Sydney - Last Stop in Australia
Well I arrived into Parammatta at 6am in the morning and was met at the bus stop by Wayde (the person I met in the outback and who took me to Canberra back in January for those of are getting confused about all the people I have met!). We then went back to his house and I got all excited about the lovely mattress, pillows and generally being in a family home again - doesn't take much to please a backpacker. After a few hours sleep I got up to see Wayde for a couple of hours before he headed off to work. It was great being back and catching up with him and his family. That week we didn't do a great deal. Wayde was working a lot so we tended to go out for lunch and watch films. We spent one day going around horse shops comparing our different saddles etc. Although I do agree that stock saddles are comfier than what we use.
We also went to the cinema one night which was fun as I haven't been to the cinema since I was in Sydney in January! On the Friday night we went out to an Irish Bar to meet Wayde's friend Brendon who has got into the air force. It was such a fun night and was strange to hear guys speak about planes all night - not a topic I know much a about but I learnt one or two things! It was a great 5-6 days with Wayde's family. Thank you so much. In the photo below Brendon is on the left and Wayde on the right:
Wayde then took me into town on Monday and dropped me off Uncle Grant and Ilana's house where I also got to catch up with Granny. It was rally strange to see her over here in Oz! 
I stayed with Grant and Ilana until the Friday and did so much during this time. I also got to see Uncle David, Auntie Kay and my cousins Kirsten, Anna and Cara from Edinburgh. 
We all had such a great few days. We had a barbecue one day which we started at 4.30pm and by 6.30pm we all thought it was much later as it felt like it had been dark for hours!
Granny also treated me to lunch in the revolving restaurant. This was great fun as you sit and eat your meal the restaurant moves round and you get different views of Sydney. Thankfully it was a clear day as well so we got to see quite a bit. Thank you Granny. 
One morning I went back to Bondi to see it in the sun as it was raining last time I went. It was a lovely day. 
Which reminds me, when I was in Sydney I was finding it quite cold, even though it was low to mid 20's. I was wearing jeans and a hoody most days while Granny and everyone else from home were all in summer clothes. The day I went to Bondi however it was worm enough for me to have a skirt on! :) I also went to Manly one afternoon for a quick look round the shops there.
On the Thursday night we all went out for Uncle David's birthday. It was a fantastic night. We started at the house with some champagne and birthday cake so that Lara could join in on the fun of the birthday cake as she was not coming out for the meal.
Uncle Grant had then organised a personal water taxi for us across the harbour to our restaurant. This was so much fun and a great experience. 
We had a lovely meal with lots of laughs and then got our water taxi back home again. Kirsten, Anna and Cara got on amazingly well with our Australian cousins. It was as though they all knew each other and spoke to each other all the time! Thanks David and Kay for such a great night.
Lara and Romy have grown up so much over the past 3 months. Romy now recognises you and spends all her time smiling at everyone. Lara is going through a stage where every female is called mummy and every male is daddy. However after a few days of me being there she had got the hang of all our names, except David was 'Dad' and Grant was 'Daddy'!
On the Friday afternoon Wayde came and picked me up again and it was a teary good bye to all my relatives.
Everyone from Scotland was flying home that evening and it sunk in how long it would be until I saw my Australian Relatives again. Thanks Grant and Ilana for having me to stay. It was great to see you all and catch up. Will definitely be in touch more often from now on! :)
On the way back to Wayde's, Wayde and I went out for a meal. Once again we ordered way too much and didn't manage to finish it all but it was a lovely meal. Back at the house we stayed up until stupid o'clock to watch films on TV.
On Saturday, my last full day in Oz, we got up at 8am and Wayde's dad, Steve, cooked us a lovely breakfast (on the bbq - what a great way to have my last Aussie breakfast made!). Steve, Wayde and I then made the 1hour 30mins journey up towards Newcastle to go horse riding. On the way there we happened to pass my cousins school so it was great being able to see it before I left. We went on an amazing 3 hour horse ride. It was so much fun as we got to go off by ourselves and ride around. The horses were fantastic, however, the saddles were not the comfiest and I think I can say that it wasn't just me who was suffering for a few days! It was such a great ride though. After saying bye to Steve, Wayde took me to a rodeo. I can't believe that I managed to get to one. It was so good to see it live. I can't get over some of the things the little kids were doing, including riding steers! I learnt so much that day. We got back to Wayde's house late that evening and watched some TV before bed. Thank you so much Wayde for the best day I could have had to finish my time in Australia.
Then it was 4.20am on Sunday 22nd April and my alarm was telling me to get up and get ready for my flight. We had to leave the house at 5am to get to the airport in time to check-in for my 8.35am flight to Christchurch NZ. It did not really hit me that I was actually leaving Australia until I was sitting at the gate waiting to board the plane. I kept thinking I was just going to another part of Australia - after all that is all I had been doing for the previous five and a half months! I nearly did not board the plane but I made it onto the flight and was bound for New Zealand.
Thank you so much to everyone I have met while in Australia. You have all made my time there an amazing experience and I have so many amazing memories to go home with. A special thanks to the Quinlan family for all your hospitality and sightseeing, Grant and Ilana for taking care of me and having me to stay, Jo for all your help when I was going through my indecisive spells ;) and everyone else for being there. Can't wait to catch up with you all again.
Love to you all.
xxx
We also went to the cinema one night which was fun as I haven't been to the cinema since I was in Sydney in January! On the Friday night we went out to an Irish Bar to meet Wayde's friend Brendon who has got into the air force. It was such a fun night and was strange to hear guys speak about planes all night - not a topic I know much a about but I learnt one or two things! It was a great 5-6 days with Wayde's family. Thank you so much. In the photo below Brendon is on the left and Wayde on the right:
Wayde then took me into town on Monday and dropped me off Uncle Grant and Ilana's house where I also got to catch up with Granny. It was rally strange to see her over here in Oz! I stayed with Grant and Ilana until the Friday and did so much during this time. I also got to see Uncle David, Auntie Kay and my cousins Kirsten, Anna and Cara from Edinburgh. We all had such a great few days. We had a barbecue one day which we started at 4.30pm and by 6.30pm we all thought it was much later as it felt like it had been dark for hours! Granny also treated me to lunch in the revolving restaurant. This was great fun as you sit and eat your meal the restaurant moves round and you get different views of Sydney. Thankfully it was a clear day as well so we got to see quite a bit. Thank you Granny. One morning I went back to Bondi to see it in the sun as it was raining last time I went. It was a lovely day. Which reminds me, when I was in Sydney I was finding it quite cold, even though it was low to mid 20's. I was wearing jeans and a hoody most days while Granny and everyone else from home were all in summer clothes. The day I went to Bondi however it was worm enough for me to have a skirt on! :) I also went to Manly one afternoon for a quick look round the shops there.On the Thursday night we all went out for Uncle David's birthday. It was a fantastic night. We started at the house with some champagne and birthday cake so that Lara could join in on the fun of the birthday cake as she was not coming out for the meal.
Uncle Grant had then organised a personal water taxi for us across the harbour to our restaurant. This was so much fun and a great experience. We had a lovely meal with lots of laughs and then got our water taxi back home again. Kirsten, Anna and Cara got on amazingly well with our Australian cousins. It was as though they all knew each other and spoke to each other all the time! Thanks David and Kay for such a great night.Lara and Romy have grown up so much over the past 3 months. Romy now recognises you and spends all her time smiling at everyone. Lara is going through a stage where every female is called mummy and every male is daddy. However after a few days of me being there she had got the hang of all our names, except David was 'Dad' and Grant was 'Daddy'!
On the Friday afternoon Wayde came and picked me up again and it was a teary good bye to all my relatives.
Everyone from Scotland was flying home that evening and it sunk in how long it would be until I saw my Australian Relatives again. Thanks Grant and Ilana for having me to stay. It was great to see you all and catch up. Will definitely be in touch more often from now on! :)On the way back to Wayde's, Wayde and I went out for a meal. Once again we ordered way too much and didn't manage to finish it all but it was a lovely meal. Back at the house we stayed up until stupid o'clock to watch films on TV.On Saturday, my last full day in Oz, we got up at 8am and Wayde's dad, Steve, cooked us a lovely breakfast (on the bbq - what a great way to have my last Aussie breakfast made!). Steve, Wayde and I then made the 1hour 30mins journey up towards Newcastle to go horse riding. On the way there we happened to pass my cousins school so it was great being able to see it before I left. We went on an amazing 3 hour horse ride. It was so much fun as we got to go off by ourselves and ride around. The horses were fantastic, however, the saddles were not the comfiest and I think I can say that it wasn't just me who was suffering for a few days! It was such a great ride though. After saying bye to Steve, Wayde took me to a rodeo. I can't believe that I managed to get to one. It was so good to see it live. I can't get over some of the things the little kids were doing, including riding steers! I learnt so much that day. We got back to Wayde's house late that evening and watched some TV before bed. Thank you so much Wayde for the best day I could have had to finish my time in Australia.
Then it was 4.20am on Sunday 22nd April and my alarm was telling me to get up and get ready for my flight. We had to leave the house at 5am to get to the airport in time to check-in for my 8.35am flight to Christchurch NZ. It did not really hit me that I was actually leaving Australia until I was sitting at the gate waiting to board the plane. I kept thinking I was just going to another part of Australia - after all that is all I had been doing for the previous five and a half months! I nearly did not board the plane but I made it onto the flight and was bound for New Zealand.
Thank you so much to everyone I have met while in Australia. You have all made my time there an amazing experience and I have so many amazing memories to go home with. A special thanks to the Quinlan family for all your hospitality and sightseeing, Grant and Ilana for taking care of me and having me to stay, Jo for all your help when I was going through my indecisive spells ;) and everyone else for being there. Can't wait to catch up with you all again.
Love to you all.
xxx
posted by Louise @ 2:25 pm
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