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Tales From Two Hobbits
Hey guys and girls, we've updated quite a few pics tonights but you may need to search through as they may mix up with some of the pictures you have already have seen, it's tricky using this picture updater software on here sometimes so bear with us! There's some new ones of Kangeroo Island and Sydney City that we've updated here.
Well, it is the 8th today and we have been away from home for two months exactly! It feels strange to realise just how far we've come in those two months. For a quick re-cap we've been to Bali, most of the coast of West Australia, Adelaide and Sydney, with many adventures along the way! Both of us are happy to be here and feel honoured to have seen so much. We have changed slightly already, and I am referring to our attitude to the surroundings rather than Darren's pirate beard!
After nearly two weeks in Sydney it feels as though we know the city pretty well. The weather has warmed up and has been in the 30's, much to our joy. We are sunshine junkies after all. The City looks far nicer in the sunlight and the views from higher ground are more spectacular too.
As you read on last update, we finally got to go to Bondi Beach on Thursday 4th January, once the sun had made an appearance over the City. We caught a bus to the beach and I think that both of us were expecting a far bigger beach than the one we were presented with. Bondi has beautiful white sand and the waves crash into the shore at a rhythmic pace, slow enough to blend into the chilled out attitude of the Aussies, but fast enough to keep the surfers happy. The beach was extremely crowded though, nothing like the desolate beaches on the West coast, such as Turquoise Bay. It was a case of 'find a spot and park' as more of the beach was taken up by towels than by sand. The girls primarily resembled Elle McPherson and the boys Vin Deisel. There was an air of arrogance and I in particular wasn't all that impressed. We spent the day lounging about reading our books and getting our tan lines back, which had already begun fading away due to a few days of cloud.
On Friday we went to the Botanic Gardens. Yes, every City in Australia seems to have a Botanic Gardens before you skip ahead in belief that you have read this paragraph already...
The Botanic Gardens in Sydney rival the ones in Perth, only with an even more impressive view; this time of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. The sun was really warm and we spent the day soaking up the rays. For an hour or so we watched hundreds of fruit bats, sleeping in the trees of the Gardens. Apparently there are thousands of them that settle there. Fruit Bats (or grey-headed flying foxes, as they are also known) have a wing span of up to 1.5 metres and look majestic as they fly over the City when they wake at night, creating almost a Gotham City scene. After taking about 100 photos of them Darren dragged me away to find a nice spot by the river to sit and enjoy the day.
Saturday was the day that we had been waiting for... Firstly Manly Beach, then the infamous Sydney Harbour Brige Climb. We woke up early to avoid the huge queues that gather for the Manly Ferry from mid morning. By 9am (early for us nowadays) we were at the Circular Harbour boarding a ferry with the capacity of holding 500+. After 30 minutes we arrived at Manly, which is a lovely looking town, a little like a busy Fremantle, where the buildings are well maintained and people care about the appearance of the streets. It was a short walk onto the beach and when we arrived we were pleasantly surprised that the beach seemed bigger and better than Bondi. The waves were bigger, which brought with it more fascinating displays of surfboarding and the beach was emptier.... well, that was until 12pm, when the school kids, on their holidays and all of those enjoying their time away from work crowded onto the beach. By 1pm we felt like sardines again. We left Manly at 4:30pm and after queuing for the Ferry we headed back for the City to grab some food before our Bridge Climb.
After landing back at Circular Quay we treated ourselves to a Nandos and Darren spent his time in heaven as he had nice food and a reason to tease me, knowing that I was petrified about voyaging up the mechano looking 134 metre high contraption that towers over the river like a warrior prearing for battle. I am extremely scared of heights, from standing on a chair to change a lightbulb upwards. Climbing the bridge was not exactly the first thing I wanted to do with $200, but Darren has dreamed of completing the journey to its summit for a long while now. We made it to the Climbing Centre with 20 minutes to spare (more time for Darren to take the mickey out of my pounding heart, sweaty palms and goosebumps). At 8:30pm we were shown a video of the journey then we were taken into a room, along with around 12 others, where we were then breathalised and given a full set of safety equipment and clothes. The outfit looked like a mechanic's uniform and the only items we were allowed to take were a hairband, a hanky, a head light and a fleece, all of which had to be clipped to the suit as well! This was in case anything fell off the bridge and landed on some poor tourist underneath it! We were then introduced to our Guide for the adventure, who's name was Nick. Thankfully Nick was absolutely great, with a witty humour and an unbelieveable knowledge of Sydney. Nick went through some training on how to climb the bridge. Firstly we had to operate a ball-like mechanism that slotted onto a wire which went from the start of the climb to the finish. Once you were linked to this you physically couldn't fall, or jump off the bridge. Also, it meant that I couldn't have second thoughts and run away, as we were at the front of the queue (where the wimpy people with nerves go), so you couldn't get past the people behind you. After practising on some steps inside the centre we were all geared up and ready to go!
The first part of the climb was one of the scariest. We exited the centre and stepped out onto these rickety old boards, through which you could see the streets below. By this time Darren was excited and I was feeling sick! After a short while of this (all the while I am only looking at my feet and not the view, we arrive at the first of 3 ladders, which lead up to the main curve of the bridge. Through each step you can see the traffic on the 5 lane highway below and the wind buffets against you as you make your ascent. Arriving at the top of the ladders I knew that we had passed the hardest test. After that it was views all the way.
Looking out over Sydney was absolkutely fantastic. The City appeared to have double in size, as the buildings reflected upon the river, their mirrored images shimmering like glitter. By this time it was nearing 10pm and the lights from the buildings, yahcts and Opera House constrasted beautifully against the black of the sky. You could see for miles and miles. Just to top it off, the moon was bigger than we had ever seen it and was almost a husky orange colour, it's face keeping a watchful eye on our safety. It was an awesome experience and instead of fear the only emotion we felt was serenity. You almost felt as though you were looking down from heaven.
The calming sensation didn't last forever, as after 4 photos it was time for the descent, across the other side of the bridge, overlooking the West side of Sydney. The descent was a lot easier and we learnt a lot from Nick, who was filling our minds with interesting facts, such as in the 8 years it took for the bridge to be built only 16 people died, and only 1 of those fell into the River. We each had to guess a figure, and I guessed 300! Guess I am a pesamist when it comes to heights.
After 1500 steps, at a maximum height of 134 metres we finally stepped back into the Climb Centre and received a complimetary certificate and group photo each. We then made our way to the photo counter, where we purchased the 2 cheesiest photos from the selection, to prove that we have 'been there. done that' and Kerry had hopefully conquered her biggest fear....
On Sunday we were picked up by my cousin David and his wife Rayma. They live in Eagle Vale, an hour outside of Sydney and had arranged to take us to their house where we could enjoy a BBQ together. David is Lynne and Diane's brother, and my Dad's nephew. He is a really lovely guy, who can chat as much as us and he and Rayma have a lovely family. We met their children, Renai, Jason and Scott and Michelle, and their partners, Tony, Katrina and Shah. Renai and Tony have three beautiful little girls called Kayla, Emma and Olivia, who Darren and I wanted to steal! We had a wonderful day talking, looking through photos and eating not one, but 2 BBQS- excellent!!! After lunch, and before dinner, we were driven into the Blue Mountains, where we had a look at the Three Sisters look-out. The mountains are truly spectacular and as it was a cloudy day the dark grey and purple clouds made the mountains appear more daunting. We both really enjoyed the family's company and were sad to leave after only getting to meet them for a day. In David's car he was playing a compilation of my Dad's and my sister Jodie's music. Hearing them singing made me feel at home and made me feel that they were with us.
After we got back to the hostel we sat talking to a few people in our dorm. Only one of the original residents remains, a Finnish guy called Mikael. The rest of the beds have chopped and changed a few times) We fell asleep at 12:30am.
Today we have spent the day half packing our bags, going up one of the pylons of the bridge (the admisson was included in our Climbing ticket), which was great, and typing this entry in the internet cafe! David, bless him, drove to our hostel today, with Jason and Katrina, with 2 tapes with my Dad's recordings on, so that we can play them on our journey through the outback. It was a really nice gesture and meant an awful lot to me.
It is 12am now and our taxi is due to pick us up at 4:45AM, so we better get the bus back now, else we'll never wake up in time for our flight to Adelaide tomorrow. We can't wait to get our Falcon and go for a drive... after a few hours kip maybe.
Night night for now!
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