Surfs up - Totally radical dude!

First experience of surfing in Oz - a gorgeous beach south of sydney called (i think) Harbour town beach. You could almost call it a private beach it was that quiet, with only a few people jogging. We went with a surf school. The instructors were tpwo great characters, put them together and they became a double act doing scenes from "Little Britain" which is apparently only just starting to be big over here! How behind are they! So, we jump in this 4x4, in the back with about another 7 people. Bit of a squash. The driver "Bo" pulled away onto the sand dunes so that we could get down onto the beach, going down over the dune, pretty steep, decides he wants a drink. So he takes his hands off the wheel, ah nuts, theres a corner in the track over the dune. But don't worry the other instructor "West" is there to take control! steering round a number of corners at great speed on a hellishly bumpy track. The 8 of us knocking against eachother and over the lumps nearly getting concussion on the roof of the vehicle! Getting down onto the beach though made it totally worthwhile - lovely white sanded beach that curved nicely into a bay. Unbelievably clear water with clear blue sky, not a single cloud to be seen. Spent most of the day surfing, catching what waves we could. And catching plenty of sun - it would appear as though I can't reach every part of my back like I thought I could, as the big red patch will go to prove! Yes, thats right didn't quite get the sun screen to cover my whole back - whoops! But apart from that we had a pretty good day, except that we are going to invest in some rash vests - lets just say that surfboards and two things on your chest don't get on - they're a little sore!

Just got back from Manly on the ferry. We walked down to the end and went a long a little path that took us to another quieter beach where we had a couple of beers and chucked about an american football (which we invested in today). But main reason for the trip was the return journey, to see the sights of the harbour at night. Absolutely stunning. The opera house is lit up subtly, not over the top like some cities would have. Sydney has a very tasteful feel to it, not at all tacky from a far. The whole city is a great skyline at night with the coathanger (sydney harbour bridge) and the opera house getting most of the attention. We plan to drive to a spot in the future where we get the same view at night, when we can take some decent photos - firstly need to find out how to use the camera a bit better and secondly need to be able to keep the camera still whcich is kinda hard on a ferry in slightly rough harbour water!