Let battle commence
Trip Start
Dec 06, 2006
1
121
188
Trip End
Ongoing
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Sydney,
Australia
Saturday, February 2, 2008
On Friday I'd signed up for a touristy trip to the Blue Mountains, so I was up early and stood waiting for a bus in the drizzle. It turned out to be a wet day which wasn't the best as a fair bit of the trip was meant to be about views. The first stop was to see some 'roos and at that point the weather was ok so I was hopeful that the forecast of 1 or 2 showers was going to hold true. After that we went to have a look at our first viewpoint. Aaaah, the magnificent vista of fog. Back in the fun bus and after dropping someone's stuff at the hostel we went to get some sarnies from a cafe for lunch. It was meant to be a quick stop but one of bods on the tour thought it was a nice chance to do some window shopping and wandered off down the street. After the guide had legged it after her and brought her back we thought we were set but she'd not got her sandwiches. Funny though. The main part of the day was a walk in the Grand Canyon. Yup, there's another one, but this one isn't quite so grand. It was named that to get people interested in visiting and we'd clearly fallen for it as we set off for a 3 hour walk. It was good and surprisingly dry considering the rain and drizzle we'd seen earlier in the day. It was actually a relief that it wasn't hot and sunny , it turned out to be ideal walking weather and the previous rain meant all the greenery was glistening. It was very much like New Zealand so I think I'll do more research in to this sort of thing in the future as I've done the NZ bush walking thing quite comprehensively! I thought I saw a funnel web spider in the toilet at the end of the walk but was told that I'd discovered a house spider. Not quite so frightening, but at the time I didn't know so I was keeping my distance!
Once the walk was over it was time for the cheesy tourism and we headed to the world's steepest railway which nobody bothered with and then to the viewpoint. The view was of about 70kms in to the distance of the valley and of the three sisters, the rock formation the blue mountains are famous for. Well, it would have been, we couldn't see the far side of the car park and didn't even bother leaving the bus it was so foggy. Not the best value for money as I didn't really see much of the blue mountains but I got a good walk. When I got back I made a spur of the moment decision to go and see Beowolf 3-d, it was only later I realised I'd fallen for a subliminal trick as we'd driven past the Imax on the way back in to town from the tour. It was ok for the experience but not the greatest of films.
Yesterday I had another slow day. I got up late and then thought I'd check on my account to see what's happening with my money transfer. I saw that a transfer had reached my UK account for the princely sum of about 20 quid. Not quite the amount I was hoping for as I was transferring my savings back to pay for the rest of my trip. I don't think I'll be getting far on 20 quid. It appears they've transferred my NZ account, but not the GBP savings account. Grrrrrreat. I tried to go to the branch but they don't bother with useful weekend opening here so I booked in to the hostel for another night so I can go in on Monday and smack some heads together. They're generally clueless, as the transfer has shown, so it could be an exercise in futility. We shall see...
I then did some washing, it's not all glamour on the road, and then went for a wander. Last night I played a few drinking games with a hostel crowd and then left them to it when they headed off in to town to watch the 6 nations.
Today I was up early again and headed to Bondi Beach to meet up with Nicky and do the Bondi to Coogee walk. It started out ok, but it wasn't long before the clouds rolled in and the drizzle got heavier. By about half way we abandoned ship as it was chucking it down. Oh well, I'm sure I'll be back in Sydney again, in fact I definitely will be as I've a flight that leaves from here, so I've a chance to go back and try again. That's Sydney done and dusted for now. Tomorrow is chores day, I'm shipping some winter woolies to the -45 degree Calgary winter wonderland and starting a scrap with a bunch of muppets in HSBC. Wish me luck!
