After a verrry long travel day / night, I cannot believe I’m here! This part of my trip has been the *biggest* secret to keep, and it’s been hard! I booked to come to Sydney a few weeks beforehand as I had a spare week or so where I left Thailand early because of the weather, and I’d finished Malaysia pretty swiftly too. I jumped on my flight from Singapore, which was extremely delayed, meaning that my layover in Manila in the Philippines was a very rushed escort from one flight to the next in order to make it before the gate closing, and landed in Sydney the following morning. I successfully navigated my way from the airport to closer to where my family live where they picked me up from the station and I could go back and freshen up after what felt like such a long flight(s)!

No one at home, other than my mum and dad know that I’m in Sydney. I booked it a few weeks ago so that I could surprise some family out there, and my nan at home, as I was going to visit my great uncle (her brother). It felt really special as I haven’t been to Sydney since 2018, this is now my third time visiting and I fall in love with it over and over again every single time I go. Day one largely consisted of hanging out at home, chilling in the sunshine and just enjoying being surrounded by family. I had a cheese and pickle sandwich (I haven’t had proper cheese in months) and it tasted so so good, and had a cuppa tea which was stunning. I also promised myself I wasn’t going to have a nap after arriving but after only 2 hours of sleep in 24 hours, I was struggling to even function.

Wednesday I took myself into the city for a bit of an explore as I just love it so much, I started off my heading towards Sydney Harbour and the Harbour Bridge, it’s such a pretty sight. I stuck around and had a drink at the Opera Bar just to take in the sights and soak up the sunshine. I immediately felt like I was home, not actual home, but Sydney feels like a second home with family there and knwoing my surroundings. I went to a shop and grabbed some postcards and sat by Harbour Bridge writing them before going to find a post office to send them back to the UK.

I stopped by Chatswood on my way back to do some shopping.. I definitely didn’t have enough room in my backpack for shopping but aussie stores are so much better than the UK and I couldn’t help myself but spend a small fortune in CottonOn and a few other stores. I also found a Nando’s where I had the lunch of all lunches. I am a Nando’s lover through and through and haven’t had one since I left the UK, so it felt so good to have some banging chicken and rice. After a mini spending spree and some good food, I headed back home for a dip in the pool and some chill out time before dinner and some time to catchup with the family back home.

Day three I headed to Featherdale Wildlife Park, I’ve been here everytime I come to Sydney and will probably go everytime in the future too, I love it here. It’s a wildlife park full of aussie animals and reptiles and it’s cool because it’s quite open and free roaming in some areas, particularly where the kangaroos are! I got to see all sorts of cool animals including koalas, emus, kangas, dingos, a big ‘ol croc and more. It’s just a nice day out that’s pretty simple and easy going. I had a nice day walking around and just exploring before heading back home. Still a highlight of a trip to Sydney whenever I get there.

Friday I headed to the Blue Mountains! I’ve been to Sydney three times now still not visited here, so it was a must for this trip! I got up early (6:45am early) in order to get out the door by 7:30am to catch the train to Katoomba, which is around 2 hours, to begin my journey of the mountains. It was a fairly easy trip with only one change in Central and the rest of the journey following some incredible sights. I decided to book the Hop On, Hop Off bus which made it so much easier to get around, and I’m so glad I did as I managed to see so much in my time here. It cost around $100 for the day including unlimited trips on the bus as well as my entry to Scenic World and it was so worth it, I had the best day.

I started off at Honeymoon Lookout which had some incredible first stop views and did the walk along the Prince Henry Cliff Walk to the Three Sisters and onto Echo Point. It was a nice walk and I really enjoyed the sights along the way, there was beautiful scenery into the valleys of the mountains and you could see the blue haze for miles and miles, you could also hear all the different wildlife whilst walking which was just beautiful to hear. From here I headed to Scenic World, starting my journey on the scenic skyway which gave some of the most incredible views of the valleys, as well as the Three Sisters and Orphan Rock. I then got the Funicular down to the rainforest boardwalk before getting the cable car back to the top to continue my journey even further.

I hopped back on the bus and the next stop was Katoomba Cascades and Falls, this stop was particularly stunning becuase you could see the skyway going over, as well as great views of the Three Sisters and Orphan Rock from a different angle, as well as the cascades and falls right beneath you. I absolutely love nature and could have multiple days here exploring all the different areas. Last point of the day was Gordon Falls, and I did the walk along to Olympian Lookout which again, was super nice and a great way to finish the day. From here I decided to walk back to the station as it meant I would have made the earlier train back to Sydney and although it wasn’t too bad in terms of length, it was all uphill! I was roasting by the time I got back to the station and well ready for a sit down. I had such a nice time walking around and clocked up a good 10miles by the time I jumped back on the train. Definitely slightly tired but absolutely worth it for a really cool day.

The weekend had arrived, Saturday was spent hanging out with my family. We got up and had bacon & cheese crossaints and spent the morning on a trip to Bilgola Beach. It was lush weather for it, with not a cloud in sight and after grabbing an iced coffee, headed down to catch some rays. It was super nice to see a beach, I hadn’t been to one since I was in Langkawi at the beginning of December and I loved being barefoot in the sand again. We attempted a swim in the sea but they waves were insane today so it just meant we were constantly getting dumped, and we just spent most of our time trying to stay above water, it felt like a full workout!

After a few hours of sunshine we packed up and headed to the pub for a refreshing beverage before jumping back in the car for a drive around before heading back to the house. I decided to go on a bush walk in one of the national parks across the road from where my family live, after getting about 20mins in though, I was met by a creature who cals it their home, a snake, which normally wouldn’t phase me that much, but because I’m in Australia, thought anything could be poisonous, so turned myself around and walked back. We went for a dip in the pool in the afternoon and had baked camembert and carpaccio beef for dinner which was stunning.

Sunday was the day where the surprises begun. We were heading to see some more of my family who didn’t actually know I was in Australia until they saw me for the first time. Between me, my mum and dad, and my aunt and uncle, we’d managed to keep it a secret that I was going out to Sydney. It meant that I could surprise my great uncle and aunt, as well as my nan back home, which really meant the world. We headed up in the morning and it was quite the surprise for all involved, full of a bit of emotion too! Seeing their faces when I walked through their front door was priceless, I just felt so happy to be able to see them again and was looking forward to spending time with them.

After spending the day together catching up and telling them of my travels, a few of us went for a dip in the pool and then we head dinner together, chicken and steak fajitas tonight. My fantasies of western food are all coming true this week. We had a really nice time catching up, I really felt at home and just enjoyed spending the day not really doing a lot, just laughing and enjoying life. We facetimed my nan in the evening to break the news to her that I was in Australia, the surprise was incredible, she really had no idea. and her face when we called was worth hiding it for as long as I did. We all spent a bit of time speaking on the phone and just laughing and speaking about what I’d been up to and finished the day with some Christmas cake and a natter before heading off to bed.

Monday and my last full day in Sydney had come, I headed back into the city as someone that I’d met in Cambodia, and bumped into in various other countries had also jsut arrived in Sydney so we spent the day hanging out together. I love that about travelling, you meet people again and again when you least expect it. I got off a stop early on the train so I could wander over Sydney Harbour Bridge and once we’d met up, we had a wander around the harbour, which is one of my favourite places, went for a few beers and finished off in the botanical gardens which were honestly sensational! Beautiful and just lush flowers and greenery everywhere. What a lovely day in the sunshine. I headed back to my family’s house in the evening for dinner together, chicken wings on the barbeque hit the spot with salad, followed by some pool time, what a lovely way to finish off such an incredible trip down under.

I cannot believe how much I’ve done in the week that I’ve had here, I’ve had the best time and really didn’t want to leave. But as with all things, it definitely had to. Tuesday was an early start as I needed to be at the airport for 8am as my flight was just after 11am. I had the same route back to Singapore via Manila and would be landing there later that night, on Christmas Eve, ready to spend Christmas Day there tomorrow which I was super excited out! I love coming to visit Sydney and seeing my family and everytime I come here I feel like it’s harder to leave as I love the vibe here so much. But for now, g’day Australia. See ya back in Singapore, Mads x