Our first trip was down the coast, following the great ocean road south of Melbourne stopping at the twelve apostles. The eight (yes, sadly therer's only eight left of the twelve) rock formations were absolutely splendid and we were taken aback by their beauty. Having that said they still didn't manage to be the highlight of the day. No, that race is between the cuddly koalas and the jumping kangaroos. Still not sure of the winner but we greatly enjoyed spotting both. It is a strange sensation seeing what looks like a teddybear hugging a tree or watching two kangaroos jumping through the sprinkler system on a cricket field.
A one hour plane journey took us to Sydney, the city of boats, bridges, opera houses and even more sunshine.
We arrived at 7:30am and went straight for the Harbour Bridge, enjoying a 3 hour breakfast while leisurely taking in the views of the famous Port Jackson and the ferries that came and went. A very nice start.
From there, we walked around the corner and there it was, the Sydney Opera House. It's incredible how something that has been seen so many times on tv or in newspapers can still take your breath away in real life. We snaked our way through the throngs of tourists to venture inside (and use the bathrooms with the incredible sinks that Jeff knew about).
Sadly there were no cheap shows available to us but we were delighted to find out that there was a free Opera performance in the Botanic Gardens on Saturday night and that was enjoyed with beers on the ground, bats flying overhead and literally thousands of people all around us. A beautiful night.
Other Sydney sights have been the brash Bondi Beach, the Pyrmont Fish Market (2nd largest in the world behind Japan's) and the Manly suburb which is a ferry ride from the city centre and the perfect place to have a Sunday afternoon breakfast, which we are doing as we type this.
Tomorrow? That road awaits yet again as we hire a car and drive up the coast to visit friends and see new sights.
We are learning that the thing about flashpacking is, it doesn't work so well when you aren't on the move!
