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(currently writing in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.... we'll get there soon promise!)
After a nice chilled Christmas kiwi style, we flew out to Sydney to spend some time with Laura's family Jonathan and Mel with their two kids Brianna and Bailey.
We scraped through customs after declaring some beach shells we have picked up along the way, to a customs officer who wasn't amused. Jonathan and Mel then greeted us at the arrivals gate and we were on our way back to an afternoon of booze and conversation. Just what we needed after our flight that's for sure! This was to set the par for the entire stay which was always very comfortable and relaxed .
After a couple of days chilling, Jonathan and Mel were then our official tour guides for a day in Sydney city centre. What a beautiful city! Amazing sites everywhere you look. We started out at the old part of town with some Tea and Scones (amidst a street market). The scones however were more like cakes but still tasty. We then had our first Schooners (almost a pint but not quite!), of the day at a pub that overlooked the city skyline next to the Harbour Bridge. We then headed over to Watsons Bay via Ferry from which we got to see almost the entire Harbour, the best way to see Sydney for sure. Fish and Chips were then on the agenda at Watsons Bay at a restaurant that overlooked the Harbour. Lucky we had good weather for this day! Jonathan and Mel then whisped us away to Bondi Beach where we saw quite the picturesque locality. A good spot for learning to surf that's for sure. We had a paddle along the beach and took a pew on the grass verge soaking up the atmosphere. Quite busy for the day before New Years Eve and was looking like a possibilty for spending our New Years Eve!
We caught a bus back to the city and sauntered on down to Darling Harbour for dinner. By this time the city lights were starting to illuminate the sky line and by Mel's suggestion we took a ferry back to Circular Quay to catch our train back to their house. What amazing night views we saw along the way and a perfect end to our tour.
After much deliberation we decided to head to the Botanical Gardens to spend our New Years Eve day/night. There we pitched up a spot with good views of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge and waited patiently for the fireworks from 2pm. During the day we were kept entertained by various sky writers, stunt planes and great views which we didn't seem to tire of. It got to 9pm and the first round of Fireworks began and kept us dazzled for 15 minutes. The wait for the midnight fireworks then began to slow and Laura was forced to have a nap. But was it worth the wait...? Hell yes! What a show! Check out the finale video! To top it off the boats on the harbour all joined in on the show and illuminated red with the word "Embrace" on every boat. Something about embracing 2013....
The next couple of days were spent.... yep, chilling again. Managed to meet my friend Matty at Bondi beach for the afternoon who just happpend to be in the area! Small world.
Our next tourist stop was to Featherdale Zoo where Laura finally got to meet a Koala Bear as well as all the native animals to Australia. Our favourites had to be the Wombats, what cute and ugly big things they are. Almost like a hairy obese pig. We got to feed Kangaroos and stroke them as well. Health and Safety here did not seem to exist, a proper way to experience animals with them traipsing around with you on the path.... except the Crocodiles of course. For all those people out there who think Koalas get high from Eucalyptus, you are wrong! They just eat so much that they can't move much and need to conserve their energy. Much like us humans on Christmas Day. Joey's are also quite disturbing when you see them moving around in the mother pouches! We felt so disturbed by this we agreed to eat Kangaroo meat later that night in the form of roasted Roo and Kangabangers. Very tasty indeed!
Our final day Jonathan and Mel were kind enough to allow us the use of their car to drive to Jenolan Caves. Now in comparison to the cave we visited in Waitomo, this cave, The Orient, completely blew us away! So many cool structures and very good use of lighting to accentuate the full beauty of the cave. Check out some of the pictures.
After the long drive back we finished our Sydney experience with Ping Pong and Pizza with our Ozzie family. Although we only got to see Sydney of this vast country, we will definitely be coming back to see more of it! We will also be bringing back some Bubbly to replenish Mel's stock
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Brenda Pooran Never felt the need to visit Oz but you might have just persuaded me to add a visit down under to my bucket list!