Arrived back in Sydney on Anzac Day and boy the party was on!  I thought by the time I'd got to my hostel, changed and got back out the party might be almost over but no.  I met up with a friend from a previous roadtrip (Perth > Albany) that I did in WA, who was now working in Sydney.  Don't think I've ever seen so many men in uniform in one day 'off duty'.  We had a civilised dinner and then hit the bars to watch those sailors get on down!  Amusement all round and a good night had by all.

I booked a day trip to the Blue Mountains as that was one of the things I really wanted to do/see whilst I was in Sydney as well as the two obvious ones.  The Happy Coach with driver/guide Ross picked me up just after 8am on what appeared to be a lovely Sunday morning.  Once everyone is on board we head out of Sydney for about an hour to the beautiful Blue Mountains.  Our first stop is the Kings Tableland Lookout where we take in the spectular views of the Jamison Valley.  From here we head down for our bushwalk to Wentworth Falls, where we do a cliff-side walk down to the middle section of this natural wonder.  Kodak moments all round.  From here we head back up for lunch and collect our chosen pies - real Aussie tucker mate!

There are numerous walking options open to us for the afternoon and several of us opt for the longer longer which began with 900 steps at the Three Sisters, Echo Point and ends with the scenic cableway ride back to the top.  The walk took about an hour or so and about 10 minutes in it began to rain.  Naturally I didn't have a jacket with it being such a lovely day when I left Sydney ...  The rainbow we saw at the end of the hike was beautiful and we were certainly glad of the cable ride at the end.

We go looking for wild Eastern Grey roos at the Enroka Clearing to no avail.  Not one to found although plenty of cockatoos - all noisy enough to make you wish you owned a gun - I'm kidding!  We board the bus for our return to the city.  A good day despite the weather.

The next day, I went out and got the obligatory Kodak moment by the bridge as well as the Opera House.  Can't quite believe my time in Oz is almost up.  It's been almost 3 months and it's flown.  I've seen some amazing sights and met some great people along the way.  I think it's safe to say that I'm enjoying this travelling lark!  Sweet.

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I arrived to Sydney 6^th June 2006 for 1 year. I travelled from Barcelona to Singapore to Sydney by Singapore Airlines.

Sydney is one of the world´s most beautiful city. It has a mgnificent harbour famous beaches, wildlife parks and a wide choice of restaurants and shopping facilities.

It´s an excellent place for living and study. Sydney is safe, has a pleasant climate, a clean environment and is convenient for travel to other parts of New South Wales and Australia

In Sydney you can visit many interesting things: Opera House, Sydney Tower, Harbour Bridge, Royal Botanic Gardens, Beach, Darling Harbour, The Rocks, Hyde Park and the most popular beach: Bondi Beach.

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We arrived to Sydney safe & sound. We had a bad movie on the plane, but I guess it is better then nothing. We could not get a shuttle van to our hostle so we got ripped off by a taxi. We have a couple from Denmark as our roomies. They are pretty nice & speak pretty good english, as our dutch is lacking. Today we went to the Opera House, which I just love! It was such a nice day today. It was so warm, something that we are not use to becasue it was cold in New Zealand. We also were right next to the Sydney Harbor Bridge, which is the biggest single arched steel bridge in the world. We also went to China Town & went into a "shopping mart," which was more like a swap meet (but the things are new) then anything. Even though the shopping mart was more of a swap meet, Justin might buy a Digerydoo (sp?). Also down by the water today, there were 2 aborginal guys playing the digerydoo to some beats, it was kind of cool. They were selling their CDs for $10.00. I kind of wished we bought one.

Tomorrow we are going to the Zoo. I am sad because I thought that you could hold a Koala bear but you can't. There is only one place in Austraila, which we are not going to.

And also, my mom jinxed me. I called her the other day & she asked if I was getting a cold. And now I have a cold!

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Na de laatste ochtend in Fiji volop van de zon genoten te hebben zijn we rond 15 uur het vliegtuig ingestapt. We hadden met z'n 2-en weer drie stoelen, dus geen klagen! Om 20 uur aangekomen in een redelijk hotelletje, direct naar bed, want het was een vermoeiende dag. De vlucht duurde namelijk 5 uur ...

Wakker geworden met de stralende zon, dus dit wordt een prima dag om Sydney te verkennen. We besluiten met de hopp-on hopp-off bus de stad te verkennen. De eerste stop is Darling Harbour. Erg gezellig met veel restaurantjes en cafes aan de jachthaven. Vanuit Darling Harbour heb je ook goed zicht op alle grote kantoren die hier aanwezig zijn, waaronder ook het prominent aanwezige pand van Allianz!! Niet te missen!! We zijn dan ook naar het Allianz pand toegelopen om wat foto's te maken. Toen hebben we kennis gemaakt met de extreme veiligheidsmaatregelen die hier zijn: "do you have permission to make photo's of this building? if you like you can talk to the management?"! Ongelofelijk toch, gelukkig hebben we nog een foto over ;-) We zijn niet op de uitnodiging ingegaan om met het management te gaan praten, er staan ook nog andere bezichtigingen op het programma ...

De volgende stop is de bekende Harbour Bridge. We stoppen vlakbij vanwaar we een mooi uitzicht hebben op het Opera House. Hier maken we uiteraard wat mooie foto's! En de volgende stop was dan ook het Opera House zelf, zeker een indrukwekkend gebouw aan het water. Vervolgens zijn we een klein rondje in de botanische tuinen gaan lopen. Deze tuinen liggen naast het Opera House. Daarna zijn we teruggekeerd om de Harbour Bridge over te lopen, een leuke wandeling waarbij je een supermooi uitzicht hebt op Sydney. Na de oversteek zijn we teruggevaren naar Darling Harbour met de Ferry om daar de dag af te sluiten met een lekker diner aan de haven! En uiteraard vis gegeten.

De laatste dag in Sydney vliegen we 's ochtends vroeg naar Alice Springs, een plaats in het midden van Australie.

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Will complete as soon as my Broadband is up and running

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go to  http://intrepidtoo.blogspot.com

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I realize I never put anything up actually of Sydney so here are some of friends and places...

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So me and my friend laura  arrived in sydney at 6:30 am excited but very tired at the same time :D...

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Took it a bit easier in April, attempting to save a bit of money and just chillax a bit. I took in a few sites. I took the ferry over to manly (which is where the new BBC Aussie replacement for neighbours is set). It is a very nice little area, small and quaint, not like the high rise of Sydney. Lots of nice little shops and a market. Went on the beach and even though it is autumn out there got a good tan going from two hours in the sun (I do not believe in sun tan lotion any more). Thought about going for a swim, there were plenty of people in the sea, but the water was freezing, reminiscent of the Channel down at Worthing, although I am pretty sure I have been for a swim down there.  Gave that a miss and just went for a walk.

The next day was the First Sydney Red Bull Flug Tag. Which is that weird competition where people design flying contraptions and jump off a pier. They all pretty much nose dived straight in to the water but it was all good fun. Each team would come up with a crazy contraption like a hamster wheel to power it and then would do a little skit or dance before take off. Other flying aids included Mr Bean’s mini, a flaming Galah and a pig. All good fun with great views of the opera house and Harbour Bridge in the background, but it was absolutely rammed down there. There must have been around 50,000 people lining the waters edge at least.

The weather turned pretty nasty, very cold. It started to feel like winter out here, although it was just as warm as back at England and everyone was telling me how glorious it is back home. However Australian buildings are designed to let the heat out and I also have not experienced winter for over a year; it was a bit of a shock to the system. It also rained for a record 11 days straight in Sydney which was just depressing. And what do these people have to look forward to in the winter, no Christmas, just cold weather and it getting dark really early; plenty of people must jump off the harbour bridge.

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as before... these are from my day in Manly, still all part of the Sydney entry

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I don't seem to have managed to make a dent in the list of things I'd been told I must do when I got to Sydney but I blame the nasty cold that someone has given me! I've still enjoyed my time here though (thanks go to Becks and Vicky for accompanying me on a number of night's out) and plan on coming back very soon to do the job properly!

First night was Aussie BBQ night.... sausages, kangaroo rolls and beers. You can guess the rest ;-)

Tuesday was a slow day so just booked a few trips then had a little wander around town through the botanical gardens and up to the harbour, quick drink in the Rocks before heading back to the hostel.

30/04: Winetasting in the Hunter Valley, then back to the hostel for a private wine drinking session with my newest friends

01/05: Day trip to the Blue Mountains; nice walk through the Grand Canyon then a trip down the scenic railway and back up on the cablecar. By this time the cold had really started to kick in so although it was pretty all I really wanted was my bed :-(

Sunday 04/05: I took the ferry out to Manly and walked up the beach to take a look at the 'scenery' (there was a surf and lifesaving competition taking place). Then did the Manly Scenic Walkway (10km plus a few detours) from Manly to Spit so I got a little exercise. Beautiful views of the harbour and I finally got a chance to dip my toes in the water. I really must get around to buying a swimming cossie!

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Today, I came to see more of Sydney.  Gina was sooo nice to drive us around the city, and even to some outskirts. Everything I expected and wanted to see and do in Sydney, from Opera Harbour, to some daring bars, to native animals, was accomplished. I just fell in love with Sydney!

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As she promised, Gina picked us up from our hotel and drove us around the city. We recalled that she once mentioned about some "nude beaches" in Sydney. She seemed felt our curiousity over these attractions. Before we knew it, we were already heading for La Perouse Beach.

Honestly, more than the excitement of seeing "nude" people, we wanted to see the beauty of the beach itself. La Perouse looked promising at a first glance, a place where people can achieve total relaxation.

(2b continued...)

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I (post) celebrated my birthday on board one of the Sydney Harbour's most unique attractions- the Sydney Showboat Dinner Cruise and Show! The Sydney Showboat is an authentic paddle-wheeler, reminiscent of colonial Australia, that has received an interior facelift to make for a classy and comfortable float around the Sydney's breathtaking harbour. On board, you are given the privelege to see, and of course capture with your camera, the other angles of the equally enchanting and famous Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge while the boat sails the enchanting Sydney Harbour. As expected, the dinner experience was excellent, too. We had Grilled Lobster and Prime Veal Cutlet which i am sure, was prepared on board to ensure their freshness. A great taste of Sydney's fine seafoods! The highlight, of course, was the live entertainment from the sequined and feathered ladies of the Australian Showgirls. The fanciful and extravagant dance routines that emerged from the cabarets of Paris in the late 19th century are resurrected by a troupe of four Aussie showgirls and single dancing hunk, accompanied by a gorgeous young diva, with vibrant costumes and energetic jigs. They also exhibited some popular dances from selected countries such as India, Japan, Korea and USA. The dinner cruise costs USD125, exclusive of beverage. A regular fruit juice of soda costs about USD10 while a glass of wine is about USD15. So if you also happen to be in Sydney to celebrate a special event, or just to experience great moments at the acclaimed world's most beautiful harbour city, then jump on board the Sydney Showboat for a dinner cruise and live entertainment sure to bedazzle you well into the night! ----------- Address: Sydney Showboats 32 The Promenade King Street Wharf 5 NSW 2000 Sydney Australia Reservations are necessary: Telephone: +61 2 8296 7295 Fax: +61 2 8296 7201 Email: res@sydneyshowboats.com.au http://www.sydneyshowboats.com.au/

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I stayed here on a business trip and it knocked me off my feet. There is a cool Australian travel website where I got the hotel for 170 austrlian a night for 3 nights. Its right around the corner from kings cross station and street. Beautiful modern room 40 inch plasma on the wall great shower and friendly staff. There also is cheap internet for as long as my stay it was 35 dollars. Usually hotels in australia charge 25 a night. In addition, there was a IPOD docking station.

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After spending Saturday morning wandering around Brisbane it was to the airport again for my 13th flight of the trip. I now only have 2 left after this and they are the biggies. At least you get free drinks and a decent meal on the long flights. I landed in Sydney and took a short train ride to the central station where my hostel was located. This was first time in a YHA hostel in Oz. It was a pleasant surprise, the whole place was a much higher standard to most hostels and there was no rip off internet or laundry charges. I wished I had stayed in one sooner.

By the time I was ready to explore the city it was already dark, however this didn't really matter and just meant photo taking would have to wait a day. After 40 mins of walking I reached the harbour and got my first look at one of the most iconic views in the world. The Opera house and hrabour bridge. After being in Oz for nearly 4 weeks it was good to finally see something that everybody associates with Australia. Sydney is a great city with plenty to see and do, and after 3 days I have only really touched the surface.

On Monday I went to see the legendary Bondi beach. Unfortunately on the day I visited the weather was rubbish it was cloudy and about 12 degrees. Consequently Bondi resembled a poor version of Newquay in England. At least the beach is much bigger in Newquay even if the waves aren't.

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