NYE 2011- Sydney 27/12/11 - 02/01/12

Hello again everyone, Jenna here!

We are really struggling to find the time to write these blog posts but so many of you keep on about them that we thought we better carry on! haha No, in all honesty it is quite a good way for us to remember everything we have done and it makes me feel like I am some sort of z-list writer for a crap magazine column that has an average of about 3 readers a month!

So, after having an an amazing festive period in the Bay of Plenty it was onwards to Auckland. We had pretty awful weather again in Auckland and to be honest because of this I think it was a bit of a let down. We also stayed in our worst hostel room to date that had NO windows or ventilation and stank of damp. What made it even worse was that I saw the room next door to us and this had a great view of the marina with about 8 windows so we were obviously just unlucky. We spent the least amount of time in the room as we possibly could. We were also in the middle of the red light district so that didn't help matters. I would definately NOT stay in that hostel again, EVER! FYI the hostel was a Nomads hostel and was called The Fat Camel.

We were also supposed to meet a friend of mine from back home but unfortuantely due to the weather he had gone away to escape it! All we really did while we were there was walk around the town, did a bit of shopping and took a walk to the marina which was actually really nice. We did eat out at a mexican on the marina one night which was nice too so I guess I am being a little harsh on Auckland to be honest, I think it was just that we came from such a beautiful place that it had a lot to live up to! I can imagine that Auckland is a nicer place if the weather is good but we weren't really that impressed.

After Auckland we were leaving New Zealand :-( to head for Australia's East coast and our first stop was Sydney!!

Just to summarise New Zealand in general though, it is by far the best county I have ever visited and I do not have a bad word to say about it, (apart from Auckland) haha! No seriously, it is absolutely stunning and I could not have picked a better place to start off my travelling adventure. I will 100% be going back there, that is a given!!

Anyway back to Sydney, OMG I love Sydney. We were staying about 100 miles from the city centre but that still didnt ruin my experience of the place. It is just amazing! When we first arrived we went to meet one of James' friends who moved to Sydney about 4 years ago. He took us to see Sydney vs Melbourne which was amazing because you could drink during the game and it was like a European atmosphere with lots of dodgy singing! We had a really good time although Sydney lost 4-0!

The next day we met up again with James's friend Ali and his wife and daughter and went for lunch in The Rocks area of Sydney. We then visited the Rocks Museum which was really interesting and gave you an insight to what Sydney was like when it was first inhabited.

We also visited Darling Harbour, Cicurlar Quay, the Opera House and we also walked across Sydney Harbour bridge. I think James was in love with the bridge as he kept telling me to admire the steel work- admire the steel work? Really? He then got me to take a photo of him with the bolts of the bridge and when I moaned he told me I did not appreciate it enough! Then when we were walking across the bridge I needed the loo, so was walking quite fast and James kept having a go at me because again I wasn't paying enough attention. To be honest, the view from the bridge was stunning and we paid to go to the top tower which gave you a great view over Sydney itself.

During our time, we also met up with my friends from back home Quinn and Faye and also Karlie while we were there so that was really nice to see them and catch up over a beverage!! Of course!! We went to a really nice bar that reminded me of London with a massive beer garden so we had a few drinks to celebrate being in Sydney!!

And then it was NYE! I had been looking forward to this night so much and it was soooo good!! I had just the best night ever and by far my best NY, although I did miss all my ladies!! We were really lucky to be honest as we had the best view of the fireworks and the Opera House behind it and this was down to Faye and Quinns friend Potts for invititng us to a house party, so I will be eternally grateful to him for invititng us along!! Thanks again!! Basically we got the party with the others at around 9ish after the police had let us in the road! We had a bit of an issue to start with but I just played the English tourist card and said I would be so upset if I didnt get to see the fireworks and the police officer let us down the road!! They just try and keep people as filtered out as possible for safety reasons I think. We then had a few drinks and left the house at 11.30, walked about 2 mins up the road and had the best view, that people had been queing for since about 9 in the morning! Amazing!!!! The fireworks themselves were fantastic and I enjoyed every minute of it. We then went back to the party and carried on the celebrations!

When we left at aroound 3ish, I had the great idea of going to sleep on Bondi beach and waking up at the beginning of 2012 by the sun! Very romantic! ha This was a great idea at the time but we woke up at 5ish when the sun was rising absolutely freezing. There were loads of other people there enjoying the sunset too but I think they had thought about it more and had jumpers, sleeping bags and blankets!! Woops!! It really was a great way to start 2012 and I will never forget that start to the year!! We then got back to our hotel at 8 in the morning so I really did feel like I was embracing the travelling spirit!! haha

We then spent the next day recovering from our lack of sleep in Hyde park. There are so many road names and places in Sydney the same as London that sometimes you would think you were actually still in London!! We had our last meal in chinatown that evening which was really nice. All in all, I loved Sydney and would love to go back there some day!! We crammed a lot in to 4 days as you can see but it would have been nice to stay for longer if we had the time.