Byron Bay to Sydney, via Newcastle and Blue Mountains

Thursday April 26th

I was sorry to leave Byron Bay on Tuesday but as always the journey is what counts. My plan was to drive to the Blue Mountains , approx 110km west of Sydney, stopping one night on a campsite south of Port Macquaire. My washing wasn't dry so improvised a washing line in the car which worked very well. On the way southward along the Pacific Highway the weather got worse and into the afternoon I was driving under dark skies and through torrential rain showers . I stopped at a tourist info office who told me that the bad weather was expected to last 2 days and that the Blue Mountains were covered in cloud and I wouldn't see anything until the weekend, by which time I was due to arrive in Sydney where I'd already booked my accommodation.

I decided to try and avoid camping and ring ahead to the Newcastle YHA and see if they had a single room available. Magic, they had and they saved if for me. I arrived at the YHA about 5.30pm and it was raining really heavy again. The good news was there was a free meal available for YHA guests at the local Irish Pub that evening and would i like to go? Well yes I would thanks! At 6.30 a posse of 25 young backpackers and me set off to the pub where we were duly served our fish and chips etc. I couldn't, of course, resist the Guinness to accompany it. It turned out there was a trivia quiz evening that night and I attached myself to a local ladies team, "the Muffins" who were hoping I had some knowledge of sport. Unfortunately for them geography is my specialist subject. But, happily they were very tolerant of my ignorance of Australian sports stars and it turned out to be a very amusing evening when I should have been shivering in my tent.

The next day, 25 April, was Anzac Day, a public holiday to commemmorate the dead and living war veterans of Australia and New Zealand, and it was still pouring. To get on the move early to avoid any road blocks due to processions I left the hostel at 7.30am. I drove down about 150kms to the outskirts of Sydney and the weather seemed to get better. I thought I'd take a chance and go to the Blue Mountains. As the altitude increased so did the rain and the temperature fell down to about 13C. I arrived in Katoomba there about 11.00am . The clouds were covering the mountains and there was nothing to see at the lookout points. I went to the campsite and they were reluctant to let me stay due to the amount of rain. So for the second time I decided to ditch camping and i rang ahead to my Sydney accommodation to see if they could fit me in a two days early, as I reckoned it would be better to be in Sydney in a museum than getting soaked walking without a view. Yes, they could so I then drove back to Sydney, and this time drove right over the Harbour Bridge, with the Opera house on the right, to the suburb of Kirribilli. on the North Shore. I quickly parked the car and dumped my stuff and set off to have look around Sydney, taking the ferry from just around the corner to the lodge over the harbour, between the bridge and the opera house. It was beginning to get dark so I made my way to the Opera House to have a look and buy a ticket for almost any concert that's available while I am here. More of that later.

After some dinner I made my way to some pubs recommended in Lonely Planet. These were full of people in uniform and/or with medal, young and old, as part of the Anzac day celebrations. The tradition for Anzac day is processions and remembrance ceremonies in the morning and then all down the pub for drinking and gambling in a game called two-up. Its not just the veterans who participate , its everybody who can walk or drink.

I settled on the 'Heroes of Waterloo' pub as the most hospitable and watched a local duo perform some good songs including my usual request for Bobby Mcghee. I then walked back over the Sydney harbour bridge to my lodge for a good nights sleep

Today, the sun was shining and I still had the hire car. So like the Grand Old Duke of York I decided to go back up to the Blue Mountains for a short day trip. It took me two hours to negotiate the Sydney rush hour and travel the 110kms but it was worth it for some impressive views. This afternoon I returned the car to the hire company. This was exciting, as I was allowed to return the car with an empty tank of petrol, and not to buy any more petrol than I had to, the petrol gauge was on flashing light for the last 20 mins while I got lost in the one way system. I was really worried about running out of petrol in the centre of Sydney and it was a huge relief when I found the hire office and handed in the keys, at least until next week when I will set off for on a four day trip to Melbourne. Before then I have few more days in Sydney.