Sydney: Day Seventy-Six (3 January)

Our last day in Sydney :-(. I love this city and didn’t want to leave.

After we’d posted more parcels home, there wasn’t time to take a ferry to Manly (as we’d planned) so we caught one to Circular Quay instead and went back to the beautiful Botanic Gardens.

We walked as far as The Domain, where they hold open air concerts throughout January leading up to Australia Day on the twenty-sixth, and then wrote postcards looking at our favourite views.

Eventually we tore ourselves away and walked back to Darling Harbour for a take away dinner and to pack.

Barnaby

Blue Mountains: Day Seventy-Five - Part One (2 January)

Another early start as we were going on a tour to the Blue Mountains. They are inland from Sydney, where wealthy people used to go to escape the heat of the city, and are called blue because of the haze from the many eucalyptus trees.

Our first stop was Featherdale Wildlife Park where we saw some more koalas and wombats but couldn’t spot the elusive bilby.

Barnaby

Sydney: Day Seventy-Four - Morning (1 January)

Happy New Year!

I didn't get up very early as we didn't get to bed until it was 2.30am.

We bought a Daytripper's ticket - which meant we could ride on any bus, train or ferry all day - and caught a bus to Palm Beach, where they film Home & Away :-).



It is ever so pretty but the beach was closed because the waves were too rough. I had my picture taken with the lifeguards and their mascot though.

They weren't filming either - they break for a long time in the summer - but we had lunch in Alf Stewart's surf club.

Barnaby

Sydney: Day Seventy-Three - Morning (31 December)

New Year's Eve in Sydney is one of the world's must see events and we arranged our trip specially to be here on this date.

We had quite a lot of time to fill before midnight so we posted some parcels back to England and then went to Sydney Aquarium. A moving walkway takes you through the underwater exhibits which is just as well because it was packed with people. We liked the seals best.

Barnaby

Sydney: Day Seventy-Two (30 December)

This morning we went to the service at St Andrews Cathedral and sat behind a family from Kent who had emigrated two years previously.

Afterwards we caught the train to Bondi Junction and visited Build-A-Bear for Australian souvenirs. I was hoping for a surfboard but all we got was a hat and some Australian flags. I suppose they will fit in the suitcase more easily.

Bondi Junction is where Miss Robb's sister lived when she was in Australia so we found her old house and then walked to the famous Bondi Beach. It still seems odd to see people sunbathing in December :-).

We got the bus back to Bondi Junction (the beach is at the bottom of a steep hill) and returned to Darling Harbour for dinner.

Barnaby

Sydney: Day Seventy-One (29 December)

My birthday so we had chocolate for breakfast :-).

We had arranged to meet another friend from England today, although she is actually Australian. She lives in Cremorne Point, right on Sydney Harbour, so we caught a ferry there from Circular Quay.

After a quick drink, we drove to Sirius Cove to join a beautiful harbourside pathway. We walked past Taronga Zoo and round to Clifton Gardens, where we had lunch in a little cafe.

We returned to our friend's flat for drinks on her balcony with its wonderful views before catching the ferry back to Circular Quay.

Barnaby

Sydney: Day Fifty-Six - Afternoon (14 December)

Afterwards we explored the beautiful Botanic Gardens, immediately behind the Opera House and right beside the harbour.

We walked all the way to Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, which is actually a seat carved in the rocks. The wife of one of Sydney’s first governors (Captain Macquarie) is supposed to have loved this view, although it probably looks a bit different today.

Barnaby

Sydney: Day Fifty-Six - Morning (14 December)

This morning we took a guided walk round The Rocks, the oldest part of Sydney where the first European settlers lived.

In the afternoon we went on a tour of the Opera House, which was fascinating. It contains three separate theatres: one especially for opera, one for drama and the main theatre.

Barnaby

Sydney: Day Fifty-Five (13 December)

Another early start today. Our friends kindly took us to Coffs Harbour airport for our flight to Sydney, the capital of New South Wales. Sydney airport is built near Botany Bay where Captain Cook first landed in 1770.

We took the AirportLink to Town Hall station and joined a tourist train past the entrance to the Chinese Gardens and Paddy’s Markets before arriving at our hotel in Darling Harbour.

After lunch in one of Darling Harbour’s many sandwich places (and a chocolate milkshake :-)), we walked across Pyrmont Bridge and round to Circular Quay where the Opera House is. We returned to Darling Harbour via the Queen Victoria Building (QVB), which was looking very festive. This tree was decorated with diamonds!

Barnaby

Emerald Beach: Day Fifty-Four (12 December)

We explored more of the countryside around Emerald Beach today. The scenery is quite similar in parts to England rather than (New South) Wales (sorry Captain Cook), apart from seeing the odd kangaroo :-).

We visited Nana Glen where the actor Russell Crowe has a house and generously contributed to the cost of the local swimming pool. We drove home via Woolagoolga and bought snapper for supper, which was just as well. There was a really big rain storm tonight.

Barnaby

Emerald Beach: Day Fifty-Three (11 December)

In our friend's house the lounge is upstairs and the bedrooms are downstairs to make the most of this amazing view.

We had a relaxing day reading our books and walking on the beach. In the evening we went back to Woolgoolga and had a delicious dinner in a Thai restaurant.

Barnaby

Emerald Beach: Day Fifty-Two (10 December)

Today our friends took us to Woolgoolga (which means river mouth) for coffee and to explore.

In the afternoon we went for a walk along Emerald Beach and Fiddemans Beach. I didn't see any emeralds but I did see lots of people surfing. In the evening we spotted this fantastic rainbow: the first time I've ever seen a whole one. The arc started in the sea and ended on the beach - there was no sign of the pot of gold though :-).

Barnaby

Coffs Harbour: Day Fifty-One (9 December)

We had to get up at 5 o'clock this morning to catch the train from Brisbane to Coffs Harbour. The journey took six hours but it was worth it because the countryside on the way is very pretty.

Once we crossed the border from Queensland to New South Wales we had to change our watches: Queensland does not have daylight saving time and is always ten hours ahead of the U.K. Because it was summertime in New South Wales we were now eleven hours ahead.

The friends we were staying with (they live half the year in Tunbridge Wells and half the year in Australia) met us and took us for a nice lunch.

This is the view from the house they rent, complete with wild kangaroos in the garden :-)

Barnaby

Byron Bay: Day Forty-Seven (5 December)

We had to get up early this morning as we were going on a tour to Byron Bay, just over the border in New South Wales. We travelled in a minibus similar to the one that took us around Kakadu.

The weather was very different though. We drove through a massive rainstorm and, as you can see from the picture, it remained overcast and damp all day. The lighthouse at Byron Bay marks the most Easterly point in Australia.

A few brave people were swimming and surfing but we did the British thing when at the seaside and had an icecream.

Barnaby