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Lets take this gig global!!
(NB: If you are reading this as my first update from Sydney then scroll back as I've been cheeky and put two on at the same time so there is one before this!)
.......So yeah, first thing Wednesday morning I was up early and lugged my stuff over to Kings Cross, checked in to some D*lux-ury then headed straight out to stock up on my grub for the week. After some supermarket sweep action it was a quick brekkie then caught the train and bus to the one and only Bondi beach. Took a stroll along the promenade which was ok then back along the length of the beach. It wasnt too bad but nothing that special I've gotta say. It was a little cloudy tho so I can imagine how it must be nicer in summer. Later the sun popped out to say hello properly so I took the clifftop footpath and followed the ocean walkway, walking a km or so along all the neighbouring bays which were a hell of a lot better.
Tamarama was small but pretty then I stopped off and had my packlunch (yep, Im having to proper budget now folks!!) on the clifftop by Bronte. Sat and chilled and watched the local surfers trying to tackle the big but choppy waves rolling in and somehow avoid being battered by the nearby rocks! I also discovered that it was a prime spot for plane boffs as untold Quantas and Virgin planes were flying by just overhead. Luckily the sound of the crashing waves seemed to drown them out (excuse the pun there- ha). Bronte itself was lovely and backed by a nice park area plus there were some awesome swells coming in too. Had walked a fair bit by then so caught the bus back to Bondi juctiona and had a little walk around the shops before cruising back to Kings cross for much needed munch.
Thursday was the Sydney biggun'. Was up early and out by 9am. Started the morning in Hyde Park and took the quality stroll through the Avenue of trees and passed the Anzac memorial. Checked out St. Marys Cathedral which is by far the oldest yet newest looking church I have ever seen! Then carried onto Macquarie St. to take in the untold number of old colonial buildings e.g. the Mint building, the hospital and parliament house. Next I cut off into the Royal Botanical gardens and strolled around there for a while. I was gonna check out the Tropical Centre but it was too expensive for me. Why pay $12 to see some stuff that Im no doubt gonna see for real in the wild anyway! So I opted for the (free) Rainforest walk instead and spent 10 minutes trying to avoid being pooped on by the hundreds of fruit bats (flying foxes) hanging in the trees above.
Next up was the famous walk down to Sydney Harbour and first up was the Opera House. It was as impressive as you imagine but a little dull looking inside (it was built in the 70s tho I guess!). To be honest, at first everything looked a little dull but then all of a sudden the clouds cleared and once the sun was out then BAM! It was awesome! I walked around Circular Quay up George St. to the famous Rocks area and got enjoyably lost for a while in all the funky little lanes and alleys. Then I detoured back to the quay and caught the ferry to Watsons Bay.
By now the weather was fantastic and the ferry is by far the best way to see the Harbour in all its glory. The views were amazing and so was Watsons Bay. A real cute little fishing town, nice and quaint and had a real Cornwall kinda vibe to it. I sat and had my lunch whilst looking out to all the sailing boats bobbing away in the sun. I also got attacked by an army of seagulls all after a bit of grub. They were going crazy and could either smell the tuna in my pasta or must share the same love of Dolmio sauce as I do at the mo!!
Anyways after our mini battle I got the ferry back and then immediately caught another one over to Darling Harbour which to be honest was a little dissapointing. I kinda expected a Pompey Gunwharf, Singapore Clarke Quay vibe but didnt get it at all and wasnt mightily impressed so got the first ferry back to the city. Then to finish off I walked up along the Harbour bridge for sunset and over to Milsons Point. By this point I was knackered so just caught the bus back to the hostel and made it back in time for the chilled film night.
Today it was another spanking day weatherwise but first I had to sort out my bus ticket for the east coast. Once that was done I headed back to the Quay to catch the ferry over to Manly. And what can i say, Manly is by far my favourite place in Oz so far! My vision of Australia before I arrived is perfectly illustrated in the town and beach of Manly. A trendy, nice little shopping/bar area and an epic long pure sand beach, littered with hot women sunbathing and with some great surf going off and some real good surfers out there getting amongst it too. Originally I had planned on walking north to the neighbouring bays of Curl Curl and Dee Why but got lost pretty soon after leaving Manly so doubled back and just chilled and took in the pure Australian atmosphere. All in all I had a brilliant day in the end.
Anyways, as good as Sydnrey has been I'm off to Byron Bay tomorrow morning, so gotta be up about 5:30am (again!) This travelling is no holiday I'll tell ya!
Mind you I saw the weather forecast tho and its gonna be hitting 32 deg in Byron/Brisbane so in the words of geordie steve "Wayaiy, I cannie wait for that mon!". Bring it on!
So yeah I'm having a blast in oz and before I leave heres just a few feelings on the place so far: Kings Cross is super strange but in a good way. The most mental mix of Tramps, prossies, backpackers and the rich and social elite you could ever find!
Melbourne is the most friendly place but the Sydneysiders arent half as bad as people suggest.
Some of the fashion trends are horrendous, the tightest 'spray-on' jeans for guys and gals (just not right especially on a bloke!) and for some reason the girls have got a secret competition on who can wear the BIGGEST sunglasses possible!
The TV is crap, really really crap! From everything from the news to the soaps even the adverts are rubbish!
However, the best and most striking thing for me is the surf culture. Its just embedded in people over here. Pretty much every beach with an ounce of sand (and even those without) has quality breaks. They are just everywhere. and check this, apparently in the northern beach towns and further up the coast the school kids get taken on school trips to the beach and even surf as part of their PE classes! How sweet is that?! crazy- even the tramps are wearing Quiksilver jumpers!!
Oh and the stereotypical ozzie phrases continue to crack me up aswell!
Anyways this has turned into a mahousive entry to best be off. next stop Byron. Laters peeps
Dan
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