Sydney, NSW

We did it and we survived! For a huge city it is very clean, and in our meagre three days we saw some beautiful sights. We stayed at Lane Cove National Park, a campground very close to the city. Just a block or two away (on the other side of the cemetary and crematorium) was the North Ryde train station, four stories below street level. On a good day, twenty minutes put us downtown.
We refrained from signing up for any tours and meandered around the city on our own. We walked around "the Rocks," over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and past the Opera House. We were impressed with the fact that Sydney has built a modern city and yet still maintained its historical areas. One evening we did some "uncity" like things. We signed up for a nature talk at our camp site. We learned the names of many of the birds we have become familiar with and armed with our torches, we went on a night walk. It was surprising the number of bush tailed and ring tailed possums and bandicoots that were lurking in the bushes around us.

On our last full day, we were happily reunited with our Swiss friends, Daniel and Marina. We took the ferry to Manly, walked around another National Park, went for a swim (at least three of us did), and had dinner out. Later we stopped for coffee and chocolate cake and enjoyed the blue lights of the Opera House. Upon parting, Daniel and Marina gave us the heads up on spots to see south of Sydney. So we are off to Jervis Bay and the beaches of southeast New South Wales.

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