Australia

Yesterday started my day with Dad who was in town for a meeting, so met up in the city for a light breakfast. It is always quite bizarre to meet up with someone elsewhere in the world who is also visiting at the same time... there is something quite synchronistic about it. Afterwards went shopping and having limited space in my pack was not tempted by all the designer labels, didgeridoos and other such Australian souvenir essentials, instead bought very exciting things like sunscreen and jandals (do you know how hard it is to buy jandals in winter even in Sydney!!). Have made one exciting purchase though - an MP3 player (a creative zen) which will make the long drive days on the truck a lot more bearable. Although haven't purchased much of consequence suspect that my pack will weigh in a bit heavier than the 16.2kg I left NZ with. Had some yum sushi & sashimi for lunch at a sushi train place and it is always dangerous situation as when all the food innocently passes by, you just can't help but try one more plate... had a little bit of a pigout actually as thought I would need the energy to climb the bridge (well that was my excuse anyway!).

By forgoing the afternoon beer that I was craving on a sunny 21 degree Sydney afternoon, I managed to pass the breathalyser test so I could climb the bridge! Was quite a process to get onto the bridge - first we donned rather drab jumpsuits and attached to little metal rings all the accessories one might possibly need at 134 meters above sea level - beanie, nightlight, fleece, cap, radio, headset, hankies and hairties - all provided as not allowed to take any personal belongings on whatsoever... which of course means no cameras and the group photo provided does no justice to the view. You are fully attached on a little rail so no danger of falling, which is quite comforting as while I'm not scared of heights, am not really that fond of them either and walking over the catwalk part and up the narrow stairs was not the best moment to look down!!

I had booked in a twilight tour so climbed up at around 4pm and got to the top as the sun was setting which was just stunning with all the colours and hues lighting up the skyline with the blue mountains in the distance. By pure co-incidence had booked on the day it was full moon which meant the view over the other side was just as spectacular with the moon peeking up over the opera house. Climbing down got the Australian version of Champs-Elysées rubies and diamonds with the cars beneath and then a hell of a fright as the train thundered past right next to me on the western arch - if it wasn't for a bit of mesh, it is so close you could put your fingers on the track. Seeing Sydney sprawled out beneath me and twinkling into life as the sun went down was definitely worth it.

To finish off the day had dinner with Liz and Mark at a Thai place in Balmain that had fantastic views of the bridge. If it hadn't been for the squashing a few bugs that crawled down the wall every few minutes would have been perfect!! Still they appeared only on the wall and not in dinner which was good and am sure have to brave more nuclear-sized insects in Africa!

Today went into town to go on the monorail, a nice floaty sensation that gives a really interesting perspective to the city. Only bought a single ticket and for a $4.50 price tag, I decided to do a few loops to get a good look around and my moneys worth! Finally disembarked in Darling Harbour and walked down to the fish markets. The markets were more shops and food stalls than an actual produce market (at least the part that was open to the public) and wandering round couldn't help but partake in some of the delicious offerings - scallops, calamari, kingfish and octopus on the brunch menu! Headed down through Darling harbour again and went into the Chinese gardens that are in the central city. A surprisingly refreshing and quiet space, it is well worth a look and the only indication that you're in the city is the skyscrappers in the background. Strolled through China Town back to George St and caught a bus back home. Needed to give myself a few hours to cram things into my pack again as suffered from a reasonable dose of pack explosion on arrival so knew it would take some time to put it all back!

Flying out of Sydney tonight and will be in Africa sometime tomorrow - seems quite surreal!!

Not an auspicious start to the trip when I left New Zealand carrying battle scars on my nose, following an encounter with a usually mild mannered cat bearing the ferocious name of Smitten. Still a lesson to be learned that engagement with any animal with claws should be handled with caution no matter the size!! Other than this incident departure was relatively smooth.

Must say that completely rate Emirates airline for service, food and entertainment. The only bad point was they had so many movies to choose from that by the time I decided on one, didn't actually have time to finish it before landing! However am sure can catch up on the next leg. Am almost looking forward to the flight even - as much as one can look forward to sitting for hours on a flying metal tube.

Sydney has been fab so far... strange taxi ride screaming through the back streets and was wondering if I had arrived in the city at all as didn't pass through any well-lit areas as headed towards Leichhardt, a suburb in the inner west with a strong Italian influence. Upon arrival had a few wines, followed by my forth meal of the day at a great little Italian place down the road, imaginatively called Bar Italia. The food was cheap, basic and delicious and the ice-cream was melt-in-your-mouth fantasic - can definitley recommend Tiramisu flavour!! Actually seem to have spent the last few days eating... lots of ice-cream, fresh fish-n-chips over in Watsons Bay overlooking the water (never mind fighting off the pesky seagulls), potato scallops at Manly and today's foodie highlight was Harvey's pie cart with a tiger curry pie (beef not tiger!) with spud and mashy peas!

Liz and Mark have been great showing me the sights and been through quite a few of the different suburbs, from Kings Cross, Bondi, Paddington, Balmain.. People say that Sydney is quite like London or Auckland and while I can see that there are some similarities, it seems to have a style all of its own with a realy eclectic mix of people and architecture. Also with iconic Aussie landmarks like the harbour bridge and the opera house you certainly can't mistake where in the world you are! Travelled up to Manly beach plus a bit further up the coast and over to Bondi which are pretty impressive for city beaches. Unfortunately not quite swimming temperature however the weather has been fantastic, warm and sunny - t-shirt weather in July which is quite surreal!! Liz has just reported that tomorrow will be around 22 degrees.

Did a walking tour round 'The Rocks' this morning which was really interesting passing through cute alleyways and the sandstone streets and buildings. Yesterday did a leisurely 8km walk round the bays locally, passing through the doggy park with all the owners and pets out for their Sunday strolls, though no time to stop at the Dog Bones cafe for a puppachino this time round... Tried out my Nordic walking traveller poles which thankfully the dogs ignored but not so the witty Australians who like their kiwi counterparts couldn't help themselves making smart comments about snow and skiing...

This morning got up early (yes this meant 4am start!!) to watch the football world cup final and then afterward walked down to Norton street (closed for the occasion) where seemingly every Italian in Sydney was celebrating the win with flags, flares and a lot of car horns and shouting. Couldn't have slept through it if I tried!! On the subject of sport, of course watched the All Blacks vs. Wallabies on Saturday night at the very same Harlequin pub where Mary met the Prince of Denmark not so long ago. No royalty there to my knowledge, mostly filled with sad faced Australians... though surprising number of smiling silver-ferns could be seen in the crowd. In true kiwi style stayed and drank to our success to the wee hours.

Have another few days in Sydney to explore a bit more. Having already been over and under it, tomorrow will attempt the climb over the harbour bridge provided I pass the breath test..