Sydney

Sydney has a nice convenient airport almost in the city, but that doesnt stop them from charging 16.5$ for a 10 min train ride to the central station... Which again allows a private shuttle bus to justify charging 15$ for the same trip, sigh..

But from here it all pointed up! Dropping my bag I headed straight for the harbor, walking through the Central Business District and its adjoining Hyde park and the Botanical Garden. 

Anzac memorial for the great war 1914-18

Central Business District

St. Mary's cathedral 

A really nice sunshine walk that showed Sydney from its best side, with people running or doing crossfit in the parks.

Then at the end of it all you are rewarded with this view

One of those special places that you feel you know so well yet have never laid your hand upon it. The whole area around the Sydney Opera House is impressive, with the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the ferries coming and going, so I spend some time there just looking and enjoying the sun, while having a burger. 

That was until I heard the chorus of "mine..Mine...MINE!

If you don't have a clue what I'm talking about then see this clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4BNbHBcnDI

Turns out those Sydney seaguls are quite ferrocious! They should name a rugby team after those guys! 

I ended up booking a tour at the opera house and a ticket for the Australian ballet the same night performing Chroma. 

They lured me in with a White Stripes reference!

The tour was interesting, seeing the inside and dark corners of this danish designed building. Funnily enough Jørn Utzon was never allowed to finish his 16 years masterpiece building project. Since he was formally removed by politicians as the leader of the project he never returned to Australia, but he did say yes to designing the massive restoration and refurbishment project that is currently running in the building, leaving the finished design and notes behind after his death for his sons and grandsons to finish. 

After the tour there was just enough time for another sunset snap shot before rushing back to the hostel for a quick change before the ballet. 

Next morning I was as usual up early to get on a train to the so called blue mountains, a big mountainous national park 2 hours outside Sydney. This destination came highly recommended by my old climbing buddy back from New Zealand and it did not disappoint. I walked straight from the trian station in Katoomba to Echo point with an incredible view..

  

I got shanghained by three women from Taiwan to take pictures with them in exchange for having my own picture taken with the rock formation "The three sisters..."

From Echo point I made my way back to the Katoomba and found a hostel, got a bed and apparently a new bed buddy.. 

He stayed there all through the night warming my feet in the cold mountain night. Next morning over breakfast I met a guy named Damien from Hawaii, that within 5 minutes had convinced me to go hiking with him and Julie for the day and also invited me to stay with his family when I visited Hawaii.. Not bad on a bowl of cereal.. 

So with a hand drawn map we set out for the Hanging Rock. It was about a 2 hour walk through bushland where you could see how the regular fires had blackened the lower part of all the trees and red parrots flew around overhead. 

Then suddenly the trees stopped and the track fell away into nothing..

After this it was time to turn left and face the Hanging Rock

 

 

First of all to even get out on the hanging rock you need to jump a good 70-80 cm.  Might seem okay, but then again its a long way down.. Then you have to move yourself onto the ledge and pose for a picture.. Scary stuff.. Probably more scary than actually dangerous. 

 

We all made it back safely and next morning it was return to Sydney. The next couple of days I spend on a trip through Sydney harbor to Manly Island and Bondi beach. The weather wasn't particularly spectacular so it was mostly just walking trips along the coast, watching the waves smashing against the cliffs and surfers enjoying it. 

Cliffs of Manly island

An empty Bondi beach

Bondi street art

With autum seeming to be catching up to me I considered my options. Either continue crawling up the coast to Brisbane and see where that would take me or jump on a plane and head straight up north for the great barrier reef... "One Tigerair ticket please!"