Friday, January 04, 2013
Day 7
Change time to 12 hours earlier
A bit of a quiet day all in all, spending the morning poolside at the hotel and then in the afternoon a trip to the mall where some new shorts were purchased.
Evening meal in Ochre restaurant where they served all kinds of creepy crawlies and Australian fare! Amanda risked some Kangaroo, which I tried myself and was very nice. Off to the reef tomorrow!
A bit of a quiet day all in all, spending the morning poolside at the hotel and then in the afternoon a trip to the mall where some new shorts were purchased.
Evening meal in Ochre restaurant where they served all kinds of creepy crawlies and Australian fare! Amanda risked some Kangaroo, which I tried myself and was very nice. Off to the reef tomorrow!
Wednesday, January 02, 2013
Day 6
Well, not too much to write today as Day 6 was a little bit of a transition day. We woke relatively early and got a lift with Helen to the airport for our 3 hour Jetstar flight to Cairns which was quite comfy for a no frills airline.
And when we arrived in Cairns, well, what about the tropical heat and humidity! A quick walk to sort out our bearings, then real hardworking to get on some reef trips with them mostly being booked up, but we sorted a trip for Friday and Sunday so the drive to Cookston is now off, probably a good thing in hindsight. Now we just need good weather.
We understand Thursday is set fair so some quality pool time is on the cards!
And when we arrived in Cairns, well, what about the tropical heat and humidity! A quick walk to sort out our bearings, then real hardworking to get on some reef trips with them mostly being booked up, but we sorted a trip for Friday and Sunday so the drive to Cookston is now off, probably a good thing in hindsight. Now we just need good weather.
We understand Thursday is set fair so some quality pool time is on the cards!
Another lovely night...
Another lovely meal! Bit of Italian tonight, and another huge portion! How are these Aussies all so thin?!
Tropics
So we made it to the tropical north, and lovely it is too, although its so humid! Feels like holidays though!
Tuesday, January 01, 2013
Day 5
After the busy schedule of the first few days in Australia, we were subconsciously requiring a bit of a break from the fully packed scheduling, and New Year's Day proved to be a great antidote for this. After a relatively lazy wake up of around 10pm, Amanda and I headed out in the car with Gary to the beaches around Sydney, notably seeing Bondi and Coogee and Cronulla beaches and those around Botany Bay headlands.
Unbelievably, all of Sydney also saw fit to hit the beaches, so parking was very, very sparse and we failed to stop near any of them for a dip. However, with the sun the way it had been it was not a bad break for us to get some shade.
Later in the day, Gary and Helen took us to the Bank Tavern in Kogarth for dinner and it was really lovely, although very big. All in all we had a wonderful time in Sydney, especially with Gary and Helen and its definitely somewhere I could see myself living in the future.
Onwards on Day 6 up north to Queensland, Cairns and the Barrier Reef!
Unbelievably, all of Sydney also saw fit to hit the beaches, so parking was very, very sparse and we failed to stop near any of them for a dip. However, with the sun the way it had been it was not a bad break for us to get some shade.
Later in the day, Gary and Helen took us to the Bank Tavern in Kogarth for dinner and it was really lovely, although very big. All in all we had a wonderful time in Sydney, especially with Gary and Helen and its definitely somewhere I could see myself living in the future.
Onwards on Day 6 up north to Queensland, Cairns and the Barrier Reef!
Monday, December 31, 2012
Day 4
So New Years Eve, and we finally got a great night's sleep! Ya beauty!
And what do you do in Australia on New Years Eve? Go to the beach of course! Headed down to Brighton Beach in Botany Bay for the day where we really got hit by the sun...factor 30 all the way over here!
A quick bite for lunch, then it was almost time for the main event...New Years Eve in Sydney!
We headed in at about 5pm to experience the pre-match buildup in Darling Harbour and Circluar Quay, before heading to the botanical gardens for 7.30pm for the Harbour Lights evening. And what an evening, such a great location, such a good view, great food, good wine and the fireworks, well wow, absolutely unbelievable! Words actually fail me!
Train home in the nicest post drinking atmosphere ever and in bed to listen to the wailing man at 2am! Haha
And what do you do in Australia on New Years Eve? Go to the beach of course! Headed down to Brighton Beach in Botany Bay for the day where we really got hit by the sun...factor 30 all the way over here!
A quick bite for lunch, then it was almost time for the main event...New Years Eve in Sydney!
We headed in at about 5pm to experience the pre-match buildup in Darling Harbour and Circluar Quay, before heading to the botanical gardens for 7.30pm for the Harbour Lights evening. And what an evening, such a great location, such a good view, great food, good wine and the fireworks, well wow, absolutely unbelievable! Words actually fail me!
Train home in the nicest post drinking atmosphere ever and in bed to listen to the wailing man at 2am! Haha
Day 3
To be removed: date should be one day less!
Following a couple of days of city slicking, we decided it was time to explore a little bit more of New South Wales, so we headed off to the Blue Mountains about 80km west of Sydney for a day trip.
After a very early pick up of 7.20am, we headed up to Katoomba and to Scenic World, where we rode a cable car, a 56 degree sloped train and the Sky Way, which included walking around the rainforest where we saw the web of a funnel web spider, the most poisonous spider in the world.
Following this we went to an aboriginal experience, learning about the didgeridoo and other customs. An interesting photo was obtained at the end. After a bit of fancying about on an annoyingly unorganised trip, we had lunch before visiting the old town of Leura, which had a great wee candy shop.
Then it was back down the road towards the city stopping at ferndown animal park where we got to see all the famous animals of Australia, including Kangaroos (which you could feed) and Koalas that you could have photos taken with.
Back on the bus to the Olympic Park, where we boarded the boat for a river cruise back to Circular Quay.
Then at night we found Gary and Helen Parker's house and enjoyed their lovely company and hospitality!
Following a couple of days of city slicking, we decided it was time to explore a little bit more of New South Wales, so we headed off to the Blue Mountains about 80km west of Sydney for a day trip.
After a very early pick up of 7.20am, we headed up to Katoomba and to Scenic World, where we rode a cable car, a 56 degree sloped train and the Sky Way, which included walking around the rainforest where we saw the web of a funnel web spider, the most poisonous spider in the world.
Following this we went to an aboriginal experience, learning about the didgeridoo and other customs. An interesting photo was obtained at the end. After a bit of fancying about on an annoyingly unorganised trip, we had lunch before visiting the old town of Leura, which had a great wee candy shop.
Then it was back down the road towards the city stopping at ferndown animal park where we got to see all the famous animals of Australia, including Kangaroos (which you could feed) and Koalas that you could have photos taken with.
Back on the bus to the Olympic Park, where we boarded the boat for a river cruise back to Circular Quay.
Then at night we found Gary and Helen Parker's house and enjoyed their lovely company and hospitality!
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Day 2
Again, not too sure exactly how and when this is being posted, but Day 2 our first Saturday in Australia was a belter.
With residual jet lag still in our bodies, a 4am wake up led to a 7am breakfast in the cafe next door, stuffing our faces on French bread, lovely!
Then it was back to Darling harbour to hit the tourist information to book our trip to the blue mountains. Then it was a long old walk back to the opera house before a tour around the opera house, a fascinating I site into how it works now and how the design was decided and created. The sun came out in a big way during the tour.
This meant that we left on the ferry to Manly in bright blue skies with fantastic views of the harbour city. Manly was absolutely lovely, a bit of lunch, then a walk the full length of the beach followed by an ice cream, which Amanda obviously loved!
Back into town aboard the Manly ferry, a wee sleep and then dinner back in Carling Harbour, with a brief drink with Henry Kitchen and his wife.
A good day, now if we can just lose this sodding jet lag, life would be, to coin a Bert Le Close phrase, unbelievable!
With residual jet lag still in our bodies, a 4am wake up led to a 7am breakfast in the cafe next door, stuffing our faces on French bread, lovely!
Then it was back to Darling harbour to hit the tourist information to book our trip to the blue mountains. Then it was a long old walk back to the opera house before a tour around the opera house, a fascinating I site into how it works now and how the design was decided and created. The sun came out in a big way during the tour.
This meant that we left on the ferry to Manly in bright blue skies with fantastic views of the harbour city. Manly was absolutely lovely, a bit of lunch, then a walk the full length of the beach followed by an ice cream, which Amanda obviously loved!
Back into town aboard the Manly ferry, a wee sleep and then dinner back in Carling Harbour, with a brief drink with Henry Kitchen and his wife.
A good day, now if we can just lose this sodding jet lag, life would be, to coin a Bert Le Close phrase, unbelievable!
Friday, December 28, 2012
Day1
I think I might be a bit behind the times with writing this, but it's pretty safe to say that Day 1 saw us arrive and also be very jet-lagged!
We landed at Sydney a little after 7 am and after a long but fast moving queue to get us through immigration (take note America!) we were headed into town on our pre-booked van at 8 .30am arriving at the Park Regis City Centre hotel by 9am. Sadly our room was not ready so following a pit stop we headed out and about to discover Sydney!
First stop was a walk around Darling Harbour to find the tourist information centre. A quick Internet and breakfast stop at Starbucks followed, before we managed to see the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the opera house, Circular Quay and the first look at the Botanical gardens.
We walked back to the hotel and at 1.30 could finally check in and have much needed washes after close to 30 hours in smelly clothes! Some lunch and a slightly too long sleep next, then we headed back to Darling harbour for a long walk then stopping in at The Blackbird restaurant for a beer and a beef burger. Carlton Draught was my poison and it was very nice too.
Back to the hotel and bed by 9.45pm, although Friday nights in Sydney are quite noisy so wasn't the greatest nights sleep ever!
Ho hum!
Off to the Opera house for a tour, Manly, Lunar Park, cross the bridge on Day 2!
We landed at Sydney a little after 7 am and after a long but fast moving queue to get us through immigration (take note America!) we were headed into town on our pre-booked van at 8 .30am arriving at the Park Regis City Centre hotel by 9am. Sadly our room was not ready so following a pit stop we headed out and about to discover Sydney!
First stop was a walk around Darling Harbour to find the tourist information centre. A quick Internet and breakfast stop at Starbucks followed, before we managed to see the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the opera house, Circular Quay and the first look at the Botanical gardens.
We walked back to the hotel and at 1.30 could finally check in and have much needed washes after close to 30 hours in smelly clothes! Some lunch and a slightly too long sleep next, then we headed back to Darling harbour for a long walk then stopping in at The Blackbird restaurant for a beer and a beef burger. Carlton Draught was my poison and it was very nice too.
Back to the hotel and bed by 9.45pm, although Friday nights in Sydney are quite noisy so wasn't the greatest nights sleep ever!
Ho hum!
Off to the Opera house for a tour, Manly, Lunar Park, cross the bridge on Day 2!
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Fancy Toilet
Sunday, December 09, 2012
Friday, November 23, 2012
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Always makes me laugh
When folk on the tubes have to get on and off as quickly as possible, as if it will make a massive difference in when they reach their destination!
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Jersey Harbour
Monday, November 12, 2012
It's a tough one
It surely has to be up there! ;-)
Jersey time
Sitting at Gatwick just the now, waiting to head to Jersey for the week, hopefully should be good times!
Thursday, November 08, 2012
Thursday Morning
And all is fairly good with the world, with the exception of my health funk I have going on right now!
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
Thursday, November 01, 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)