Australia Day 4

So today we thought we would climb the harbour bridge, however there were no spaces left for climbs today so we rescheduled for tomorrow (although it's forecast to be 36 degrees!!) Instead, we ended up with a free day! We decided to head a little out of the City centre and explore some other towns. We set off to Manly, a little beach town which is actually mostly English! My old school friend Rachel currently lives there whilst on her travels so we took the opportunity to catch up with her too at the local Bavarian Beer Bar on the beach. 

Guess which one's mine?? 

Me and Rachel

Manly was a very nice little town, a few nice beaches and waterside restaurants and bars as well as local shops (including a Movenpick ice cream store which we of course visited!) 

We opted to get the ferry back to Circular Quay in central Sydney, there was a bit of a wait so we bought our tickets and killed time in the local Wharf Bar overlooking the harbour. 

We now know a little more about our surroundings so navigated our way back to busy George Street where we met friends at The Ivy Pool Club. We had planned to meet Fay and Mayada - friends of our Australian flat mate Tugba, the girls stayed with us a couple of months ago so it was a bit surreal to visit them in their hometown this time! The girls suggested the venue and my gosh was it a great pick! 4 floors above the City on top of one of the most prestigious hot spots sits a glamorous roof top pool surrounded by bars, luxury pool side booths and a DJ box pumping anthems. A must visit on the Sydney to do list!

We ended the evening with a trip to Bondi beach to visit our friend Craig who spent many years in London. We walked from his home just 3 minutes down to the famous beach and ate dinner at a beach front restaurant called Bucket List. You must get any kind of sea food on the menu as it is so fresh and flavoursome! We were lucky to catch some live music too! 

Another successful day of sightseeing, relaxing and catching up with friends and we're off to bed to prepare for the climb tomorrow! 

Lexie

xxx

Australia Day 3

The week is going so quickly :( luckily we are managing to fit everything in! 

Today Freya drove us to the Australian Reptile Park in Somersby, about 45 minutes from North Sydney. It was a little smaller than Taronga Zoo but known for its hands on petting of the animals - perfect for tourists who have a love of furry friends (like me!) but also great for children, there were actually quite a few school trips when we were there. 

We began with looking at the platypuses and then onto the alligators who had a massive enclosure to roam around in. 

We then ventured to spider world where there were live red backs, funnel webs and a selection of giant tarantulas which made my skin crawl! The park is actually low on funnel web spiders to milk and make life saving anti venom which they produce at the farm to send to hospitals. So please, if you do find a funnel web and you're in Australia - pop it in a container (ensure there are holes in the lid so it can breathe and it has a bit of dirt to hide in) and take it down to the Australian Reptile Park! 

Following spider world we thought we would head to something cuter - there is a little picnic area in the centre of the park where the kangaroos can roam free and you can pet them. They were so friendly and a bit lazy too! I think they knew they were adorable so were happy to laze in the sun and be stroked - I was actually surprised how soft their fur was! 

I literally could have petted them all day! We headed around the rest of the park and saw a variety of exotic birds, Tasmanian devils, dingos, wallabies, wombats, a giant tortoise and even Elvis the alligator - we were lucky enough to see the keepers move Elvis to clean his enclosure which was quite an experience to see the aggression of these wild beasts! 

Throughout the day there were various talks about the animals which were interesting and informative to watch and at 3pm we were lucky to hold some of the animals. It was about $20 a photo or 4 for $60 - I of course took full advantage and opted for all 4 - a python, a baby alligator and 2 koala pictures. It was amazing, definitely worth doing!! 

After another busy day we were starving so lucky Dan had booked us a table at a special place for dinner! We headed for a couple of drinks at the Opera House and watched the sun set behind the bridge. 

After a couple of drinks we ventured to Cafe Sydney, an amazing restaurant with terrace overlooking the harbour. On entering there was a glass floor looking onto a mini model of the City which was fun! 

The food was amazing! We had beef waygu and a goats cheese tart for starters followed by Beef Tenderloin. Mmmmmm! When it got a little chilly the staff provided blankets to keep warm - cosy! 

Lexie 

xxx

Australia Day 2 - Taronga Zoo

The sightseeing and touristy activities continues! Today we had a leisurely morning, breakfast, getting ready and catching up with Aussie news. We then headed to Taronga zoo. 

Having spent a lot of my youth in Paignton zoo in Torbay it was nice to see what Australia had to offer in terms of species - I don't think I've ever actually set eyes on a real life kangaroo or koala bear! 

We began with a quick trip on the sky safari which takes you on a cable car over the zoo with views down to the Sydney harbour bridge and opera house. 

The selection of animals was great and they all seemed to be very active, in fact so many of them were very close to the viewing points which is always kind of them, almost as if ready for a photoshoot! 

We even managed to catch the sea lion show! It always reminds me of sea world in Florida so it brought back some good memories. They are so clever, definitely worth seeing! 

Unfortunately you can't hold a koala bear here, but I did manage to get a hug off one! 

We then headed over to Sydney on the ferry as you can actually leave or arrive at the zoo via ferry to or from the city which is handy and only takes about 10 minutes. We took a short walk through the city towards the Deutsche Bank where my friend Charlie works in a great bar and restaurant. It was so nice to see her after so long and she was telling us about all her great travels! The bar is called Mordeo and we shared a margarita pizza and BBQ lamb ribs which were both lush! The bar staff were even kind enough to make me a White Russian although it wasn't on the cocktail list! 

As the weather today wasn't the best (still hot, just cloudy) and after seeing a Westfields logo in the distance, I then decided it would be a good time to check out the local shops! Quite funny as  after browsing around the amazing shopping malls of George Street, including The Victoria Building, the only money that actually left my hand was in a Topshop we 'stumbled' across which actually turned out to be more expensive than the UK!!! You can take the girl out of London but you can't take the London out of the girl! 

We then headed back across the bridge to Sydney and did a bit of grocery shopping in crows nest, relaxed for a little until Dan and Freya got home and finished the night with a take out! 

Lexie

xxx