Steve in Sydney, Australia
Gday all from Oz,
Well I made it to Australia yesterday at about noon and it has been a whirlwind since. The original plan was to try to go directly to Tasmania but I am still in Sydney and Tas might come later. I got into a backpackers called Eva’s which is a nice place in the King’s Crossing area close to downtown. I went for a walk in the afternoon to start to figure things out. I ended up with a shit full of pamphlets and no clue as to what I was doing. 
The area is kinda the red light district but with lots of other shops. I got propositioned twice already which made me laugh. Most of the stuff is on Victoria Street they even have a library right beside 2 strip joints, must makes for really smart strippers. I’ll just leave the rest of that alone, there is also a great pizza place that I went to, it is a little bit like little italy here as well. I went back to Eva’s and took some time and read thru the info and met my roommates. THere are all from Germany and just happen to be selling a vehicle. I took a look at it and it is exactly what I am looking for but my salesman side of me kicked in and I siad that it wasn’t quite right. For one they are asking to much but I am sure I can knock down the price as they leave soon and will need to sell it. I am going to do some internet searches for prices and the lot. The vehicle is 1991 Mitsubihi Pajero with 7 seat and 4wd which you need in alot parts of OZ. It comes with all the camping equipment you can think of and all the saftey stuff as well, including spare parts and 2 spare tires. My buddy from Holland is also willing to split the driving costs if i get the vehicle. They are asking $8000 but i will start somewhere around $6000. Lots of work to do on this yet but i am liking the idea.
This morning i decided to get out the walking shoes and see what else Sydney has to offer. Wow what a great city and I will need a few more days to see everything. I walked from the hostel to Mrs. Macquaries Point and it seemed like the whole Oz navy is docked there. Must have been 8-9 boats of all sizes. I found out that they are running excersises from here for the month of March. I watched as they did morning call in the deck and a bunch of other formal stuff. This was a great spot to get a look at the famous opera house as well and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. From there i walked thru part of the botanical gardens and to the Opera House. It is as amazing as the pics you see and i went inside and got a schedule of events so now I may go see an opera before i leave here. Might need some better clothes or just go with what I have and who cares what they think, I’ll never see them again anyway. From there I went to the Royal conservatory of music (cool place) and by all the government houses. I went into the downtown core for some lunch and that was an experience. It was like any other major city at lunch, all these suits running around trying to get a quick lunch with there cell phones going. I actually watched for a while and just laughed at them, completely reminded me of downtown Calgary and I am glad that I am not part of the world. I did some more touring of downtown and all of a sudden it was 5pm. I started to make my way back to the hostel and saw the st. Mary’s Cathedral and decided to stop. It was absolutely amazing and i barely saw any of it. I am going to come back and take a good look on another day when I have more time. Just doing some updates and checking on vehicles now but I am feeling really pumped about Australia, so far I am amazed again.
Talk to you all soon,
Steve
PS: Congrats to Nathan & Carolyn on the birth of the baby boy!!!
Tags: Australia
sdietrich90
Hi Steve
Have a great time in oz land. Please go to the opera in shorts.
Audry
Hey, Are you making fun of us working stiffs? Hmmmmmm….