#Cave experience in Sydney: week 29

"Off to Sydney" was our plan. Right when we arrived in Sydney, we had problems because we didn't provide a residential address. How could we? You know us by now. We usually don't have a plan and just go with the flow. Bibi and I were questioned at the visa control at the same time. While she answered with "Couchsurfing", I said we would look for hostels. One contradiction after another, until we finally looked at each other and gave both answers. Huh... the officials grinned and turned a blind eye. Step 1: DONE. A bit tired from the journey, we first visited the city center. As "New Zealand country bumpkins", we were not used to tall buildings at all. In addition to the magnificent Queen Victoria Building, we were also impressed by the Saint Mary's Cathedral. As it started to drizzle, we took a short detour through the beautiful Botanic Garden to the famous Opera House and Harbour Bridge. It didn't seem so impressive to us on the first day. We were already tired and quickly booked a hostel. The first night was unbearable because an African woman snored loudly. Like an elephant. :O. Tired, we continued the next day. After an extensive second sightseeing tour, we wanted to try Couchsurfing today. Bibi had an interesting host lined up, who picked us up from the subway station in his old minibus. He was a doctor, from Hawaii, a passionate party animal and musician... well... that didn't really fit together. His apartment was below average, I would estimate. He suggested going to the beach, chilling, and having a barbecue. He took us to the famous Shelly Beach and then to a small mountain or rock. There he showed us a secret party spot. He also offered us our "couch" for the upcoming night and pointed with a grinning face to a small cave. There was a blanket. While Bibi understood it sarcastically, I already felt a slight unease. Later on, we went out for a $5 steak and our Couchsurfing host suddenly said goodbye. There we stood. Bibi definitely didn't want to spend the night in the cave. We didn't know if we should start crying. I crawled into the cave. When it started to rain, Bibi was also forced to come into the cave. We wrapped a towel over our heads, stuffed all our clothes into our pants, so that no bug would come near us. And so, we somehow spent the night in this creepy hole. After a dreamy sunrise, we tried to get back to the city center on foot. There were no bus stops here. After 5 hours, we finally reached the harbor and took the ferry to the city center. What exciting days. Back in the same hostel, we decided to stick with the "snoring elephant" after all. The next few days, we wanted to try surfing and took the bus to the famous Bondi Beach. The hostel was a palace, in contrast to our previous accommodations. We relaxed at the beach and finally had our first surf lesson. After a small dry exercise in the sand, we bravely fought in the water. It was relatively easy to stand up on the softboards. It was sooo cool. We were really excited and the next day we borrowed a board from the hostel. However, it was not a softboard. We struggled a lot just to lie on the board. The waves were very strong that day. After a short time, we gave up. The next day, we wanted to visit the Blue Mountains. For $2.50 for the whole day, we gladly accepted the two-hour journey. And what we saw there amazed us. How is that possible? Why is this mountain range actually blue? It's simple. The leaves of the eucalyptus trees produce an essential oil. This fine mist hangs over the mountains and in daylight, it is responsible for the blue color. Amazing, right? We spent the last day leisurely in the city center and began our "journey home" to Christchurch. We were full of anticipation for our bed, but something terrible awaited us at the airport... We trembled and were on the verge of tears... why? You'll find out in the next blog.