On the way to Sydney...

Well, a lot has happened since my last blog entry so be prepared for a mini marathon!

When we arrived back in Melbourne we checked into a different hostel in St Kilda, & went out on the bars with a group of people we met there. It was a good evening, largely fuelled by "goon" - which is the Aussie term for a box of cheap wine (roughly $10 for 5litres...pretty cheap!)

The next evening we headed out to the MCG to watch an Aussie Rules Football game between Collingwood & Geelong.

Collingwood were the home team (there are many teams from the Melbourne catchment area) & the favourites going into the game. In true British fashion, both Dixy & I backed Geelong, whilst Smalls decided to attempt a stint on the glory wagon with the Collingwood lads. Sadly, for Smalls, Geelong came out winners 125 - 96...which is a bit of a pasting! ;-) The game itself was very entertaining, & the rules aren't that complex...because there aren't many! The game itself lasts two hours, with four quarters of 30mins - so very good value for money at $20 a ticket! It was worth that alone to see the inside of the MCG - which is a very impressive stadium indeed.

The next day was time to dance...

We caught the train & bus to a race circuit on the outskirts of Melbourne, to attend the Trance day event known as "Trance Energy." Dixy was especially psyched up for this, as not only is it his bag a number of his favourite DJs were playing. I myself have been getting to more of these events in recent years, but it is safe to say that it really isn't Smalls' thing - although we all had an excellent day reaching for the lasers!
Marco V on the main stage

...dixy thoroughly enjoying Marco's set

The second stage...

...Judge Jules playing on said stage

The other DJs that we saw were Sander Van Doorn & John Askew, amongst others. I suspect that for a number of readers this is erroneous information, although it will be relevant to a few!

After our second stint in Melbourne, it was time to see some of the South East corner of Oz. We made our way to Phillip island, which is a holiday getaway & nature reserve (in the most part). Whilst we were there we visited the Little Penguin colony, although didn't hang around until sunset to watch them swarming in from the sea. Then we set off for the Koala reserve. Here is an Aussie sight that many people swoon over...

It has to be said that although they look very stupid & lazy (which they are), the Koalas are very cute.

We then made our way up the East coast, heading towards Canberra (Oz's capital), but taking in the National Parks & Reserves along the way. We stopped at a number of small seaside towns along the way, including Eden, Bateman's Bay & Ulladulla. All were very picturesque. You have all been treated to some spectacular piccies of sunsets on this blog, but here is something a little different...a sunRISE picture at Bateman's Bay

The other highlights of these few days included a Kangaroo beach, called Pebbly beach...

As we arrived during the midday heat, unfortunately the Kangas weren't in the mood for showing off on the beach. Nonetheless it was a beautiful place. After the beach we checked into a campsite in Ulladulla, where I left the lads to go on a bit of an exploration to the nearby Mountain ranges (surprise surprise, neither Smalls nor Dixy were intested in seeing a bit of the real Australia!). I went on a 5.5km walk up Pigeon Mountain, which was incredibly steep (a grade 4 track - 5 being the toughest) - but incredibly rewarding. The final few hundred yards of climbing was especially perilous, as you can see from the ladders I had to climb up the wind swept rock face!

The views from the top were fantastic though...

We arrived in Canberra to find out exactly why we had been warned off of it as a destination to visit...there really is nothing there (apart from office blocks & a few memorials) & it has a very sterile feel to it. Hard to explain. However, we were there for the night & made the best of it by checking into a lively hostel & then hitting the town that evening (after the standard bottles of vino). Below you will see the art work on Smalls' guitar, which was the work of many at the hostel, followed by the view of the dancefloor at the club we went to. A good night was had by all!

We were going to check out the Australia museum the next day, before heading to Sydney, although our hangovers prevented that excursion!

We arrived in Sydney late in the day & headed to the East of the city & a place called Kings Cross - which we had been advised was the most lively area of the city to go out in. We felt obliged to check it out for ourselves. We then made the error of checking into the first hostel we saw, as it was located above the Subway station & had more of a prison vibe to it than that of a hostel one (it wasn't very nice).

Thankfully we only had to sleep there, as we spent the evening & night checking out the bars etc. It is a very lively place, but also very sketchy & dirty. You have to visit it to truly appreciate it...it is pretty much Sydney's red light district.

We checked out the next day & headed to Chinatown in the South of the city. This time we got it right with a decent hostel (it was clean!), with an Irish bar literally around the corner - which was showing the FA Cup final between Arsenal & Chelsea. As I have missed nearly all of the action this season, an evening/night of footy & a few pints was very welcomed...even if the Chelski scummers won!

The next day we headed to the Circular Quay, which is where the Sydney Opera house & the Harbour bridge are located.

We went there to meet up with Becky (Smalls' sister) & Adam (Becca's Husband), who had both kindly invited us to stay with them for the week - despite the fact that they had only moved into their flat two days earlier! Their flat was very impressive, with an even more impressive view of Sydney!

We had an excellent week in Sydney with Adam & Becky. We managed to fit in a lot of recouperation, along with plenty of sightseeing & evening excursions. I shall try to summarise as best I can...

We went to the Sydney Aquarium, which was pretty impressive. The best part of it was the walkways through the tanks. There was plenty of marine diversity to keep us entertained, including some sharks of course!

Afterwards we went to a Bavarian restaurant in the Harbour for dinner. Why would we have been drawn there, do you think???

The view of the Opera house at night is quite a sight...

We visited the Taronga Zoo, located on the other side of the Harbour to the city & the Opera house. It was a very pretty Zoo, with many exhibits to keep us entertained - including many animals native to Australia (shock). We got to see Oz's most venomous snake - the "Fierce Snake"

We also saw more of the most popular cute critters...

And some Giraffes with one hell of a view from their enclosure...

I particularly enjoyed seeing the vast numbers of spiders amongst the trees as we walked around the Zoo...I don't think Becky was as keen or as impressed as me though! :-)
As we left the Zoo we were just in time for a sunset opportunity of the city...very nice...

Our sightseeing also included a day excursion to one place in Australia that any true English man would NEED to visit...

Sydney Olympic park, & the ANZ Stadium (formerly the Telstra), was the venue of one particularly enjoyable sporting event of recent years (apart from the Sydney 2000 Olympics, of course)...

That's right. We had to get a piccy in our England shirts, with the flag, with Johnny's posts in the background...happy days! :-)

Whilst at the Olympic park we also had time to play some Mini Golf at the Golf centre, & check out the Aquatic centre. I was especially impressed with these facilities, & it reminded me how much I miss the opportunity to swim regularly, although there will be plenty of time for that at the end of my travels!

I don't miss the sight of a slave driver (aka Coach) at the end of the pool though!

That evening we visited the State Theatre in the centre of the city, to see Mr Steve Coogan - aka, Alan "AHA" Partridge!

The whole show was very funny & I would recommend it to all (maybe not the kiddies perhaps!). Afterwards we met up with Adam & Becky & went for some drinks in the financial district - which was very nice, as one would imagine!

We had an amazing time in Sydney, as it has so much to offer. We could have done a whole lot more, but we don't have endless amounts of cash or time unfortunately. Next time round we will have to visit Manly & Bondi beaches (sadly, we had a good 4/5 days of poor weather which prevented these excursions) & take a tour of the Opera house. We cannot thank Adam & Becky enough for their kind hospitality - they made us feel very welcomed & were excellent fun to be around. I wish them all the best with their upcoming year (or two?!) in Sydney, which they will no doubt enjoy thoroughly - if our week's experience is anything to go by. If any of you are thinking of visiting Australia, Sydney is a must visit...a great city!

On the way to Sydney...

Sydney, Australia