fin

Here we are. The final day in Aus.

Went out L.A.R.G.E.

Starting at midday at the Opera Bar, right on the Harbour, in one of the themed pop up bars. We stuffed our faces with copious amounts of frozen margaritas and fajitas and even more margaritas (zero points for guessing the theme). 

By mid afternoon, we were fairly merry for what I think was only a Thursday. Met up with Seb at Hurricane's Grill in Darling Harbour for some serious rib eating. They are massive and oh so delicious. 

Afterwards we went to catch up with Emmas housemate and his work friends at another bar across from Hurricanes, where I bumped into my cousin Cara. What a small freaky world.

The night ended somewhere on Kings Cross, and That. Is. All. :/

So, the next day as we had a late flight and because it was 45 degrees, the hottest day ever recorded in Sydney. We spent most of the day at the beach recovering from hangovers and ridiculous heat. Was comforting, considering we were going to be landing in London in less than 30 hours, where it was snowing!! Great.

Another teary goodbye and we were off.

Am missing Australia more and more these days. I think I'll be back soon, perhaps for good?

xxx

Kiama & The Jervis Bay

After picking up Franki at Wollongong station we were finally on the road to the white sandy beaches of Jervis Bay. We went via Kiama Blowhole, the largest in the world, on a good day. This was not a very good day for the blowhole.

We continued onto Jervis Bay and found the white sandy beaches we'd been waiting for and WOW. Suddenly felt like we were somewhere in the Mediterranean.

After another hard day at the beach, we stopped at The Great Southern Hotel for a pot & parma. It used to be completely covered in Aussie memorabilia, but the new owners got rid of a lot of it so its not as quirky as it once was.

Got back to Sydney and again stopped for ice cream (Seeing a bit of a pattern with my food choices now?) at the extremely popular Messina. I had Dulce De Leche. Mmm mmm mmm...so good.

xxx

Wollongong-along

Another day, another road trip. 

This time a short drive to the coastal town of Wollongong to visit some family friends of Charlottes'. 

We were back on the road early the next day, headed for Jervis Bay (finally!!), so this was a short and sweet visit.
Kevin and Helen were really lovely, they treated us to a lovely seafood dinner at Lagoon, a very busy restaurant on the waters edge. After devouring all that amazing food we decided to take a long walk along the beachfront. Had a few more wines and then called it a night. 

xxx

Manly O' Manly

Manly is a short half hour ferry from Sydney Harbour, perfect for a day trip or even just the afternoon. We spent most of the afternoon on the beach so didn't get to see anything more than the coastline, not that we complained. We did however enjoy a lovely lunch at this Japanese restaurant located right on the dock and a mooch along the cute little shops. 

We finished with a paddle in one of the beaches and some delicious Cold Rock ice cream. 

xxx

Boats N Hoes

So my amazing friend Emma treated us to a cruise through Sydney Harbour. No idea where we set off from or what day this was on the trip. Might have been the day after a huuuge bar crawl in Surry Hills (?) as I vaguely remember everyone hanging.

It was a perfect little day out, saw the Bridge and the Opera House from the middle of the Harbour, Charlotte drove the boat under the Bridge, went to the Fish Market and then had a quick dip on the way back. 

Big Love to Emma 

xxx

Tilba Tilba, the town so nice they named it twice

Emma heard about this quaint rural town in the meadows, just off the coastline, due to its cheese & wine fame. The old boys at the pub/store told us we should head up the mountains as there was a fantastic walking track. Next time.

We weren't sure how we were getting to Sydney at this point either because every highway we needed to be on was closed, so continued up the coast to Narooma to find a motel for the night. Watching the news that evening was interesting as there were still fires popping up everywhere. Charlotte wondered if the world was ending because there were also floods up in Queensland and a cyclone headed for Western Australia. Nah. Typical Aussie summer, that. 

Anyway we woke up the next morning and were able to go as far as Batemans Bay, heading inland through Goulburn and straight onto Sydney. This was the closest we got to fires, we could see the fiery red sky in the distance as well as aerial firefighters dropping water bombs.

Finally making it safely back to Sydney, we celebrated with a Bubble O' Bill.

xxx