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So Sydney has been busy but as I have been on my own for most of it, it's got a little lonely at times. I arrived around lunchtime and checked into my hostel, which is the biggest I have stated in by far....all 9 stories of it. I spent the first afternoon walking up to the Botanical Gardens and around the Opera House which isn't looking its best as there is a lot of building work happening around it. I walked back through the centre of Sydney, which as cities go has a nice feel about it. After a quiet evening (large due to a serious lack of people in the hostel) I headed to bed.
The second day I decided to pack with tourist attractions so I started with the aquarium ( it was nice to see some sharks and a dugong up close and find out the names of some fish I saw on my dives, but after diving, seeing it all behind glass was a little underwhelming. I then went to the animal sanctuary which again wasn't particularly amazing although it was good to see some
Kangaroos as I hadn't seen any in the wild. After that I went up the Westfield tower. As the tallest building in Sydney, it made for some impressive views of the city, made all the better by the good weather. It was a pretty hectic morning so I stopped for some lunch in Hyde Park before visiting St Mary's Cathedral to light a candle for Grandma. It was quite an emotional moment, made worse when the organist started playing some beautiful but somber music so I made quite I quick exit with my mascara pretty much in tact. I had a bit of quiet time in the park before visiting the museum of Australia. It was very interesting to see all about the aborigines as I hadn't come across much of their history in my trip. With rather achy feet and tired legs I returned to the hostel expecting some room mates to find I still had the room to myself. So again, as no one was around in the kitchen either I had a reasonably early night....boring!
Day 3 I thought I'd start in Bondi but the weather wasn't great and after an hour of feeling like I was in a sand storm, because of the 40 knot gusts I headed back into Sydney for shelter and walked up to the Rocks and explored around there. That evening I got the ferry across to Manly, had an hour or so being blown around the town, before returning on the ferry for some pretty nice views of the bridge and the opera house all lit up. Again my evening was a quiet one, brightened my a Skype with home and plans to see a friend I learned to dive with the following day. We met for a drink and plans to visit the science museum, but instead spent the afternoon chatting and walking around Sydney. It made for a lovely last day in Sydney. A 4am start came around all to quickly and after a brief train journey, I was quickly through and into the airport where I got myself some breakfast and waited for the flight. The flight was only 2.5hrs, but made better as we had individual entertainment systems like on long haul flights. It was easy to get to the hostel in Christchurch as the bus driver kindly gave me directions from the bus stop. The hostel is different to other I have stayed in, it is more like a Victorian b&b in England just with more beds in each room and no bunk beds. But there seem to be nice people around so I'll see what this evening holds.
- comments
G Bobs Sorry its all been a bit lonesome in Sydney. Hope you meet some nice people in Christchurch. Mum gave me some great pics taken on the catamaran. Lots love GB xx
The OG Hey Luce hope the earthquakes don't keep you awake, stay out of tall buildings!! Love