Sunday 22nd we start the day off with a cooked breakfast followed by a walk to China Town to see the New Year Festival. Becky buys a book all about the Chinese Zodiac signs and we are soon sinking our teeth into some chinese cuisine from the market stalls; Spring rolls, a selection of Dim Sum and a Pork bun. Tasty!
On Monday I scroll through GumTree looking for work. I find an advert for help to clean a deck. I give the number a call straight away and after a nice chat with the house owner, Sharon, I find myself starting the next day! BOSH!
Tuesday morning and it is a 07:30 start so I can get the 08:14 train to Berowra Waters. Sharon collects me from the station and we drive to the moorings where we board her little boat that then takes us to her house. Once sharon has tied the boat to the Pontoon she shows me around the property and points out my task - scrubbing, scrubbing and more scrubbing! She has a lot of decking up to and around her house. I think to myself that it shouldn't take too long but I seriously under estimate the hard work that is involved. However, once I get going, it's actually not too bad! And for $120 a day I really can't complain. In the ad it said that you needed to be "like a mountain goat" as you had to get in amongst the decking. I think I did a good job!
Berowra Waters has a restaurant that sits right on the water - www.berowrawaters.com - and they have sea planes that drop off their clients. All for a mere $600 a head!!
Thursday is Australia Day. We have a slow morning but soon get out to see what is going on in the city. In Hyde Park they have a classic car show with over 1,000 vehicles - I'm in my element! We even come across a Toyota Land Cruiser that has covered over 1.25 million miles with only one owner!
We also have a look around in St Marys Cathedral. A couple of opera singers are holding a performance so we sit down and listen to it once we have both lit a candle.
We are soon back out exploring the celebrations and head for Circular Quay and The Rocks. There is a rather odd group singing, or trying to sing, outside a cafe plus a few other things. We decide it is not for us so head to Darling Harbour in time for us to see the fireworks. And wow - they go on for 30 minutes, sequencing to music and lighting. What an awesome finale to Australia Day - Fireworks in the UK will never be the same again!
Friday and I am back to work for one last day. Sharon managed to round up a team of 5 of us but then 3 people pulled out. Still, is nice to work with atleast one other person!
On Sunday 29th we visit the Chinese Gardens of Friendship in Darling Harbour. We have a wander around seeing the waterfalls, lakes and hidden stone pathways along with the traditional carvings, sculptures and the Chinese Penjing collection. The garden was initiated by the local Chinese community to celebrate Australia's 1988 Bicentenary.
Everything in the garden has been hand-picked and meticulously placed to capture the five elements - earth, fire, water, metal and wood - and the energy of qi, the central force of life and energy.
Continuing on with the Chinese New Year festivities, we head to George Street and join the lined streets to watch the Twilight Parade. With over 2900 performers marking the Year of the Dragon it was certainly a sight! Visitors from Chengdu, China, brought along a giant panda float, singers and dancers (even pandas riding unicycles!) There were also groups from Beijing, floats from the local Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese communities, lanterns, fire breathing and marshall arts plus so much more
On Tuesday we visit the Sydney Aquarium. We go later in the afternoon as we take advantage of the cheaper ticket - plus it was half price when booking it online! Kerr-ching!
We see the various fish, turtles, sharks, sting rays, dugongs, little penguins plus a small tooth saw fish
It is strange to think that we will be moving on from Australia in under a week. I'm definitely looking forward to it though!
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