Steve had recommended to us heading into the Blue Mountains, a 2 hour train ride from Sydney. We packed our overnight bags, and set off for a bite to eat before heading to the train station.

The Sydney equivalent of the underground is nowhere near as large with only 5 or 6 lines, but the simplified map seems to be far, far more confusing! Eventually made it to the station, only to discover we’d missed a train by minutes. Damn that map.

We took that opportunity to arrange a later part of our holiday, a boat trip around the Whitsundays, but I’ll talk about that later (and boy do I talk about it!).

When we arrived at Katoomba – the main tourist town in the Blue Mountains – we headed to the Youth Hostel that we’d reserved a room at. Fantastic building! It had been recently renovated, following years of neglect, and was as nice as any 3 star hotel I’ve ever stayed in!

Despite being late, we decided to brave heading out to the trails on the advice of one of the receptionists. We later grew to dislike him!

The Blue Mountains are a tropical rainforest spread out over quite a large area, and we were staying at the top of one side. We headed into the brush, and down a steep slope in the thick of it.

As we walked, I became increasingly aware that the lift from the valley floor back up the mountain (a few hundred feet), was due to stop soon. We weren’t gonna make, and decided that we’d be having harsh words with the receptionist when we got back!

Darkness started setting in, and we had no idea where we were. Did we turn round or carry on the trail? Thankfully, we eventually found the base of the now closed lift, and the stairs up the valley side. We looked at them, and were instantly reminded of the stairs in the LOTR: Return of the King. This was going to be tough! Several hours later (well, that’s what it felt like), we reached the top. Do not attempt those stairs! They wiped us out in one foul swoop! Then our next problem was finding our way back to the hostel… We look back at it and laugh.

Washed, refreshed and knackered, we headed into town, grabbed a bite to eat in a very nice french restaurant, and found a local bar to collapse at with a comforting beer. Sadly the bar we had chosen had an ‘entertainer’ who appealed to the locals, but to use, it was an excuse to leave for an early night. Well, that and the fact we’d started to loose consciousness after our walk!

We decided to head into the city centre for breakfast, before heading up the skytower. The weather was again, surprisingly enough, great (people will get bored of hearing the weather was great).

The skytower is in the centre of the city, and affords a fantastic view of a large area. You can see out to the South Pacific Ocean, The Olympic village, and further inland towards the Blue Mountains. A slightly worrying moment on the way down from the tower… the lift stopped for a few minutes. Not nice!

We then decided to catch the ferry from the harbour round the coast to Manly Bay. The ferry ride was fantastic! Seeing the city from the bay, watching the number of boats zipping around, the old fort… It takes you breath away!

Manly Bay is an area of Sydney on the coast which is considered quite trendy, as shown by the array of designer makes and cafes. There’s a great beach and great waves if you surf! I decided that as it was the hottest part of the day, rather than risk burning again, shopping was in order. I then went and sorted and sat in a cafe for a coffee, and doing the ultimate touristy thing, I consulted the guide.

Eventually, when it started to cool again, I headed out to the beach. There’s been a rain problem in the area for a while now, so the showers on the beach are turned off. That’s so annoying when you’ve just been for a swim, walked across a sandy beach, and then have to walk! Any other time, that would have been a bit annoying, but hey, we’re on holiday.

We returned on the ferry to meet Steve, who’d just finished a hard day at work, and was dying for a beer. It still seems really strange being able to use you mobile phone on a boat. Just doesn’t seem right to me.

That evening, Steve and Monique took us to a great pub called The Oaks near where they live. The pub has a huge outdoor area where you can eat, and if you opt for the steak, you can choose the piece and cook it yourself – which to me, takes away the point of eating out. We all opted for gourmet pizzas – mine was a curry one, with mango chutney on. The drinks flowed, the debates raged, and suddenly we were being asked to leave.

The day started off with a great breakfast in Kiribilli. The weather was beautiful – and I’d remembered to put a lot of sun cream on. Then we wandered across the harbour bridge. That has to be one of the most inspiring ways to start your day! If I lived there, I’d do it everyday! Sure beats the daily grind in Central London.

We’d decided that being our first full day in Sydney, we’d start by with the Opera House. Walking from the bridge, around the harbour to the Opera House was wonderful. The sun was shinning, the ferries were going back and forth, the city was buzzing with life under the warm sun.

As we approached the Opera House, you realise that no amount of photos or videos would ever do it justice. It’s just such a beautiful building from every angle! We couldn’t see much of the interior, so we decided to take the tour. J rn Utzon, a Danish architect, designed the winning award in 1955, but due to a arguments with the government, left the project, and never saw his completed work (Nation Master Encyclopedia).

We then headed into the park behind the Opera House, and back round, through the city, back to Darling Harbour a late lunch – it was already 2, and we’d started quite early.

Everywhere in Sydney, there were adverts for the aquarium, and as it was in Darling Harbour, we decided to pay it a visit. They have a great variety of sea life, but I think the highlight had to be the walk-through tank with sharks in it! You felt like you could almost reach into the tank and touch them. We also found Nemo in one of the displays.

Having felt a sense of achievement for the day, we wandered back through The Rocks (area just north of the harbour bridge). That evening, Steve’s girlfriend, Monique, cooked us a great pasta which we ate on the front balcony, being greeted by anyone who was walking by. I wish the people in London were all that friendly!

We finished the evening off with a quiet beer in Steve’s local, feeling the effects of a long journey, and a day in the sun.

I won’t bore you with the details of the journey to Australia, I’ll just say that we spent the day at work, Flying from Heathrow in the early evening. We arrived after 2 ridiculously long flights, expecting to feel shattered, but stepping off the plane, all the excitement of being so far from home kicked in, and we couldn’t wait to get going. It was about lunchtime when we landed.

Our first experience of getting a cab was a bad one, and you realise that London style black cabs should be a legal requirement of every major city. Needless to say, our cab driver got lost on his way to the district of Kiribilli, south of the Sydney harbor bridge.

The journey there was amazing though! In that short trip, we got to see the Opera House and drove across the Sydney harbor bridge. What a way to be greeted!

Having found Steve’s house, we used the key he’d left us, dropped our stuff off and immediately went for a walk. The house he’s living in is in such a nice area! The front of his house has a small balcony, overlooking a harbor (not the main harbor), with some lovely boats. We set off for a walk, still not feeling the effects of our journey.

A couple of miles round the harbor, it became lightly wooded, and after a while, I looked up… I’ve never seen spiders that big! And there was a lot too!!! We carried on walking, hoping none of them decided to drop on us. We later found out that the big ones are harmless, it’s the little ones you won’t see that you worry about!

Eventually, we found a boat club at the end of the harbor, where we decided to stop for a beer and watch the world go by.

Steve finished work, and we took a cab back to his house, hey, we didn’t want to overdo it on our first day! Despite having been walking in the shade, I’d managed to get sun burnt. 2 hours, that’s a personal best! Doh!

Our first evening in Sydney got off to a great start, walking across the harbor bridge, and drinking in a bar on Circular Quay, opposite the Opera House called Cruises – recommended to anyone. Watching the sun setting, turning the opera house a beautiful red was amazing, and we couldn’t believe we were sitting there, on the other side of the world watching it.

Later that evening, we ate in a great bar called Cargo in Darling Harbor, before being invited to Steve’s friend’s new flat for some more drinks. Unfortunately, by about 10, the fatigue of travel started to kick in, and we were falling asleep at the table.