48829 km
SYDNEY
It was a difficult but quick goodbye from our hippie. Both of us enjoyed the somewhat gypsy lifestyle a bit too much, but we have arrived to our next destination, Sydney. I'm looking forward to stroll around in a city and Majka is looking forward to a civilised bathroom. We are renting a room in an apartment just a few minutes walk from Coogee or Bondi Beach in an apartment with ocean views. Pretty cool if you're asking me!
Our first visit the next morning took us straight to Sydney Harbour. Obviously. Had to see that crazy Opera House and bridge. We have arrived quite early and I was excited to see a milky haze hanging above the city. Great for the photos, I thought. So I kept running around dragging Majka behind me and hoping that the fog will last a few more minutes for a few more angles on Sydney Harbour and it's iconic architecture. It was about an hour later, by Mrs. Macquire's Chair, when we have realised that the fog in fact was smoke from a bushfire somewhere around Blue Mountain. Meaning that the smoke 'fog' could, and would, last for a good few days. We have criss-crossed the area and city few times in the coming days, like good tourists do and ultimately decided that Australia is the country to be. Luckily rain washed the bushfire and smoke away so from our second day we had mostly clear beautiful summery weather, even though it was late autumn around here. Yes, we had the odd showery day, but that just fits the museum program well. One of the evenings we've met up with Brian, a travel buddy from Texas that we have first met in Ulaanbataar and then by a weird chance in Saigon. I like these meetings! Even though this was the third time we've seen each other it feels like we have been friends for years. I think is the likemindness and that we all are in similar shoes, even though Brian loves his crazy cowboy boots and has settled down in Sydney for a time being. As you guessed it, seems to me he found the lady of his heart. Later in the evening when he left we have experienced one of the best sunsets we have ever seen. The clouds above the city were orange and red and vivid and heavy, full of colour and energy. Once again, Thanks, Sydney and thank you Australia! But before we hit the road again we had one last day and we chose to take the mandatory beach walk after which it was quite difficult to pack my bags for departure...
One last cherry on the top of our visit to Sydney was a brief meeting with another recurring couple in our journey, Marlene and Jandaan from The Netherlands. We have met on the airport as we were flying out at the same time. Short but very nice meeting before we embarked to Auckland.
