12 Oct- 17 Oct, Sydney and surrounds
Phew its hot, apparently this weather has come 2 months early, 95 degrees F,(36C) for a couple of days, and just like last time i was here ive managed to overdo it a bit and get burnt. At least this time i remembered a hat so its mainly my arms. Not that im complaining, especially when i keep hearing how bad the weather is back in England. Spent the first part of our time doing the mandatory sights, Opera house etc and a trip on the public ferry to Manly. The beach on the bay side was quiet, the beach on the ocean side was absolutely packed. Apparently violence broke out on the beach later in the day, with rival gangs fighting, not much different to the problems in the uk then.
On the saturday went and collected the first of 5 different hire cars that we will be using on this holiday. This one was a Holden Commodore station wagon (Estate car to us Brits). Not wishing to do a car review i will just say to the Brits that its very much like a Vauxhall Vectra.
Of course driving in Australia is easy for me as they drive on our side of the road, but that didnt stop me doing a scenic tour of the suburbs around Sydney airport, before deciding that i should look at a map to see just how far in the wrong direction i was going. That sorted me out and so took a leisurely drive to Katoomba.
Stayed at the Best Western Motor Alpine Inn, which is a typical roadside inn. Room service was a bit shoddy, such as only making one of the 2 beds and not replacing the toilet paper, but overall it was fine for a short stay.
The blue mountains are beautiful to see, in Katoomba its fairly commercialised, but well worth taking the steepest incline railway in the world to the forest floor, doing a circular walk for an hour or so and then catching the cableway back up. We got there first thing in the morning when it was deserted, and that made the walk in the forest so much more rewarding. The incline railway is like a roller coaster in slow motion. If you get out of Katoomba and visit some of the lesser known lookouts, they are much more quiet and the walks more rugged, but the views are just as good.
Had an "isnt the world a small place" experience when loading the car i got chatting to the guy loading the car next to mine. Not only did he live 10 miles from me back in England, but also worked for one of the building contractors that my firm compete with. Spooky.
Driving back to Sydney had the first rain of the holiday up in the mountains, but it was gone as we reached lower levels, much to the disappointment of the locals who are suffering with serious drought problems.
On taking the car back to the airport i had to fill it up with fuel, and what a pleasure, i was able to drive to the pump, fill it with petrol, walk to the cashier, pay cash and drive off. Oh how normal. Hopefully New Zealand will be the same, unlike America which i know from experience wont be.
Had a quick overnight stop at the Airport Holiday Inn, before heading off to the airport at the ungodly hour of 6am.