Surprises in Sydney

 Phoebe and I kicked off our Journey to the Southern Hemisphere with a visit to Sydney!  Our time in Sydney was short, and motivated by the opportunity to visit a close friend and old colleague - Lauren! Visiting the famous city presented an opportunity for a holiday experience, before the reality of our decision to try life in New Zealand would face us. Lauren had prepared an itinerary, and the details of each day remained a mystery to me until the night before! This secrecy was all a part of the excitement of my birthday, which ended up as an extended week of surprise activities around Sydney 😆

5th October 2023

We arrived in Sydney early morning, and spent the day in the park, awaiting check in to our AirBnB. After hours confined on two separate flights, with a short layover in singapore, the fresh air, sun and nature was revitalising - despite the fatigue! Phoebe and I both photographed some common Aussie birds, and enjoyed a vegan lunch in a nearby cafe.

After checking in, we managed to drag ourselves out to enjoy some dinner and frozen yoghurt, with our pal Lauren and her girlfriend Erin! I nearly fell asleep in the darkly lit restaurant, and Phoebe experienced a sugar high from her hugely sweet frozen yoghurt toppings! Yet, our efforts to stay awake eventually paid off with next to no jet lag the next day!

 6th October 2023

Day two in Sydney took us to a tourist hotspot and number one Sydeny destination (no surprises, its in the picture to the left!). Lauren took us on a leisurely walk past the ANZAC memoral and cathedral, and into the botanical gardens. This hosted a spectacular and iconic view of the famous Sydney Opera House, and we spent time among many other locals and tourists here soaking it in. As we walked further through the botanical gardens, Welcome Swallows swarmed around us, like a scene from sleeping beauty! Drinks in the Opera House bar had us feeling even more like princesses, but the Vegan Burgers that followed bought us back down to earth about who we really are!

Phoebe finished the day by taking both Lauren and I to the shop... for running shoes!

7th October 2023

 We kicked off the next day with a 7am ParkRun! Displaying easy adoption of her new running shoes, Phoebe fell over the tree roots, but quickly recovered with her pride partially intact. Meanwhile, I had already finished, placing 3rd. A great morning all round!

 Following this, Lauren took Phoebe and I on a leisurely hike from Sydney to Manly - a scenic beach town on the coast of Sydney. A quick and cheap public ferry back to Sydney then took our tired trio home.

 8th October 2023

Lauren couldn't avoid the opportunity for increased pay on a Sunday in the hospital -  something I understand very well! So Phoebe and I took ourselves out to the Art Gallery, before enjoying lunch in a Vegan Thai eatery close to our temporary home. A fortunate location, as the unexpected travellers belly had rapidly struck me during our meal, leading to our quick departure from lunch! However, I was not forlorn, and squeezed in a short run later that day, which might have then contributed to our late arrival to a home cooked dinner at Lauren's house!

9th October 2023

We took the train to the blue mountains national park to explore the ridge line and stunning views from echo point and surrounding the Three Sisters this day. The well signposted track took us on an unexpected hike down into the trails surrounding the famous Three Sisters and their counterpart, the Oprhan.

On our way back up from this trail, I managed to frustrate both Phoebe and Lauren. Apparently, I had an inability to recognise that not everyone can continue a conversation whilst scaling the 900 steep steps of the Giant Stairway back up to Echo Point and the veiw of the Three Sisters! On completing this acheivement, and after tackling the increasing crowds of tourists, we treated ourselves to a well deserved pint, whilst looking out at the seamingly never-ending landscape before us.

 

 

10th October 2023

The big 2 8. After waking up and coming to terms with the fact that I have been alive for twenty-eight long years, and then quickly realising that I (hopefully) have many more ahead of me, I prepared myself for a day of complete mystery. Both Phoebe and Lauren had neglected to tell me any details for the day, and kept all events a surprise! So I had my massive vegan breakfast burrito, and followed them to our next destination - the shoreline! In my mind this day was my twin brother, and I missed him more knowing I was so far away, but enjoyed getting to have a birthday before him for the first time. 😜

 

We were joined by two more friends, to make our party a total of five. Myself, Phoebe, Lauren, Emma and Katy. Everyone had bought picnic bags of snacks and drinks to accompany them, so when we reached the harbour and boarded a rental boat, we took a leisurely self-driven cruise along the Paramatta River. As we ate, talked, drank and listened to James Blunt, Phoebe captained our vessel. She soon handed the reigns over to me, and I might have wanted to prove that youthfulness remains strong in my mind, as I took us on a 360 degree spin in our, then, not so leisurely boat ride. We finished the trip without catastrophe, and rounded the day off with a visit to Sydney harbour for Birthday wines and CARROT CAKE. (See video at the bottom!)

Lauren deserves an honourable mention on this date, as she was awarded her residency visa on this day, whilst we played in the childrens climbing frame near the harbour!

11th October 2023

 Our penultimate full day in Sydney, and my second day at 29! I started the day right with a run in the heat along the Sydney shoreline, soaking in the sun! We then travelled to Coogee by bus, met our tour guide and pal, Lauren, and started a short walk to Bronte. The coastal path was a busy mix of runners, beach-goers and walkers, all enjoying the stunning weather and scenary along the Sydney coast. Birds and surfers could be seen through my camera lens, as the scenic veiws slowed the pace of our walk. I finished up our walk like a true Brit on the Beach - with ice cream!

After a relaxed afternoon, we hit a bar for a beachside drinks, and were met with terrible service by the hosts at "Grumpy's". Truly living up to it's name - we begrudingly sipped our terrible wine and awaited our dinner reservation. Fortunately, this proved to live up to its reputation also, serving us with gourmet quality Vegan food on the Bondi Strip.

 12th October 2023

The final day we spent in Sydney was a warm one, 35 degree heat encouraged us to hit the beach a second day. Lauren and Erin, accompanied by Katy and her friend, led the way. Phoebe and I met them at Coogee, to bask in the sun and relax. This didn't persist long for me though, as I cannot pass up an opportunity to run in the sun! Whilst the members of our small entourage dwindled, Phoebe continued to enjoy the weather, as she awaited my return from a lengthy amble along the coastline.

Finishing up our last night in Sydney, we visited Lauren's to do laundry, enjoy the best vegan takeaway burgers likely to ever exist in our lifetime (maybe an overexaggeration), and bid our friends farewell.

 

 13th October 2023

Flying to Auckland from Sydney seemed a short 3 hour journey in comparison to the Journey we had made a week before. However, it held more significance for me, as it marks the start of our massive adventure across the exciting islands that make up Aotearoa (New Zealand).