OZ update

So, what's new since the last update all that time ago?

Ok, the Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour. Schmeh, I wasn't overly impressed with the museum itself, although it was ok I guess if you like your Australian Maritime History. Far more interesting (IMHO) were the war ship and subamrine located outside the museum which you could look around. The fact you had tour guides explaining everything helped, as I wouldn't have known what half the stuff I was looking at was otherwise. It was pretty cool, especially being in the submarine - it's crazy how cramped those things are.

Hannah and I popped over to Sydney Fish Market for lunch, which was nice - let's face it, you're not going to find fish much fresher than at the place the fishermen take it off the boat. I made a complete mess with the grilled Tiger Prawns but they were really good...

I had a really nice day out at Bondi, strolling along the beach and sitting in the sun on a balcony overlooking the sea. Bondi's not quite what I imagined, it's smaller for a start. It's a lovely beach though and the fact the weather held pretty much all day was a blessing. The surf wasn't too high whilst I was there although there were a few surfers there catching the odd wave.

Circular Quay is where you'll find the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Botanical Gardens. I spent some time hanging out by the Opera House taking photos and then headed for a stroll through the gardens. After that I headed over to the harbour bridge and walked across it (well, half way and back), where you can get some great views of the harbour. There was a guy being pinned to the floor and handcuffed by the police as I walked across, although I have no idea why. Probably trying to jump.....

After that I headed over to the Observatory and had a look around there, and also had a stroll through The Rocks, which I understand is the oldest part of Sydney - now home to trendy cafes and shops (and road works).

I spent an evening at my Aunt and Uncle's summer house up the coast, whicih was nice. It's way out in the Wop Wops and really quiet. We had to be up early on the Sunday morning though as we were headed in to the city for a Chinese breakfast, which was gorgeous. Lots of dishes, and lots of tea... Definitely recommended!

Manly Beach made fot a pleasant day out - it seemed a bit larger than Bondi, and the surf was definintely more in evidence. I got soaked walking down the beach but dried out fairly quickly as I walked back towards town. After a quick lunch I headed towards Shelly Beach, which is tucked around the corner of the shore and is far quieter, and very beautiful - it looks like something out of 'Lost'. I headed up behind Shelly Beach and found a path that takes you through some bush and eventually up on to some rocks that overlook Manly. It's a really lovely spot with some great views, well worth the climb which isn't particularly difficult.

The trip across to Manly is by ferry (ferries are easily the best way to get from one part of Sydney to another) so you can chill out for 30 minutes before going for coffee in Circular Quay on the way home. All good!

I headed up to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains (which aren't blue). Maybe they're called the Blue Mountains because it's so bloody cold you start turning blue when you get there? There are loads of walks around the mountains that go from Katoomba so I did as many as I could. I started off at Echo Point and did the Cliff Edge walk, and then headed down towards Katoomba Cascades, before walking back up to Echo Point and heading for the Three Sisters and the Giant Stairway.

The Giant Stairway. God almighty, why did I do that? I walked down to the Three Sisters, saw the stairs and thought 'why not?' 900 or so steps later (and a very long way down) I reached the bottom, and then had to climb back up again. To say the stairs are steep is an understatement - at times they're almost vertical. It was really, really hard work to get back to the top (especially with my backpack) but I made it eventually. I headed to the hostel after that for some food and a nice sit down....


The next day I headed down to the Katoomba Falls Kiosk and from there down the Furber Steps walk. I went off on the Underfalls Walk to see Katoomba Falls, and then headed down to the bottom of the Furber steps. I had a walk through the rainforest and did the touristy walks down there, before getting the worlds steepest railway back out of the valley (it had taken 2 hours to walk down, I wasn't walking back up as well).