10. Chapter Sydney Christmas/NYE

We had to leave the lake mentioned last due to the bushfires after only one day. The closer we got to the nearest village, the thicker the smoke became. So we decided to drive directly to Canberra. Canberra is the capital of Australia. There is the Parliament House. After 20 minutes, we left Canberra behind.

Afterwards, we tried to find a place to sleep outside of the smoke, which only partially worked. As soon as the wind turned, the smoke was blown over and we were back in thick fog. We were glad when we could finally leave for Sydney.

Just before Sydney, Jacky's speedometer was finally repaired, so everything is back in order.

Our room in Sydney was quite big and we only had to share the bathroom and kitchen with a nice Argentinian couple. It took about 25 minutes by bus to get to the city.

In the evening, we picked up Max from the train, who took 13 hours from Melbourne to Sydney.

The next day was Christmas already. We tried to get in the mood with all kinds of Christmas playlists, but at 30°C in a largely undecorated city and without mulled wine, it was quite difficult for us. It wasn't until the evening that it became Christmassy when we conjured up something delicious for dinner and then unpacked presents under our makeshift Christmas tree.

The days until New Year's Eve were spent exploring Sydney for a second time for us and the first time for Max. Oh, by the way, Louis and Jonas actually found their way to the hairdresser!

Then it finally happened: New Year's Eve!

We had already found out in advance what we had to do.

We got up at 3:30 am and took the bus to the Botanical Garden. We were already in line at 4:40 am, even though it officially didn't open until 7:00 am. Apart from the crazy Chinese people who set up their tents the night before, we were one of the first and had a good chance of getting a good spot to watch the fireworks.

After over five hours of waiting, the entrance finally opened. 80% of the visitors stumbled before the security check and after getting through, they started galloping wildly. A little confused by the behavior, we tried not to get infected and went as quickly as possible into the park. Getting up early paid off. We set up camp in an area limited to 500 people and secured by security, with the best view of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. We got a bracelet from the security people, so we could leave and re-enter the area as we pleased. It was wonderful!

Outside this area, the picnic blankets were lined up seam to seam.

We spent the next 12 hours napping, playing cards, and enjoying the view of the water and Sydney's most famous sights. We also had to occasionally kindly remind our mostly Asian fellow human beings not to put their tripods on our things or lay out their picnic blankets within one meter of the fence, so they boldly took a seat right in front of us.

Then the time had finally come, the new year had begun, and the twelve-minute fireworks spectacle began. We were really impressed! The stories are true: if you're in Australia for New Year's Eve, you have to see it. We can say with full conviction that the 19-hour wait was absolutely worth it.

Satisfied and amazed, we fell into bed very tired.

The next evening, after an uneventful morning, we attended another soccer game. This time, we had the honor of seeing the footballing class of Sydney Wanderers against Brisbane Roar live. Both teams are in the middle of the table, but in our opinion, Sydney Wanderers have the better chances of winning the game with the two football legends Alex Meier and Nicolai Müller.

After Nicolai Müller played his entire Bundesliga experience and set up the 1-0 for the home team, the game got worse from minute to minute and later found itself at the level of a relegation game in the regional league.

In the end, Brisbane Roar won 2-1 and confirmed our status as the Australian bogey team. All three home teams we visited so far left the field as losers.

The next morning, we said goodbye to Max for the second time, as he will be traveling Australia with his parents for the next two weeks. However, we will meet again in Brisbane on January 20, 2020 to fly to New Zealand.

We are slowly driving to Brisbane now to find a new owner for Jacky. On the way, we will check if we can find a nice camping site near the beach that has not been affected by bushfires to enjoy the last days in Australia.

Until then,

Your

Louis & Jonas