Redemption!

Our time in Australia has sadly come to an end, but I couldn’t leave without giving Sydney one last chance. When we arrived a couple weeks ago, we were greeted by cockroaches, heat and the oncoming of my sickness. Neither A nor I particularly enjoyed the 48 hours we had given ourselves, between coughing and rearranging our travel plans plus jetlag, there was no time to actually enjoy Sydney. Of course, this wasn’t necessarily Sydney’s fault, but the decision to leave the city was such a great treat. We planned our return to city (because we’re flying out of Sydney… actually, by the time you’re reading this, we probably already have left…) and I couldn’t allow myself to come all this way and not enjoy city’s landmarks.

On Sunday, the only full day we had in Sydney we did just that, enjoy ourselves. We left incredibly early to get to Featherdale wildlife park, mainly to enjoy breakfast in the company of a koala. I couldn’t just pass up the opportunity to get personal with one last fuzzy creature (no touching allowed!). Archer, the koala, was hilariously engaging. And if you ask me, he got it right: eating, sleeping, repeat.

It was ridiculously hot that day too. 47.5℃ or 117℉, or just unbelievably hot, so much so, we drank about 4 liters of water before noon plus several after. Thankfully, most places have air con and we were shade smart, i.e. wouldn’t even dare to walk anywhere but the shade. Also, we were lathered in sun lotion, melanoma is no joke. 1 in every 5 Australians gets melanoma, finally a country where it should be acceptable not to be seen outside over long periods of time… not like in Norway, where in ice and snow and darkness people are still outside. But that’s a different story.

Returning to our breakfast, we had a good time with Archer and learnt a lot about koalas and for everyone crazy about koalas, a definite must! And normally, especially with that kind of weather, we would have returned to the hotel and sat in the cool. But this was our last day in Sydney and I had to see the sights! A bus tour was no option, so instead we opted for a boat tour, best thing ever!

We learnt a lot about Sydney and all its beauty, making it incredibly hard to leave! I had no doubt that Australia would capture my heart and even though at times it seemed my body was fighting the very idea of being anywhere but home, our time in Australia was simply amazing and our last day in Sydney was certainly a fitting end to two weeks of pure joy! So yes, Sydney, although having presented ita hottest day yet, redeemed itself and we cannot wait to be back!