboriginal culture, we saw both sides to Australia and both types of Australian's. The contrast from place to place is what makes the country, Australia, so unique from anywhere else in the world. In Queensland a walk down the street will cause every pore in the body to open while a rain shower is almost warm enough to make a cup of tea from. Further down the country New South Wales offers similar weather to Britain, in the short summers we enjoy, with a drier heat and hot sun but the contrast is only really felt when entering Victoria. A place ravaged by the worst heat wave in decades which has caused untold destruction with wild fires. Yet, one day there it can be 40 degrees plus then the following day the jumpers and jeans come out as temperatures struggle to get above 18 degrees. In places Australia adopts an American philosophy of people exercising...bulky guys posing in just small Speedos and every girl sporting the latest fashion items as quoted in the weekly heat. In other places alcohol takes a hold of people and entire areas are centered on a drinking culture. In my eyes Australia was a nation I always wanted to visit, particularly the white sands of the Whitsunday, the remoteness of Fraser Island and the breath taking coast line of Victoria and these have completely justified that choice. However, if I was to come back then the East Coast would probably be last on my list of things to do again. I think it was a onetime love of a place, maybe a fling, but one thing is for sure I would come back, just to see the other sights Australia has to offer. It has shown me it is a country with huge contrasts across its borders with vast areas I have not had time to experience so things I will look forward to experiencing in years to come.