A Warm Welcome

We arrived at Sydney airport and after a tent peg inspection from the quarantine guys were let into Australia! It was very different to actually be met by people at the airport, these people being our Aunty Susan and younger cousins, Christopher and Amelia. We soon settled in to their house in Mount Kuring-Gai which is right on the edge of Mt Kuring-Gai National Park. We had a very jolly Christmas, very similar to home but in an Aussie kind of way! We had turkey and vegetables cooked on the BBQ (delicious) and went for a walk in the bush to walk off all the food. In the evening we even had a surprise visitor: no not Santa bringing more presents but a Diamond Python slithering up a tree in the garden! It was all very exciting and made it a wonderful Christmas we will not forget!

As we’ve spent a long time (by our standards) in Sydney (3 weeks) we’ve done a lot, far too much to write about in detail. So instead I’ll be brief for once. We have done all manner of touristy activities that have all been amazing, from taking a bush walk and seeing a massive lizard and little kangaroos, to going up the Centre Point Tower and admiring the 360 degree view of Sydney. On our first trip into the city centre we walked through the gorgeous Botanical Gardens and came across the Opera House! We didn’t actually know it was there so it was quite a surprise to walk round a corner and be confronted by it with the spectacular Harbour Bridge behind. It was incredible to actually be standing right beside the Opera House as it is such an iconic building and is probably the first thing that springs to mind when you think of Sydney. We spent time wondering round, taking in the sights and atmosphere of the city and obviously indulging in a bit of shopping!

We have also visited Sydney Aquarium and Wildlife World which features all the creatures of Australia and were both really interesting although in hindsight it was probably a bad idea to visit in the week between Christmas and New Year! We enjoyed trying to identify all the creatures that could potentially kill us or at the least, cause serious pain. However, they were numerous so we have decided to keep away from everything except Koalas. We took a harbour cruise with our relatives which had lovely views of all the bays and amazingly expensive houses and apartments on the waters edge.

On the sports front we visited the Olympic Stadium and had a guided tour round which was fascinating, we even got to go in the changing rooms and have a throw around in the warm-up room. Craig and our Aunty went to the Sydney Tennis thing and saw lots of famous players! We have sadly witnessed the complete collapse of England in the Ashes and taken quite a lot of stick but it wasn’t all bad – we got to watch it on a big screen in Circular Quay in the lovely sunshine with views of the Opera House. Likewise we watched England lose miserably in the Twenty20 match and saw the worst fielding by England ever!

Of course, we have taken time out to relax by hanging out with our cousins as well as visiting all the beaches: Palm Beach (Home and Away), Avalon (we got sand blasted), Manly (beautiful) and Bondi (touristy but pretty). We spent a couple of days at the beach with Craig’s friends from uni, Barry and Laura, getting a great tan (girls) and spending hours at a time playing in the sea (boys). We also went with Barry and Laura to the Blue Mountains and did a very long steep walk through the rainforest with amazing views. The area was actually blue, from the mist from the eucalyptus tree oil.

New Year was pretty crazy. We went with our Aunty into the city centre hoping to watch the family fireworks as well as the midnight ones. However, by the time we arrived it was packed and most of the areas were closed off. So we sat on some grass and had a few drinks watching the top of the family fireworks then made our way to Circular Quay to watch the main event. It was incredibly busy and crowds of people were pushing to get to the front. It got pretty scary at one point as there literally wasn’t enough room for everyone and people were getting crushed. So we came away and found a less crowded spot where we could partly see the bridge. As midnight approached everyone counted down and then there was the most spectacular fireworks display ever. There was such a good atmosphere and we ended up having a really good time. I do think that the people who arrive at ten in the morning to get a good spot have got a point though!

On The Road Again

We’re officially starting our tour of Australia tomorrow, beginning with a night in Canberra then a week in Melbourne where we’re going to the Australian Open and will hopefully see some famous people!