Sydney

(Rich) Mel and I had a total of 6 hours sleep between us last night. Not (just) the (drunk) Northern Irish person (loudly) talking on his mobile at 4am, but largely the result of going to bed at 3pm UK time. Resolved to remedy situation by getting up at 8 this morning and being so tired all day so as to fall unconscious into bed after finishing this post - hopefully this will be helped by the bottle of red wine we shared this evening.

(Mel) Arrived in Sydney last night and had craving for a cheap steak and chips after being told by many that Oz was the place for this. Wandered around the streets within a mile of our hostel for about an hour only to find we we staying in Chinatown - problem is we've had Chinese food for the last 3 days. Ended up opting for the "5 star" kebab shop - mm mmm mmm. I knew we had made a mistake when the guy asked me if I wanted chicken flavoured salt or normal salt on my chips.

(Rich) But we are having a great time - honest! Didn't feel like we rushed around too much today but managed to get in Ferry ride past Opera House (tick), monorail, Aboriginal art gallery and Digeridoo demonstration, shopping at "the rocks", museum, meal out in Darling Harbour, etc, etc. Nice city - off to Bondi beach tamoza (weather permitting).

(Mel) The Wake Up Hostel is really nice, although quite a change from the 4 star hotel we stayed in in Singapore. Pretty central and lots of facilities. Hung out in the bar for a bit last night and using their Internet connection now. Off to Cairns on Wednesday so will write more from there.