Coogee Beach

Friday 30th December 2011

After a slow start in the morning, we headed to Wicked to book our Great Ocean Road trip, woo hoo! So, we pick the campervan up on Tuesday morning and off we go.  A lad in the hostel is also joining us which is great as reduces the cost even more, bonus!

We then headed over to Coogee beach for the afternoon and more sunbathing :-) Coogee was really pretty - yet another lovely view for Ruthy!

I met up with Claire and Rachel (from Cairns) in the evening.  We went to Darling Harbour and had a wander round and indulged in a glass of real wine!

The harbour looked so pretty at night and it was great to catch up with the girls.  That will be the last time I see them now, which feels very strange and made me think that as of next week I will be saying bye to all my Australia friends :( I haven't managed to see Sofia again, but I know I will be heading over to Sweden for my next holiday!!

Whilst I was out, the girls back at the hostel had been out and bought picnic things for tomorrow - New Years Eve!!!

I have changed my plans slightly with regards to tomorrow nights events.  My original plans were to go to Bondi beach where Calvin Harris and Snoop Dog would be playing - sounds amazing I know but I just felt that I couldn't miss the fireworks on the Harbour, who knows if I would ever be able to see them again....?!

So, I managed to sell my ticket (which is a bonus and will help towards my Great Ocean Road trip) and I am heading to Bradfield Park with Jo, Amy, Danielle and Chelle where we plan to set up camp from about 10am and sit and wait for the fireworks - I am very very excited and pleased I changed my plans!

I cannot believe it is New Years Eve tomorrow and that I will be seeing 2012 in sitting at Sydney Harbour - amazing!!

Cruising round Sydney Harbour - day and night

Thursday 29th December 2011

It is Danielle's birthday today and we are all going on a dinner cruise around the Harbour - slighly posh for backpackers!

Before heading onto the cruise I popped into Wicked Travel Agent to try and sort out the Great Ocean Road trip with Jo and Amy.  And it looks like it is going to happen and cost less than thought.  The plan is to pick up a campervan from Sydney, then drive it to Melbourne.  We will then spend three days doing the Great Ocean Road.  I then need to get on the Greyhound back to Sydney so I can get my flight to New Zealand on the 7th January, eeeek! Very excited about next week and then heading to New Zealand!

The crusie was so lovely, however we had a minor issue getting there as the taxi man managed to take us to the wrong side of Darling Harbour! So we had to run round the whole of the Harbour in less than 10 mins to catch the ferry, a little stressful but bit of exercise at least ;-)

There was an all you can eat buffet, and it was soooooo good! You could spot the backpacker table a mile off, we definately got our monies worth - none of us needed to eat a thing for the rest of the day!!

It was a really lovely day! Sun shining and I don't think I will ever get bored of looking at Sydney Harbour!  The girls are great fun and I feel very lucky (once again!) to have met them!

I met up with an old high school friend in the evening.  Not seen him for over 12 years so was really nice to catch up.  I met him at the Opera Bar which had such amazing views of the Opera House and Bridge at night.  We also went to a couple of bars in The Rocks, which is an area that has some of Sydney's oldest buildings, one of which was Sydney's oldest pub! Would have been rude not to go in there!!  We were joined by a couple of random Scottish lads who were great fun and continued to offer to buy us free drinks!!!

Was a very good night and lovely to go to normal bars instead of being surrounded by backpackers, plus even better when I don't have to spend lots of money, hehe!!

Manly Beach

Wednesday 28th December 2011

Pretty quiet day today. The weather was really lush so we got up relatively early and headed to Manly Beach.  We had to get a ferry to Manly which was a great way to see the whole Harbour and what else Sydney has to offer.

We just spent the whole day sunbathing and chilling out.  We planned to have a night in with Chelle and Danielle (two other girls who are staying at Base Hostel) and we made Mushroom Risotto!!!

This might sound a little sad, but only cost us $5 each and it was such a good meal :-) and such a treat from trying to make noodles as exciting as possible....!!

I am still loving really loving Sydney and feeling very chilled out right now!

Chilled day by Darling Harbour

Tuesday 27th December 2011

Woke up to pretty dull weather this morning.  We had planned to visit Manly Beach but it was actually too cold to sit on a beach…….!!! So we just went exploring the city and chilled out around Darling Harbour for a bit.

We were all pretty knackered after last night’s girlie fun, so was really nice to just have a chill out day and enjoy our surroundings.

To keep the cheap and not spending theme going, we took a little pack lunch and the sun shone for us so we could sit out and enjoy!

Rest of the day was trying to sort out how feasible the Great Ocean Road trip will be! I have got to find out if I can move my flight to New Zealand.  Fingers crossed as would love to do that trip with the girls.

Hopefully the sun will shine for us tomorrow so we can hit Manly and catch some more rays J

Boxing Day - Oz Bootcamp

I had the best night sleep I have had the whole time I have been in Australia so woke up feeling pretty refreshed today!

Jo and I are desperate to do some exercise so before breakfast we head out to Hyde Park and we do some of my bootcamp exercises – loving it! The plan is to now do this every morning whilst in Sydney, get me in shape for New Zealand.

The rest of the day is just spent chilling out, Mcd’s free WiFi over a coffee and then back to do some backpacker cooking – brown rice and veg!!

We had a girl’s night out tonight! Met up with another girl from Fraser Island trip and Steph came to play too.  We cracked open the goon as we have to go out, disco dance and not spend a penny whilst doing it……

Tomorrow I need to sort my trips out.  I really want to the climb over Harbour Bridge and possibly do the Blue Mountains.  I also need to head to the beaches so hopefully the sun will continue to shine.   Jo, Amy and I have been talking about renting a campervan next week and doing the Great Ocean Road together before I fly to New Zealand which would be so amazing!

I am loving that I have a whole week to enjoy Sydney, it’s such a fab city!

Christmas Day - and I am in Sydney!!

I wake up fairly early and again it feels strange it is Christmas morning….. But thanks to my lovely family and friends I have a selection of little presents and cards to open.  Mum had bought me a blow up snowman which was definitely going to be spending the day with us and coming to the beach!

We were picked up at 12noon by the shuttle bus and off we go to Bondi beach!  We go grab our free BBQ dinner and stock up on cheap drinks and just lie in the sun.  A few DJ’s start playing and by 3pm we are up and dancing our socks off!

After having our fill we go grab some sangria (Christmas treat!) and then head to the beach to sunbathe.  The weather has been so amazing today, really hot and perfect to help top the tan up!!

It soon gets to 8pm so we head back and meet up with a few others and go sit in Hyde Park and enjoy our surroundings!  There are possums all over Hyde Park, funny little creatures, still getting used to the Oz wildlife!!

When back I skype Mum, Dad and Auntie Joan and then Stephen, Jeni, Ben and Charlie!! It was sooooooo lovely to see them all and wish them Merry Christmas! Slightly jealous that I wasn’t indulging in Mum’s Christmas dinner!!

I have had such a fab Christmas and so happy I have spent it with Jo and Amy.  The day has been none stop laughing and with some serious dancing taking place!!

I cannot believe I have spent Christmas Day on Bondi, be hard to top this!

Merry Christmas J

Christmas Eve

After a chilled day yesterday Jo, Amy and I were up early and met for breakfast.  This felt like such a treat being able to just relax and have a bowl of cereal without it costing me $5!

We then headed out to the Botanic Gardens to meet up with Sarah (Bryon friend) and Hannah for a picnic in the glorious sunshine.  The weather was absolutely boiling today and apparently the hottest it has been in Sydney for some time.

We then went on a FREE walking tour around the city.  The guide was a young lad who had set up the tours with his girlfriend so they could show their city off to new visitors and backpackers!!  It was about 3 hours and he took us all round the major points of the city and providing us with plenty of history.

The most exciting part was when I got my first glimpse of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge!!! Amazing views and once again made me appreciate my little adventure so much more – I am just loving it J

Sydney is a really great city, it is so clean with plenty of beautiful spots – Hyde Park, Botanic Gardens, Harbour and some very impressive buildings.  It is similar to London but a lot calmer to walk around.

After the tour had finished we raced round the shops to find a santa hat to wear tomorrow – at home they would be on every street corner, but here, it was a challenge!

I then went out and met Steph (Jenna’s friend) and went to a party at her friends flat.  It was really lovely to see Steph, a familiar face and someone from back home who is also having all the same feelings as me, so was nice to catch up and swap stories.

After few drinks in the flat headed out into Sydney for a bit and then home! Still so strange it is Christmas Day tomorrow, but very excited I am off to Bondi beach to celebrate it!!