Back home again. Had a great time. On Friday we went to the top of Sydney Tower, the highest tower in Australia, and they had an observation deck right up on top, great views. Then we went on a Seafood Buffet cruise of Sydney Harbour, yeah I know this is the third cruise we went on, but we love them :-), and it was great.

Then off to Bathurst, but you wouldn't believe it, Alex's Mum rings her up and tells her about a MEGA sale at Myers department store (which we just happened to be passing in an hours time) so of course we stop and Alex goes bargain hunting!! We now have lovely new curtains in our lounge room, and I have a new fountain pen, both at killer prices.

Thanks for tuning in, the journal thing has added to our enjoyment of the holiday and I'm glad to have added a little bit to those who read it. Thanks again especially Gary for your encouragement with the journals.

Yesterday we left the hallowed city of Canberra - this is the city where Alex met and fell in love with her dream man - me ;-) oops, that's probably the other way around!! Alex was born here & I lived here for 11 years so we have lots of good memories. We then drove to Sydney, checked in to the motel, and enjoyed the views to the runways at Sydney's Kingsford Smith airport. Leaving ourselves an hour and a half to drive the paltry 10 or so kilometres to Sydney Harbour for our dinner cruise, we only just made it - TRAFFIC, I ask you, who would live in a major city. We've even got traffic lights in Bathurst these days, but that's the way I like it.

The dinner cruise was fantastic, they had a band, a grand piano, electronic drums, a really hot bass player and the singer was a lot of fun.

The meal was excellent, the views of the city were great, the only drawback is that my camera seems to be broken. Alex took a photo of me and that seems to be what did the damage! I can't adjust any of the settings, shutter, aperture, flash, exposure adjustment, nada, nyet, nothing, zippo. It's still working on Auto so that will have to do for the next two days. A definite bummer though because I'll need the longer exposures in the aquarium this morning.

Last time I let Alex take a photo of me that's for sure - it's too expensive!! That's me signing off for the day!!

Today we moved our base of operations from the Stamford Hotel at the airport to the Holiday Inn at Darling Harbour. First we went to Sydney Aquarium, which was fantastic, we hadn't been for 10 or so years and they now have a fabulous Barrier Reef section. We went from the motel on the Sydney Monorail which was a lot of fun and we had great views of the city while we did it. After leaving the Aquarium, our rocket cruise of the Harbour was pulling away from the dock as we walked up, but they came back in and off we went. This boat was a catamaran design and FAST. The cruise covered Darling Harbour home of the Sydney Aquarium, Circular Quay, Watson's Bay and Taronga Zoo. We cruised under the Harbour Bridge, past Luna Park, Fort Denison and some of the most exclusive real estate Sydney has to offer. The homes in Rose Bay are in the 11 million dollar mark, because of their location. We went right out to the heads where the harbour joins the Pacific Ocean.

Had a great days sightseeing. We started off at Cockington Green, a village display of miniature buildings and gardens from Great Britain. They now have an international section including one representing the Netherlands, just so Viv would feel included!! We then hurried over to the National Zoo & Aquarium and checked out some critters, before stopping at the lookout over Government House where our Governor General Sir Michael Jeffries lives. We finished the day at Old Parliament House, where my Dad worked in the final stages of his career, and relived the history that was created there. Too many photos to process tonight, but I'll pop a few on, the rest will have to wait until I get back to Bathurst.

This morning I prayed in the same place in the bush as yesterday, but the Currawongs didn't visit me today. They might have come through earlier or maybe later today. Birds often follow a path as they hunt for food, if they find good hunting spots they'll go back there again and again (just like we go to the markets because we know we can get fresh food there).

Up early to pray and I found a great spot in the bush. A flock of Currawongs were feeding and I got a short video from my digital camera. It'll be in my video section later. I tried to upload it on dial up from the motel but SEVEN hours later - cheesh, I'll do it at home. Then we went for a cruise taking photos of the foreign embassies around Canberra. They are a great example of the different archirectural styles favoured by different cultures. Alexwent shopping and I went to the Questacon, a Science Fair, great fun.

I was so excited I could hardly sleep last night. What a wally! I'm glad I packed last night, and thank goodness for coffee!! We left Bathurst for Canberra just after 1 pm and arrived in Canberra around 4:30 pm. An uneventful trip except for two hairy overtaking manoeuvres – one overtaking a B Double truck, the other a truck loaded to the gunwales with hay bales in the rain. We checked in to the Rydges Eagle Hawk Resort. As we drove to our cabin a large grey kangaroo hopped across our path. The cabin is set amongst 130 acres of native bush, so I’m hoping to get some good wildlife shots in the mornings.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

We’re going on holiday!!!

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As a result of transferring our mortgage we have the lovely bonus of a free holiday. Rather than go overseas with the additional costs, we decided to relax in Canberra and Sydney. Our itinerary will look something like this. I will take the odd photo or two and post them when I return.

On Sunday after Church we Drive 3 ½ hours to the national capital Canberra & stay overnight in the Rydges Eagle Hawk Resort. On Monday 3/7 Peter checks out Cockington Green, a miniature village while Alex goes shopping. After lunch we visit the old parliament house, followed by The Captain Cook memorial, Blundell’s Cottage, St John’s Church and the National Museum for captain Cook’s pacific adventures exhibition.

This will be followed by a drive past all the foreign embassies, and quick tour of the Serbian Coptic Church. Monday night is spent at the Rydges Eagle Hawk Resort.

Tuesday morning starts with the National Zoo & Aquarium. After lunch we split again and Peter goes to the War Memorial and Alex yes, you guessed it, goes shopping again. Later in the afternoon we climb Black Mountain for the city wide views, followed by a shot of Government House from the Lady Denman drive lookout. That night we visit the new Planetarium. Tuesday night is spent at the Rydges Eagle Hawk Resort.

Wednesday morning sees us driving 4 hours to Sydney the capital of NSW. After lunching at Sizzlers restaurant, we check in at the airport Stamford Motel with stunning views of the airport and runway traffic. After a quick stop at Bare Island La Perouse, we head for circular quay to board the MV Sydney 2000 for a dinner cruise of Sydney’s world famous harbour. It should be noted that I am surrendering the final State of Origin game to do this – what a romantic I hear you say!!

Thursday morning sees us at the Sydney aquarium at Darling harbour. We have lunch at the Tower Restaurant in the highest revolving restaurant in Australia with awesome city views. This is followed by a skytour. The afternoon will be spent between a Captain Cook Explorer cruise of Sydney harbour taking in the rocks, the opera house, Watson’s bay and a stop off at Taronga zoo.

We spend Thursday night at the Holiday Inn at Darling Harbour with a brief excursion to see a film at the Imax theatre at darling harbour. On Friday we farewell Sydney with a Seafood Buffet Lunch Cruise of Sydney harbour.