Sydney

As has now become something of a tradition, Deccie picked us up at the airport. This was my third time in Sydney, and each time he's been waiting at the baggage carousel, this time with his kids, Cathal and Lily . It was straight back to the house (on my first visit to Sydney it was just a plot of bare land), to meet Catherine and play with the kids until dinner time (Cathal with his cool geometric lego sculptures and Lily in her 'Go Faster, Go Faster!' fire truck).

The next couple of days myself and Sarah explored the city, and I even cooked for Dec and Catherine (which was pretty brave of them). Then Dec very kindly lent us his car for a few days and we drove up to the Blue Mountains. I'd been there before of course, but this time having a car meant we could explore many new places, and I decided to stay outside Katoomba for a change, staying in cozy Blackheath instead. In fact, I reckon the views and walks around Wentworth Falls are far better than the more famous, tour-bus-crowded attraction of the Three Sisters, and the small village itself was a great spot for lunch.

So it was here in the Blue Mountains that, as promised to Sally, I engaged in some great Aussie adventuring, and we went abseiling and canyoning for a full day in Empress Canyon. This was Sarah's first time canyoning, and although not as long or as tough as the Claustral Canyon I did last time in Oz with Hanno, it was still an amazingly scenic day with a very impressive abseil down a powerful waterfall, and with a cool 'leap of faith' to finish off.

That night we went out with the gang of people we met canyoning, going for a drink and then dinner in Katoomba. I was actually quite struck by how a number of these mid-twenty year olds seemed to have very good ideas of what they wanted to do with their lives, and understood the things in their lives that they were passionate about (most 30-40 year olds I meet still can't answer the basic question of 'What are you really passionate about?' - jeez, get a life!). So I found it quite encouraging to meet intelligent, thoughtful young people, but maybe it was just a reflection of the kind of people that go canyoning, i.e. those that embrace life, as opposed to them being just 'young people' in general.

The next day we planned on heading back to Sydney but in the morning I rented a mountain bike and headed off to do the Narrowneck Trail. This is by far the best known bike trail in the area (although I couldn't find it the last time I was here with Hanno), and it was a truly brilliant ride. I had a time limit of 4 hours (half-day bike rental), which I initially thought would be plenty of time, so I took a couple of detours before starting the trail proper (like visiting the gondola they've built in recent times). But it turned out to be quite a testing ride, with some serious off-road climbs. The name of the trail comes from the very narrow ridge that runs out to a towering peninsula, and the view from the end of that peninsula was surely the best of any view I've seen in the Blue Mountains - truly panoramic. It was quite a rush though to get the bike back in time, and I'd foolishly forgotten to take enough food for the trip, so I got a good dose of the 'bonk' (a cycling term for hitting bad fatigue due to lack of food), as I got back to the town.

Anyway, coming back from the Blue Mountains, and after stopping at a couple more lookout points, we heading to Frank and Anita's place. We actually passed Frankie strolling home from work, so we picked him up and arrived back at the house nice and early. We had a fantastic night with Frank and Anita, chatting and catching up, playing on the trampoline with the three kids, and we got treated to yet another great home-cooked dinner. We stayed overnight and had breakfast with Anita and the kids before leaving Deccie's car at the train station, heading into the city for the day and then meeting Deccie after work.

We were supposed to baby-sit for Dec and Catherine, but they just ended up getting a take-away. The next day myself and Sarah headed back into the city to indulge in some high-brow Aussie culture, in the form of a full-blown production of Carmen in the Sydney Opera House (again, courtesy of Sally's generosity!).

This was my very first opera, so not a bad place to begin. The production was spectacular with a huge cast, and even a live horse on stage. But of course the Aussie's don't go in for any kind of silly dressing up, so the whole occasion was very down-to-earth and accessible - apart from the admission price though I suppose!

That evening I brought Dec, Catherine and Frankie (Anita couldn't organise a baby-sitter in time), out for dinner in the city to say 'Thanks!', and we got some great photos of all of us with the harbour bridge providing it's customary backdrop.

And then, all too soon as always, it was time to bounce on up to Brisbane.