Sydney

Early Tuesday morning we arrived in Sydney after a good flight from Singapore. We collected our hire car and set off towards Hornsby (North Sydney) where we were staying with Rach's friend Kate who used to work at Haydon. After a few hiccups with the directions and a bit of a detour through central Sydney and over the Harbour Bridge we found our way and arrived at Kate's flat. It was great for Rach to catch up with her, however, Mark was soon bored on the teacher talk!
After a cup of tea we decided to get the essential shopping trip done to buy our camping gear. Mark had seen a place online and Kate knew where it was so we set off. We bought a little but adequate tent and an inflatable matress, then went to Kmart and got plastic cutlery and crockery. Once the shopping was done we were both exhausted as neither of us had slept at all on the flight. A nap was in order, so whilst Kate took our washing over to her sister's house we got a couple of hours kip. We woke about 6pm feeling refreshed and ready for a beer.
That evening we walked to a great cafe nearby for dinner and then went to a pub before going back to the flat for a good nights sleep ready for our full day sightseeing on Wednesday.
After breakfast we got the train into Sydney, getting off just before the Harbour Bridge. Kate was our tour guide and had a route planned. We walked across the bridge, getting fantastic views of the harbour and Opera House and then walked down to the rocks and along to the Opera House where we sat outside for a coffee. After lots of photo taking we wandered through the Botanical gardens before getting some lunch. After lunch we walked through town to Darling Harbour and went for a drink at Bungalow 8 bar looking out at all the big yachts. When we were in Sydney 3 years ago it was raining and cold so it was great to see the sights in the sunshine. By 4.30 we were all pretty tired and had covered lots of ground so we got the train back to Hornsby. That evening we had been invited for a BBQ at Kate's sister's house with her husband and two children. We had a fantastic evening and were very spoilt with a sensational Aussie BBQ - the first of many we hope!
This morning after breakfast we left Kate's flat behind and started the camping expedition of our trip. All equipped with our new gear we arrived at 'Sydney lakeside holiday park' and pitched our tent for the first time. The campsite is really well equipped with a camp kitchen, BBQ areas and best of all it's situated 5 minutes walk from a stunning beach. We did some food shopping, made lunch and then walked down to the beach. Sitting on the golden sand we watched the surfers catching waves. As per usual when we first arrive somewhere the weather wasn't quite as we expected. Fortunately it has dried up now but we've had a few rain showers. Fingers crossed for sunshine tomorrow!
Hope all is well at home and everyone is getting set for Christmas.
Lots of Love
Rach & Mark. xxx