the far side
I’m in New Zealand - I can’t travel further now without getting closer to home! I’ve spent my first day here buying cough syrup and a waterproof coat, but actually the weather in Auckland is beautiful. I hear it’s a bit wetter down on the south island though, and I’m off on a bus tour from tomorrow.
My last couple of days in Sydney were pretty touristy. I visited Manly beach and was tempted to hire a surf board, but I’m struck down with man-flu at the moment so didn’t want to get wet. On the ferry back I got a great view of the harbour bridge and the opera house, and took a moment to take exactly the same picture as everyone else on the boat. The opera house is stunning though - shame I’m not an opera fan… A couple of people I met were going to do the harbour bridge climb, but at AUD$180 I wasn’t too keen myself. I also visited the national maritime museum where I got to have a wander around on board the replica of the Endeavour, and then in the evening watched a film called Jindabyne just because I’d stayed in that town a few days earlier.
For my last full day in Australia I took a train out to the blue mountains, and rode a london bus around Katoomba. My English and German companions and I then drank wine at the echo point lookout and ate some fudge, much as the early explorers of the region must have done.
And that was that, a month in Australia - far too little time to really see the place, but I had some fun. At least New Zealand’s a little bit smaller!