Well, I just finished up my last two weeks in Australia. I had an uneventful flight to Christchurch, although unfortunately, my swiss army knife was confiscated when I accidentally left it in my carry on bag. Kind of a bummer, but I guess it's good to know that airport security is keeping on top of things.

I spent most of the last few weeks of my stay in Sydney. Well, I was actually in a suburb of Sydney called Liverpool with my friend Nic, whom I had met the last time I was in Australia. Usually, I'm not really a big city person, but I did enjoy hanging out in Sydney for a bit and having a chance to catch up with friends.

Nic and I drove to the Blue Mountains the first weekend I was there, which was really good. It was definitely a pretty area. We also visited the Jenolan Caves during that trip. It was pretty cool to see formation in the cave that were literally millions of years old.

While in Sydney I also had a chance to catch up with my friend Neale, visit some of the beaches around Sydney, and wander around the different neighborhoods and attractions of the city.

Nic and I headed up to Crescent Head (about 5 hours north of Sydney) to visit with his family for the last few days of my stay. It really is such a nice area with beautiful beaches. Crescent Head has good surfing beaches, so I went out and gave it my best shot, which actually wasn't that good at all. I definitely had fun trying though. Watching from the shore, it doesn't look super difficult, and everyone looks really graceful. I, however, had a hard enough time making it out to the waves, never mind actually catching a wave and standing up!

Overall, I had a really great time in Australia. I really enjoyed catching up with old friends-everyone I met up with were just great hosts. I also met some really fun people, and definitely enjoyed staying in a place with such beautiful beaches and such a laid back and friendly attitude.