Lets Go Surfing

Eventually made it in to central Sydney to do the touristy thing after a couple of weeks procrastinating on the beach. A really beautiful city with tree lined streets which give it a less intense city feel. The landmarks are of course fabulous with the Opera House being one of the most impressive structures I have come across, I always think most world-famous sites only look impressive from the angle at which most of the postcards show them but the Opera House is a visual spectacle from which ever vantage point you find yourself in. The Harbour bridge is also very impressive and I walked across it and enjoyed spectacular views of the harbour and the city. Kings Cross's 'legendary' Coca-Cola sign (“as much a Sydney icon as LA's Hollywood sign” according to Lonely Planet) is little more than a pimped up billboard. Botanical gardens were nice and similar to Central Park in NY offer a great escape from the bustling city, so much so that you get a surprise when you emerge again to find yourself in the heart of a metropolis. Whilst on this jaunt round the city I had a pie at the renowned food van, Harry's Cafe du Wheels, although enjoyable it was not a patch on a scotch pie from Scotland.

Hogmanay back home usually does not get going until ten o'clock and that proved to be the case here as well the only difference being back home it is pm here am. In Sydney everybody is up early in an attempt to get the best spot in which to view the fireworks from Harbour Bridge. After being awoken at 6am by my overeager dorm mates as they scurried off to find what must have been the optimal location, I managed to get a few more hours sleep before setting off in search of a good location. We managed to find a great place called Observatory Hill Park which was pretty full when we got there around noon but we managed to find a good spot. It was a real festival atmosphere aided by the free and BYOB location and although it seemed full when we got there the people kept coming.

So we set about our picnics which we had brought. Some more extravagant than others (Moi - muffins, biscuits, sweets and crisps, Friend's mum – whole cooked chicken and sandwiches). We also set about our selection of beers, wine and spirits from around the world. Whoever had the idea of starting drinking games at 4pm was lacking foresight, as were all the people who joined in!! So having peaked around 9pm with the pre-firework fireworks, we hung in there until midnight. An incredible fireworks display over the bridge and really in every direction you looked something was exploding in a burst of light. Carried on without rest for a entire 20 minutes and must be the most impressive display I have ever seen. After this we grabbed our things and headed for the exit towards our beds and an embarrassingly early New Year's night but a thoroughly enjoyable one nonetheless.

The next day I thought I would take in Ne'er day walk which turned into a mammoth 10k trek around the northern shore of Sydney harbour. Through a preserved national park which at times felt to me like the middle of the bush and past lots of secluded beaches. Beaches only accessible to insane people on a walk or the more rational yuppies on their boat who moor their big boats and motor their smaller boats to the beach the day. Secluded beaches have their perks but I always thought their downfall was be the inability to get an ice cream while there. Not any more as these beaches were served by the an ice cream boat. This nautical floating ice cream van even had its own ice cream van music to let the children know it was time to tap mum and dad for some cash.

Also went on a scramble adventure round from Manly beach round the rocks and through a tunnel to the next beach to the north, Freshwater. Lots of crabs but luckily they were more scared of us than we were of them, at least that is the impression we gave off!! We then did a similar scramble to try and get to the next beach but lost interest. If we had carried on up the Northern beaches for a couple more hours we would have eventually come across Palm beach aka Summer Bay aka the home of Home and Away but alas it was not to be, so no Alf sightings to be speak of.

However, I did get my Aussie animal fix when we visited Sydney Aquarium and Wildlife World where there was an array of cool species to take in. Sharks, stingray, platypus, dugongs, jellyfish, crocodiles, koalas, possums, spiders, wallabies, kangaroos and much more. I even managed to identify a big fish I came across while snorkeling as a giant grouper.

With some Christmas money I treated myself to a Surfing lesson. So board shorts on and after only ten minutes of theory on the beach we hit the high seas. The first wave in I caught was perfection on a surfboard as I was up standing (Hanging ten as they say round these parts) and cruised right into the beach. Unfortunately, after this surprisingly good start it was downhill. I regressed badly and by the end I was unable to stand. I put this down to tiredness, as to get out of the shore there is a lot of effort expended in the arms through paddling. Then once out after waiting and waiting for a good wave when it comes you have to get up to equal speed again through paddling and once beside it do a press up and squat thrust motion in one fluid movement to stand up. This is hard enough without having cramped dead arms from all the paddling. By the end of the session I was unable to do any push ups without getting off balance and ended up wiping out most of the time. Also quite early on in the sessions I was hit square in the jaw by a rogue surfboard, and also halfway through my leg strap snapped off and I had to change rides – which was hard after becoming so attached to my first board. Would love to keep it up but I am heading down to Melbourne which is not the best for surf beach so it may have to wait. Please note the above picture is merely an artistic representation of what I assume I looked like!!

Travel Faux Pas # 3,859

Purchase a nice $5 pizza for dinner before realising you do not have access to an oven in which to cook it.. Microwaved pizza = soggy cardboard.