Sydney

Balmoral beach
The next morning we flew from Brisbane to Sydney and headed straight for Balmoral beach where we were staying in a friend's flat (thanks Alasdair!). A train, a bus and a short walk later we found it, a beautiful apartment overlooking the beach. After settling in, we headed straight out to pick up some sheets and meet a friend who we met in Xi'an for a drink at The Rocks.

My birthday
My birthday dawned sunny and bright and we decided that the best way to spend the morning was at the beautiful beach on our doorstep :) After a lovely, relaxing morning we got dressed and caught the ferry into central Sydney where we made our way to Darling Harbour to meet up with some old friends of Johan and enjoy a delicious and some more beer at the Rocks. A lovely day.

Heatwave
The next day we got up early and headed to a local church before heading back to the flat to pick up some stuff and going on a walk around Lady Macquarie's chair. The flat was a bit warm so Johan went to open the door to the balcony to let some air in and a blast of hot air hit us. We found out later on that evening that the temperatures had reached 41 degrees in Sydney. But then we knew it was not the kind of weather for walking so that plan was soon abandoned and we stayed in cool shelter instead.

Bondi beach
Our final day in Sydney was spent with Kate who had come down from Straddie for the day for an interview. We visited the infamous Bondi beach and watched a couple of surfers who decided to climb down the rocks to the waves, then decide that it wasn't a good idea after all and climb back up. We could have told them that!

We also found a cafe which sold the most delicious chocolate mud cake in the world and Kate convinced them to stick a candle on it as they sang happy birthday to me. Thanks guys!