Australia:

After a night flight from Bali I was welcomed into Sydney with a big hug from my friend Kate who's been working and travelling in Oz. We headed straight out to the 'Big Day Out' festival (straight out, ie: land at 7.30am, dump bags and catch bus to gig) which rocked. It was a gorgeous hot sunny day (not as hot as Bali!) and we caught up whilst watching bands play, of which the Darkness and Muse were the best two. Metallica were great but played mostly new stuff. Boo!

Seeing as I had a limited time in Sydney (5 days) we decided to cram as much as we could in. Which was managed very successfully!

Day 1: Big Day Out - as above plus one burnt forehead.

Day 2: Visit to the opera house and harbour bridge. Also went to a backpackers in Kings Cross for a night out. Or was that night in? Ask me about the Grosse Point Blank drinking game sometime.

Day 3: Australia Day (also known as 'Invasion Day') Lots of flags and boats, eg another excuse for Aussies to have a party. Met up with old pal Brad and went up the Sky Tower. Spectacular views. The evening was spent watching the fireworks from the harbour.

Day 4: Up early and off to the aquarium to see all the cast of Finding Nemo. Much fun! Lunch at the Rocks (an area of Sydney) followed by a visit to the Observatory. In the evening we went to the Opera House to see the Reduced Shakespeare Company (my hightlight of Sydney!) Hilariously done and such a good experience.

Day 5: Toroga Zoo! Koalas munching, Kangaroos bouncing, Tasmanian Devils dreaming, Wombats sleeping, Dingos dingoing, and even lion and tiger cubs (doing whatever they do.) And what's the perfect way to end a visit to Sydney? A drag show of course! Drag Survivor to be specific, queens competing in tasks against each other with one voted out each week. Funny!

So that's my experience of Australia. Not much time but loads of fun and fantastic to see friends again. Aussies are friendly, the weather was great, and Sydney has tons of things to do. I will go back there! :-)