Sydney -Part One

I arrived in Sydney last Thursday night & Wayne picked me up from the airport. He had a day off work on Friday so he showed me the sights around Manly where he lives. He's in a great location, just a couple of hundred metres from Manly Beach. We also explored some of the other northern beaches. We then drove up to the North Heads lookout which offers cool views back over the city. It was interesting light with the skyline looking pretty dark & moody... We went for bit of a stroll on one of the many paths, but the threat of rain meant that we didn't venture too far from the vehicle.

On Friday we headed into the Blue Mountains for a spot of hiking. We checked out the view of the three sisters from a view-point & that was pretty cool, with the whole valley covered in mist. We then headed into the valley for a walk to the ruined castle. It was a great day for walking, & good to get some exercise, although I didn't enjoy the hundreds of steps on the return journey! The track was nowhere as bad as the sign would lead you to believe... It was about a 4 & a half hour return trip, with the views from the 'castle' (which is actually some interesting rock formations) pretty impressive. The birds at the top offered endless entertainment. We would throw out scraps from our lunch & they would dive & swoop, plucking the morsals out of the air.

Wayne, being Wayne, couldn't resist the opportunity to climb something...On Sunday we drove into the city. Wayne took me for a guided tour which was great for getting my bearings. Out near Bondi Beach we came acrossa couple of very cute Kookaburras sitting in a tree.After a bite to eat, Wayne dropped me at my city centre hostel where I was to spend the next 3 nights.