The End of the Yellow Brick Road
Trip Start
Nov 24, 2008
1
29
30
Trip End
Ongoing
Sydney,
New South Wales,
Australia
Saturday, June 13, 2009
So we had said our final final goodbyes to Lauren and Mitch and we were on our way to Sydney, with a quick stop off at a surf camp for a night. I don't know if you recall our first attempt at surfing in South Africa but I didn't have any high hopes, Robbie on the other hand had big plans. It was a bank holiday that day because Australia celebrate the Queens birthday and therefore that calls for a holiday for everyone (we should definitely adopt that). It was a short 4 hours to our surf location, in no time at all we were off the bus, had dumped our bags in our tiny cabins for the night and were squeezed into the unflattering wetsuits and in the water trying to catch the waves. Well safe to say I was terrible, after a fair few bashes on the head from the surf board, half drowning and choking on the water, all I could manage was to jump up onto my hands and knees looking like a dog, so I spent the afternoon floating about and catching the waves in the unconventional way of just sitting on the board and going where ever the waves took me. Robbie, however, had that determined look in his eyes and wasn't at all impressed by my attempts to chat, he spent the entire day fiercely concentrating, and after a while he was getting the hang if it and was up on his feet riding the waves, he was over the moon at his progress, it was then his teacher instincts kicked in and he was giving me tips and advice, I'd long given up and was the first on the beach when the instructor called time. That night everyone gathered for a big dinner, a feast of steak, sausages, pasta, baked potatoes and salad, it was definitely required after a long day of getting bashed about in the sea.
The 2 of us at the Opera House
Drinking games followed, but by 11pm all the alcohol was consumed and we were all heading to our beds a little worse for wear. The next day we were up at 6am to catch the bus to Sydney, it was a long 9 hours to get there but everyone was fast asleep with a hangover. We arrived late afternoon, crossing the Harbour Bridge over into the city, this was something that we had both been looking forward to. Our hostel for the next few days was decent enough, another 10 bed dorm but we're used to that by now. After dumping the bags we were out exploring the city, Darling Harbour was only a short walk away so we walked around and ended up back at the pub next to our hostel. It turned out to be a good night, Robbie won 2 pitchers of beer, one might I add for touching a girls ass in a game of heads or tails but I let it slide with the promise of free alcohol, it only took 5 minutes before I remembered that I hate beer, so a couple joined us to share the winnings, saving me from holding my nose and gulping it down! The night went on with many pitchers & vodka's, Robbie again winning another pitcher for getting the ball in the hoop, definitely a good start to Sydney.
It didn't take us long to discover the wonders of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, we spent a day walking the city and the bridge and taking many a photo of the landmarks from all angles. It was amazing to see them up close compared to seeing them in photos and they didn't disappoint. It was here we promised to do more travelling and see more great iconic places around the world, we only have to save another few thousand to achieve that! We were knackered after a days admiring Sydney but.....
(Robbie takes over the writing) I had been contacted by my good friend Owen's big bro, Anthony, who was here in Sydney working for a bit, and he informed me he had a spare ticket to a football World Cup qualifier game between Australia and Bahrain for that evening, magic, I was desperately in need of a football fix.
Another one
We met at central station and took the train out to the, very impressive stadium, catching up and sharing traveller stories on the way. The game itself was average, OZ won 2-0 which gave us a chance to cheer, but it was a good atmosphere, unlike back home drinking on the stands is not banned, so we had a pint or 4 as we watched the game and got involved in Mexican waves. It was a good night and a great laugh, good to meet up with Tony on the other side of the world, and get away from Nicola, ha ha (I'm only joking darling!) (Nic again) Bondi Beach was a place we wanted to see, a beach renowned for beautiful people and ripped bodies we couldn't wait to fit in.......NNOOOTTT! Fortunately for us due to the cold breeze there was no such beauty competition, the beach was deserted except for a few keen surfers and a couple of eager joggers, however this meant it was a little underwhelming, it was a lot smaller than we expected and the weather didn't keep us there very long. After our home made picnic on the grass we quickly jumped back on the bus back to the city. Once back in the comfort of the city we hit the local markets and picked up cheap souvenirs (by the way mum and dad your gifts are on the way home as we speak!). Later that night we ventured to Kings Cross for a couple of drinks and a walk around, it turned out to be the Red Light District of Sydney, a street lined with strip clubs and hookers, we found a quiet sports bar and an Indian themed bar for a couple of quiet drinks.
Our last day in Sydney was spent preparing for New Zealand, final laundry, re-packing the once again enormous bags filled again with souvenirs and doing last minute bits and bobs, including heading out to meet up with a guy we had met in Ko Tao during the SCUBA diving course, who had copied the course DVD for us, where if you look closely you can spot us.
First shot of the Opera House
That night we went on the river cruise that took us around the city letting us enjoy the Opera House and Harbour Bridge in the night and helping us add to the colossal photo album already dedicated to the landmarks. After we hopped off the boat we had a couple of quiet drinks in the city and headed back to the hostel to have an early night, eager for the next leg of our journey to begin. We spent about 3 months in Australia, starting off in Perth and making our way over to the East Coast to start our exhaustive search for employment in Melbourne, fitting in some awesome things along the way; visiting the monumental Ramsey Street was a major moment for me, watching the Grand Prix was the equivalent for Robbie and plenty of drunken nights out in Melbourne later we left in the search for warmer climates. Sailing the great barrier reef, catching up with friends, living the simple life in Byron Bay and witnessing some incredible sights in Sydney, we can look back and safely say that we had a great time. Although we had some moments when the accent and the people were slightly getting on nerves the break home helped us to enjoy Australia again, still no immediate plans to move over there but never say never.
Love Nicola & Peace Rob
