Day five in Sydney began with a lie in and the arrival of Rachel from some northern place! We made a rendezvous and made our way to Circular Quay where we boarded a ferry to Manly. I am still genuinely in awe of a city with a functioning ferry port that serves a genuine purpose and isn't purely there for the tourists. The ferry ride was beautiful with beautiful views of the harbour, the Bridge and the Opera House. After thirty minutes, the boat pulled into Manly Pier where we disembarked and walked to find the Norwegians.


Lunatics found, we walked to Manly Beach which I'd been told was far superior to Bondi - it definitely was. Whilst the sun was warm enough, we just basked on Manly beach. As the wind picked up, we walked round to the smaller and more sheltered Shelley Beach.


Once back in the city, we met up with Katie, Mischa and Anne-Marie - some girls Rachel had met on her bus. Introductions done, we set off for food. Burger Fuel beneath the Coca Cola sign in King's Cross shall here on in be known as Heaven, the most incredible burger I have ever had! The evening was spent dancing the night away in The Sugar Mill.

The following day, Katie, Rachel, Camilla and I head out to Centennial Park. We'd made a picnic and took a brisk walk across the city up a grassy hill to sit and look out over the city. Despite my love for Sydney and belief it is a beautiful city, the skyline definitely isn't a winner! Picnic time was cut short by increasing winds and ever growing, ominous clouds. We made tracks back to the city where we got ready for our second night out, this time in World Bar. A chavvy dive filled with girls far above their station and guys clearly out for one thing!


As my time in Sydney drew to a close, I finally managed to arrange to meet up with Austin. An Aussie friend from London. Arrival at his house, late as usual, I met his friend Bailey and we cracked open the vino. From here, we met up with his friend Kane, went to a bottle shop for some wine and head to EatThai. After a fantastic meal which Bailey very kindly paid for, we were finally kicked out of the restaurant because they were closing. We moved onto Stonewall for drinks and then onto The Columbian. It was amazing to see the city from a local's perspective, less of a tourist looking in. It was a great way to spend my penultimate night.

The following day consisted purely of lazing around, purchasing postcards and souvenirs. In the evening I met up with my friend Kristin from the Oz bus and we went for a drink, later that evening, I head back over to Manly to see the Norwegians one last time before the head off home. It was really sad to say goodbye to those guys, they have punctuated my travels since the beginning - great excuse to visit Norway though! I got one last crazy Norwegian dance and it was back on the ferry and back to the city. The city was extremely peaceful, probably something to do with the fact it was 2am on Sunday night but it was wonderful. Sydney is definitely somewhere I could see myself living.
My final day consisted of a hideously early shuttle bus to the airport, my final rendezvous with Kristin and a 17 hour flight which left Sydney at 9.55am on the 14th and arrived into Santiago, Chile at 11.35am on the 14th...