Well, been here almost 2 weeks and already done so much! After being ill at home for 2 weeks, developing sinusitis and worrying if I'd be able to fly, I arrived bang on time in Sydney on NYE, went to stay in Normanhurst, a suburb of Sydney, courtesy of Caz's work friend. Free accommodation in return for looking after her 2 cats... Fab! New Year's Eve was brilliant, the atmosphere was amazing, circa 1.5 million people there to see the fireworks, which were spectacular! Went to the Rocks after midnight for a few drinks, then headed back on the train (which had an upstairs!!) for a well-earned sleep. Spent New Year's Day on Palm Beach, where they film Home & Away, then had a bbq in Newport before heading back. Next day headed into Sydney for some sightseeing, thank god I took my cardigan, it was freezing (not by UK standards, but I still needed a cardie ;-)) Went all over, Circular Quay, Darling Harbour, opera house, harbour bridge, and constant quiz questions courtesy of Sue, so had to pay attention!
Then headed off to Manly in the evening to meet a friend of Sue's, had a great night and arranged to meet at Watson's Bay the following day for some sunbathing and lunch. Went for a walk via the nudist beach and saw some real sights.. none of them good! Fish & chip lunch (love how they do grilled fish with chips here) and then went to Fox Entertainment Centre to see the dress rehearsal of a new arobatic/burlesque show, Empire. We had front row seats, right next to stage, for free, should have been $149!! The show was brilliant, like having Cirque du Soleil performing in your front room. The banana trick performed by a (married?!) couple had to be seen to be believed!
Following day was our last in Sydney, we went to Wollongong to the beach and rock pool, then to Hyams beach (or hymens beach as Caz misread!!) before arriving at a motel in Batemans Bay for a bbq and overnight stay, missed the funfair unfortunately so watched The Shining in our room. No-one was murdered in the hotel as Sue feared! Next day we made our way to Canberra, was getting hotter and hotter, was 38 degrees when we arrived at the apartment. I still wasn't feeling well so headed off to bed, then we went our for a drive round, was pretty spectacular as it was dark and there was a massive thunderstorm with some impressive lightning! Went into town for some drinks, Canberra felt a bit like any major city in the UK on a Saturday night and there were loads of groups of girls and guys out getting absolutely hammered! Apparently weed is legal in Canberra so everyone was up for a good time!
Next day we had a long drive to our next stop, Albury, where the temp had now reached 41 degrees - I've never felt heat like it. The short walk to the bottle shop was all I could stand, so of course we had to get into the cold tub with some booze to cool ourselves down :-) It was still boiling at 9pm when we headed out for pizza, got barely any sleep that night as it was too hot! Next day was Sue's birthday so we did presents then came back to Altona where Lee & Caz live before heading into Melbourne to meet up with some of Sue's friends for drinks & dinner. Got given the hard sell of how fab Australia is and that we should come and live here! By this point I had already lost track of what day it was, but the next day was spent in the city, I couldn't believe how big Melbourne is, its fab. Went for the weirdest Mexican meal I've ever had (at a place called Mamasitas that was recommended and had people queuing out the door) and then went to see the flames outside Crown Casino.
We booked the penguin tour at Phillip Island the next day, so this was a pretty full-on day, so cute to see koalas, and the tiny little penguins waddling up the beach at night! Didn't get back till 1am so had a bit of a lie-in followed by a couple of hours at the beach. As I'm hardly a sun worshipper I thought I had it sussed sitting in a sun tent (factor 50 protection) without sun cream, but hadn't realised how cold it would be out of the sun, so I ended up coming in and out and got burned for the first time so far!! Then we went for a drive to St Kilda, cool little place, lots of backpackers. Then for a Thai meal with Lee & Caz's English friends and drinks back at the house. Waved Sue off this morning, she's going back to the cold UK...
Off to the Great Ocean Road tomorrow so will update this before I head off to Thailand on Weds! Having such a great time but will be sad to leave my friends and head off to crazy Bangkok on my own!!
