The Final Blog......

Our last day in Sydney started out early to catch the train into town for our Sydney Harbour Bridge climb. We have had many "firsts" on this trip, but did not anticipate that the number of trains on the track would actually cause our train to go to the stations on the circular route in reverse order, when we were midway through our journey!! This meant that we had to cross town on foot at breakneck speed to get to our "training" session on time...we were late, but they are just as relaxed as the Kiwis here, so no worries mate!

The climb was a great experience and the views were spectacular - it's a given that they will be at 137m above the water, on a brilliantly sunny day. Sydney is a beautiful city and you certainly get to appreciate it from up top. The whole climb lasted about 2 hours , so we were pretty hot by the end of it. There are some extremely strict rules, so we were unable to bring our own cameras with us, so this photo is all we have of the experience...note the rather fetching grey suits we had to wear.















After our climb we dashed off to catch the ferry to Many Beach for Errin's 2 hour surf lesson - a passion she is sure to follow up on in Calgary. Surfing is not an easy sport and is very exhausting - I felt quite tired watching them all floundering out in the water!!

Errin did very well for her first time, but also swallowed a lot of sea water in the process....and she was one tired puppy by the end of it all.


From the belly up onto the knees...yes, yes, you can do it!!














Look Ma, no hands! Is she up? Is she actually surfing??














Nope! The sea got the better of her this time. But like a trooper, she paddled out there numerous times to try and get up on the board. Not to worry, the sand and surf will be here for an awful long time...waiting for her......









Many thanks to Carmel for being our host for the past few days - we are looking forward to repaying in kind when you come over for the Stampede.

And that brings our adventure to a close. We leave for Auckland tomorrow morning, spend a day there and then fly back to Calgary (and winter) on the 31st.

But before we go - feast your eyes on this.....you can't beat a beach in the middle of winter!!

See ya!

With love,

Errin & Joan

xxx