John's Around the World Adventure 2005/2006

We simply had to be in Sydney for Christmas and New Year, an absolute must, which most certainly lived up to all its hype. We spent Christmas Day on the famous Bondi Beach to the tune of 'let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!' The weather was certainly frightful- frightfully hot at 36-40 degrees!

Early memories of Sydney come flushing back. I was enjoying my time there so much that my smile was quite often beaming from ear to ear, I had obviously been looking forward to this one for quite a while!

New Year, yes you've guessed it, the inevitable Sydney Harbour (including the opera house and harbour bridge) was the home of our all day come all night party and firework extravaganza. Simply fantastic!

Whilst in Sydney we met some very nice girls and guys especially at the Base and Wake Up! Our two most favourite hostels. First we met some really nice guys from NY, John and Tosh, then Russ and Karl from England and Erika from Sweden, just to name a few. Of course, all these people were subjected to the 'circle of death' and 'beer challenge' drinking games- they were not complaining by the end of the night!

Sydney had so much to offer away from the parties. Darling Harbour was a favourite haunt, watching the street performers and live shows in full flow. From Sydney, we also arranged a day trip out to the fantastic blue mountains, blue from the eucalyptus gasses. This trip also included a trip to the Sydney Olympic Stadium, an impressive sight, and the venue for England's 2003 Rugby World Cup win!

On separate occasions, we made trips out to beaches such as Coogee and Manly, both top places, Coogee for its huge Bay Hotel Bar, and Manly for the ferry ride across Sydney Harbour and its popular beach.

While in Sydney, we also explored many of the suburbs such as Glebe, Newtown and Kings Cross, especially for nightlife. The Rocks was also a nice spot leading down to the harbour. Shopping in Sydney was also excellent, with a large number of malls you could easily get lost in!