Arriving in customs at Aus was a traumatic experience. We were pulled over for carrying dried chilies and they were confiscated to prevent us from growing them. Steve tried to explain to the grim-faced customs officer that they were freeze-dried and therefore unlikely to germinate but it really didn't seem like the right time. Harder to explain however was the bag of white powder they found in a sealed plastic bag in Beth's rucksack. Fortunately the sniffer dogs could tell the difference between Persil and cocaine!
It was a rainy day in Sydney on our arrival and after a sleepless night in Christchurch airport (seemed like a good way to aclimatise ourselves to roughing it again!), we looked as grey as the weather. A reunion with Lucy (Beth's sister who is traveling around Aus with us) lifted our spirits and we found the energy to explore Sydney a little. Our first venue was Circular Quay where Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge are located and we weren't disappointed in the picture-postcard sight. Although at close quarters we couldn't help feeling that the Opera House does look a bit like a 1970's conservatory! After a drink in the Opera House Bar, we met Lucy's best friend Katie, boyfriend Steve and their gang of English friends working in Sydney, to go to a fantastic old-fashioned fairground and an institution in Sydney, Lunar
Park. We transgressed back to our childhood as we rode on the wooden rollercoaster, careered down a helter skelter and shot hoops to win teddy bears. We managed admirably until about 11pm until we made our apologies and took to our beds. Our Sydney stay was based at the YHA at the Central Station in Sydney - bizarrely in a dorm designed to look like a railway carriage. If you opened the blinds, you were even greeted with the sight of hectic commuters littering the Central Station Platform. The novelty soon wore off however when we were woken most mornings by passenger announcements!
The following day was brilliant sunshine and where else to go in Sydney but to head to Bondi Beach? Oh, the stuff dreams are made of! We spent a day slowly roasting as we watched the surfers do their thing and the beautiful people strut their
stuff. The day after was pretty miserable so we joined Luce and her friend's again in a visit to the Royal National Park. The Australian landscape seemed so alien to us after the lush scenery of New Zealand and we marveled at the cockatoos, red sandstone and bush that lined the river. Luckily, we managed to get in an hour on rowing boats before a dramatic storm set in.
Dragging Luce away from the shops and trying not to think about what a shock proper backpacking was going to be for her after a 2 week stint of boozing and shopping, we took a
Sydney Harbour Cruise. In 2 hours we managed to see a lot of Sydney including Shark Bay with it's huge netting (there hasn't been a shark attack in Sydney Harbour since 1940 but with a name like that we couldn't help thinking they were tempting fate!), Point Piper the most expensive area of Sydney and sailing beneath the harbour bridge. Sydney is the third largest natural harbour in the world behind Rio and Auckland and we rather smugly basked in the knowledge that we have now seen all three!
Reluctantly we left Sydney, one of the most cosmopolitan and vibrant cities we have ever visited, comforting ourselves that we would return for 3 weeks over the Christmas and New Year period.
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