The One with the Flamin' Gallah!

Having watched Neighbours since the days of Scott and Charlene, Jane and Mike, Henry and Bronwen, (I could go on...), I was particularly excited about the prospect of Neighbours night. Whilst I also hope to get down to Melbourne to see Ramsay Street in the flesh, there is a Neighbours Night held monthly at the Coolabar in Sydney.

In the days leading up to the event, rumours of Karl and Susan, or Lyn Scully and Paul Robinson being the stars on the night are flying around town, so imagine my delight as we walk up, to find that not only will Neighbours legends Toadfish (Ryan Moloney) and Steph Hoyland (Carla Bonner) be there, but absolute TV legend ALF STEWART (Ray Meagher) from Home and Away. (I used to watch that when I was younger too, and have even seen the odd episode of late with Grandad!)

Helen and I join Debbie, Becky and Darren from Wolverhampton. Debbie knows absolutely EVERYTHING there is to know about Neighbours which is kind of worrying, but very endearing. We all hit it off and are laughing and joking, and all set for the quiz (general knowledge with a couple of Neighbours questions thrown in) with our imaginative team name "The Ones at the Back" ... guess where we were seated. Anyway, we accept Debbie's Neighbours Trivia Knowledge in the same way that they all accept me without questions when I bring out Sarrie ready for photos with the stars!

Before we know it Toady, Steph and Alf are at the front and taking questions from the crowd. Alf even does a little rant ending in "you're all a bunch of Flamin' Gallahs" just to send the crowd into a frenzy. Then the three start doing the rounds having photos taken with every one, and to keep everyone occupied in the meantime they start the quiz.

First up, was the legend that is Alf. He is a friend of Mark Sinderberry (my old boss) so was even happy to pose with Sarrie having been to a Saracens match himself in the past. He is such a nice guy!

After one round of the quiz, and a brief interlude, where backpackers did silly stunts to win exciting prizes, it was our turn to meet Toady. Another really nice guy, who took the time out to chat to every single person. His sarrie photo (on the slide at the top) really makes me giggle!

We had all but finished the third round of the quiz by the time Steph had turned up. It's weird as the place was full of 80% women, and most of the guys looked like they had been dragged here unwillingly, and yet it took Steph a lot longer to get round the room than the two guys. She seemed a little tipsy, and very excitable, but also surrounded by men at every turn. Darren only had his photo taken with her (and lets be honest we can all see why - she is stunning. That is my only saving grace for why I look so bad in this photo!)

So with all the stars met, it was time to find out who had won the quiz. "The Ones at the Back" came 4th out of 34 teams. I couldn't have been happier if we had won. 4th - an honourable mention. No prize, but hey with a team name like that everyone turned around to look at us and knew how brainy we all were - (or something like that!)

The One with THAT match

I'm not going to say much about it. It's still a bit painful.

Saturday night we had a night of sport. We got to Scruffy Murphy's early so the boys could watch Man U v Fulham, I decide to watch the Leicester v Northampton game instead. It soon became packed however, and we couldn't breathe so we decided to leave and go to Paddy Maguires.

After queueing for an age we got to the front, only to find it was full, so jumped in a taxi with the boys to try the pubs in Bondi which we were assured would be quieter.... Quieter turned out to be SHUT.

Panic was setting in by this stage. I had not stayed up all night to miss the England game... but luckily our next door neighbour Andy suggested Sports Bar in Kings Cross. Another Taxi Ride, and we were soon settled in bar where we could both see the screen and breathe.

The game was shocking, and even more so due to the fact that the whole of Ireland seem to be in Sydney, I have made far too many Irish friends, and I was wearing a top which proclaimed me as English. Don't get me wrong... I'm proud of my English roots, but maybe wouldn't shout it from the roof tops when we play like that.

I was just about holding in my disappointment of the trouncing we got, when some irish guy proceeded to tell me that the Welsh invented Rugby.

NOT HAPPY.... and didn't he know about it!

Anyway.... the less said about it the better. But in true sporting fashion, here is my baby guiness (Kahlua and Baileys) as a very quiet congratulations to Ireland.

The One with H's Birthday - Who said Older meant Wiser?

Today is H's 27th Birthday, and we had a full on day of merriment planned. Following my idea of doing something crazy to celebrate ageing in another country, we looked for probably the most scary thing we could do.... and decided to go scuba diving in the Manly Aquarium....

....In the Shark Tank.

Down at Circular Quay, we also got a good look at the QE2 which had arrived the previous night. We had also seen the Queen Mary from the train the night before. These are huge ships which are particularly impressive when stationed in the harbour, as the little ferries show exactly how big they are.

We caught our ferry over to Manly, and had time for a quick 10 minute roast on the beach (not something you would do at home if your birthday was in February) before heading to the aqaurium. We were slightly early and had a chance to walk through the glass tunnel which looked up into the tank we would be getting into.

I don't like glass tunnel aquariums. I normally refuse to go in them, or else walk through with my eyes shut. In fact, I have only been through one with my eyes open and that was in Auckland at Kelly Tarlton's. Feeling nervous just walking through, I started to feel particularly uneasy when I saw not only the size of the Sharks, Sting Rays, and Manta Rays in the tank, but also the size of some very large and ugly fish. This would certainly be a test of character.

We met our trainer, and watched a video on the commands etc used in Scuba Diving. Was loving whichever marketing guru had decided to put the Jaws theme tune at the start of the video!

We got suited and booted - there were four of us diving with 2 trainers - and then got in the training pool to practice the skills we had learnt on the video, like clearing your mask, what to do if you lose your mouthpiece, and leveling your ears (making them pop when you go down to a lower level). Greg and Kim had arranged a trial dive for me before I left and I was certainly glad of that today, as I felt more confident with the commands which meant I could avoid being eaten. That said the nerves had really set in now.

With no time to change our mind, we swam through an entrance and into the main aquarium. It was weird being on the other side of the tunnel and waving to the children looking up at us! We didn't have to swim, as we were weighted to make us sink to the bottom, so just walked along the bottom of the tank.

Within minutes we had our first encounter with a shark, as they swam right over us. The Manta Rays were really friendly. They thought we had brought them food and came to investigate. One was so big the four of us could fit under it and it looked like a ghost swimming through the water.

As we walked along, one of the turtles started swimming towards me. They are a little dopey and will swim right into you, and with the weights on it's hard for me to move quickly... it was a close call!

We headed over the walkway to the other side of the aquarium and along. This is where most of the sharks hang out and is a much darker area. We had to skirt along the edge of the tunnel, as a Woologong shark was camoflaged neatly on the floor by the tunnel. Here we stood still so the sharks could get used to us, and some of them got really really close, swimming literally inches over or in front of us. A really exhilarating experience.

All in all we were in the water for about half an hour, and I was completely buzzing by the time I got out.

A quick ferry back to Sydney, and a rush to get ready. Lincoln and Suzanne joined us for some wine and Birthday Cake, and then we caught the train up to Newtown for a scrummy Thai meal at Newtown Thai Two

Then back on the train to Circular Quay to meet Gavin and Mike, and go to Minus 5 - the Ice Bar. It being summer here, I was in a dress and flip flops, so completely prepared for a bar which is minus 15 degrees! Thankfully they gave us East 17 style parker jackets, and ugg boots to wear, and we all looked as cool as the air around us!

You only have half an hour in the actual ice bar, and literally everything is made of clear ice - the seats, the bar itself, the shelfs and even the glasses. There were also lots of statues made of ice. Sadly you're not allowed to take photos inside the bar, although this did not stop a couple of naughtier members of our group taking secret squirrel photos from under the rim of their hoods!

We had our cocktail, nibbled at the ice glass, and before we knew it were back in the warm. Suzanne had taken a particular shine to the plastic socks she had been given and decided to wear them for the rest of the night.... or at least until we left the building!

We headed on to Jacksons and met up with Rich and Luke, and later on to Scary Canary's where we had a great evening boogy-ing. Luke teaches dance so we had a lot of fun throwing some shapes.

H and her men
Mike, Lincoln, H, Gav and Rich

All in all a fantastic way to celebrate your birthday abroad. Who said Older meant Wiser?!

The One with the Pancakes

Happy Shrove Tuesday!

In a bid to keep doing what we would at home, Suzanne, Lincoln H and I decided to hold a Pancake Party in Lincoln's Hostel in Kings Cross. Mainly for our benefit, but also as there were a few Germans there who knew nothing about it, but seeing as they didn't both to show up for our party, they're hardly worth mentioning.

H and Lincoln were in charge of making the batter, while Suzanne and I "supervised", and took photos. As Rod will clarify, I am rubbish at making pancakes. Mine always end up in a gooey ball, and I can never flip them (to be honest I think it's because I am slightly impatient...)

Anyway, I was kind of hoping that someone would be nice enough to make lots of pancakes which I could then eat, but no... photographic evidence was needed of each of us doing a bad job at tossing the pancakes.

My first attempt was as shocking as ever, but I redeemed myself and managed to toss what turned out to be an edible pancake (another first!) The problem was trying to get a photo of me where the pancake was both in the air (easy) but where there wasn't a look of both concentration and strain on my face (nearly impossible) On the 300th take, we got the best shot possible but as you can see it's still not a natural and relaxed pose!

Each took their turn, and Lincoln was a little enthusiastic. He wanted to toss his pancake really high.... and the inevitable happened. I was laughing so much I had to sit down. The three girls had tears rolling down their faces, but with a quick claim of "3 second rule..." the pancake was off the floor and back in the pan!

I do have some "flipping" footage which I will try and put on here as soon as I can work out how to upload videos!

That evening, we had a "get to know you" dinner with the people in our house and the house next door. Both houses are owned by a local hostel, and we have all pretty much moved in at the same time. In the other house are Mike (our landlord), Mike (Dutchy) - non surprisingly Dutch, Andy and Kate (a co

uple from Northern Ireland) and Joe (from Essex). The two houses get on really well, and we all went to The Gaff (a local bar) which was serving free beer to residents of the hostel (and therefore us as well) .

Pikey Backpacker that I am I stayed for the hour of the free beer and then went home to bed!

Andy, Joe, Kate, Katie and H

The One with the Free Hugs!

In Sydney, the month of February celebrates the gay Mardi Gras. Loads of events happen throughout the month culminating in the big parade which this year takes place on Saturday 3rd March. One of the events held is a fair in Victoria Park, and so Helen, Suzanne, Lincoln and I had made plans to go.

The day before, Helen and I took a wander through the Botanic Gardens and down to Mrs Macquaries point for great views of the Opera House and Bridge. We passed the outside cinema (where Sylvester Stallone was, later that night, for the Australian premiere of Rocky Balboa), and while trying to take a photo of a Kookabura, got chatting to a random guy. This is how easy it is to make friends when travelling. 5 minutes of idle chit chat, and Rich (who's claim to fame is that he came 3rd in the National Air Guitar Championships at home!) was joining us for our trip to the Mardi Gras Fair.

A fantastic sunny day sees the famous five catch the train to Redfern, not knowing exactly where we are going, but eventually following in the direction where men holding hands and carrying pink australian flags were coming from.

The large park seemed to be decked out in the traditional rainbow colours and full of stalls. There was a food village serving everything you could think of, and a large stage with bands playing throughout the day. We grabbed a beer, and sat down to take it all in.

There were several drag queens walking about, who to be honest, looked absolutely fantastic. One had made her whole outfit from the green heavy duty shopping bags. A lot of couples had also dressed their dogs in outfits to match their own. I lost count of the number of spangly clothed dogs we saw!

As we sat and enjoyed the sunshine, H felt something blow against her hand. She thought it was rubbish, but it turned out to be a 50 dollar bill. We looked for someone to claim it, but when no one came running after it, it became the beer kitty for the rest of the day! Woo Hoo!

We wandered over to the main stage where the winner of Australian Big Brother (who had come out on National TV) was making a speech, and then noticed the (as Rich put it) "Gayest tree in the world!". It was awesome. A large tree, hung with silver spirals which spun in the wind, and made the whole tree all sparkly. Underneath this tree were a lady and man holding the signs "FREE HUGS". Those of you who know me well, know that I am all about Hugs. There are not enough huggers in the world, and I certainly have not had my quota of hugs since being away - so this opportunity was too good to miss. (I ended up hugging both of them)

Our friend Luke was unable to join us, so we decided to get him a pink flag to take into work on Monday and cheer him up. Nothing to do with the fact that Suzanne wanted to wave it for the rest of the day!!! We also got some pink flag tattoos... so decided to support the cause by sporting them on our arms.

Towards the end of the afternoon we saw some more drag queens. It's somewhat slightly disappointing that she has nicer legs than me.

The whole day was completely fantastic, and I can't wait for the big parade!

The One with being a proper grown up again (boo!)

So... loving Sydney (despite having had a real culture shock at first after NZ), and have therefore decided to stay an extra month to work, which means that everything will be shoved back a month, and I therefore won't be home until the first week in September!

With that decision made, our first priority was getting accomodation as I am totally over sleeping in top bunks, in rooms where people are hideously messy and wake me up at all hours. Plus it would be a real novelty to unpack my bag, and have homes for things.

Helen and I don't mess about. Within a week we had found a house - 5 minutes walk from the central station, in Surry Hills, with free Internet, and a lovely kitchen. We are sharing the house with 4 others Mac, Jodie, Lisa, and Katie (3 twin rooms). Our room is in the basement, off the kitchen, which is handy for breakfast in bed, and cups of tea, but also means we are under the living room, so still get woken up when people come in after a late night - but at least it's not bunk beds! Also, with a lack of much natural light it also means it's the coolest room in the house (and even then we need our fan on the hot evenings!)

Next job - a job. We signed up to an agency, and by the time we left we had 7 days employment! 5 of us stayed behind for the opportunity of two positions at the Insight University enrolling students, and the lovely irish guy had put in a good word for us, so despite needing to do Data entry testing (of which Saracens has set me in good stead!), the job was ours!

So with new "school" shoes bought, and back in a blouse and smart trousers for the first time in nearly 6 months it was off to work we go!

The job itself was pretty stress free. Enrolling students into their preferred time tables, and pacifying them if they got a bit narky if they couldn't get all 20 hours on one day! I'm sure I wasn't that much trouble when I was a student. More importantly we made some great friends on this one week's work. Luke - an aussie English, Dance and Drama teacher, Helena - an aussie English Student, and fellow travellers Suzanne - from Norwich, and Lincoln a northern monkey who's been living here for 2 years. I'm sure you'll be seeing much more of these guys in upcoming blogs...

Luke made me laugh, as when students started getting agro he stopped them with the phrase "You're not listening to me.." He was right... they weren't... but I was, and tallying the number of times he said it to keep myself amused. It's somewhat of a catchphrase amongst us all now!

So I have a routine once more, and although I am still searching for a more permanent role for the 2 months, I am still getting work day by day, and loving the fact that by being a temp I can leave work in the office at the end of the day and relax!

I've also got rather hooked on Australian TV. Loving seeing Neighbours every day, and the Biggest Loser - a weight loss reality TV kind of show, which is addictive viewing.

Loving being a resident, and hopefully will still get time to "do" the rest of Sydney, as I still haven't been to Bondi yet - although H and I have been given 2 free body boards, so I think it will be inevitable that we will end up living on the beach at some point!

The photos from top to bottom are: Either end of the Living room (bathroom is the door at the end) H is using our free internet! - The Kitchen (sadly not always this clean!), and H and my room - Rod sent me some pictures to cheer the place up a bit, and h enjoying a cup of tea on her bed! it's basic - but its home - and we've made ourselves very comfortable!

The One with Ghosts, Bats, and an Apology to Sarrie

Having sorted out the boring stuff such as Bank Accounts and Tax numbers, we set off for a Ghost Tour around the spooky area The Rocks (originally home to all the convicts sent to Oz). Having missed out on the ghost walk in Christchurch, I was really looking forward to this one.

We met outside Cadman's Cottage, out tour leader was already there in a cape and trilby hat and surrounded with candle lit lanterns, giving the area an eerie glow - so far so good! When he called us together he handed out props - audience participation and a low level of acting would be required... looks like it's going to be a good night.

Mum and Dad had a glow in the dark skeleton each around their necks and were called the 21 year old girl and 21 year old boy respectively. Helen - here with her prop - was called bone girl! I sadly didn't have a prop, but this did mean I could laugh twice as loud at these guys!

We set off, and apart from a couple of good stories the evening was a bit of a disappointment. There were more tales of people dying than of ghosts, and to be honest, although some of the stories were good, our guide had a poor way of delivering them, going off the topic a lot, and getting very easily distracted. This meant that even a good story wouldn't raise the hairs on the back of your neck as we were all so exasperated with him.

The spookiest thing of the whole evening was watching the fruit bats fly over the harbour. They do this every evening but this was the first time I had seen them. They're huge, and when sillhouetted against the night sky, can really raise a shiver. That and the fact that one of them weed on me!

The next day, the D-B's, and H set off to Telstra Stadium - home of the victorious Jonny Wilkinson drop goal that made England Rugby World Champions, and of course the 2000 Olympic Games.

With H's and my working background in sport, we also have a really geeky interest in Stadia, and this one is particularly impressive.

After having a tour of the 80,000 seater stadium (which hosts Rugby League, Rugby union, Soccer, and AFL, as well as Cricket) we headed down to the changing rooms. The Wallabies change in the away changing room due to superstition so we were in the very place where the England team had warmed up nearly 4 years ago.

After a chance to kick a ball about, and practice our Jonny Wilkinson poses, we also had the opportunity to put on a shirt. It took a lot of persuading to get Dad in a Wallabies shirt, and as you can see he's still not happy about it!

From here down the tunnel with the cheers of the crowd playing out, and a chance to stand on the Olympic podium. H and I won Gold for the 3 legged race, and our other competitors were so ashamed of their bad times they decided not to show up for the medal ceremony.

That evening, Mum and Dad treated Helen and I to dinner at the Centre Point Tower, as an early birthday present to Helen. We had a wide choice of food from the buffet, including, and hence the apology to Sarrie... Roast Camel. Here is a picture of me tucking into it - and might I add it's very tasty indeed!

The restaurant revolves so we also had wonderful 360 degree views of the city including the harbour bridge, as we ate our dinner. A really nice evening!

We were supposed to be going to the Opera House that evening for a performance of Music at the Movies, hosted by Michael Parkinson, but unfortunately the performance was cancelled, as Parky's mum was critically ill, and he had been called home. This was a real disappointment for us, but totally understandable - so we just wandered around Circular Quay for a bit before heading home.

The One with the Boat Trip...dahling!

Every so often when you're on the move you need to have a day to chill out and today was just one of those days, which was lucky, as today John and Sue took us out on their boat for the day.

We started off in Killarney Heights, where their boat is moored and worked all through the harbour. A gloriously sunny day, we lazed on the deck, went for a swim, and then sunbathed as the boat headed towards Manly.

I feel the need to explain this photo on the left - as Izzy taught me, this is the favoured pose of young Japanese people in photos, and it has never been more clear to me than here, as Sydney is full of Japanese. So this is us being Japanese on the boat, because we can!

We moored in Manly, and had lunch - chicken, fresh prawns, Oysters and Salad... WOW! I was that impressed a took a photo. I had never eaten oysters before - another first, and I was pleasantly surprised that I actually like them - I always have had expensive taste!

From here we motored out to the Gap, went a little way out to sea, and then headed back in with great views of the Sydney Skyline, and then of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

We had afternoon tea in Darling Harbour, before saying goodbye and heading back to the hostel, a little bit pink in areas that haven't seen the sun for a while, but relaxed, and fully fed and watered.

That night saw another trip to Scruffy Murphys, for France v Italy (yawn), and Ireland v Wales. Having had a blonde moment while dressing I put on a green top.... but I assure you I was supporting Wales... not that that did me much good. That is the one bad thing about having to stay up to watch a game... if you're team loses you wonder why you bothered!

The One with Macca and the Blue Mountains

We caught an early train out to the suburbs (crossing over the Sydney Harbour Bridge) and met up with Mum and Dad's friends Kevin, Julie, John and Sue, who would be showing us a bit of Sydney over the following few days!

Today we were on our way to the Blue Mountains, but we had an impromptu stop at the Featherdale Wildlife Park on the way, which would give us our first encounter with the Australian Wildlife. In fact, I hadn't even made it inside the park before I came face to face with a Joey in a Duffel Bag - really cute!

We saw Catbirds, and Kookaburas, Cockatoos and even a Flamin' Gallah. A very fat Wombat was having a scratch, and a baby Wallaby jumping into his mothers pouch and then sitting with his head poking out and his tail over his head!


As we walked through the park I had the chance to hold an Olive python - I'd never so much as touched a snake before, so it was weird to hold one, but quite cool. I think i'm looking a bit Shirley Bassey here... shame it wasn't a Boa... (bad joke, I know!)

Next up were the Koala's - I love koala's, as they are so dozy, and this one looked particularly cute all sleepy on his branch. We got to stroke a more lively koala called Macca, who was busy trying to eat everything in sight!

But the best thing was the Kangaroo's. They're almost human the way they lie relaxed on the ground, and we got to feed them. It was like guinea pig food, and it was in an ice cream cone (no i wasn't feeding them ice cream, as someone thought when looking at my pictures - I'm not that stupid!) One of them took the cone of me and and had a good old munch.

Other wildlife included a Southern Cassowary (a weird prehistoric looking bird, with a lump on it's head - it looked pretty vicious to me!), Dingo's, Tasmanian Devils, Echidna's, and a Saltwater croc.

Fully animaled up, we headed on to the Blue Mountains. Our first stop was Wentworth Falls, where Darwin described the view as "the most stupendous he had ever seen", and to be honest I can understand why. Even with a drought, the waterfall was pretty cool, and the view over the Jamison Valley with the Eucylyptus trees giving off the blue haze, was quite something.

From here we drove to the little town of Leura, for some lunch and a quick browse in the antique shops (but more importantly the old fashioned sweetie shop!!!), and then on to Katoomba, and our viewpoint of the Three Sisters.

The Legend goes that a clever old man called Tyawan, had 3 daughters, who he loved dearly. When he went hunting he told them to stay on the top of the cliff to keep them away from the evil Bunyip that lived in the valley.

One day one of the daughters knocked a rock with her foot, and it fell into the valley awakening the Bunyip, who charged up the hill towards the daughters. On seeing this happen, Tyawan changed the three daughters into rock to protect them, using a magic shinbone.

The Bunyip then chased Tyawan, who changed into a lyrebird and flew away, but when his arms became wings he dropped the magic shinbone, and was therefore unable to change his daughters back from stone.

We headed down into the valley by way of the Scenic Railway, which happens to be the steepest Funicular Railway in the world, with an incline of 52 degrees! Very aptly they play the music to Indiana Jones as you set off. We then caught the Cable Car back up, for more great views over the Jamison valley.

Having slept all the way back to Sydney, I got in a few more hours kip before heading out to the pub at 3am to watch England beat Scotland in the 6 nations. Dad joined us, as did Mike (a Welsh friend of Helens from home), and Brendan (A scottish guy from our hostel room). After winding my Dad up about the score for the brief moments while Scotland were in the lead, Dad got his own back on Mike, when the score came good... "What's the score taff?" as the points went up and up. But it was all friendly banter... Mike kept calling Dad "Daddy", which is a little worrying!

Dad, Mike, H and Brendan with Jonny (Thank God you're back) Wilkinson on the screen

It's very weird watching the rugby in the middle of the night, as while you're in the pub, it feels like it could actually be a Saturday afternoon at home. It's only when you walk home, at 5am and the birds are chirping and the sky is getting light, that you realise that 3am is probably a little early for your first drink of the day! The things I do for my rugby!

The One with the Bridge Climb

Quite an unexciting flight to OZ -there was only a big screen at the front of the plane which meant I couldn't see the film, and so listened to the Quantas radio instead. I was really restless, so couldn't settle. I guess I was excited, as within a few hours I'd be seeing Mum and Dad. They had landed in Sydney yesterday and we would be spending a week with them!

As the plane landed we had our first view of the opera house and bridge, which was really exciting, and I knew that I had arrived!

It was so good to catch up with Mum and Dad and the four of us spent the whole evening catching up.

The next day we set off to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

We are soon kitted out in the sexy grey jumpsuits, with our harnasses and chains ready to attach us to the bridge. We have a quick lesson on all the equipment, and a brief practice, are given our radios so we can hear our guide, and then we are off!

The bridge was finished in 1932 and is 134m high (the same height as the Nevis Bungy in NZ!). Over 6 million rivets hold it together - these were heated until they were white hot and then thrown to a boy sitting out on the bridge who had to catch it in a metal tin, before hammering it into place. Apparantely nearly 20,000 rivets are in the bottom of the harbour!

We walked along the walkway, under the road level (about 50m up) dragging our chain attachments along the metal poles and then had to climb up 4 vertical ladders until we were at the beginning of the arch. From here it just got easier, as the arch itself is a serious of wide shallow steps, and of course with fantastic views of the harbour and the Opera House.

Before we knew it we were at the top. Time for a celebratory photo with Mum and Dad!

Only 16 people died during the making of the bridge and not all of those were due to falling (Which is amazing considering the boys in the middle of teh bridge, doing the rivets, only had a bit of rope tied around their ankle as a safety device!

Most remarkable was a guy who fell from the 50m level (I think!) and survived. He was a diver, and negotiated himself in the air so that he would do as little damage to himself as possible when he hit the water. The soles of his shoes had to be surgically removed from his feet, he had a couple of broken ribs, and the leather uppers of his boots travelled up his legs, past his thighs, and gave him the worst wedgie imaginable, but at least he survived!

Certainly the best way to view the harbour - and it seems that after my bungy, my fear of heights is cured... I wasn't scared at all!