Blog entry number 2 is coming all the way from Sydney! I'm at Bobbie's flat in Woolloomooloo (no, really... that's the name), Boomerang Place to be exact! Her flat is gorgeous, I'm gonna struggle to rough it in hostels after being here for 6 nights.

So, back to where I left off last time. Lucy, Chiara and I walked to the lighthouse at Cape Byron on Friday which was really nice. We actually saw two massive snakes on the side of the road at one point, it was pretty surreal! Someone said they were green pythons. I think I would have been more scared but they seemed to be getting it on and were not fussed by the line of people taking photos and videos of them. Then as we walked around the path that leads to the lighthouse, we saw some bush turkeys which are just big ugly weird things, and a lizard! I kinda crapped myself when the lizard moved in the bushes, having just seen two giant snakes. It still baffles me that there are so many animals roaming around here that at home you would only see in a zoo! Crazy place. Dad, you would love it. Mum... you would struggle with the birds. There are cockatoos and stuff flying about even the city centres!

We got to the most Easterly point of Australia, and from there it was only a wee bit longer to the lighthouse. When we got up there, there was a wedding going on. We were a bit early for the sunset, so we started to walk back, and got some great photos on our walk back to the beach. It gets dark pretty fast, so not long after the sun had set we were power walking back and hoping the tide wouldn't come in on us. We made it back and were all pretty tired, so we sat on the floor of our dorm for ages just eating and having a couple of goons... didn't go down well though, so I just pretty much had a shower, had a pizza with Chiara, and went to bed.

The next morning, Lucy and I were up early to get our Oz Experience bus down to the "Spot X Surf Camp". Our driver was this Kiwi guy called Wings (they apparently all get given names by Oz Experience) who was pretty funny. Ashley and Lindsay were on the bus too, so at least I knew some others who would be sharing my surfing experience...! Luckily it was a gorgeous hot and sunny day, pretty perfect for surfing. So we got there and had lunch, then were pretty much rushed to start our lesson - I was a bit anxious that I was gonna see my lunch again, but surprisingly with the amount of salt water I consumed I managed to keep everything down. We had a kinda briefing with this surf instructor whos name escapes me but he was every bit the stereotype. He talked us through some rules, the first being "Look cool and have fun", and he tried to tell us not to panic if we get "wiped out"... We got into our wetsuits, which were stinky and really not flattering! And off we walked to the beach. Surf boards are freaking heavy by the way!

We got down to the beach and had another briefing on the sand. The instructor was going through the step-by-step instructions on how to surf, and the whole time I was just thinking "this is all gonna go to sh!t as soon as I get in the water"! Eventually we headed into the sea (I was super nervous by this point!) Anyway I clearly lived to tell the tale and I actually really enjoyed it! (Is it shameful that I had the Home and Away theme tune in my head the ENTIRE time?) It was really fun though, aside from swallowing half the ocean and constantly getting wiped out (forced underwater by the wave), getting smacked on the head with my board, and for 3 days thinking I had quite possibly broken my big toe... it was great! I managed to stand up once, because Wings was helping me at the tail of my board (that's what they call the back, you know). It was really fun and I spent the next... I dunno, hour? trying to recreate it, but it never happened. I just didn't have the strength to pull myself up, especially to pull myself up on to a giant slippery board in the middle of a crashing wave. Not easy. Lucy, me, and two of the guys ended up being the last 4 to leave the water, so I was pretty chuffed with myself. But even now I struggle to get dressed as every muscle in my body kills! No wonder surfer dudes/chicks are so incredibly fit.

So after a very challenging walk back to the surf school with our boards (heavy at the best of times, never mind when you're ready to collapse) we had a shower and a beer. We got dinner which wasn't bad, then had another couple of drinks, but I went to bed really early because the combination of walking up to Cape Byron and surfing had completely knackered me. Plus the chat was really dire, completely dominated by this irritating American girl. We were sleeping in pretty mingin' cabin type things, and it was really cold! But luckily I had bought my super-cool Mojosurf hoodie so I got wrapped up in that and slept pretty well. Breakfast was at 6 the next morning and we got back on the bus with Wings at 7. A fairly lengthy drive to Sydney, but we stopped quite a lot (Wings took us to this "world famous" pie shop, and it really was pretty good - pies seem to be big here, who knew?) Wings played a couple of films on the bus but I didn't pay much attention, I slept for a bit and listened to my iPod. It was pretty exciting coming in to Sydney as we drove over the Harbour Bridge. Seeing the Opera House was very cool!

Bobbie came to pick me up from Kings Cross and took me to her flat, which is gorgeous. I've got her Mum's room as she's away at the moment, so I have this giant double bed and an ensuite bathroom... SO gonna resent roughing it in hostels after this luxury! That night a couple of Bobbie's friends came round and we had a few drinks and munchies, then walked down to the harbour for a drink at the Opera Bar (guess where that was?) On Monday I met up with Lucy and we had a bit of a wander around the city. She spent a lot of time here before so she took me to see Darling Harbour which seemed nice. The city is pretty cool but I think I'm gonna go out this afternoon and explore it a bit more by myself, because I think you take more in that way. I might walk the Harbour Bridge but I'm not sure how long it takes. Anyway, Lucy was in touch with this random old dude who drove us out to Watson's Bay. It was extremely random, but whatever! Was absolutely shattered by this point, so that evening Bobbie and I just made dinner (which took hours because a spider came into the kitchen and we were both freaking out... the hob had to be switched off while we murdered it!) so we ate quite late and just went to bed. I was up at 6 the next morning for my Blue Mountains day trip. It was quite cool but I got a bit fed up as it was pouring with rain all day and it was a lot of walking about! We saw some wild kangaroos though and the walk at Katoomba was pretty cool - we were right in the clouds in this "cold temperate" rainforest, saw lots of waterfalls and other naturey stuff..! Made our way out by getting the world's steepest funicular train which was a bit scary but only lasted 1 minute. It took 2 hours to get back to Sydney so again I was knackered by the time I got back but there wasn't a minute to lose as Wings had arranged a night at THE GAFF! (Dodgy backpacker bar).

So Bobbie and I had a fairly swift bottle of wine and headed out. It was SO rainy, there was a giant thunderstorm going on, so we got a taxi to the Gaff. We had a bit of a weird night, but it involved free food and 2 free beers, so whatever. Ended up quite drunk and had AMAZING toasted sandwiches when we got in, and just talked crap until we realised how late it was and we went to bed. Great fun reminiscing about Argeles 2007 :)

Anyway it's now 12.30pm and I haven't done anything other than some washing and looking at my surfing photos! I was gonna head to Bondi but the weather is a bit mixed, so I think I'll save that for tomorrow, and head out for a wander instead. Tonight Bobbie is having some friends over for a "sausage sizzle" and then I think tomorrow we're going for a BBQ at her dad's. On Friday I'm gonna go to Manly, which is meant to be nice, then I leave early on Saturday morning for my 3-day trip to Melbourne.

Will write another entry soon to let you know how the rest of Sydney went, but for now, enjoy the photos!

Hugs to all xxx