We’re leaving on a jet plane…….

We rose early on Monday morning and set off to the airport to surprise Nic (Chris’s sister) and Steve (Chris’s brother-in-law) who were flying in for a three week holiday in Australia.

Chris generally runs in a completely different time-zone to the majority of the population which is at best half an hour behind everybody else….but for once (Hallelujah, Praise the Lord!) Chris was actually early which was, frankly, a blessing because the surprise kind of relied on us actually being there when they walked through arrivals!

Armed with our sign made out for “Dodds” we made our way to the gate. At this stage Chris was as giddy as a schoolboy getting the sticker which completes his football world cup sticker album as it has been over six months since either of us has seen any family. After much false identification (we have been away a long time!) we finally saw them make there way through the arrivals gate. Hugs were exchanged, followed by further hugs sent over from various family members.

Nic and Steve are in Sydney for the best part of a week, during which time they are attending a friend’s wedding, so were intent on making the most of their stay and soon headed down to the harbour. We met up with them later that day for a spot of dinner and a proper catch up and a couple of drinks. It was so good seeing them and catching up with news from home.

The following day (Tuesday) we were all booked on the BridgeClimb over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We were booked on the 5.45pm climb only to find that some of the wedding party (also Geordies – there is no escape!) were booked on the same climb (what are the chances?!) The timing of our climb meant that we would be climbing in daylight, be at the top for the sunset over Sydney and be descending in the dark with the city lights as the backdrop.

After passing the alcohol breath test, passing a metal detector test and removing all personal items which could potential come loose and fall onto the passing traffic below we donned our rather fetching all-in-one romper suits. Looking like a bunch of super heroes (maybe that was just to me!) or more likely a bunch of village idiots we were each given a safety harness as we would be attached throughout the climb. Other items including baseball hats, handkerchiefs etc etc were all optional but had to be clipped onto the jumpsuits. Nicola, having acquired every clip-on possible decided at the eleventh hour that she needed the toilet – …only to be followed by every other girl in the group! Not an easy feat when you are zipped into your suit at the back and have a harness on!!!

The final piece of equipment – a clip on headset was dished out which progressed me from being a super hero to an astronaut (accessorising can make or break a look!)

OK on to the factual bit!

Now those of you reading this blog on a regular basis will be fully aware that we have been claiming the Sydney Harbour Bridge was based upon the Tyne Bridge ….well we stand somewhat corrected. Although the Tyne Bridge opened 4 years earlier than the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the designs for the latter were actually submitted before work began on the Tyne Bridge! Nevertheless the Harbour Bridge is made of approximaetly 80% English steel and 20% Australian!

The harbour bridge was completed in 1932 at a cost of approximately $20m, and spans right across the harbour from the South shore to the North shore giving amazing views across Sydney. Did you know? – one of Australia’s well known celebrities, Paul Hogan, was one of the painters contracted to give the Bridge another 270,000 litre coat of paint. …… and more than 6 million rivets were used in the construction (appparently it is thought at least 10,000 rivets sit on the sea bed below!).

The walk begins in the look out at the end of the bridge and progresses along a narrow walkway and up ladders through two lanes of traffic, emerging on the top at the foot of the top curve. On our right hand side was a view over Circular Quay and the Opera House and to our left was The Rocks and Darling Harbour. Whilst at the summit, which is 134m above mean sea level, we paused to see the sun bid farewell for the day as it set over Sydney……the sun left the sky a fantastic shade of pink until the lights of the city came on to give us a whole new scene. Before beginning our descent we each blew the famous Blinking Billy (the light at the very top) a kiss and made a wish.

Here are a couple of pics from the climb:

Having worked up an appetite we headed straight to the nearest pub in the Rocks for Pizza………but not just any pizza! Steve had Kangaroo pizza and Chris had Salt Water Crocodile Pizza! We all tried a piece of each (except Nic who is vegetarian).The crocodile was very tough and chewy and a little tasteless (although most say it is like chicken – haha what isn’t? well Kangaroo for starters!) whereas the Kangaroo was tender and had a lot more flavour to it.

Following our meal we headed to Cruise bar where we had one drink looking over the opera house which was a pretty perfect ending to a great evening!

29th November 2006

Putting the disappointment of a shambolic yet wholly predictable English Cricket performance behind us (was Harmison really the number 1 bowler in the world only 18 months ago?), we headed out of Sydney on Friday evening, north to the coastal town of Port Stephens.

We hired a car for the weekend, and after a shaky start (it’s been a while since either of us were behind a wheel!) we battled our way out of the city traffic and onto the freeway towards……Newcastle! Yep, the Aussies, not content with pinching the Tyne Bridge concept and claiming it as their own, have also ripped off the Toon itself, and tried to make it feel at home by surrounding it with other North Eastern Hotspots such as Wallsend, Morpeth, Jesmond and Stockton. Thankfully in a rare display of good taste they drew the line at throwing in a Sunderland. Port Stephens lies about 100km north of Newcastle, and was recommended to us by some of the locals as a nice spot for a weekend break.

We arrived at our digs late on Friday evening, and checked into our beach bungalow, located in a protected area of bush, just back from ‘one mile’ beach. The bush was home to a local Koala population (which unfortunately we managed to miss all weekend!) but more alarmingly huge spiders (we saw our first huntsman!) and snakes (which thankfully we managed to avoid all weekend!).

The following morning we made our second attempt of our time in Oz for a Champagne sunrise breakfast on the beach. Despite actually getting out of bed this time and making it onto the sand for 5am, we once again missed the sunrise (and kept the bubbly on ice) after realising that it was actually us on the menu in our shorts and T-shirts for the pesky mosquitoes. Third time lucky perhaps?

Our next activity was a trip down to Nelson Bay, in Port Stephens, to book onto a cruise of the bay. The sun was shining and the scenery was spectacular, with a huge Port (bigger than Sydney’s Port Jackson) of crystal clear water, which is home to over 150 bottlenose dolphins. Up until now, our previous attempts to view dolphins have been of limited success (with the exception of the pink river dolphins in Bolivia….which seems a long time ago!), but we finally hit the jackpot, and spent the next couple of hours or so cruising around the Port with pods of dolphins playing around in the wake of the boat!

In the afternoon we braved a walk in the heat up to a look out over the Port and surrounding beaches which afforded some cracking views, as well as the chance to meet some more of the locals, including a 1m long Iguana. After a fish and chip supper, we watched the final of the rugby league tri nations at the local boozer, before heading back to our bungalow with our wine box tucked under our arm (classy!). The plan was to sit out on our veranda and enjoy a couple of classes of vino, until we realised that a huge Huntsman spider had similar ideas. There was only going to be one winner, so we placed the wine in the fridge and tucked ourselves up for an early night (after checking all the seals on the windows and doors!).

Sunday morning we began the trip back to Sydney, via the Stockton Sand Dunes (which stretch for 30 miles). We hired some Quad bikes and spent the next hour or so, flying round like something out of Mad Max. Despite the safety briefing with scare stories about helicopter evacuations, we acted like complete idiots chasing each other up and down the dunes, which was great fun! Charlotte managed to show her usual level of balance and poise, on a par with a baby elephant on ice skates, and took the only tumble of the day. Thankfully she managed to show the presence of mind to hold the quad bike up the sand dune above her with her legs to prevent it tumbling down on top of her!

We returned to Sydney by mid afternoon, picked up Donny and Jen and headed straight back out for the final stage of the weekend activity, a trip to watch the princess of pop herself, Kylie! We headed up to Kings Cross for a couple of pre gig schooners before jumping on the train to Olympic Park, where the showgirl tour was taking place in one of the Sydney 2000 Olympic indoor venues. The show itself was spectacular with some great dancers (including Jen!) and all the theatrics you would expect from a true pop legend. All in all it was a great night, and the curtain came down on a fantastic weekend to the beautiful harmonies of ‘especially for you’, not a dry eye in the house!

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