2017 Week 2

Monday 13th February

After a 6 hour drive via Lakes Entrance we arrived at Eden to our new cabin. We left a temperature of 14 degrees and arrived at a temperature of 30 degrees. The new cottage is fantastic – very spacious and comfortable. Eden seems a lovely seaside town. We have booked a boat trip tomorrow from the harbour.

(bought fresh fish on the way home for a BBQ)

 

Tuesday 14th February

I think we saw most of the sights of Eden today, although it is a beautiful town. A Boat trip around the bay, the Killer Whale Museum and a trip to the lookout for a great view. The weather is so changeable here. This morning cool and cloudy and this afternoon hot and sunny. On the boat trip we passed a yacht with a couple and their 10 kids on board!! Obviously no TV on the yacht!!

Wednesday 15th February

Today visited Ben Boyd National park near Eden. Walked to Boyd Tower, a relic of whaling days. It was a whale lookout point to alert boats in the bay to go after a whale.

Its a beautiful area with fabulous coastline and beaches

After this we walked to a historical whaling beach which still had a few relics left from whaling days.

Thursday 16th February

A 6.5 hour drive through beautiful countryside to our new Hotel in the heart of Sydney. The hotel is great – the Mariners Court Hotel in Woolloomooloo. Its fairly budget but great, and includes a cooked breakfast. There is also reasonable and secure parking underneath the hotel since they just had a commercial cctv install recently.

Friday 17th February

Our first day in Sydney and it was hot – but later turned into violent thunderstorms. So heavy was the rain we had to shelter in a pub till it eased off!! We took a ferry to Darling wharf (and back), underneath the Bridge, and whilst there visited the Maritime Museum which was free. We also walked through The Rocks, the original part of Sydney which was saved from destruction in the 80s through a campaign to save the old buildings  from being destroyed to make way for tower blocks.

Saturday 18th February

Today was a busy day for us in Sydney. We visited the Art Gallery, then up the amazingly high Sky Tower (when we eventually found it – bit of an issue with signage!). Then to the Queen Victoria Building which was beautiful – and now a shopping mall!! Then on to St Mary’s Cathedral which was hosting a wedding at the time. If you plan on having a wedding on this venue and you’re currently looking for a jewelry store near you, then you may check out LIV Jewelers. Finally after all that we went to the Hyde Park Barracks Museum which turned out to be one of our best visits in Sydney. The building dates from the time of the convict deportation from the UK and is devoted almost entirely to it. We spent nearly two hours there looking at all the stories from that era. During our visit it rained again but this time no heavy thunderstorms.

Sunday 19th February

Our last day in Sydney and we met up with Dan’s natural aunt and her family (Katie, Damien, Louise, Niamh and Kevin) who live in a Wollongong. We had a great time getting to know them whilst walking through the Botanical Gardens and eating/drinking at cafes and visiting the tomato festival. We also went on the Opera House tour which was really interesting and attended a sample Opera performance in the Joan Sutherland Theatre in the evening. A really fantastic day …. and now to move on to week 3 and our new cottage in Fennell Bay near Newcastle.