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We arrived in Australia in blistering heat, but a beautiful cloudless sky over a shimmering city - how poetic?! We settled in with relative in the suburbs (Chester Hill, near Parramatta to anyone in the area!), and celebrated Australia day with them on Friday! The city was amazing, packed with people dressed up in the flag etc. We spent the day exploring the rocks area, listening to some funky performers including a guy called Brett Hunt (I think) who was really good. We then had a picnic in the park under the bridge, watching the baots race by, then headed round through the crowded wharfs to the opera house to watch the tall ships (or pirate ships, as many children were shouting!). We wouldve stayed for the fireworks at Darling Harbour except for the heat, thirst, and encroaching sunburn - yp, it still hurts evn now!
Yesterday was more of a nature adventure with a trip into the Blue Mountains. Here, after getting thoroughly over excited at the sight of a wild stick-insect (well we just dont seem to have them in England do we?!), we marvelled at the panoramic views from Echo point in Katoomba. It does literally take your breath away - the suburban streets of Katoomba just seem to end abruptly as the carpark juts out over the wide valley below, looking out across the gum tree covered mountain tops that, hard as I tried, couldnt fit in my camera lens!
We struck off down the path to the three sisters, and encountered the most amazing views from these pinnacles, although it was enough to bring out my long-forgotten vertigo! Dizzying space was all around us, and then the descent down the partly carved, partly metal-bridge steps into the valley below, was enough to get me going more slowly by the minute, though ryan was fine, typically! The bush walking was great though, and fab that this real "Australian" experience, so different from the metropolitan centre of sidney, was only an hour away, a definate must do for any visitors to the sydney area!
We plan to stick around here for the next couple of weeks, though as we can barely move with stiff legs at the moment, plus the excellent hospitality of our hosts, I dont know quite if wel be up to anymore wight seeing just yet!!
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