If only the people a few doors down from me in the motel had not decided to leave the TV on all night. So having had less sleep than hoped for, I left at sunrise and headed south. First stop - a hike in the bush to a spot where perhaps thousands of years ago aboriginal tribes had left their mark - hand paintings on rock faces. On the way there I saw my first wild kangaroo. Or wallaby - I'm not sure; I'll have to ask. But I have a blurry photograph to prove it. ...

The day started with a long and nearly unsuccessful hunt for the winemaker who produced a lovely Riesling that we had sampled at Sydney Opera house the day before. He was "somewhere in the Orange area". It turns out Bloodwood winery is very hard to find; very off the beaten track. Satnav was no use at all. Luckily in the Orange area it's grape harvest time so I came over very un-Brit, walked into a field of vines and asked a grape picker - who knew Bloodwood an...

Friday morning: A nice lady at West Ryde Avis kitted me out with a bright red Toyota to head off into the bush. Or at least to drive the Western Highway (also known as the explorers or pioneer's route). this is when you start to realise landscapes happen here on a considerably larger scale than in warwickshire. On the plus side everyone drives at a very conservative low speed, and the roads are not very busy. The Blue Mountains came up pretty early, with stops...

How many iconic landmarks can you deal with in one day? It started with a quick walking tour of Epping. A small but perfectly formed little community - and by coincidence it's where Tim & Kam live (so that's nice). I may have noticed a number of building and shops that (if I'm honest) have seen better days. There may be a surprisingly large number of Chinese takeaways. But altogether it is very pleasant. From there we moved on to Sydney Opera House for lun...

The Central Business District (or CBD) pretty much does what it says on the tin. Towering offices and power suits all over the place. Great place to spend day 2 of life donw-under. On the other hand, it seems that the relative dullness of some jobs - let's say (jsu becauise we're chatting...) accountancy - is counterbalanced by the stonking views they give themselves. In today's case, from 200 feet up a tower near the lower end of George St, you get an interestin...