Sharks and Surfers in Sydney

Much less smelly now! Found our way to a much nicer hostel and spent two nights as the only people in a six bed dorm. Our company for the other night was a crazy, drunk american girl and her unfortunate friends - she decided she was leaving at 2am, which kept us amused in our bunk beds!

Where to start with Sydney? It's a great city! We started off in Darling Harbour at the Aquarium - really cool, with underwater paths through the seals and sharks, and a huge coral reef. Even saw a platypus - I didn't think they were real! The harbour itself was really nice, with cool bars and restaurant. Too expensive for us though, so we headed back to the hostel bar for happy hour.

We spent the next day taking photos of the Opera House! Took far too many, but you can't help yourself. We got great views of both the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge from the Botanical Gardens, home to hundreds of fruit bats and almost as many joggers (running up and down stairs over and over again... crazy!). Had a look inside the foyer and, just for a laugh, asked how much tickets were to the evening's ballet. We were lucky on two counts: we could afford a ticket and there was no dress code! It was my first (Kate's second) ballet, and we both really enjoyed it. It wasn't a traditional show, but a tribute to the guy who choreographed West Side Story. Interesting and funny - really great.

On our last day in Australia we walked from Coogee to Bondi Beach, the cliffs and bays along the coastline were beautiful. Bondi was oddly familiar, felt very much like a British seaside town - except for the weather, although it wasn't that warm - the surfers were all in wetsuits. We sunbathed a bit, and Kate had a bit of a paddle in the Pacific (that's paddle, not piddle - I hope!).

We arrived in New Zealand yesterday, and are staying in Christchurch on the South Island. It's already very different to Australia: autumn here is cold, and the leaves are falling. The red and gold trees look really pretty. It's even more like being at home here - cathedrals, oak trees and mallards. We're picking up the campervan in the morning, and then we hit the road! Woo hoo!