Leaving Auckland on the 18th January for Sydney left us with a heavy heart and wondering whether we really wanted to go to Australia or instead spend those three weeks extending our time in New Zealand. Australia has never really been on our preferred wish list and I did already show a cold shoulder back in 1998 when I had two years in New Zealand and not once even thought about popping across the Tasman Sea to pay a visit to the sometimes loud and overconfident Aussies. Spoken in true Kiwi spirit ;-) This time, Australia happened to be on our travel route and it would have been stupid not to go, considering it is three hours from New Zealand or 24 hours from Europe. Besides, quite a few of my old Zealand mates are in Sydney now, a good opportunity for an overdue reunion.
If you have read our previous blog entry it becomes clear that New Zealand has taken a very special place in our travellers heart. Any country to follow would obviously have to really get its act together and bring out full colours to ensure some sort of an impression on us, if not to say avoid disappointment. And it was a close call! Upon arrival at Sydney airport we were greeted by a torrential downpour of rain that, according to the newspapers, the city hadn't seen in months. In one day it rained as much as all rainy days of the entire 4 month summer period put together. The next few days were more of the same...hang on, not true, on top of that came a storm so harsh that some harbour ferries had to be rerouted or cancelled due to strong winds and dangerously high waves that kept spilling into the harbour bay entrance. On the upside though, it was good to see that not only us Europeans sometimes get frustrated with unpredictable summer weather :-)
The defining moment came a couple of days later as we prepared for yet another wet day but were tired sitting at home and watching the Australian Tennis Open on TV. It was only a light drizzle and our accomodation with perfect views from the 5th floor across the Sydney Harbour Bay and hillsides was located within spitting distance of the world fameous Manly Beach, also know as Surfers Paradise with a legendary history dating back to the 1950s. As we left the house for a walk, a white shadow suddenly swooshed across our head and settled in a nearby bush. We obviously had to inspect! Out of the bush came a white and yellow feathered parrot head. Nicole loves birds and especially parrots are her top favourites, and I haven't seen her that exited for a while. She often likes to imitate a range of animal noises, normally when we are hiking through a forest, and strangely always has the opposite effect of actually distracting rather than attracting their attention. Luckily, on this occasion she kept her mouth shut and three decent sized Cockatoos came climbing out of the bush and proceeded to take peanuts our of my hands. At first we thought they were domesticated and must have escaped but it turns out they live there in the wild, Australia is parrot heaven. In the course of our three weeks we saw so many other parrots, budgees, lorikeets in all sizes and colour variations from grey and pink to red, yellow, blue, purple and black. At night giant bats bigger than seagulls would cruise at low alititude and hang from trees, looking at us curiosly with their small black button eyes. Right in front of our house were three major Aquatic Marine Reserves with the best snorkelling in and around Sydney for miles. People kept telling me there were regular shark sightings of Mako, Hammer Head, Nurse and Jackson sharks and a few beaches were actually closed for a couple of days because of a larger white shark doing its rounds. Obviously I had to grab my snorkelling gear and jumped in the water at every opportunity there was, but no luck for me:-( The only consolation price was that we saw several large stingrays gliding alongside us through the waters at Shelly Beach. Very cool!
As the weather turned for the better and the sightings of exotic wildlife increased by the day, our mood improved steadily. We thoroughly explored Sydney City, Surrey Hills, The Rocks, Newtown, Eveleigh, Darling Harbour, Paddington and Bondi Beach, which probably was the only part we did not really like that much. Too many sun burned British and German football idiots. We lived in Manly right by the beach and 5 minute walk to the ferry that took us straight to Sydney Downtown passing the Sydney Opera and the Harbour Bridge on its way. A very enjoyable 30 minute trip by boat, so we could leave the car at home. As such, Sydney is a cool place with lots more historic places that we thought, and a proper bar and nightlife culture. I can see why many young Kiwis we met in Auckland are actually keen to move over there.
The population of Sydney borders on 4 million and although the city centre looks more like New York with many tall residential buildings and slick glass office tower blocks, it only takes a 30 minute drive and you are standing at a lonely white sand beach surrounded by palm trees and the only thing you hear is the waves, the sea breeze and some noisy parrots having a go at each other for whatever reason. In the course of our three weeks we balanced our time between beach and surf, city trips and lots of hiking and nature walks at the Kuringai National Park, the Blue Mountains, and the Hunter Wine Valley, where most of Australia's top wine comes from.
And yes, we did see real Kangaroos in the wild! One of those little buggers even scared us to death when he jumped out of the bush in front of us during one of our hiking trips:-) Later we found out that so called "Wallabies" are very commonly seen across Australia. Not something we wanted to hear, we prefer believing that we actually were the first to discover them ;-) and obviously were very excited each time one came hopping along. As much as Nicole talked day and night about the quite poisenous Funnel Web Spider or deadly Snakes, we unfortunately never got to see anything more dangerous than Blue Bottles, a small jellyfish that can deliver a nasty sting.
So, after several fun filled weeks in Sydney, here's our final verdict. Hmm yes I guess we haved to swollow our words well and truly. The little we have seen of Australia was actually much nicer, more interesting and seriously travel worthy than we at first wrongly assumed. We were most impressed by the sheer endlessness of the forest and hills at the Blue Mountain Reserve. And if there is a next time, we will definitely try the Pacific Coast Highway from Sydney to Melbourne and venture north to full-fill one of my childhood dreams, the Great Barrier Reef.
Photos here https://picasaweb.google.com/110475049385279629687/SydneyAustralia2015?authkey=Gv1sRgCM2l_LH3wML0Eg
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