Much ado...

What a marvelous day we have had. This morning the sun was shining and we drove to Manley beach where Will got some amazingly big waves. The waves were so big that as he got out of the van a guy asked if he was going surfing and warned him that the waves were really powerful and people often got into trouble out there, a good start... Then he endured Sam saying that he thought his board was too small for the big waves and he hoped that he wouldn't die. So, filled with confidence Will walked out to the beach and me and Sam watched from the comfort of a nice little cafe. As it turns out Will had an amazing surf and much to everyones relief is still alive to tell the tale. He got some great waves and although his heart was pumping a bit too fast for comfort he caught some of his biggest waves ever.

After the epic surf we drove back to Chris's house and had a quick shower and then jumped on the bus into Sydney. We walked to the opera house and Will and Sam went in to get the tickets whilst I waited outside. The reason is that the Opera house does a concession ticket for under 30's where you pay $30 and not $68, whilst this is true for Will and Sam we weren't sure I would pass for 30 so I had to wait outside (very sad). But isn't that a great price, £60 for the three of us to watch a play at the most famous opera house in the world.

Much Ado About Nothing was brilliant, it was 2hrs 40 (including interval) and I wasn't sure how Sam, or Will's attention span would last for all that time but after about 10 minutes of getting used to the Shakesperean works spoken with an Aussie accent we managed tune in and it was hilarious. Sam followed the plot and laughed in all the right places and we all had a fab time. It was a great introduction to Shakespeare for Sam and I think that now he will enjoy studying the play in more detail. The show started at 5pm and we left at 8pm. We found the train station and after a short train ride and three bus rides (one the wrong way) we ended up back at Chris's, by this time it was 9:15 and we quickly drove to the RSL for a hurried dinner and bed.

A fabulous day was had by all. Tomorrow we may head to the zoo if the weather stays fine.

Almost time to wave goodbye...

We are now back in Sydney with Chris. We set off from Corindi a couple of days ago and spent 9 hours driving down to Newcastle. It was Anzac Day (which is like the Aussie remembrance day and where Anzac biscuits come from). Sadly as we were driving we missed 'Two Up' which is a game that is played in the pubs on this day and this day only. It replecates heads or tails which is what the soldiers used to play in the trenches. Basically there are three coins and people place bets on weather when they are flipped it will land with at least two heads or at least two tails. The whole thing is just run on trust and people gamble amongst each other, it sounds like loads of fun, but unfortunately we were all squished into the van singing songs and missed the whole thing.

Eventually we arrived in Newcastle and spent a couple of lovely days (well rainy days actually) but still very nice days with the Vallenders. Highlights included Michelle's amazing cooking - particularly the date pudding with butterscotch sauce and cream!!! Sam couldn't believe that when presented with the dish her kids were just like, 'Oh thanks Mum', Sam thought it was the most amazing pudding he had ever seen (and so well presented it should be served in a restaurant). Yesterday Me and Will went for a bike ride through the bush which was really nice, actually it was really nice when we swapped bikes and I got to ride the cool, speedy one!! Meanwhile Sam had stayed behind with the boys and spent the afternoon building a skate ramp on a derelict patch of land (he also managed to stand on a nail but went to the lady who lived next door (who he had never met) and asked her if she could clean it for him!! Who says travelling isn't good for confidence) Don't worry though he has had his tetanus and it looks fine and only hurts when he stands on it (and I'm not sure that's true as he seemed fine on it when he was riding his skateboard this afternoon).

So we set off this morning for Sydney and we are now back with Chris and Will is planning the next build of our travels, her balcony. So tomorrow we are off to the hardware shop to buy wood and nails and stuff - whoopie!! Hopefully the balcony will be done and dusted by Sunday so he can catch the good swell and meet up with his friend Ferg.

Picture attached of Will and Sam on the scary ride at Wet and Wild.