Tim and Mari’s World Tour #5

Sydney 2000, Holy #@*!

To anyone who was planning on going to Sydney, I recommend it highly. This is probably one of the coolest cities I have ever seen. The mix of people and cultures, museums and aquariums, business and partying is unique for sure, and fun even if you just watch.

One thing about Sydney that I would like to warn people about is the price of accommodation. A normal hostel bed is $15. But for December and January, the price of same is $25. And that is nothing. The period from December 17th to January 7th has dorm beds at $50 per night. Isn’t that insane. Oh well, this is one of the hotspots for the Millennium, and everywhere is booked out, so people are willing to pay it.

Now for the travellers. Since having a bad experience with bus tours (see New Zealand), Mari and I have opted for freedom. After scouring the bulletin boards around the country, Mari and I are now the proud owners of an 1983 Ford Falcon, light blue. With our camping gear, we have the wagon outfitted to be slept in, and are planning on exploring the isle of Oz for the next couple months by car (If anyone wants a comparison, pick up the book Sean and Dave’s Long Drive by Lonely Planet Press).

Since the prices have skyrocketed, we have done our share of Sydney exploring this week. The Sydney Aquarium is world famous, and includes a shark tank filled with a dozen different species (some up to 4 metres long). This aquarium was also a good chance to see close up a platypus which we are unlikely to get close to, and saltwater crocs, which we don’t particularly want to get close to.

We then walked around the town, and explored the sail opera house, and sampled the file beers of Oz. For those back home, Fosters is not the big beer, it’s Victorian Bitter (which is a far better selection anyway.)

A lucky break came our way though. I went into one climbing store, and started chatting with a guy about the bouldering in Australia. He printed out for Mari and I a set of directions to several amazing climbing spots in the Blue Mountains, located just west of town. With that in mind, we leave on early Friday, December 10 for the Blue Mountain National Park, to camp and climb.

Merry Christmas everyone, Tim and Mari

PS – thanks everyone for the e-mail, they really make our day when we check and find out that people are happy about following our trip.