Hi everyone, this is the last time we will be writing from Sydney as tomorrow we pick up our camper van and hit the road... We are currently sat in Darling Harbour (the picture for this blog) which is a slightly more expensive riverside in the Oracle... Without a Pizzahut...

We think we promised in the last blog to talk less about food. So, erm, to get it out of the way for those who are interested our food highlights have included... Fish and Chips in Watsons Bay, BBQing our own steaks at Phillip's Foote in the Rocks (Thanks for the tip Heather and Robin!) and kangaroo stir-fry in the Blue Mountains...

Right, on to the more important things. We have absolutely loved Sydney, it is a fantastic city. Last Monday we climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge, getting dressed in ridiculous grey jumpsuits and scrambling the 1437 steps up to the top and back. The views were incredible and the sun was setting as we climbed. When we reached the top the moon was out and the lights were coming on across the city.

A big day out was a trip to the Blue Mountains, last Wednesday. On the way we stopped at Featherdale Wildlife Park where we made friends with some native animals including koalas, kangaroos and emus. There were also dingoes, wombats and tasmanian devils loitering about. We fed the kangaroos and stroked the koalas. This was just hours before the aformentioned stir-fry. Pat them in the morning, eat them for lunch. That's just how we roll.

Then we went on into the Blue Mountains, about an hour to the west of the city. We walked through the bush and got a cable car across a canyon older than the Grand Canyon. It had a glass floor which sure gave Amanda the hibbiejeebies! The views were amazing and we also got to go on the steepest railway in the world (apparently) which was an old mining train to the bottom of the canyon.

In the afternoon we had a go at playing the didgeridoo, before heading through the Sydney Olympic Park. It was impressive, and almost every Aussie we've met has said that their Games were the best ever (closely followed by "so you guys invented cricket? How come you are so s**t?") so we've got a lot to live up to in 2012.

We have also done a fair amount of sitting. We've chilled in the Royal Botanic Gardens with veiws over the harbour, and relaxed on Manly, Bronte and the famous Bondi Beach. Bondi was full of beautiful views and beautiful people - who were mostly jogging, or doing chin ups. We didn't join in, we didn't want to put them to shame. Besides, we had just had more Pancakes on the Rocks...

As mentioned we are in Darling Harbour at the moment, which is also home to the Sydney Aquarium - like Sea World. They had sharks, manatees, rays, reef fish and Nemo. We made friends with a camera-shy eel - it's in the album...

Other than that, we've not done much! But really looking forward to the next stage of our trip. We pick the van up in the morning and we've got about 6 weeks to drive the 2,500km to Cairns in the north. Our first stop is going to be around Newcastle (hooway the toon!) and the Hunter Valley - famous for its wine. After that we'll head on through Fraser Island, the Whitsundays and many towns like Brisbane and Surfer's Paradise along the way. But we'll keep in touch and let you know where we end up.

As always, thanks for the messages, keep 'em coming!

Take care,
Amanda and Tim
xxx