Sydney and Surrounds

Canberra was fantastic and we were so lucky to able to stay here and do trips using this as a base. Not only did we travel to the Snowy Mts, but also to the south coast to Merimbula and up to Batemans Bay...all gorgeous. We then decided to drive to Sydney which is 3 hours away and leave the caravan in Canberra. The challenge we have is that the East Coast is very busy during the January School holidays and without a booking we would not get in anywhere on the coast. We stayed with our wonderful niece and nephew who have a sweet apartment in Manly. They kindly took us up the coast to Palm Beach (where they shoot “Home and Away”) and also to North Head for a picnic. Each bay has high headlands overlooking the crescent bays, blue water and full of moored boats, each more scenic than the last. The Manly Ferry was such fun as it goes right across the gorgeous Sydney Bay to the centre of Sydney and we went into the city most days to see all the museums, galleries and various sights. Standing on the steps of the Opera House is such a buzz after seeing it on all the pictures, and walking through the famous Domain and Botanic Gardens was such fun. It is a very busy, rushed city and traffic and parking is a nightmare ($8.00 to park on a beach, about $600 plus a month for a parking bay in the city), but very beautiful, with bays, water and forests everywhere. The heritage buildings were lovely, and of course the mansions on the bay are breathtaking. We had a weekly Ferry pass which enabled us to use ferries and buses as much as we wanted, so we took the ferry’s to all corners of the Sydney area i.e. Darling Harbour, South Head, Parramatta etc. We loved every minute of staying there. We also stayed with Paul’s wonderful cousin and his wife and they took us to Bondi and surrounding beaches, and we they took us on a long walk with them along the very pretty Bay side walks with yachts bobbing, water dragons sunning themselves on rocks, lovely birds in the trees. Such a lovely place..we were just so lucky to be able to experience it without having to drive in long distances from a remote campsite.
When we left Sydney (a feat in itself going over The Harbour Bridge in peak hour traffic and getting stuck in the inner city! at 8.30 am) we drove down the south coast looking at all the many scenic places along the way..Kangaroo Valley, Jervis Bay (supposedly the best beach in the world cos of the white sands) and of course the Pacific Highway a part that is built out into the ocean. There are many rivers that flow into the sea along the route and each one forms a lagoon and huge bay..ideal holiday spots for families and each one was chokabloc with caravans and wall to wall people.
So back to Canberra to fetch our caravan and head off to the Blue Mountains.We will do our next Blog on the Inside Story as requested!