My last few days in Sydney was spent together with Andrew, who could only join up with me, Jacq and Aun later. We rented a car during this period, and our first destination for the day was Manly Beach!

It’s a gorgeous public beach, with volleyball sessions, joggers, tourists, suntanners, swimmers, surfers all alike located all over. The sand was pristine and the weather perfect. Everything was soo idyllic.

We sat in the sand for awhile and just basked in the atmosphere, before we decided that its time to head down to Bondi which was on the other side of the city. We arrived just as the sun was setting..

There’s something about beaches, the proximity to the sea, the calming effect of the waves, the sea breeze, that I find absolutely enthralling. I’m drawn to them like how a wide eyed kid is drawn to candies, and I could just sit down by myself and begin a deep contemplation on life, existence and everything. I did just that at Bondi, while Jacq, Aun and Drew went to do a little window shopping.

The beach was still beautifully lit up even after the sun had set.

The rest of the night was spent on food, as i got to try the Deep Fried Mars Bar, dinner at the Finger Wharf (I didn’t eat much while the rest munched on loaded pies and hot dogs), and supper at Max Brenner – I had my satisfying Venezuelan Dark Chocolate drink in the famous hug mug.

McMahon’s Point – a suburb on the north side of the city, that has fantastic views of the harbour. Click on the image to see an amazing panoramic view of L-R: Luna Park (with the Ferris Wheel), Sydney Harbour Bridge, Opera House (beneath the bridge), and the City skyline.

The next day, we took a long drive to Port Stephens which was located about 160km north of Sydney. We left a little late though, and couldn’t fit dolphin and whale watching into the agenda..

Here’s Jacq and Drew in front of our lunch spot – Fish & Chips!!

We headed over to Stockton beach – the largest mobile sand mass in New South Wales. The beach itself is over 32km long (and about 1km wide).. it stretched as far as the eye could see. The strong winds pile the immense amount of sand into dunes that can reach up to 30 meters high – which was perfect for Sandboarding!

Camels in Sydney. Who would have thought?

See those 2 figures behind sliding down the dune? – that’s sandboarding.

“Sit tight on your waxed board, knees together, put your arms straight out to the sides, touch the sand to control your balance and speed. To slow down, simply press into the sand with your hands.”

Nooo… I needed MORE speed. So I decided to go hands free!

And I ended up tumbling at the end. Still great fun nonetheless, except for having to trek all the way back up after every round.

Also tried some ’standboarding’..

Yeah, this place really reminded me of Arrakis hehe (non geeks please Google for meaning ). See that crazy high dune? Yeah I actually hiked all the way up, just so I could experience sliding down a cliff face that was twice the height of the one they allocated for the tourists. I’m such a speed freak.

On the way back to our cars along the beach, we realized the sun was setting behind us and casting super long shadows, so we played around with some shadow art. The first one is 4 of us as normal (see if you can guess who is who), the second one was all 4 of us merging into some sort of a goddess with multiple hands, the 3rd was just cool – 4 heads on one body.

The night sky was simply spectacular that night. There were stars everywhere I looked during our car ride back, and I even managed to spot a shooting star! Managed to get back in time for me to do some last minute shopping..

This bull statue was aptly named The Challenge. It’s quite a challenge to be told to grab it by the balls ok (well, noone else wanted to do it with me).

I couldn’t sleep during my last night there. Was kinda struck with melancholy, and reluctance to return back to a world of routine again. Packed, and said my farewells the next morning, as I found my own way to the airport.

The Jetstar A330 – my flight home..

A million thanks to all who’ve made my stay such a memorable one – Aun for his hospitality and his fantastic cozy bachelor pad, to Jacq for helping squeeze all the agendas in for me (even though you would very much rather chill at home or shop), to Drew for being the relegated driver during the last few days, to Jay and Winnie for their companionship and warm home, and to everyone for all the fun we had experiencing new things together. Thanks for sharing a part of your lifes, so I know what its like to live/make a home there. I felt like I belonged – rather than just being a mere tourist, and it made my parting all the more harder.

There were lots more I wish I could have squeezed into my stay there – the Jenolan Caves, actual hugging or petting a koala and kangaroo in outskirt wildlife farms, visiting the Wentworth Falls, some SERIOUS trekking at the Blue Mountains, the Sydney Tower skywalk, and dolphin and whale watching at Port Stephens… which means I’ll be back again.. one of these days..