Canberra and Sydney

Day 2:

Overlooking Canberra

Our first full day in Canberra. Many people have asked us why we chose to start our adventures in Canberra because they say it’s not that great here; it’s actually pretty nice. It’s small, and there’s not a whole lot to do, but for what they call winter (which is still cold!), it looks more like a real winter at home. Driving around there are brown leaves and trees that are bare. It’s not until you see the two parrots sitting on the fence that you really remember you’re not in Canada anymore.

We ventured off to the mall for some last minute purchases for the engagement party tomorrow and were taken to a look off to get a good view of the city. We had a chill afternoon in which consisted of Monopoly and movies. We watched Taken….not really the greatest idea before embarking on a month of traveling as two girls, but it became funny while picturing Ann and Mike come to our rescue and go all Liam Nesson on anyone who tried to hurt us.

The evening continued with Cake decorating and pizza with friends before heading to bed earlier to get a good sleep before the big party tomorrow.

Day 3:

Maura, Alex and Shari

Up early this morning to get ready for Matt and Shari’s engagement party, an afternoon BBQ at the local Golf Club. We had a great time meeting the family and friends, especially Gramma. Gramma cornered us the minute she got there and chatted our ears off for a good half-hour. “That getting a job business is a real pain!” She was our favourite. The rest of the family and friends were lovely too though. We were fortunate to see the kangaroo parade when literally hundreds of kangaroos hopped across the fairway.

Our crafty cake decorating skills

The boys went to a local ice hockey game this evening so we stayed in for a girls night of cake baking and snacks. We stayed up later than planned as we got sucked in to the Australia-Wales Rugby game. 23-22 in overtime won by the Australians on a penalty. Unreal game! Helping us get excited for the All Blacks game in a few days. Up early again tomorrow for the big bus ride to Sydney.

Day 4:

Matt and Shari dropped us off at the bus to take us from Canberra to Sydney today (thanks again guys for a great weekend!!!). A few hours later we got to central Sydney and began the upward climb to our hostel. We have a lovely little room (8x8) within walking distance from downtown. We headed out to explore the city and saw the Opera House and the bridge. Took some photos and headed back to the hostel for dinner. Stopped at a pub for burgers and beer. Hit it at the best night though – $10 burger Sundays. Curled in to bed and watched Prince Caspian in anticipation of the Narnia exhibit at the Powerhouse Museum tomorrow.

Day 5:

Up early this morning to get ready for our big day. Free breakfast at the hostel turned into breakfast and sandwiches for later (sweet deal!). Headed on our way downtown to find the Powerhouse Museum for the Narnia exhibit. In good Narnia fashion, it ended up being an adventure. Alex, who thought she remembered where she was going, detoured us RIGHT PAST the museum, through Darling Harbour and all the way to Circular Quay before checking a map. So we headed BACK towards the museum to explore the land of Narnia.

After Narnia we made our way back to the Quay to get ready for our bridge tour. We stopped for lunch in The Rocks then made our way to the bridge for the big climb. We had a beautiful day for the bridge climb – 19 and sunny, not a cloud in sight. Our climb guide was super friendly and loved our “gangster rings”.  What an experience. We both highly recommend the climb if you’re ever in Sydney. The scariest part was the set of ladders to get up to the arch, but after that it was smooth sailing. The best views of the city by far. We ended up picking the best tour too. We took the last tour before the twilight tour so we ended up catching the sunset as well. After all the walking in the morning (about 16 km) and the steps on the bridge (over 1400 of them) we rewarded ourselves with a chocolately treat before a feast of Indian for dinner.

Tucked into bed ready to get up and start the next leg of our journey tomorrow to Tasmania. 

Just a couple of x-rings on the Sydney Harbour Bridge