Stormy Sydney

After crossing nine time zones and flying for 23 hours, we finally arrived in Sydney. It has taken longer than 23 hours for me to get here....more like 14 years! That is because nearly 14 years ago Gavin and I were considering leaving South Africa and moving to Sydney, and so we booked a holiday there for a look-see. Gavin was then offered a job in London, and he had to start almost immediately so our holiday to Australia got cancelled and the rest, as they say, is history. 

I think Gavin was determined to show me all of Sydney in one day! Jet lagged as I was, we have not stopped today. We arrived at our hotel at 6am, dumped our bags, and headed out on foot. We walked from Circular Quay, past The Rocks and Dawes Point to Darling Harbour. We then went downtown to see the parade for Anzac Day. It was very moving, with brass bands, bagpipes and plenty of aged veterans. We then walked back to Circular Quay and took the ferry to Watsons Bay via Rosebay. We took a taxi to Bondi Beach, and as if we had not already walked enough in the morning, we then set off and walked from Bondi to Coogee. I think we covered about 20 km today! It was very hot and sunny all day, and I was feeling the heat at 24C. We decided to go back to the hotel to get costumes as the men wanted to swim. We got another ferry to Manly, where they had a bracing swim! 

On the ferry back to Circular Quay the clouds rolled in and it started storming. As we came into the bay there was lightning and a storm. I think Sydneysiders love a storm as there were numerous photographers on the front of the ferry trying to photograph the lightning! As we disembarked the rain came pelting down, and then hail. What a change in weather!

Sydney is beautiful, and everything I expected. It seems so familiar to me, as many areas remind me of my home city of Durban. And I think sports shops do very well here as every second person seems to wear gym clothing whether they are training or not! But then they are very fit and trim looking.