days 17 &18

We have left lovely New Zealand and flown to Oz. It couldn't be more different! The first thing that hit us was the heat, then the traffic (we arrived in the evening rush hour) and then the noise! How ever the hotel is lovely and as they had a note of our details recognized that it was our birthday weekend and there was a complimentary bottle of bubbly and chocs waiting for us! Today has been lovely- we are close to Darling harbour and spent the morning there visiting the superb aquarium where was saw sharks, and a duck billed platypus among lots of other things and also the Wild Life centre where we saw and walked amongst koalas, kangaroos and exotic butterflies &birds (incl a cassowery bird) as well as the creepy crawlies. Then we got on a boat and went around the harbour, under THE bridge and past the Opera House and right to the other side. It was sunny and relaxing. This evening we returned to the Harbour for a meal and it is buzzing with life. Sydney is certainly a young and vibrant place to be. We look forward to tomorrow when we'll visit some of the historic places on a circular bus tour- getting on and off at will. This life style could be habit forming!