We are back home so our adventure is over, but what a time we have had.
For some reason we were unable to post whilst in Singapore so this has had to wait until now.
Stayed in the Hotel Jen again, just off Orchard Road, such a friendly place with amazing food and great staff, thoroughly recommend it.
Spent a day being tourists, Singapore Airlines run a hop-on/off sight seeing tourist bus service which runs around a set route, only $8. We used this service, went to the Raffles Hotel to see how the other half lives, then on to the Gardens by the Bay, an amazing place, sort of a cross between the Eden project and Kew Gardens, with 2 biomes and huge 'supertrees'.
Back on the bus to St Andrews cathedral, Chinatown, Boat and Clarke quays before alighting at the Botanic Gardens.
There is so much to see in Singapore and it is so clean and safe.
When we left yesterday it was over 30° and sunny so to come back  to a cold damp Heathrow was a bit of a shock.
We have had n amazing time, now have wonderful memories which we will happily bore you with and many pictures which we need to sort and share.
We would love to do it all again, we feel we have only just scratched the surface.

 

Raffles Hotel

For some reason the pictures would not load up late night so I am trying again.
Success!

 Central Sydney from North Head

 the ocean coast, looking north from North Head

 manly beach on a busy Sunday

Manly beach after the shark alarm

Our last weekend in Australia, we have had a wonderful time and don't really want to come home.
Saturday only one tiny cloud in the sky, went swimming in the ocean, the water was so warm and clear. The thermometer on the Surf Lifesaving club stowed 39° just before 12.00.
Went round to the harbour side and spent the rest of the day on the beach.
Out for dinner in the evening, as we came out of the restaurant the thermometer was still showing 25° at 10.00pm.
Today we went p to North head for a final look at the harbour then for a drive up the coast to take in the Northern beaches.
Back to Manly and we sat on the front as the shark alarm went off again, evidently a shark had been sighted in the bay, there have been a lot of shark sightings off the coast lately and at least one attack.
The lifeguards got everyone out of the water and have spent the rest of the afternoon looking for the shark from shore, afloat and the air.
Off to the airport hotel later then fly to Singapore in the morning.

Went into Sydney on the ferry for what will probably be the last time (this trip), pictures outside the Opera House then walked through the botanic gardens to Hyde Park where the Sydney Festival is on, though not when we were there.
Back into central Sydney to visit the QVB building and the Strand before a last walk around the Rocks.
Back to Circular Quay where the ferry was delayed due to a cruise ship leaving the international passenger terminal.
World Cuisine food market in Manly again so dining out alfresco then sat outside the brewery watching flying foxes cross the sky as the sun set.

 Sydney CBD from the Botanic gardens

 refuelling at a juice bar in the food court in one of the malls

 Old and new sit side by side in central Sydney

 we had to wait whilst the Oosterdam reversed out from the international passenger terminal

The sun has put in an appearance again, its sad for us to realise that our time here is coming to an end and next week we will be back in the UK.
Spent a quiet day, two lorikeets came to the window and Tim and Claire were feeding them.
This morning we went out for breakfast at another lovely café, this seems to be part of the Australian lifestyle.
Off to the city shortly, then World cuisine food market  in Manly again this evening whilst the flying foxes (bats) scream around overhead.

 visitors for afternoon tea

Breakfast, Aussie style.

Just come back from a couple of days away. Tim took us to Jervis Bay, an area about 3 hours south of Sydney. Jervis Bay Is a massive inlet with clear blue sea and white sandy beaches, much of the shoreline is undeveloped national park so we were able to walk along tracks through the bush.
We stayed in a small town called Huskisson, really quiet, apart from the dawn chorus and gardeners who start work just after 7.00 am with mowers and strimmers.
The house had a BBQ so we used that, cooking huge pork steaks, burgers etc from the local butcher.
The only disappointment was that the weather was overcast, but still in the 20°s.
On the return journey we came up through Kangaroo valley, no kangaroos but some spectacular scenery with 80m+ waterfalls.
On the way back through Sydney a thermometer on one building was showing 34°! It was still 32° on Manly beach at 5.45pm.

Fitzroy Falls

Sunday it rained!
Went to Sydney by ferry, and did a tour of part of the harbour before getting off at the Australian National Maritime museum. They have a number of vessels moored on Darling Harbour so we visited the destroyer, submarine then full sized replica of the Endeavour before going inside to look at the exhibits in there.
Now down in Huskinson, Jervis Bay for a couple of days, beautiful white sandy beaches and walks in the National Park.

 On the deck of HMAS Onslow

 aboard the Endeavour

 Captain Cook's cabin

 

Beer can boat in the maritime museum.

Visited the 'Dukes Festival' at Freshwater where they were celebrating 100years since surfing was introduced to Australia. Demonstrations of traditional longboard surfing plus an exhibition of old surfboards. Some stalls selling surfing bits and pieces also one making wooden boards, they were like pieces of furniture, they also had a restored wooden surfboat.
It was overcast but the sea temperature was still 23°.
Raining hard today and forecast to continue all day.

 Freshwater

Beach day again, we both went swimming.
Light shower late in the afternoon, nothing like the 150mm in an hour in South Australia.
This evening the was  world food market in Manly, stalls selling freshly made food for around $10 a portion, lovely smells and great food, live music, and its on again next Friday.

The glorious weather continues, it has been up to 28° in the shade today, though there has been a strong onshore wind again, up to 30mph, blowing hats off heads.
We went for a leisurely stroll this morning, watched the Surf Lifesaving club holiday club groups, swimming out on the open sea.
This afternoon we were just finishing off lunch in the flat when we heard the sirens, we walked down to the front to watch the activity as the shark alarms had gone off. The lifeguards had seem a 2m shark so were busy getting people out of the water for their own safety, though not everyone wanted to leave. Eventually due to the shark alarm and the building surf they closed the beach.
We then walked over to the harbour side where it was sheltered from the wind and the temperature must have been well into the 30s. We watched a cormorant swimming in the clear water catching fish.

 Holiday club Manly style

With the early start yesterday I forgot to put up some pictures from Tuesday.
Another gloriously sunny day, George Nick and Ella came to Manly and we met up with them, we had lunch together at Hemingway, a lovely café overlooking the ocean before wandering along the Corso to the wharf where Nick and Ella went swimming inside the safety of the shark nets.
Then it was back to Tim's flat for tea and cake. Colin the cockatoo came to visit, Ella fed him pistachios.

 Colin

 George, Ella and Claire at a table outside Hemmingways

Playing in the fountains in the Corso

We have been tourists today, put on our best grackle gear and went on a coach tour of the Blue Mountains.
We began by going to a koala sanctuary where Claire got to stroke one and talk to the kangaroos.
The drive to the mountains took about an hour and a half. Firstly we went to an unfenced area at Lincoln's Point., from there to Leura for lunch then to Echo Point before moving to Scenic World, we opted not to go on the cable car etc but opted for a bush walk. The air was full of the smell of eucalyptus and tea tree as we walked to Katoomba Falls.
On the journey back we went through the Olympic park before returning to Circular Quay by ferry.

 Looking out from Lincoln's Point.

 The blue haze which gives the mountains their name is caused by oils in the air evaporated from the eucalyptus trees.

 The Three Sisters

 The Callaway at Scenic World.

 Katoomba falls