The Last Few Days (14-17/4/09)

TUESDAY 14TH APRIL

It’s our last day in Taree so most of it was spent deciding when and what to pack. Most of the trip we’ve carried around far too much far too often. With that in mind we’ve decided to scale down and get rid of the crap. We did go out for a little while and I purchased another pair of jeans; today is officially the last day I’m going to wear crap clothes. I’ve got two days in Sydney, and then it’s on to New Zealand; where I will be wearing proper clothes as it’s supposedly already freezing cold and it’s only mid April. There’s not much else to say about today as we didn’t really do a lot else apart from wait for our bus to Sydney, which is at 00:55a.m Wednesday morning.When the time came Kel gave us a lift to the bus station around midnight as the bus could arrive at any time. When we went to Port Macquarie it was an hour and a half late, so we’re not taking any chances. As it turned out the bus was 25 minutes late, so all in all, we waited an hour and a half for the bus; and the driver almost left us as he told us our bus would be along in twenty minutes. It wasn’t until we made him check that he realised we were on his bus. As soon as we were on the bus we were both gone. I think it must be all the waiting around that does it.

WEDNESDAY 15TH APRIL

We arrived in Sydney at 06:30, picked up our bags (of which there are still too many even after the clearout) and headed to King’s Cross where we’re meeting Louise’s cousin Jenny, who’s come to meet us while she’s in the country.After an argument with the twat on reception, we got into our room (a private one as well. Somehow it was cheaper than a dorm), showered and waited for Jenny.We waited and waited, and still no sign. There is a complimentary bus from the airport to our hostel so when she landed all she has to do is call and they pick her up. After about four phone calls and two hours of waiting, Jenny finally turned up. It turned out she had been waiting in the wrong place making it pretty difficult for the driver to find her. Talk about needle in a haystack; Sydney airport’s hardly small.It was a nice day so we just went walkabout. We spent a little time at Bondi beach; I still don’t really see what the big attraction is; it’s got sand and sea and surf. So what so have a thousand other beaches and they’re not in rip-offville Australia.It’s just come to my attention, that having been in Australia almost nine weeks, I still haven’t stepped foot in the sea. Oh well, I’m not much of a swimmer anyway. Because I had a crappy sleep on the bus I fell asleep at 18:00p.m. It didn’t really matter though as tomorrows the action-packed day.

THURSDAY 16TH APRIL

Today is our last day in Sydney so I’m going to climb the Harbour bridge. Louise has done it before, so Jenny’s coming with me instead. We arrive at 09:00a.m bright and early, ready to conquer something that has been conquered over two million times previously. It’s an expensive activity to partake at almost AU$200, but it’s something you should do, just to say you’ve done it. When it’s your groups turn, a guide takes you into the change rooms and there you have to don a massive set of overalls . After ten minutes of fretting that you look like a giant baby, you regain your poise when you step outside and realise everyone else looks the same; it even suits some of them, worse still you can see that some of them are disturbingly comfortable in their new garb. When I finished reeling in shock we then had to go through a load of safety gubbins (that includes being told the only personal stuff you’re allowed to take are glasses/sunglasses) before we were to undertake our ascent, but I suppose that’s the culture we’re in. After almost an hour of being told we’re not going to die, we finally set off. We have a few bits of scaffolding (from the bridge itself not builders, although they are currently working on it) to negotiate and then we’re on to the main part of the bridge looking at Sydney and the harbour in every direction. It’s a pretty special sight. Some of the things I expected to see, such as the opera house (obviously) I saw. But there was plenty that I didn’t expect to see, such as the ANZAC bridge that was clearly visible down the Parramatta river. Our guide explained everything we saw through our Navy SEAL headsets. There’s also the cheesy stuff you have to do i.e. the posing with the rest of your group, but it’s all good fun.When you get back to the main building you get to see all the photographs that the guide took; most of them are really bad. You feel obliged to buy at least one though (for proof more than anything) as the group one you get free has people on it that you don’t really know. After our bridge climb, we head to the opera house for the second time to get a few more photos. While we’re there, there is a group of young musicians singing and doing hand movements to some song that I had never heard or want to hear again. I think I’ll die of embarrassment on the spot if I do. In the evening we went on a trip up the river to visit the aquarium. Although I’m not a big fan of the sea in terms of swimming, I am fascinated by everything that lives in it. We spent almost three hours strolling around. I could have spent longer gawping at the marine life, but the girls were about ready so I thought it best to leave.We grabbed our last meal together and then headed for the hostel. We’ve all got long days tomorrow, so it’s a few light ales then bed.

FRIDAY 17TH APRIL

Jenny woke me up at around 05:30a.m to say goodbye to me and Louise. All I could respond with was mmmaarhghgh, which as far as I’m concerned is ‘farewell and have a safe journey.’ Louise and I were soon up and out on our way to Sydney airport for the final time.At the airport there was a huge queue for check-in; we both forgot that international departures give you three hours to check in, not two. When we made it to the desk we were informed that our brilliant tour operator had not issued us a ticket for the next leg of the journey so we couldn’t get on the plane to Christchurch. If it hadn’t been for the wonderfully helpful woman at the desk we could have been stranded in the airport for who knows how long.New Zealand airlines are a brilliant airline to fly with; we were flying on the relatively new airbus, so that made a big difference. On the plane, as well as the surprisingly good food, you get to watch one of about 100 different shows or films. I opted to watch ‘The Last Waltz,’ the Martin Scorsese film about The Band’s (Bob Dylan’s backing band after he went electric) final live performance. It’s a must for anyone who has any musical taste of any degree.