29th December
My next planned destination was Hokkaido in Japan but after a bit of thought, I decided to split the journey and spend a few days in Sydney to see in the New Year in style! 🙂
I landed to be greeted by 35 degree temperatures and bright sunshine. When the sun shines this place is hot! It was already evening so having checked into my hostel, I set about walking around town a little bit with the hope of seeing the sun go down over the harbour. The walk was pleasant and I felt livened by the buzz of the city again. Although the chatty warmth of New Zealand was gone, I felt a sense of belonging in the more glitzy and impersonal surroundings of Australia`s largest city 🙂
After a nice dinner looking out at the harbour bridge I went back to the hostel for some much needed sleep- the day had started almost 20 hours earlier in Te Anau and I was out as soon as my head touched the pillow.
[peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-a-dMWSUJrMk/WJRqtWgZ53I/AAAAAAAARGs/2lAcVplQ_f48I1aMh2Gh_ADiLdfgKwJ-QCCo/s144-o/20161229_203211.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6382843901473022401#6382843899258988402″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161229_203211.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Wd7QdRx3K9s/WJRqtbbJA5I/AAAAAAAARGs/36ljAwpiiRQGFwhip8NKJ_34MzqvO3rkwCCo/s144-o/20161229_203202.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6382843901473022401#6382843900579087250″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161229_203202.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-z2Q4Eq2Mauo/WJRqtbeuUaI/AAAAAAAARGs/xq0z51md9Cg-8VrgN0gbwAgjmOIL_I-iQCCo/s144-o/20161229_194821.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6382843901473022401#6382843900594114978″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161229_194821.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ]
30th December
I awoke a bit drowsy and after a quick breakfast decided a beach day was in order! Of course the only choice for my first day was Bondi and I spent my morning swimming in the sea, getting told off by the lifeguards for not sticking to the designated area and sleeping on the beach! At lunch time Freda and her friends came down from Manly for a bit of a sunbathe at Bondi too. Of course, lunch turned into drinks and we didn`t actually make it back to the beach before it was time to head home! There was just time for one final dip in the sea before riding the bus back to central to get ready for the evening.
My work friend Steve had recently been transferred to Sydney and it was too good an opportunity to pass up on meeting up. Apparently my appearance has changed somewhat in the last 6 months because with a beard and longer hair he didn`t recognise me at all! Even funnier was another colleague of ours Jen who swore we hadn`t met before until I showed her my Linked In profile picture. Maybe a hair cut would be a good idea before next June 😉 Adding to the party was another prospective employee and his girlfriend who we were going to show a good time. You can`t do enough for a good company 😉
We hit a local prohibition era cocktail bar for drinks with plan to move on for food afterwards. Of course, in typical work party fashion, the dinner bit got forgotten about and soon we were having a right old time. It was great to see some of my colleagues again and reminisce about old times and we soon realised that it was almost midnight and we hadn`t eaten yet. What to do? Fortunately one of the group remembered a nearby rock/ pizza joint and we duly turned up for some well earned pizzas, more beers and drunken dancing to hard rock classics!
[peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PN6X9jNck6U/WJRqtdMcTHI/AAAAAAAARGs/DB8FEjmu_hQ_oKCYhY_4J5xEJ_okOVpwwCCo/s144-o/IMG-20161230-WA0007.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6382843901473022401#6382843901054307442″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG-20161230-WA0007.jpg” image_size=”1200×1600″ ]
31st December
Some recovery was in order today but not wanting to waste the day I decided to earn my day on the beach by walking from Bondi to Coogee beach. This turned out to be a good decision because the walk was fabulous and Coogee was a lovely place to while away an afternoon sunbathing and swimming.
Of course today was New Years Eve and I was lucky to have been invited to spend it with Freda, Kevin and a number of others from the Cliffe family. The exact location was a closely guarded secret which added some mystery to the occasion and when the text finally came through with the address I packed up my things and headed back to get ready. The fireworks are a big deal in Sydney and the reason I decided to stop off in the first place. You can imagine my excitement therefore when arriving to be greeted by this view of the Sydney harbour bridge 😀
[peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e2f4xu84bZ4/WJRqtfGY5nI/AAAAAAAARGs/WBVRFWJ_Ci8C3gEr79HQxO2MKzlsiznUgCCo/s144-o/20161231_201310.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6382843901473022401#6382843901565789810″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161231_201310.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ]
The hours passed quickly and soon it was time to go outside for the display. It didn`t disappoint! Easily the best display I`ve seen- absolutely incredible. Maybe I`ll have to go to the London ones next year to compare 😉 I`m sure most of you guys have seen the fireworks on TV but just in case I took a little video of it too 😉
[peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6OFXv6aWm_k/WJRqtQZY2fI/AAAAAAAARGs/8ujnssic470ryC2t0gk2oWU3MPYIsyq-wCCo/s144-o/20170101_000026.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6382843901473022401#6382843897618946546″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20170101_000026.jpg” image_size=”2988×5312″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6kJM0B50d2I/WJRqtacPj0I/AAAAAAAARGs/fcZMTw6JfMEmTU8qzy5pbWK-F9RyPmRXgCCo/s144-o/20161231_235930.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6382843901473022401#6382843900315275074″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20161231_235930.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ]
All too soon it was time to go but as we were walking up the street we were accosted by a random guy wanting to fight. Of course we weren`t interested but some people just won`t take no for an answer despite us being five and him on his own! Fortunately we managed to extricate ourselves only to be met by busses which were on diversion due to another incident on the route. With no Ubers to be had we resolved to walk into town, finally managing to get on a bus about 45 minutes later. I got talking to some native Sydney folk and it turned out that despite living in Sydney for almost 10 years, this was their first visit to see their fireworks! Of course, this shouldn`t have been a surprise considering I`ve not seen the London ones yet but still I decided there and then to make more of the attractions on my doorstep!
1st January
Another beach day was on the agenda for today, this time in Manly so I could take in the lovely ferry ride over from the main city. The sea air was just what the doctor ordered and I made my way to the beach, set out my things and promptly fell asleep! Freda came to join me on the beach after a while and we followed up with a drink at a pub just by the ferry terminal. As usual one drink turned to many and soon it was time to get the last ferry back to the mainland after another fun day 🙂
[peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QIBLqVfs79c/WJRqtbAJ64I/AAAAAAAARGs/NoRj0UWCYXcVyiZCS5tJWvjf61aJOp1ZACCo/s144-o/20170101_112541.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6382843901473022401#6382843900465900418″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20170101_112541.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YnTQu2Ex0n4/WJRqtc2tqDI/AAAAAAAARGs/6I_hSIozqGIDLBqnLI7rC-OOJEH3MIaYgCCo/s144-o/20170101_112536.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6382843901473022401#6382843900963170354″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20170101_112536.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iiPSvnVLlq4/WJRqtTVl1NI/AAAAAAAARGs/EbSHdptuCVYNT5WqMHPsqEGp3vy9SdiDACCo/s144-o/20170101_112335.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6382843901473022401#6382843898408326354″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20170101_112335.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZpJ7ZcJMFYc/WJRqtRAzKgI/AAAAAAAARGs/4TFoqiUacZwmjPT6IEvEaeBnj9ftMKryQCCo/s144-o/20170101_112327.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6382843901473022401#6382843897784248834″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20170101_112327.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ]
I never make New Years Resolutions but I reflected on how lucky I was to have the year I had during 2016. I therefore resolved to make sure that it wasn`t a one off and that 2017 will be equally amazing!
2nd January
A wine tour of the Hunter Valley is a nice day trip out of Sydney- the only problem was the early start. It felt pretty brutal to have to get up again at 6am even though most of my working life has been spent doing just that. Still, the minibus was very comfortable and by the time we arrived at the first of our vineyards I felt able to look at alcoholic drinks again 😉
We went to four different vineyards and sampled what the Hunter Valley had to offer at each one. Of course, most of the vineyards grow the same grapes- predominantly Semillon and Shiraz- however the difference between the wines was fascinating. We also tried a number of unusual things including a chilled, sweet red wine made from Shiraz. Much to my surprise I actually enjoyed it although I don`t know how enjoyable it would be in the cooler UK climate! On the whole, though, the strength of the Aussie dollar means that, for me, these wines don`t represent value for money any more. Which is a shame, because some of them were really very good 🙂
[peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RJynbCJa-IE/WJRqtY8cujI/AAAAAAAARGs/v4upQPwI5lAkfA3NMi_GUJWG-XAqWQxqgCCo/s144-o/20170102_135546.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6382843901473022401#6382843899913484850″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20170102_135546.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NqKzAs-KRsc/WJRqtTVio5I/AAAAAAAARGs/ZbCmS7ba1d4VP-xrx0zjL8M_HZJOYavZQCCo/s144-o/20170102_113833.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6382843901473022401#6382843898408117138″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20170102_113833.jpg” image_size=”2592×1944″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Ltens6VJtbE/WJRqtTBKR7I/AAAAAAAARGs/pUd40cHQlfAXRQfeBcJF7AkBaXhztVfjwCCo/s144-o/20170102_110953.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6382843901473022401#6382843898322634674″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20170102_110953.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ] [peg-image src=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tOptsLBgS1s/WJRqtRSvxJI/AAAAAAAARGs/Sp9es98pO5IdstcgJuvaPKJPYo_fRANTwCCo/s144-o/20170102_105813.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/106656392310830434275/6382843901473022401#6382843897859523730″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20170102_105813.jpg” image_size=”5312×2988″ ]
For my final evening, I met up with Steve again who sent me off with dinner and some more drinks 🙂
3rd January
I rose and headed to the airport, eagerly anticipating the next two months in Japan. First Destination Niseko for some famous Hokkaido power snow!