Our first day in Manly started with a bit of a disaster, just as we were then leaving to go meet some friends I managed to lock us out of the apartment! I'm still not even really sure how I managed to do it but somehow I pushed the button in on the back of the door handle which kind of dead locks the door as we had only been given a key to the Yale lock at the top. After frantically trying to get it to unlock, I gave in and phoned Jen. She was very calm and said she would contact her mum and try to get hold of the landlord but secretly she must have been pretty cross that I'd disturbed her day! While waiting to hear back from Jen we tried looking online to find instructions for how to pick locks with hair grips but I can confirm that I now have two bent hair grips and it's all lies, it doesn't work!!! Just as I was looking up locksmiths and almost crying at the price of the call out charge, Jen phoned back to say she had spoken to the landlord and she was going to meet her to collect the spare keys! Phew!! I was so relieved but still took a while to shake off how cross I was with myself!

We had planned to meet up with Craig & Charlotte, who we had met at Byron Bay, at Coogee Beach around midday but with the morning's dramas it was now nearing 2pm and we hadn't really set off! After catching a ferry and bus we eventually made it around 3pm, better late than never eh?! and were introduced to their friends Nicole, Jonny & Matt . We had such a fun afternoon catching up, getting to know each other, cooking a BBQ and drinking lots! As the afternoon turned into the evening, the drinks continued to flow and as usual the games with goon got underway! It was all going alright for a few games but the end result was not a pretty sight with Jonny unable to speak or move, he was so drunk! Matt & Craig took him for a walk around the green to try and sober him up a bit but if anything he just got worse and worse! To their dismay a police car then pulled up near them and they thought they were going to be arrested, Australian police have little to no tolerance towards people who are drunk & disorderly, but thankfully some lads near them dropped their phone, smashing it on the floor and the police were distracted long enough for Matt & Craig to drag Jonny away from the scene and over to a bench! He then flopped on the bench and proceeded to spend the next half an hour trying to be sick and generally not moving. Deciding this was probably a good time to call it a night, we all made our way to the bus stop . I really didn't envy Nicole having to get Jonny home, luckily she had her friend Matt to help her! But it turned out unbeknown to me, Matt was starting to feel the effects of too much goon as well and we weren't on the bus long before he turned a funny green colour and we had to jump off as the next stop! This, of course, was nowhere near where we needed to be to get on the ferry and with the last one leaving in about 30 minutes we had to make a mad dash across the city getting there just in time! Naturally, being on a boat is not the ideal place to be when you're feeling drunk so it wasn't long before Matt was hanging over the edge of the ferry being sick! Once he was sick he seemed to straighten out a bit and we then sat chatting to a man from Newcastle. After what seemed like a never ending journey we finally arrived back at Manly and after the 20 minute walk back to Irene's, we were relieved to discover Jen had been successful in her mission to unlock the door and we collapsed into bed! What a crazy, stressful day!!

The following morning, Matt was suffering quite badly with a goonover, (a goonover is different to a normal hangover, normally not in a good way but you only get it from goon! obviously!) he got up a couple of times for a drink which normally sorts him out but not today . He had to go back to bed a couple of times because he felt so dizzy and refused to go anywhere near the balcony or open the sliding doors as he was convinced he was going to fall off! He wasn't alone in feeling like this as we soon found out that Jonny had somehow still got up for work but was in a terrible state and had been throwing up all day and had sworn never to drink goon again. It was turning out to be a beautiful sunny day so we decided we really shouldn't waste it by staying in the apartment and made our way down to the beach. It was fantastic only having to walk about 10 minutes to get there and, as it was Monday, there was hardly anyone about so we were able to grab a great spot! We had a lovely time relaxing, reading and playing in the sea as we had been saying for a while that we were in need of a few beach days and this was a very very hot day!!!! So much so it wasn't until we got back to the apartment that we noticed red patches on our bodies where we must have missed spots with the sun tan lotion and had managed to burn! They quickly became hot and sore so, after cool showers, we had to lather on the after sun!!! It proved to be a rather hot and uncomfortable night as we hadn't worked out how to switch on the fan and I was like a radiator! Oops!!
 
We had arranged to spend the next day at Manly beach again but this time with Gemma as it was her day off . Matt hired out a surf board and had been looking forward to trying to improve his surfing skills but literally as soon as we got there they announced that because of the wind there would be jellyfish being washed up. Undeterred he went in anyway and was fine. Having learnt my lesson from the day before, I made sure every inch of my body was covered in sun cream, I wore a hat to protect my rather sore nose and covered any already burnt bits very carefully!! After enough hours in the sun, Matt & I went off to book a hostel for our last few days in Manly before heading back to the apartment to freshen up then, at about 7pm, Gemma came over to the apartment to have dinner and watch the tennis as it was Djokovic v Berdych and Gemma is a big Djokovic fan.

On Wednesday morning, we had to pack up our things again and move into the hostel as Irene was coming back from her trip that afternoon. After having a nightmare trying to carry all our bags to the hostel, it was amazing how much further it seemed compared to the day before when we had nothing to carry, we were beyond dismayed to open the door to our room! It was awful!!!!!!! There was rubbish everywhere, the beds weren't made and it looked like it hadn't been cleaned in months! We both looked like we wanted to cry! Instead we very calmly locked our bags in the lockers and went back down to reception to find out what was going on! Thankfully the lad on reception, who did look like he had smoked a little too much wacky backy, had given us the wrong room number! We were actually staying in 106 not the filthy, still in the process of being renovated, 104! 106 was actually very clean and pleasant albeit incredibly hot, but there was a fan so we figured it would be ok! After moving our bags to our new room, we hopped on a ferry to the city where we had arranged to meet Gemma so she could take us into Madame Tussaud's!

Gemma came and met us at the entrance and swept us through so we didn't have to pay! She told us she still had some work to do but would come and find us once she had finished and to go as crazy as we wanted with the photos and she would sort it all out later! So we had an absolutely brilliant time laughing so much as we posed with every waxwork and being very silly . The Sydney Tussaud's is different to the one in London in that they actively encourage you to interact with the models, giving you props to wear and suggestions for things you could do! They really don't want you to hold back! Of course, Matt needed no encouragement in this department and loved every second of messing about and being very silly! Even taking the opportunity to look up the Queen's skirt! The other visitors must have thought we were absolutely crazy! Gemma caught up with us as we moved into the musicians section but she couldn't quite clock off and kept fixing up the models' hair and clothes! By the time we got to the end, we had collected quite a few receipts for the professional photos which Gemma whisked out of my hand and replaced a few moments later with a package full of all our pictures, they were brilliant! To say thank you we treated her to a coffee in Wild Life centre where the treats didn't stop as Gemma then negotiated with the staff to allow us to have our pictures taken with a koala! What a star!!!
 
The following day it was lovely and sunny again so we decided to have a day at Shelly Beach . Shelly beach is a small but secluded beach which is about a 20 minute walk round the coast from Manly. It's called Shelly because its made from tiny little shell pieces rather than sand. It is a lovely little beach with a beautiful view back over Manly and not that many people go there. You can snorkel and dive from there so you get a lot of people in and out of the water. We went for a swim to cool off but the water was absolutely freezing so I quickly turned round and got out leaving Matt to swim on his own. At about 4pm we headed back to the hostel to check out the kitchen and sort some food out. It turned out the kitchen was as disgusting as room 104 and there was no cutlery so we opted for sandwiches instead of cooking and then climbed into bed for an uncomfortable, hot and sticky night!
 
Craig & Charlotte were coming to Manly today so we decided to stick around and spend the day with them. It was such a sunny day and lovely and hot. (Are you starting to see how we've suddenly got good tans yet?) Charlotte & I hired some deck-chairs whilst Matt and Craig hired a surfboard and a bodyboard . They went off playing in the water as the waves were pretty big whilst we sat chatting away. As much as the waves were pretty big, the tide was going out so there was a very strong rip along most of the beach. This can be very dangerous! You seem to be fine if you're on a board but we saw quite a few swimmers (even fully grown men) get caught out by this and not be able to swim back to shore, instead having to be rescued by the lifeguards! It's worth mentioning what an amazing job the life savers do on these beaches, particularly as most of them are volunteers. It must be so frustrating for them though as they repeatedly came over the tannoy telling people where they should and shouldn't swim as well as coming along blowing their whistles to get swimmers out of potentially dangerous areas, yet still they were ignored and then had to rescue these ignorant people when they got into difficulty! I could completely understand why they were sounding more and more frustrated and wouldn't have blamed them if their last announcement, which seemed to be the most effective at clearing the water, was in fact a lie! It seems telling people it's dangerous to swim somewhere doesn't work unless you tell them there are jellyfish in the water! Once it got to 3 o'clock we headed off the beach to look in the shops as we'd all agreed on getting a bit dressed up in tacky Aussie clothes for Australia Day tomorrow . After a quick shop, Craig and Charlotte had to dash to get on the bus and we headed back to the beach as Josh and Jen were now coming to meet us with Reef. Josh had a quick surf and even got stung by a jellyfish but he didn't seemed bothered at all by it. We then headed to a small Mexican restaurant for dinner where we all had fajitas. They were so tasty! Irene and her friend Susan, who is over visiting from America, came to meet us as they'd been happily drinking most of the afternoon and had just returned to Manly. We left the restaurant and went our separate ways then after a quick shower, Matt & I headed down to the New Brighton hotel bar to watch Andy Murray play Rodger Federer in the semi final of the tennis. Neither of us are Andy Murray fans at all but we just couldn't help but cheer him on as he won in 5 sets!
 
January 26th is Australia Day and it's a huge celebration over here! We were very excited to be in Sydney for it and to be with a group of friends so we could join in the party! We got ourselves dressed up in our Aussie gear and made our way to the city centre where we had arranged to meet everyone . We met Gemma first at Tussaud's at 1:30pm and as there was no one in work, she snuck us in to the studio where they made the waxworks to see behind the scenes! Then the 3 of us went to meet Craig & Charlotte at Darling Harbour where it was already very busy with lots of people and different street acts. We all went for a drink at The Brew House where Jonny & his friend Steve came to meet us. We had fun chatting and being honorary Aussies then Gemma had to go and meet friends at Bondi and we decided to go to The Baxter Inn. The Baxter Inn is such a lovely bar but is so hidden up most people don't actually know about it. It's a jazz and whisky bar with such a menu of whiskeys and wines its ridiculous. It's hard to find as it's away from the main street and as you go round the back it feels like you're walking into the cellar of somewhere or a seedy sex shop or something! Nicole had finished work and so came to meet us for an Apple & Rye. This became our drink of choice as we know nothing of whiskeys and it wasn't too expensive, put simply it's a whiskey with a blended apple over ice, tastes lovely! We still had a while until the fireworks and it was too expensive to continue drinking in bars so we walked Jonny, Nicole & Steve to PJs and then walked to the Botanic Garden, via a Bottle Shop, and enjoyed a few drinks there . A while later, Nicole & Jonny came to find us and had a few more drinks before we walked back to Darling Harbour just in time for a fantastic firework display! Aussies sure know how to put on a good show! By now it was about 10pm and people were getting quite drunk as we tried to finish off Craig's bottle of rum and our wine, so we went in search of a bar but as the boys were in vests and thongs, no one would let us in! The only place that would accept us was PJs and we had a brilliant time in there dancing and singing and generally being silly! We were having such a good time, we only just made it to the ferry terminal in time to catch the 12:20 ferry back to Manly! With Matt having previous for being sick on the ferry I thought it may happen again but he was ok this time. Phew!
 
The next few days passed in a bit of a blur as some pretty nasty storms made their way down the East Coast! We were fortunate as only heavy rain and some strong winds reached Manly but further north, homes were destroyed and people lost their lives as whole towns got flooded and torn apart . We spent much of the day indoors watching the events unfurl on TV, listening in shock as they listed place after place that we had visited during our travels and announcing that they were now under water! It was all very surreal! Even in Sydney, flash floods were happening and trees were being knocked down by strong winds. It seemed we were in a slightly sheltered inlet so were spared too much devastation. Nevertheless it was pretty scary! The life savers made the sensible decision to close Manly beach as the wind was causing some huge waves. We popped down to have a look at them as crowds had gathered just to watch the sea as the biggest waves you can imagine constantly rolled into the beach, they must have been about 12-15 feet high and so powerful. We couldn't believe some surfers were still going out and trying to ride them! Crazy people! We still felt pretty vulnerable just being stood on the promenade and I was quite happy to go back to the hostel where I knew we were safe! The only other time we ventured out was one evening to watch Django Unchained at the local cinema! We both loved the film but even more entertaining was one of the stewards who appeared out of nowhere to shine his torch in your eyes and tell you to switch off your phone even though the adverts hadn't even started let alone the film!! A very strange little man! 
 
Thankfully on our last day in Sydney, the sky cleared and the winds dropped so we were able to complete the final item on our 'To Do' list: Sydney Eye Sky Tower! We met Gemma at the entrance and her friend, who just happens to be the manager of the Tower, met us all at the ticket desk . He told us he could let us up to the Observation Deck no bother but if we wanted to go all the way up to the top and do the Sky Walk then he had a little favour to ask! He would let us go up for free if we agreed to them taking a series of romantic photos of us for them to use on their website as their Valentine's Day promotion! We would also be able to have copies of the photos as a souvenir! How could we refuse?!?! Before we knew it we were being whisked through the 4D introductory DVD and up the lift to the Observation Deck. We had a quick look out at the view and then were called over to complete the forms and take a breathalyser test! One of the conditions of going up on the Sky Walk is that you have to wear a blue boiler suit and plimsolls (a little bit like a convict!) and you are attached to a harness which is clipped onto a rail that goes all the way around the tower. Once we were all suited up and clipped on to the rail we made our way around the tower. The guide gave us a little tour as we went and pointed out the significant buildings . We stopped to have a big group photo taken with the Opera House & Harbour Bridge in the background before beginning the individual photos. This proved to be more embarrassing than we had anticipated as the girl taking the photos suggested poses and talked us through the shoot, all in front of the rest of the group who, by the way, had paid $50 each for this privilege! But they all found it very amusing. After we had our photos taken, we had to wait a while for everyone else to have theirs done so we had plenty of time to take in the remarkable views! Then we made our way round the rest of the tower and back down to the Observation Deck where we picked up our photo pack and said our farewells to Gemma! 
 
We can't thank Gemma enough for all the amazing experiences she made possible for us during our time in Sydney! We did things we never would have been able to do without her and have some fantastic memories! We look forward to one day being able to repay her properly! Xx
 
We made our way back to the hostel to pack our bags as the time had come to say goodbye to Sydney (for now anyway!) and we had a flight to catch to Perth early in the morning. There was just enough time to catch up with Josh, Jen & Reef before we left as they were in Manly for dinner and then an early night was in order ready for a 3am start!