Sydneys Chinese New Year - Year of the Dragon

Friday 20th January - the start of Sydney's Chinese New Year Festival.

Sydney's Chinese New Year Festival is the biggest outside mainland China and has started off with a bang! I ventured off to investigate all the hype at Belmore Park, next to Central Station and was nicely surprised. There were 60+ stalls serving various Chinese cuisine to tickle your taste buds along with art and craft and gift stalls. There was a stall that sold 'Chips on a Stick' - something i've never seen before, plus many of the stalls actually produce the food from scratch right in front of you. The market is there until Sunday 23rd Jan so Becky and I will be returning tomorrow!

Making Noodles at the Markets

There was a stage set up for the actual launch of the festival along with an inflatable dragon and chinese latterns dotted around the trees. The whole park was truelly lit up with a feast of colours.

At 7pm it all kicked off with speeches from the Lord Mayor of Sydney - Clover Moore MP, along with the Deputy Lord Mayor, Robert Kok and some spokesmen from the sponsors. There was the traditional eye-dotting ceremony which brings dragons and lions to life. This is done by dabbing black or red paint on the eyes and head of the Lions.

The live entertainment continued with dance performances from The Pretty Girls and from a delegation from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province. The live band, Dragon Ball played to finish off the launch with firecrackers to scare off the previous year's misfortunes with a sparkle and plenty of loud bangs!

Have had a couple of relaxing days this week; going to the park, reading my book (The Girl who kicked the Hornets Nest....very good!) and getting the ferry across to Manly. Got a great view of Sydney Harbour on the ferry. I sat on the beach in Manly and watched the surfers catching their waves.

Becky has been away all week at work so it's been strange not seeing her but nice to be able to do whatever in my own time.

Just a couple of weeks left in Sydney now. We have a hit list of things we want to do so should be a busy time!

Kung Hei Fat Choy!



Roo at Maru Wildlife Centre, Victoria

The Opera Bar, Sydney

Augusta Lighthouse

Cook

Mount Cradle, Tasmania



Melbourne by night

Groovy Grape Tour



Koala, Great Ocean Road

Harbour Bridge, Opera House and a Storm

Our time in Sydney is going well - the weather is generally behaving itself and we're keeping ourselves occupied with various things! A little work and a little play!

Becky has found herself a job as a Milkman - or Milkwoman. It's not what us English would see a Milkwoman as but more of a door to door sales position trying to promote and sell Australian Farmers Products. You can see more at www.aussiefarmers.com.au

I, on the other hand, have had little luck with a job. I have signed up to a couple of temp agencies and awaiting to see what comes from that. Apparently it is still a bit quiet from Christmas and the New Year so will hopefully find something this week or next. I have been delivering leaflets though - the first day I was up at 5am to get the train and didn't get back home until 6.30pm. I was the colour of a lobster by this time as it was a scorcher of a day! All for a shocking $60.
The second day I was up at 5am again but got back about 2pm - this time soaked to the bone as it decided to be a white wash of a day! So I have given in with that one - I don't think my poor feet could manage much more! 10+ miles a day - would be super skinny by the end of it! So still on the hunt for work....will give anything a shot although not a massager as some random text and asked me!

Whilst Bex has been at work I have been wandering around Sydney - went on a mission to walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. 5 hours later and I was back at the apartment.

Walked from Ultimo to Pyrmont and then followed the water round to Darling Harbour and Sussex Street. I eventually came across the bridge and walked across it, taking roughly 20 minutes. You get a great view of the Harbour and the Opera House.

Views around Pyrmont were great too - someone must have had a good time there!

At the weekend Bex and I did a tour of the Opera House. It was interesting to see inside, although our tour guide was a bit mundane. He was obviously a man that was very much into his opera - but he was slightly boring with it. Was great to hear the story of how the Opera House design came about and how it was built. It was $98 million over budget and took over a decade longer to build!
The theatres themselves didn't really seem that magnificent - pretty standard in fact. Our theatres in London have a much bigger wow factor to them. The difference is the architecture what with all the various lines and shapes. I am glad that I went in and saw it.

Saturday 7th was the opening of the Sydney Festival. We went along to The Domain and enjoyed the free concert. We didn't recognise anyone that was playing but it was nice to sit out on the park and watch. Got some information on the Chinese New Year celebrations that start on the 20th January so it should be cool!

We had a whacking storm here a few nights ago - the sky was being lit up every 10 seconds! Was really awesome! Glad we were inside though - it was a little wet!!

Apart from that we have been just getting on with things. Only have another 3 weeks here before we fly off to Fiji, which we are both extremely excited about!

A Happy New Year in Sydney

Sydney - what can I say? It's a great city! It's busy but feels strangely relaxed with it. We've been here for 2 weeks now, although it does feel longer than that and in that time we've managed to secure ourselves an apartment for 5 weeks.

It has been strange not being at home over Christmas - Australias christmas is completely different to that at home. On Christmas Eve we wanted to do something festive so we headed to Darling Harbour - we read that there was a huge tree made up of lights with Carol Singers singing by it. And then there were fireworks at 9pm

After the fireworks we left the harbour with thousands of others and headed back to the hostel. At St Marys Cathedral there were more crowds as there was a light display on the cathedral itself. Was pretty amazing how they managed to line up the images of the projection with the architecture of the building.

Christmas Day and it's a scorcher. We get up at 10am and open our presents and then get ready for the beach. We walk to Elizabeth Street and jump on the 373 bus to Coogee Beach.
When we get there, it's heaving - there are so many people but still space for 2 bums on the sand. We set ourselves down and, to our surprise, we sit next to Sam Thompson, a guy who lives in Crawley Down. What was the likelihood of that!

Bondi Police get in the festive spirit!

We relaxed in the sun for a while before deciding to walk to Bondi Beach along the 5km coastal path, taking us through all the little coves and beaches. Once we got to Bondi we jumped on the bus to take us back to the City and we did ourselves a Christmas Dinner - Roast Chicken, stuffing, potatoes, veg and gravy. Then Yule log for dessert.

We spend the evening Skyping everyone at home.

Between Christmas and New Year we do a few things - we find an apartment on Gumtree.com.au and put a deposit down on it with the idea of moving in on the 2nd January. We get on the Job hunt too - but no luck yet.

Wednesday 28th we went up the SkyTower Eye to have dinner - from Dad and Liz for christmas. It was a really nice evening - you sit in the revolving restaurant at the top and you get to see the whole of Sydney. The food was amazing too - we both walked out feeling extremely full up!!

On Thursday we are out looking for Job agencies again - but all we can find are Flight Centres - we see this as an Omen so pop in. By the end of the day we've decided to book flights out of Sydney and continue travelling. So the new plan - be in Sydney until the 8th February and then fly to Fiji for 2 weeks and then on to New Zealands South Island. We will continue to try and find work for the few weeks we are in the apartment.

We manage to see the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge and enjoy the glorious weather - we grab a beer in the sun in the Opera Bar.

And for New Years Eve - spectacular! We are up at 8am and leave for Mrs MacQuaries Point at 8.30am to join the queues. Our hostel is a 2 minute walk so we are soon at the back of the queue of around 4,000 people - in no time there are thousands of people behind us. It's amazing how early people actually get up to get a good seat!

We manage to set inside the park and set up by 12:30 - we have a fairly decent view of the Bridge and the Opera House through the trees. I'm surprised by the sheer number of boats that all around the harbour!

We brought a pretty large picnic so we don't go hungry. We keep ourselves entertained until 9pm when the family fireworks start.
At Midnight the New Years Eve spectacle begins - the fireworks are awesome. I have never seen so many fireworks go off!! It is definitely a good way to bring in the new year!

 New Years Day we chilled out with Jess and Will, a couple who were sharing our dorm with us. We venture out around 4pm and get The Big Box from Pizza Hut, eating it in Hyde Park.

The next day Bex and I get our stuff together and move into the apartment in Darling Harbour. Our room - the master bedroom with an ensuite and balcony, has been left in quite a dirty state. We get on and clean it from top to bottom - Becky doing most of it! We head out and buy sheets for the bed and, already, it feels homely. Housemates are friendly too!

Now we just need to find a job!