Australia Trip

So, I’m finally getting around to telling you about my trip to Australia. It was awesome! We went because some friends were getting married and we were therefore based in Sydney. We were fortunate that someone we know let us use their apartment in Manly, a suburb in the Northern Beaches area of the city.

Manly Beach, viewed from North Head

We arrived at 7am on a sunny Monday morning and our friends met us at the airport. They took us to the apartment where we were staying, then we all went for brunch at a little restaurant on the seafront. We spent the first week recovering from jetlag, exploring the Manly area and meeting our friends in the city. Recognise this beach?

How about now?

I was particularly excited to be able to visit Summer Bay (aka Palm Beach, where they film Home and Away) during the first week.

Manly Ferry, departing from Manly Wharf

The quickest way to reach the city centre from Manly is by ferry, and so our first view of Sydney proper was from the water in the harbour, as we sailed past the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Speaking of the Harbour Bridge, on the Friday night before the wedding, all the lads did the Bridge Climb and saw spectacular views of the city lighting up the night sky.

Circular Quay, Sydney, viewed from the Harbour Bridge

The day of the wedding dawned bright and sunny, and it was very hot. The wedding was on Pier One, right by the Harbour Bridge and it was a lovely setting. The proceedings were interrupted several times though, by hooting and cheering from passing boats, including one girl flashing her assets for all the wedding guests to see. But it all added to the fun of the occasion.

Wedding over, the happy couple headed off to Uluru for a few days and we had chance to start exploring Sydney properly. Unfortunately the weather decided it had had enough of sunshine and it rained every day during our second week. But we managed to see plenty – the Australian Museum, Darling Harbour, the free bits of the Opera House, Paddy’s Markets, Bondi Beach.

Sydney CBD

In week 3 the weather perked up again and we had a walk around the headland at Manly before heading off to the Blue Mountains for a few days. The scenery up there was breathtaking and completely different to anything you would see in the city.

Captain Cook Memorial, Botany Bay

We returned to Manly for our final few days, and that was when I got the opportunity to visit the vintage store and the Westfield shopping mall at Bondi Junction. The last night in Australia we stayed with our newly married friends, and visited Botany Bay where Captain Cook landed all those years ago. On the Saturday evening we left Australia, bound for Dubai. That’s another blog post though so I’ll leave it here for now.