Tuesday 30th March

This has been our last full day in Sydney (we think as our flight has not yet been confirmed!). We had spent the week preparing so ‘tanned and toned’ (no pictures) we made our way to Bondi Beach. Regrettably it was raining so the beach was virtually deserted!! We nevertheless strolled along the front and marvelled at the few hardy surfers trying to manage waves no more than a couple of feet high (there was also virtually no wind). There was also some striking ‘Pop Art’ on the sea wall with a couple commemorating locals lost in the Bali bombings. Bondi Beach is actually quite small but it is pristine; smoking is not permitted on the beach and we saw no litter. There were a few people out ‘training’ including the obligatory fit and leggy blond beauty (to keep Ben happy)! We then returned to the City and spent the afternoon in the Museum of Sydney. This was very interesting and had a lot of material about the early days – we had not realised that as well as being chucked off the Bounty, Captain Bligh was also removed from his post as Governor by another mutiny!! There was also a section on the Great Depression which was also very informative. We are going to go to China Town again tonight as it is a great place to visit with lots of options for eating out. Hopefully we will see you all after our return on the 1st April.

Monday 29th March

TODAY WE CLIMBED TO THE TOP OF THE SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE!!!!! We have the photos and certificate to prove it! There is a lot of preparation for the climb which starts with declarations that you are fit and have no ailments to preclude the climb – fortunately there was no definition of what they meant by ‘fit’ so we signed with alacrity. We dressed in our grey suits with all the accoutrements attached, including the all important safety harness! The weather was pretty humid but dry and not very windy. Having ‘clipped on’ to the safety wire we climbed and descended about 1400 steps up and down ladders and gantries. The hard bits were at the beginning and end to get on/off the top arch of the bridge; once we were on this the climb was pretty easy. The top of the bridge is 139 metres above the water and as expected the views were excellent (the only way you can prove this is to do it yourself!!). It was novel to watch the helicopters flying along the harbour below us.
When our legs had returned from their jelly state, we walked around and took some photos of the Opera House. It is an interesting building which looks more stunning on the skyline than it does from close to. There were lots of schoolchildren going in at the time for a concert.
On our return to the hotel we had to rest our weary legs and within a few minutes Ben was snoozing (Liz says fast asleep but this is not true). Liz had to go out to Woolworths up and down the hill to get the supper. Now we are ‘fit and toned’ we hope to hit Bondi Beach!!

Sunday 28th March

Today, along with lots of ‘Sydneysiders’, we decided to get the ferry to Manly. It is a town on the north side of Sydney which has the feeling of a holiday resort with a beautiful sandy beach. We sat on the rocks at the end of the beach for about an hour, watching the swimmers and surfers. Unfortunately we hadn’t got our swimming costumes with us, but had we got them we would have been tempted into the water- maybe we’ll go to Bondi Beach on Tuesday and take them with us then!
After eating our sandwich sitting on a wall outside the Manly Council buildings amongst the pigeons, we got the ferry to Watson Bay, which is on the south side of Sydney harbour. There was lots of activity on the water with boats of all persuasions, yachts racing about and a seaplane. It had become a bit cloudy during the afternoon and a lot of the people had decided to go home - the sky looked quite angry, however, it cleared without any rain. We took a stroll along the front, sampled a cream tea then returned back to our hotel for a light supper ‘in’ this evening!
Tomorrow we are all set to climb Sydney Harbour Bridge; having managed 910 steps in the cave yesterday, we feel we can manage a challenge like this - time will tell!

Saturday 27th March

We have had another full day today. We set off early before 8am on a bus trip to the Blue Mountains, which are to the west of Sydney and part of the Great Dividing Range. The first stop was at the top of the mountains at a place called Katoomba, where there was a panoramic view of the rocks called the Three Sisters and the rest of the mountain range. We then went on to Scenic world, where there is the steepest cable railway in the world down to the valley floor. Having descended on the train (front seats) we walked along a boardwalk track on the valley floor through the rainforest before riding back to the top in a cable car. We followed this with a brief stop to see some bronze statues commemorating a chain gang building the road system west from Sydney – these would have been unfortunates deported from Britain!
We then drove on to the Jenolan Caves, which is the largest cave system open to the public in the world, with huge caverns full of stalactites and stalagmites as well as other limestone features. Our previous caving visits had been to the Blue John Caves in Derbyshire, which pale into insignificance when compared with these. The lighting had also been done very effectively to show the cave features at their best. We were in the cave system for 2 hours and even Ben’s knees stood up to the 910 steps we climbed/descended during the tour.
As we were late back in Sydney we again visited China Town to eat because it is close to our hotel. Ben commented on the number of ‘stick insects’ in their very brief attire that were wandering about – we also saw a ‘party bus’ which was jammed packed with young things pouring alcohol down their throats to very loud music – we are obviously staying in the ‘in’ area of Sydney!

Friday 26th March

Today has been very hot, sunny and humid - about 30°C. We decided ‘to get to know’ the public transport system so we bought our week’s transport ticket for use on the water ferries, buses and trains, which is great value. We have included pictures of the city and a couple of other ‘well known’ features! Our first journey was on the water ferry up the Parramatta River to the 2000 Olympic park-this involved going under the Sydney Harbour Bridge and by the Opera House. After a short bus ride to the Olympic Village it appeared to be very quiet, but having had a chat at the visitor centre, they explained the layout of the village for the Olympics and the current usage of the site – several million people a year still attending national sporting and other events. They were remarkably upbeat about London 2012!! We have included a picture of a statue which we thought captured the ethos of the Village.
On our return to Darling Harbour we visited China Town which was bustling with people. We had a Chinese meal in a street cafe and then walked through the rest of China Town back to the hotel.
Tomorrow we have booked a coach trip to the Blue Mountains – forecast 32°C.

Thursday 25th March

Our first day in Sydney was spent in the area local to our hotel, which is in easy walking distance of Darling Harbour. This is an area buzzing with waterside cafes and all sorts of boats. We started by going to the aquarium, which was one of Ben’s ‘must do’ list. It was quite a relief to be inside in the air conditioning as it was hot and humid outside. Here, with lots of schoolchildren milling around, we saw every kind of fish and water animal to be found in Australia. Of particular interest was the shark area, where not only sharks, but other types of large fish are swimming all around you as you walk through a glass tunnel. Unfortunately the platypus was hiding somewhere so we were unable to see it. Hopefully we will get a chance to see one at another time.
Next door to the aquarium is the Wildlife World which has every conceivable kind of Australian animal. Here we found spiders, snakes (one of which is on Liz’s arm), a huge crocodile, kangaroos, a kookaburra, a cassowary and koala bears.
After doing 2 circuits on the monorail we walked around the harbour area. One of the striking ships is a replica of Captain Cook’s ship - the Endeavour, which is outside the maritime museum.

Wednesday 24th March

We spent most of today travelling from Christchurch to Sydney. However, we did manage to find time to go and look around Christchurch Cathedral, which is a replica of Christchurch, Oxford. The New Zealand church was built in the late 1800s and only took 30 years to build. The ceiling and roof are all built of local wood. The local tram system looked like an interesting ride but we did not have time to try it.
We enjoyed the relaxed feeling of Christchurch, as we did with all of New Zealand, so it was with some sadness that we had to wave goodbye. It was quite a culture shock to arrive in Sydney – wall to wall people and traffic from the airport to hotel. We are staying in Darling Harbour and the view from our 11th floor room is not quite up to NZ panoramas! It nevertheless seems a vibrant area as when we went to do our grocery shopping this evening the place was full of ‘young things’! We will no doubt find out more as the week progresses.