SYDNEY FOR THE NEW YEAR

Tues 29th Dec'r 2009
Our taxi arrived 7.45 am to take us to catch our bus to Brisbane Airport.
This was to be the last leg of our Oz Adventure and the one we were looking forward to
the most!

The bus journey took four hours from Hervey Bay to the Brisbane Airport and most of it along a green and rural landscape. With time to do a bit a shopping at the FCUK shop we bought some presents for Laura & James and treated ourselves to some clothes too.

The new Qantas 767 arrived on time and was soon full of travelers heading to Sydney for the New Year. We were very impressed with the comfort of of the plane and the professionalism and service provided by our stewards and stewardesses during the one hour flight.

Although leaving 3.30 pm we touched down in Sydney 5.30 pm having gained another hour in our flight south. We were now 11 hours ahead of the UK!

On arrival we purchased an 'all in one' travel card that enabled us to travel on trains, buses and ferries for the next 7 days. We started with a short train trip to Wynyard station in the City. From here we picked up the No. 90 a bus to Nth Narabeen for our Big 4 Holiday Park accomodation. Laura and James had arrived there earlier than us and it was nice to get there to be treated to a back-packers chicken pasta meal!

Our Villa or more accurately 'Cabin' was well equipped and in nice quiet location with a BBQ area to the front of us and childrens play area the rear. The site was full with many families as it is reputed to be one of the safest and best in New South Wales with a lake on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other.

Wed 30th Dec'r 2009
Up early we were heading into Sydney on the No. 90 with Laura and James deciding to go to Palm Beach to see where 'Home and Away' was filmed. The sun was out and the sky blue as we drove over the harbour bridge to pick up the red explorer tourist bus.
This tourist bus stops at 27 places of interest around the City and takes around 2 hours. Although we had planned to do them all we got off at stop 17, Chinatown.
From here we walked to Cockle Bay and Darling Harbour and by this time we loved the buzz of Sydney!

At Darling Harbour we caught a Ferry to Circular Quay taking in the Harbour Bridge, Opera House and impressive skyline of the this wonderful City. Next we were off walking the steps of the Opera House to take some pictures. Then it was back to Circular Quay to catch another Ferry, this time to Manly with some great views as we headed our of Sydney Harbour.

At Manly we caught a bus back to Nth Narabeen. We had arranged to meet some friends, Tony and Hilary, that evening. They live in Colloroy north of Sydney and we last saw each other some 30 years ago. However, once we met it seemed just like yesterday but with lots to catch up on. We were to meet up again during our stay!

31 Dec'r - New Years Eve
We booked with a back packer party a reserved spot in Kirri-billi on the north side of the Harbour Bridge. We arrived at our superb position around mid-day with Laura, James and their friends Louisa and Rob. What a day it was going to be!
The drinks came out and later the food for what was to be a long but enjoyable day.
We drank, ate, played cards, took photos, joked and laughed. Before we knew it the 9.00 pm firework display had begun. This was a warm-up for the families with young children.
In the blink of an eye (or was it a litre of wine) mid-night was upon us and the 'blitz' began. Never before have we experienced the thrill and excitement of a firework display like the one we were fortunate to be watching. The Bridge, Opera House and Harbour was alight with a kaleidescope of different colours; reds, oranges, yellows, greens , blues and all computer synchronised. It's difficult to describe the feeling other than it made the hairs stand up on the back of your neck! There was no time to wish anyone a Happy New Year as we were all glued to the display. After some 20 - 30 minutes and with the 'blitz' over the hugging and kissing began!

The bus picked us up 2.30 am and we headed back to our 'Cabin' seeing some amusing sites on route. One of the most memorable was a young girl in party frock pushing her boyfriend along the main road in a shopping trolley at 3.30 am in the morning!

1st Jan 20910 - New Years Day
We all had a well deserved lay-in plus a few sore heads!
Emerging around mid-day We set off to meet up with friends Tony, Hilary, Dave and Kerry.
They drove us to Ku-ring-gai National Park where the TV programme 'Skippy' the bush Kangaroo had been filmed. There we had a picnic in the forest before moving on to see some panoramic views of Palm Beach from West Point Lookout.
Then it was a short drive back to there house in Colloroy for a drink before heading home to our 'Cabin' for an early night as we were off to The Blue Mountains the following day.

Saturday 2nd Jan
We caught the 6.45 am bus into Sydney to meet our Oz Travel tourist bus for a two hour drive to The Blue Mountains. Juan Carlos, AKA as John or JC was our driver and guide for the day and what a character he turned out to be! If ever a man could talk he was top of the tree. For two hours we tried to stay awake as he bombarded us with facts along the journey. Some of it was just too unbelievable to be true including a story about 'Waltzing Matilda' the world champion boxing kangaroo!

The Blue Mountains get their name from the colour above them apparently caused by light reflection on the vapour disipating fom the leaves of the many eucalyptus trees there!

Our first stop was to view the 'Three Sisters' a range of three sandstone rocks.
However, a walk down the Giant Staircase some 1000 steps through a rainforest took us to the best viewing position of them across Jamison Valley. As we didn't fancy a wet and arduous walk back to the top we caught the Scenic Skyway. This is a glass bottom aerial cable car and reported to be the steepest aerial cable car in Australia.
On a clear day this provides a fantastic view of the Blue Mountains but unfortunately for us the rain didn't allow it on the day.

After lunch and with the weather improved we headed off to Wentworth Falls and another steep walk down to the impressive waterfalls. This took some 20 minutes down but twice as long to ascend in the sun and heat of the mid afternoon!

Our final stop was to a town called Leura where we visited the renowned 'candy shop' where every possible kind of sweet could be found. Anne bought some custard and rhubard ones and I went for the nougat bar!

We then headed back to Sydney getting off at Central Station to catch a bus back to Nth Narabeen. It had been a long day but we had seen some of the the most beautiful scenery in Australia on our travels to date. JC, our driver, had also helped to make it an even more enjoyable day with his stream of information and challenging puzzles on the way back!

Sunday 3rd Jan
We all set off for Sydney by Ferry from Manly Harbour to Circular Quays having lunch on board. We walked down Pitt Street to Paddy's Market in Chinatown intending to do some shopping but we were disappointed with the quality of goods on offer and moved on.
After afternoon coffee, tea and cakes we headed back to Nth Narabeen to prepare for the arrival of Louisa and Rob, friends of Laura and James.

They arrived around 8.00 pm we had a BBQ and an fun evening eating, drinking and talking about our recent New Year Eve celebrations.

Mon 4th Jan
Anne and I headed into Sydney on the No. 90 bus getting off at 'The Rocks'.
This is the oldest part of Sydney and where the first settlers set up camp on arriving in the late 1700's and early 1800's. Here you can find a mixture of old and new architecture along with distinctive signs of a strong British influence. There are some really good gift shops, bars and restaurants here and it's an area frequented by tourists arriving on cruises in the nearby harbour. The day we were there a large cruise ship named Diamond Princess was in dock.

From here we headed off on a walk across the Harbour Bridge to Kirri-billi for lunch, taking some pictures along the way. On our travels I noticed the bridge had been designed and built by workers from Middlesborough in the early 1930's.

Next we were off on the Red Explorer bus to The Botanic Gardens and a walk past the Naval Shipyards to Mrs McQuieres Chair. The sky was blue with glorious sunshine as we headed back home after a having covered the best part of the City of Sydney on foot.

Our friends Tony and Hilary came over that evening with their son Joel and wife Carrie for our last BBQ of the Oz adventure. Lets hope it's not another 30 years before we meet up again!

Tues 5th Jan
Going home day!
To make the most of our last day we headed down to Nth Narabeen beach along with picnic bags. The beach has golden sand facing the Pacific Ocean and is popular with surfers of different age groups. There are also two rock pools there to swim in and I managed to get in my last swim! Anne braved a paddle as she didn't want to get get her hair wet!

Laura and James walked with us to the bus stop. It was an emotional and a sad farewell as it would be another 3 months before we would see them again. However, we left knowing they were both keeping well and having the time of their lives!

As we headed into Sydney on the bus for the last time I quietly reflected on our Oz adventure with a tear in the eye and a pain in the heart!

The Oz adventure had come to an end.