The One Where.... They Step Into The Map!!

Next stop - Coffs Harbour.

A little coastal town (you would never have guessed it was on the coast by the name would you? Nah didn't think so) about 4 hours south of Byron Bay.
A very quick pit stop here, one night and one day, simply to break up the journey to Sydney. We are very glad to have stopped off here though. We got our first surf lesson in! Saw bottle nose dolphins again! And enjoyed the sunsets from the harbour and Mutton bird Island. It was sooooo so cold though. And so the cold begins! We could tell it was going to get a whole lot colder from here on out!

Ok quick, read on...it's Sydney time!!

SYDNEY
Well hello again! Did you make a cup of tea before coming here? We did...:( actually no we are still on the same stupid bus from Queenstown to Kaikoura New Zealand....so you better get reading to meet us there!

As soon as we arrived in Sydney (an overnight bus down to save money on accommodation!) we checked our bags into the storage place and transformed from sleepy poms to over exciting, rather annoying English tourists who have arrived in Sydney for the first time! Well come on......you would have done the same! :D

First stop was................... Yep! You guessed it! Well close. Not the opera house...but Circular Quay which is the perfect place to get those postcard photos of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and iconic Opera House! It was quite surreal being there. After seeing these Australia icons back home in magazines, on television, posters, cd albums! Films,  whatever..... neither of us could quite believe we were there!
By the time we had taken a stroll around the outside of the Opera House (in the gorgeous sunshine by the way! Still cold though) being a typical tourist we got a well needed coffee at Portabello cafe opposite.
This first day in Sydney was incredibly tiring. We didn't stop walking and seeing places all day long. Next stop was The Rocks. This is the site of Sydney's first European settlement. Exciting stuff. On our way there we got a great view of the Sydney Harbour bridge at a different angle. So lots of artsy photos were taken as you have probably already seen.
Then we were off again, this time to Darling Harbour but not before we snuck up to the terrace of Sydney YHA hostel for some spectacular views out across the Quay and bridge and opera house.
Daring harbour, once industrial docklands is now a purpose built waterfront, tourist development lining cockle bay. All we did here was take a stroll across the bridge and get a yummy ice cream despite the cold!
That was pretty much the end of our first day in Sydney, Australia....woo!

Whilst in Sydney we stayed with friends of Nickys family back home, so it was lovely to get tips of places to go and things to see, from locals! We had a great time with the family!

The rest of the days in Sydney we filled up with a couple of trips to Paddington district, for the famous Max Brenner Hot Chocolates! Whilst in this area we also strolled through Centennial Park which is actually Sydney's largest park at 220 hectares! We also walked past the SCG which is Sydney Cricket Ground and the Allianz Rugby League Stadium.
We of course took a visit to Manly beach, so got the ferry from Circular Quay to Manly. We just went walking here (for a change) and didn't actually go in the water  as it was so so cold. We timed the ferry trip back perfectly to coincide with the sun setting, so once again got some fabulous artsy photos. This time of Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House with a beautiful sunset back drop.
As we went to Manly, we obviously took a trip to famous Bondi Beach. Not much to do here unless surfing is on the agenda. Still pretty cool watching the surfers and the waves though. The waves were possibly even bigger than those in Byron Bay!

For all you Masterchef Australia fans, you will be able to appreciate this next visit we took! Billy Kwong's Restaurant! Billy is actually the brother of Kylie Kwong - renowned chef who has made numerous appearances on the show. Billy and Kylie both own and cook in this restaurant. Very exciting to see Kylie Kwong. She wasn't in the kitchen when we went in the restaurant, but we did see her as we walked past the restaurant the previous day! The food was absolutely incredible, we both shared a starter and a main, luckily considering the portions were huge! The atmosphere was fantastic, it definitely was a great experience to visit a world class restaurant!

Possibly the most exciting trip during our time in Sydney was a day trip to the Blue Mountains. We got the train up to Katoomba where the famous Echo Point lookout over the Three Sisters. Spectacular views yet again.

We went for a walk to visit the other lookouts as well. Spectacular.

That pretty much sums up our time in Sydney, and starts our adventure in New Zealand!