Day 52 - Sydney What a difference a day makes or so the song says - today in spite of forecasts to the contrary the day is sunny with a few high clouds, perfect for the beach. We had decided that unless it was absolutely horrid that we would do Manly and Bondi Beaches today. Not great to have to fit both in one day but no option really if we are to fit in all the things we want to do. Caught the "famous" Manly ferry just after breakfast; while we were waiting...

Day 51 - Sydney It's grey outside and windy, that's not allowed especially as the temperature last week was in the 30's. Oh well nothing for it; we're only here for four days and one of those we are travelling down to meet Lynda and Geoff so the sightseeing has to go in spite of the lack of sun. Started the day after breakfast by walking back to The Rocks area and onwards to the Harbour Bridge; I'd hoped that I might have the courage to do the climb but afte...

Day 50 - Auckland to Sydney Goodbye New Zealand and G'day Australia and Sydney; the start of yet another adventure. A very sad farewell to Auckland. I really loved that city, in fact if it hadn't been for the fact that it is on a active volcanic fault I could quite happily live there (would miss the family though): it has a wonderful mix of city, boating & beaches etc that "float my boat". Good bus link to the airport where we got talking to a couple fro...

Day 49 Auckland Last day in New Zealand, I can't believe we will be leaving tomorrow; it's beginning to feel almost like home now. The weather not too brilliant on waking today with grey cloud covering most of the sky and no wind to shift it and of course today is the day we decided we would get the ferry to Waiheke island. The Dawn Princess was in port today which we got a really good view of from the departing ferry and then when we rounded the end of the ...

Day 48 Auckland Our penultimate day in Auckland so we're now trying to cram in as much as possible. Took the bus back to the War Memorial Museum after breakfast and arrived just after it opened at 10am. Despite the early hour there was still quite a queue for tickets - now here's a contradiction, it states quite clearly everywhere that it is free entry for Auckland residents although you need to have id to prove it, but for visitors there is a sign saying "$10 d...