Arrived in Sydney (gained 2 hours) - cloudy but warm and as too early to check in we took a stroll down to the harbour and opera house area and then opted for a Hop on /off city tour to get our bearings.

Returned to the hotel but unfortunately our room looked out onto a brick wall and was really quite dark and depressing - Tom not happy! After some discussion we were allocated a nice studio apartment room on the 13th floor with a small balcony and complimentary breakfast thrown in…. yeah!!

Freshened up and took a short walk to the Rocks area; predominantly buildings of the Victorian era and most of them at one point destined for demolition until public outcry secured the preservation of these lovely buildings.

The Rocks area apparently has the most densely populated drinking establishments across the whole of Sidney and' Hey Ho' we just managed to wander in to it! Stopped in Sydney's oldest pub 'Fortune of War' Est 1812 and then walked up to the Glenmore hotel bar which is high above the rocks and has an amazing view of both the opera house and harbour.

Whilst in the Rocks area we found a German bier Keller (Lowenbrau Keller) offering wiener schnitzel - no stopping Tom who went for the whole traditional meal - Sue not so sure but whole meal was lovely and great fun.

Early start next morning and had a lovely skype call from Jacqui, May & Eugene, so lovely to see and speak to them! Sun was shining so decided upon a beach day; caught the local bus to Bondi Beach and once there took a stroll along the coast path to Bronte beach. Although Bondi Beach is considered to be the iconic beach of the region we had been warned that we may be disappointed. However we were really quite charmed with this lovely seaside bay and think we made the most of it. We walked its breadth and signed on to temporary membership of the 'Bondi Icebergs Club'; a private swimming club since 1929 which has a fabulous restaurant and bar overlooking the beach and sea water pool. Members who swim in the pool each Sunday without fail for a period of 4 years get free lifelong membership!! We weren't able to swim in the pool but spent a lovely lunchtime watching others and enjoying their hospitality.

Returned to the harbour and caught a ferry ride to Manly, a suburb of Sydney which is afforded delightful beaches on both harbour and sea side. Tom was based there on business last year so was able to retrace his steps and promote the best that it had to offer.

Walked around Manly, ended up on the beach and had a dip in the sea; the surf was really up and we had a great time battling the waves (very reminiscent of a wild Cornwall) although we were cautious of the strong tides and kept in our depth. Just as we came in to dry off the beach was closed to all swimming due to dangerous rip tides!

Finished the beach session in a lovely bar (the Pantry) overlooking the beach and with the sun going down. Strolled back to ferry wharf and went to a great fish restaurant (Garfish) overlooking the quay, clearly not looking our best after being pounded by the sea but who cares! Returned to Sydney city on the night ferry by starlight - ahhhh!

.