G’day everyone. Looks like I shouldn’t make deadlines to leave a post, but here we go. It’s 2008! And how to better celebrate the new year than to go to Sydney! I went with my housemate there by bus (which takes about 3.5 hours). We got there by 2 o’clock in the afternoon. After having bought a subway sandwich we headed for Hyde park with some beer and stayed there for a bit relaxing on the lawn. Thereafter we headed for the circular quay in sydney which is like a harbour where the ferries are. We had in mind to go to Manly Beach first by ferry and then come back and secure a place to see the fireworks. This was a bad idea as it turned out! When we got to the botanical gardens we heard from people that the areas where you can sit and watch the fireworks were quickly filling up with people and it was only 3 pm! The opera house area was already closed so we headed straight back to the city to buy some food and booze to get us throught the night. Bad idea again but we were ignorant of the organisation at these designated spots. Still it didn’t matter too much. By 4 pm we were at the botanical gardens where we figured we could stay and watch the fireworks. We were shocked to realise that you could not bring your own alcohol inside the fenched area. So after some thinking I suggested I’d hide our esky (= container) with beer. After that we got in alright. Because I am still 24 I had to get a silly wrist band at a stand but only after I had showed them my passport. Like they don’t trust a 24 year old with alcohol! Tsk. It was incredibly crowded there and we were soon hunting for an empty spot on the grass. I’ve not often seen so many people in one place. We did find a decent spot in the end were we stayed for most of the evening. Alcohol could be bought but the beer was shit (of course) so we ended up drinking serveral bottles of white wine that evening (which was pretty shit too ha ha). The atmosphere was awesome and it was great seeing so many people having fun. By 9 pm the first fireworks were on. This was a trial to see if it all worked. It was nonetheless a sight to behold. We didn’t have the best view because some trees were blocking our line of sight and we couldn’t get to a better spot because they were already taken by people who probably arrived early that same morning. As time moved on the moment had come. We managed to find a slightly better spot to stand and see the fireworks. I could see half the harbour bridge which was good enough. At the stoke of 12 the spectacle burst loose. The fireworks on the bridge was brilliant! Then after that everyone was forced to leave so we all went to the CBD (central business district). There wasn’t much to do in the city and the streets were filled with drunken people, some causing some havok. At around 4 i guess we went back to the park and found our esky with beer. We had a couple and then fell asleep. It wasn’t too cold ouside and in the park hardly anyone was around. We woke up full of mossie bites but the sunrise over Sydney was pleasant. After a while we took the bus back to Canberra and I had another nap. I was pretty knackered and it was really hot that day, at least 35C. The weather has been hot all around but it’s a bit more agreeable for now at around 28C. So that was it! Best new year ever! Next year I’ll be back 😛 If you want to see photos, follow the link on the sidebar to my picasa web albums.

Have a good one!