We packed up our rucksacks today and said goodbye to Laura and Katie - next time we'll see those guys will be back home in sunny Scotland! We then headed downtown to pick up our campervan.
After figuring out how to pay for the toll roads (everything is done electronically here, so you have to register a credit card and your vehicle. Your card then gets charged automatically each time you pass over a toll road, which is handy) and stocking up on some camping food, we hit the road. We arrived in the small town of Gosford (50 miles North of Sydney) just in time for lunch.
Sydney has been a blast - it’s such a beautiful city with lots of great sights, but the highlight has definitely been hanging out with some friendly, familiar faces!
During our final week our best bits have been:
After figuring out how to pay for the toll roads (everything is done electronically here, so you have to register a credit card and your vehicle. Your card then gets charged automatically each time you pass over a toll road, which is handy) and stocking up on some camping food, we hit the road. We arrived in the small town of Gosford (50 miles North of Sydney) just in time for lunch.
Sydney has been a blast - it’s such a beautiful city with lots of great sights, but the highlight has definitely been hanging out with some friendly, familiar faces!
During our final week our best bits have been:
o Visiting the Chinese Garden of Friendship – a garden right in the hub of the city near Darling Harbour. Really peaceful spot with the most the impressive bonsai trees.
o Spending the afternoon in Watsons Bay – we took a short ferry ride over to the bay. Beautiful part of Sydney, with lots of great walks. The main attraction is a cliff face called The Gap – a dramatic looking cliff that was meant to have inspired Alfred Hitchcock when he visited in the 1960s. Great chip shop on the Wharf too!
o Swimming in the outdoor pool at Luna Park – a really lovely outdoor pool; it’s an amazing experience, to be swimming along while watching a train pass over Sydney Harbour Bridge! Fantastic views of the city to swim by.
o Watching the new Sherlock Holmes movie at the Moonlight Cinema – based in Centennial Park, the outdoor cinema is set up over the summer months. It was a great atmosphere and BYO food and drink was encouraged, so it felt similar to T in the Park (the toilets were a far sight better though!). Pretty magical experience - watching a movie with the sound of the crickets in the background and flying foxes overhead.
o Celebrating Laura’s birthday – so pleased we were in Sydney for Laura’s birthday weekend, lots of good food and wine (thanks Katie!).
o And finally, Katie’s Leek and Chicken Pie – Katie it was one of the best pie’s we’ve ever tasted, we seriously think you should consider a career at Pie Face!
Thanks again to Laura and Katie for letting us stay with them for four weeks, it’s been an amazing help to our travel budget and a great laugh!
Now in Gosford, we plan to spend the day exploring the town before finding a good site to set up camp for the evening.
