Sydney for New Year

Due to Amanda's parents flying home to Perth at the same time I'm leaving for Sydney I get to wait for my flight as their guest in the Quantas club- an interesting insight into how the other half live. Free tea, cake and wine is always a winner!

Someone gets thrown off the flight before we leave (well better than after we leave I guess) I think for being drunk then whilst they're locating luggage an afternoon storm rolls in and we're waiting on the runway.

5 and a bit hours later we're in Sydney. A train to the middle and I alight at Circular Quay and walk up to my hostel in The Rocks area catching glimpses of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. It's latish by Sydney time but that's 90 minutes ahead of Helen time and there's lots of people about so I join them walking across the illuminated bridge and down to the Opera house, partly to suss out a plan for the fireworks tommorrow. After a while I notice something strange. It's a pleasant temperature! No sweating!

In the end I meet up with 4 new friends I'd met on the outback trip from Adelaide to Alice. After 2 hours queuing we make it into Mrs Macquarie's point and find a spot in the shade to while away the afternoon. Some more dedicated people have been staking their patch since 6am but in the end when the action starts we manage to get a view of most of the Harbour bridge. (There's a few too many trees in this bit of the botanical gardens) 9pm is the family fireworks so that the kid's can go to bed. Between then and midnight we watch the lit up boats sailing around the harbour and get some caffeine into us.



By 11.30 we're crammed in position, the minutes are taking ages to pass, the legs are feeling rather tired. Then there's a countdown and on "one" fireworks erupt from the top of the harbour bridge and everyone's cheering, forgetful of the tight cram. It's a hell of a display- the harbour bridge is the centre piece but the fireworks are coming from the top of the skyscrapers in the CBD to the left and from somewhere else on the right as well. When an illusion is created that a wide, golden waterfall is pouring from the bridge there's a collective gasp then cheer of appreciation. The finale is spectactular- overwhelming, too many directions to look in at once. Hello 2013.