13. Sydney, Bondi & Bathurst

Stayed: Cassie's House

After leaving very early we left looking for a car that was for sale. We didn’t find it, but we did see a sign that said “Lake Macquarie largest saltwater inland lake in Australia”. This was a must see, so I thought. We drove in and couldn’t find a dam park or view of the lake which was clear enough to take a photo of. So with cranky pants on, more so Rod’s cranky pants, we left.

With great navigation skills I guided Rod through Sydney and over to Cassandra’s place! We were only slightly stressed.

Cassandra took us for a drive down Parramatta Road, looking for cars. The houses were amazing; I was so excited snapping my phone camera everywhere. Was also enjoyable to be able to be a passenger and not be stressed navigating someone.

We got up the next day and headed for Taronga Zoo, taking the wrong road only a couple of times. The weather was great and the drive there through Mosman and other ritzy suburbs was great.

The zoo itself was set on the side of a hill which overlooked Sydney City. Amazing views at many points throughout the park. There were two massive cruiseboats in, one docked at Circular Quay and the other in the middle of the harbour.

We went on the cable car first to get a view and overview of the park, and to work out our plan of attack. The kids really enjoyed Taronga and it was even better that Cassie got us a family pass for only $20, as opposed to $112. Monkeys are still my favourite to watch.

We worked out which was a better option, catch the ferry ($44.00) or drive and park on the side of the road ($3.00) and headed for the city.

We got a great park in front of the Botanical Gardens and walked down to the Opera House. We got photos and walked the entire way round still not knowing any history of what the Opera House does or why it was built. A bit disappointing that we couldn’t find the information plaque like on other tourist attractions. Anyway, we went inside, just to say we did it. One of the cruise boats was parked right out the front of the Opera House, on the other side, so it was great to be so close and see how massive it really was.

We left the city, via Kings Cross, just in time for the rain to come and headed back to Cassie’s house where we chilled out for the afternoon.

The next day we got up and headed for Bondi Beach. There were so many people there! The boys went in with their boggy boards again. Me, well I felt the water and it was too cold. So I sat on the beach with Cassie and we had a look around.

And, just because we were there, I had to get a photo with one of the guys from Bondi Rescue! There were NO lookers that day let me tell you. However we did find “Reidy”, who wasn’t too bad and got a pic.

We left going through Kings Cross looking for “Hobos” which was the highlight for the boys. Again, we got home as the clouds rolled in and chilled out for a bit.

That night we returned to Kings Cross in search for Hobos. There were a couple of parks that were full of them; a huge eye opener to the boys, however I think we opened Pandora’s box. “Where do they sleep? Do they sleep in playgrounds? What do they do with money they find? Why do they eat food out of the bin?...... blah blah blah.

On the Monday we got up and headed for Bathurst. OMG – it took 4 hours to get there. The drive through the western suburbs was beautiful, Lithgow etc, so made the long 4 hours more worth it.

We arrived at Bathurst and watched the video on The History of Bathurst, which was actually quite good. Rod was excited by the museum, I wasn’t that excited. We then drove Mount Panorama twice. What spectacular views and it really gave you a feel for how hard driving this track would be. I was a tad excited.

On the way back to Sydney we caught the outskirts of the hail storm with only minute hail stones. Thank goodness as Cassie’s car didn’t even have 1000km on the clock.

I loved driving around Sydney looking at all the old buildings and the beautiful houses. I got just a little excited.

The next morning we got up and headed off for somewhere.

A big thank you to Cassie for having us.

PHOTOS: Sydney Zoo, Opera House, the Cross and Bondi

PHOTOS: Bathurst