So we arrived in Sydney. We were sad to leave NZ. If you could drag NZ 12,000 miles north we would move there tomorrow.

Anyway out of the airport and on to a super shuttle to our hotel. It was drizzling and the traffic was typical city rush hour. The forecast for the week was rain.........F******* rain in Sydney on the first day of summer. The cabbie said he hadn't worn a jumper in 40 years.

Anyway be optimistic. We all know forecasters are just pretty faces.

We arrived at our hotel. A boutique harbour front hotel. It was very swish. Unfortunately there was a conference going on there. The bar was chocka. We had just had 3 weeks of wilderness...we didn't do people. Up to the room and quiet. Fortunately they had upgraded us to a waterside room....very nice.

The hotel is basically an old dockside warehouse converted.

Eventually we ventured out. It was blowy and a little drizzly. We found a local pub and had a quick beer and a bite. Tired and damp we retired to bed.

Next morning.Jeepers it was hot and humid. We had our complimentary brekkie outside then headed into the city.

We have had a lovely day. We started on the quay snapping the Sydney harbour bridge then on to the opera house. Iconic views. No aerobics Oz style today !!

We walked along the water front arriving at the NSW museum. We don't normally do museums unless there is something special. Today there was. The Terracotta army had come to town.

China had released a small number of the fabulous warriors that were buried with the first emperor of Qin in 700BC. They were only found 25 years ago by a farmer. Eerie and fascinating. Full size detailed models. It is believed there are over 8,000 in China. Only 1500 have been uncovered so far.

Tonight we went to the harbour and had dinner on the waterside looking at the bridge and the lights. Then back to the hotel for a night cap.

As an aside its interesting watching news in different countries. Main topics here.....politicians on the take, binge drinking, economic meltdown. Globalisation eh?