Sydney

We arrive at Sydney just after 3pm.  We got our spot allocated which was around 6 spots further up from the original one we had been allocated.  This must have been the start of the planets aligning for us.  No soon had we started backing into our spot and Nigel and Jordan lumbered out of the car we here "Nigel, Fiona....I can't believe it's you"...we look up to see Yolande walking towards us.  The people you see.  Yolande and I met while Jordan and her son Max were swimming in 6 to 12month group.  We also played netball regularly against each other.  It's not what you expect to happen but Australia seems to becoming smaller each day we travel.  While we chatted with Yolande, Alfie, Max and Lucy...we noticed a man walking towards us....low and behold Ben, Wendy and the boys found us again.  They were parked diagonal across from us and we had not noticed their car due to being so stumped by meeting Yolande and Alfie.  Now that's what I mean by aligning.

The next day we set off to Toronga Zoo with Yolande, Alfie and the their kids.  Our kids loved being with theirs they had so much fun running around the zoo with them all day...The zoo was fantastic but the back drop was absolutely amazing.   No zoo in Australia can boast such a spectacular view.  The elephants were funny when they were exercising.  Kick the ball.  Pick up people and balancing.  They are such beautiful animals.

 

The next day we took it a little easier with school work first then let the kids play with Bailey, Ollie and Joshie.  A very down to earth kind of day which was something we all needed.  The two oldest spent the day chatting and watching movies and ride their bikes and the four youngest spent it building a cubby and pretend playing.  I think the Ben and Wendy's boys are good for ours as they all get along so well.  Hopefully on our travels further north we will get a chance to catch up with them again.  That night we went off to the RSL club to enjoy a counter meal with all of our friends.  6 adults and 8 kids.  The kids spent the entire night in the kids room and we quietly chatted over our drinks and meals.  What a nice way to end the day.

Blue Mountains - Jenolan Caves
Well what a great day... We started out early as we knew it was going to be a long day as the trip alone to Katoomba was just over 2hrs.  First we visited Wentworth Falls.  It is suppose to be an amazing view from above but the low cloud cover would not allow this.  They were completely covered over and the only thing we could here was the sound of the water cascading onto the rocks below.  We were off to Scenic World next and we feared that the low cloud cover would not allow us to see the three sisters but luckily this part of the mountain range allowed us to see right down into the valley.  We rode the cable car, the steepest railway and the Skyway.  The view from the Skyway was amazing.  It was only a distance of 300 to 400metres across the gorge but we were at least the same distance from the valley floor.   The steepest railway was a quick decent but one well worth the ride.  It was originally used to pull the coal cars up the hill.  When you get into your seat you wonder why you are leaning so far back only discover why one you descend onto the valley floor.  The cabway was a easy way to return to the top of the mountain.  Otherwise it would be a three hour climb out.  Once we finished looking around Scenic World we trundled back into the car and drove to the Jenolan Caves around an 1.5hr drive.  The descent into the caves on the road was a little treacherous but nothing that Nige couldn't handle.  When we finally arrived we drove through the most amazing entrance to the caves and then back up to the car park.  We went for a cave tour in the Imperial cave that took us around an hour and the kids learnt some amazing facts about stalagmites and stalactites and particularly how the caves where formed.  They seemed very interested by the amazing formations.  Once out we went and look at their dam to look at the most amazing blue lake ever.  It was that colour due to the calcium/lime build up.  Just amazing.  We drove back to the van after this but as we made our climb back up the mountain we struck a bus coming down the other way.  Well i thought going down was hairy but that was a little scary.  The poor kids on the other side of the bus looking over the edge of the road which fell away to almost a vertical drop must have been terrified.  I would have been if I was the one in the bus.  The journey took us just over 3 hrs to do and the kids were amazing the whole way back to the van.  We were later to discover that most Sydney siders would never do that trip in a day.  Oh well it was well worth it anyway.

 

Back in Sydney we spent the next day travelling with Wendy and the boys.  Ben was layed up in bed with a back injury so we offered to help Wendy tour around central Sydney.  We caught the train in Milsom Point and then got off and walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  I could not believe the amount of vibration under our feet from the cars, bus, trucks and trains.  No wonder they are constantly replacing lost nuts and bolts.  We then made our way down to the Rock next.  They have done an amazing job at keeping the architecture in tact down there.  Its good to see the heritage of our beginnings.  While there though we had a little drama where we need to call an ambulance for Jordan.  She was playing leapfrog over some poles when she came down hard on her right arm.  The cracking sound and the amount of pain and anxiety she showed made us very unsure if she had broken it.  So we had the ambulance take a look at her arm.  By the time they had arrive Jordan was a little more subdued and took their poking and prodding very well.  They felt after assessing her that it was most probably not broke but to keep an eye on her for the next couple of day.  They place her arm in a sling just to give it a chance to rest.  We spent the remainder of the the day wandering around the major places.  Firstly the Opera House.  I can't believe that the roof is covered in hundreds of tiles.  That is why it sparkles on sunny days.  Then we caught the train and bus to Bondi.  We visited the Bondi Lifeguards and looked for the Bondi Vet.  We did not find Dr Chris and Jordan and I were a little disappointed.  We played in the sand then took off back to to van. 

 

What a big day we had but that was not the end of our day as we had organised tea with Darren, Susana, Liam and Ben.  (Nigel's cousin and family).  It was a great night out.  We ate an amazing meal and got to catch up on all the things going on in Darren and Susana's life at present.  The kids were so energetic and our kids could not keep up with them.  By the end of the night the boys were so warn out that both Austin and Kaleb fell asleep on the couch.  It was so cute.  These big days in Sydney were finally catching up with us.

Our final full day in Sydney saw us say goodbye to both Yolande & Alfie and  Ben & Wendy.  Yolande and Alfie were heading to the Blue Mountains and then back home to Geelong and Ben and Wendy were heading back to Wollongong to catch up with some friends.  They may probably catch us on the road somewhere between here and their home of Townsville.  I think our kids would really love to catch up with them again.

We then headed into the city and then only the Manly ferry to spend the afternoon in Manly on the beach.  Nigel and the kids went for a swim and said it was amazing in the water.  I was the guard dog again, looking after all of our possessions.   Next time we go to the beach remind me to pack a good book so then I can read and keep myself entertained.  We caught the ferry back to Sydney just as the sun dropped behind the mountains.  The kids loved the lights of Sydney so we took the ferry around to Darling Harbour and did the round trip.  What a nice way to end our stay in Sydney.  It's such an amazing place and so easy to get round.  Melbourne you need to pick up your game.