Hey guys!

We made it to Sydney! We arrived about 5 days ago and its seriously coldddddddddd! The temperature change has taken some getting used to. We checked into a cheap hostel after ringing from the airport, it was rather scabby and the 'private' room consisted of a bunkbed and a bin, that was it. The shared bathrooms were a little better but it had a definite university halls feel to it. We have soon moved to a nicer hostel just across the street, we are in a 4 man room but there is only me and Cheryl, this one even has a heater so we are no longer cold outdoors and indoors!

On our first full day we went to see all the usual touristy sights including the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge (both spectacular). We also had a walk around the Botanical Gardens which lie just infront of the high rise offices, at lunch time it is packed with healthy sydney-goers keeping fit and running up and down stairs LA style. Sydney is a really pretty city (compared to London/Bangkok etc), its uber-clean, very green and easy to get around. There is even a free bus that shuttles up and down the main street to the Quay.

On our second full day we climbed the Harbour Bridge, it took just over a few hours to reach the top. Although it doesnt look too steep its quite a challenge, the views at the top are truly spectacular! We have had some good photos taken which hopefully our parents will buy for us ;) Cheryl was a bit freaked out hearing that 16 people died building the bridge, but that was actually quite a low number considering the people who worked on it didnt have safety helmets or ropes to aid them!

Since we have been here we have also made the ferry journey to Manly, which is a really seaside resort....great fish and chips too. Yesterday, we headed to Bondi beach which was also fab. Despite being about 12 degrees there were loads of people surfing and sunbathing! Today, we took the ferry to Taronga Zoo. We saw lots of new animals including ofcourse Koala's and Kangeroos/Wallabies. Cheryl managed to feed a wallabie, and I got a cool video of a baby one jumping out of its mothers pouch!

Tomorrow we pick up the campervan to begin our mini adventure. Before heading straight up the coast we are going to spend a few days in the Blue Mountains which should be fun. There is a caravan park there that we are hoping to stop in!

As you can tell we have been rather busy in Sydney and havent even seen half of what there is to see! Hopefully the remaining 5 weeks will be a little more chilled out (cant believe we are half way already!).

Best wishes to everyone at home,

Rich & Cheryl

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