I seem to have settled into a trend of only posting here to report on trips away from Sydney. And I suspect that will continue - inevitably we've settled into a weekly/workday routine and very pleasant as that is, it doesn't make for good writing! This last week has been a deviation from our usual 'another day in paradise' routine, hence the post.
The flat has been a hive of activity as the O'Kane family (Pat, Karen, Sam, Elliot and Alice) have arrived from the UK for a long planned visit. We expected that the confines of our two bedroomed flat might wear thin after a day or two so we arranged a stay in a lodge in the blue mountains for us all. As it's still winter and the lodge was a few hundred metres above sea level we were half hoping for snow (they get a couple of falls each year apparently). That wasn't to be, but we experienced our first frost in Australia - sad I know but its funny the things you miss :-)
We've done a couple of day trips to the blue mountains previously but it was good to go further afield this time and explore more of the stunning landscapes up there. We also took a drive to Bathurst, the first inland town to be settled here and also the site of the mid 19th century gold rush - all interesting stuff. Bathurst also sport a motor racing circuit, it's a normal road for most of the year, all be it one with chicanes and crash barriers. It was slightly surreal to be driving round a race circuit at 60km/hr in an 8 person automatic Kia , in Australia, with friends from back home?!
I've posted photos of the trip as usual on flickr - if you fancy a look.
Pat, Karen and Alice are now doing a couple of weeks visiting the wider Australia (the lads headed straight home from Sydney) and will be spending another couple of nights with us before flying back to the UK. There's already been tears from Roz but I'm sure there'll be more when they finally leave. That said there's a good few promised visits from others to come, we're not going to be lonely!
