Australia &New Zealand - Day 63 - 28th July

Day 63

It's my last full day today and I have done a lot of 'last time for now' things.  After having a beard trim at the barbers early on I went into the city for the last time.

I went in via Chatswood then train to Wynyard and I walked through Hunters Passage down to Pitt Street and on to the Rocks and then Circular Quay.

Last look up Adams street

Last look down Adams street

Last Train out of Chatswood

Last walk around the Rocks

Last visit to circular quay 

Last lunch in Buckleys 

My first photograph in Buckleys 

Last Manly ferry home 

Last walk down Rabbett Street to home 

In a nutshell, that was my day today.

Amy had arranged for a babysitter for the evening so Alfie, Amy and me went into Crows Nest for a meal in the evening.  We ate at the Grazeland Bar & Grill. All agreed it was a great meal which was followed by a drink at Alfie's favourite pub.

Grazeland bar & grill

Then it was back home to see how Natalie had got on with the kids.

Australia & New Zealand - Day 62 - 27th July

Day 62

Well it's nearly over, spent the day sorting laundry and packing ready to leave on Friday.  Packing today because I intend spending Thursday in the city before going out in the evening with Alfie & Amy.

So I wanted to get as much done today as possible, leaving very little to do tomorrow.

Almost done

My domestic day was interrupted in the afternoon with a call from the school asking for Cerys to be picked up from the sick bay after she had thrown up in front of Mrs Larson, her teacher, in the classroom.

So it was then an afternoon of Ice Age on the TV with Cerys cwtched up on the sofa under a blanket

Australia & New Zealand - Day 61 - 26th July

Day 61

I had decided to go to Manly today for the last time before I leave on Friday.  Can't believe it's all coming to an end. So, after meeting up with Jason, I jumped on the 136 from Chatswood and took the scenic bus ride to Manly.

It was quieter than I have seen it before despite the glorious conditions.  Not too good for surfing though, the waves were small at the town end but were a bit better at the Queencliff end.

Queenscliff end

Town end

I had a chat with some interesting guys from New Zealand about the recent Wales tour and they were obviously a lot happier about it than I was then I had a drink in  the New Brigton Hotel before doing some last minute shopping.

The main Street leading from the beach to the ferry port 

I returned to the New Brighton Hotel for some crispy skinned Barramundi for lunch with a couple of Monteith ciders then I took a stroll down to the ferry port.

The New Brighton Hotel

Looking over to Manly Wharf

The Manly ferry, Queenscliff, arriving at the wharf

I then caught the bus back home hoping to catch Jason before he left.  As I was strolling down Rabbett Street towards the house there were a couple of jaywalkers who stopped the traffic to cross the road.

Rabbett Street

Mr & Mrs Duck crossing the road 

Australia & New Zealand - Day 60 - 25th July

Day 60

A cracking morning today.  Waited for Jason the builder to arrive before going to the coast for the day.

Morning sky over the reserve

I headed down to Dee Why to visit the lagoon which I had no idea about until recently.  Despite going to Dee Why on a number of occasions, I did not know of the existence of this place only a mile or so further along the coast.

The area consists of a managed area of bush land surrounding the lagoon.  The bush is looked after by volunteers who have recreated original plant life of the area to try to encourage the return of indigenous animal types.

Dee Why Bush 

Inside the bush 

Here you see the bush surrounding the lagoon

The lagoon shows signs of there once having been a jetty of some sort there. It then extends to the sea and leaves the bush for sand dunes.

Remains of an old jetty

The Lagoon 

Nearing the sand dunes

A path cut between the sand dunes led to the north end of the beach. Quiet and secluded, completely different to the south end. 

The path to the sea

The secluded end of the beach

Looking back 

I then made my way to the Onshore for lunch before watching the surfers off the main Beach. 

Enjoying the view 

On the front

Yes, that's me 

Then it was back to the house to see how Jason had been getting on with the works.

Australia & New Zealand - day 59 - 24th July

Day 59


Sunday today and I did absolutely nothing.  Stayed in and relaxed all day watching the cricket and other sports on the TV, so I have nothing of interest to report today.

Tomorrow will be better.

Australia & New Zealand - Day 58 - 23rd July

Day 58

Today I went to Newport up on the ocean coast to watch Newport entertain Blue Mountains in a feast of rugby.

It must be one of the most scenic rugby grounds in the world.  Imagine watching kick off with the Tasman Sea as a backdrop.

View from Newport rugby ground, Sydney 

I watched three matches. Up first were the Colts and this match was won by Newport 24 - 0

Next match was the seconds, won even more emphatically by Newport, 31 - 0

Finally the first team match and this was won narrowly by Blue Mountains after Newport had led for most of the match. 

I really enjoyed the refreshment area where you could get a steak in a bun plus a can of VB for $10 (£5). I had a couple of these during my time there. 

The refreshment area 

Australia & New Zealand - Day 57 - 22nd July

Day 57


Had breakfast in the Old Civic with Cerys before school this morning.  Amy had already taken Dylan in to nursery earlier.

I then did a few things around the house before going to to North Sydney to pick Amy up from work. She wanted to go to Belrose to buy a new rug for the house.

I picked her up in Blue Street near the train station and we did a bit of shopping before picking up Cerys from school and then going to Belrose Super Centre.

Blue Street, North Sydney

At Belrose the store Amy wanted to visit was Freedom which specialised in home furniture and rugs

After checking out what was ther Amy eventually decided on one she had liked on earlier visits to the store,

After loading it into the car we headed off back to the nursery to pick up Dylan, before heading home to put the rug down.

This was the one which she decided upon

Australia & New Zealand - Day 56 -21st July

Day 56

Went down to Long Reef Aquatic Reserve for brunch with Justin this morning. We ate in the golf club overlooking the beach.

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Long Reef golf course cafe/bar

We then walked along the beach around towards Collaroy, scene of all that devastation earlier in June.

Long Reef beach

Looking back along the beach

Collaroy pool 

Alfie descending the steps

It was obvious lookin over at Collaroy beach that a lot of the renovation has begun but there's loads more to do.

Part of Collaroy beach

Another section of the beach

On the way back we spotted a pod of dolphins just off the beach

Went back to the house and I got ready to go into the city to meet Amy.  I caught Manly ferry to circular quay and met Amy in Buckleys for a quick drink before strolling down to the Opera House.

The bar at Buckleys 

We had a look around the Opera House surrounds as we had a bit of time to spare before our pre-opera meal. The opera we were going to see was Carmen, by Bizet.

Unfortunately, the lady in the ad does not appear on stage in the performance

We then made our way to the Aria restaurant for our meal and we had a great table, overlooking Circular Quay where we could see the hordes walking around glued to their phones pursuing that elusive Pokemon.

The Aria Restaurant 

The Opera was really good and our seats were in a great position with nobody in front of us. We had perfect viewing positions to take in all the sounds, glamour and colours of the performance.

Scenes from the show