We had a great view for the fireworks on New Years Eve. We spent the evening in a city apartment with a fantastic view over the domain to the harbour bridge. It's not our apartment but Paddy and Kat's digs. Paddy and Kat headed to Western Australia over the Christmas break to hang out with Kat's family so, we volunteered to road test their apartment. Just to make sure it was really good venue for NYE. It was. Paddy and Kat, it's all set and ready to go for NYE 2010.

The Sydney fireworks are so impressive, especially with the bridge as a centre piece. Sydney has a reputation as the best NYE fireworks in the world. I think it's a reputation that Sydney is always trying to retain. This year the city spent 50% more on fireworks than they did last year. Last year they spent more than they ever had before. The fireworks certainly went off with a big bang. We hung off Paddy's balcony and oohed and aahed. I even applauded at the end. I'm not sure that they are worth all that money but they are certainly very pretty.



So all in all in it was a good last night of 2009... good company, good music, good fireworks, good fun. We're looking forward to 2010.

More photos on Flickr.

Happy New Year!

Our last day of 2006 was actually very quiet. We headed back to the Royal Mile planning to do some more sight-seeing. Unfortunately the wet, windy and cold weather drove us to find refuge indoors in a pub (The Tass). We brunched, wrote postcards and waited out the weather. Regrettably, the weather won this battle. We returned to our hotel to prepare for our big evening with a disco nap.

On our journey back to the hotel we experienced "the weather" that instigated all the warnings from the meteorological bureaus. While we were walking, the heavens opened and it started to pour. This rain storm combined with a 110km/h (70mph) wind, meant that the raindrops were being driven horizontally into our faces as we ran to get out of the rain. It stung!

Back at the hotel we napped for a bit and then started to get into party mode with a few rounds of drinks and a packet of twisties. Our plan was to head out at around 8.30pm. Sadly this plan was turned on its head when at 8pm we heard the news that the street party had been cancelled.

We regrouped and headed in to the Royal Mile to meet up with some Aussie friends of friends. Unfortunately this plan also failed when I left my mobile phone in the hotel (oops!). We spent most of the evening in the Albanach chatting with the people around us and knocking back beer and cider. At midnight we all spilled out on to the street where we hugged total strangers and wished everyone around a happy new year.


While it wasn't best New Year's Eve I've ever had, I can't say it was the worst.

Next up: pushing through the pain barrier on New Years Day...

11...   10...   9...   8...   7...   6...   5...   4...   3...   2...   1...   HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A New Year's countdown that beings at 11? That's what happens when a bunch of geeks find out that a "leap second" is being added to the end of the year.

We saw the New Year in with a few of our closest and mostest at Budgewoi. We did all the usual Budgewoi stuff. We went to the beach in the morning and avoided the rips and bluebottles. We had a Budgewoi lunch and takeout and a BBQ for dinner. We walked to the shops for ice creams and lollies. Thanks to Uncle Bob for letting us use the house for the weekend. Thanks to our guests for helping out on the weekend, especially on clean up detail. You guys get a gold star for the weekend. (photos)

Our journey home was a bit of an advenCHA as we got stuck in Bushfire traffic. The F3 Freeway and Pacific Highway closed because of a bushfire at Mt White. Unfortunately, they closed it at the Gosford exit about 20 minutes before we reached Gosford. We were directed off the freeway and we then spent the next few hours trying to find an alternate route to Sydney. We drove to Wisemans Ferry, where we were turned away. I'd never seen the town of Spencer before and now I've been there twice. We drove back to Gosford again; three hours later and we were back at our starting point. We met up with the Dowleys (who were in the same boat as us) and decided to see a movie (Fun with Dick and Jane) while we waited to see if they would open the freeway again. Luckily, the freeway was open when the movie finished. We had a very smooth run to Sydney and we were home at 9.30pm. A 1.5 hour trip took us 7.5 hours.

It wasn't actually that bad a day. We were in air-conditioned comfort the whole day, either in the car or in the cinema. We don't have air-conditioning at home so we were probably better off. We were only stuck in a traffic queue for half an hour, so we were driving for most of the time. We had scenery to look and tractors to spot. It could have been much worse.


I was surprised at the lack of information we received from the authorities. We received conflicting reports from different sources throughout the day. The ABC was telling everyone to go to Wisemans Ferry. When we arrived there we were told that the road was closed (by another motorist so we're not sure how truthful the report was). The Dowleys asked a Firey what to do and he suggested that they find accommodation for the evening as he was sure the Freeway would be closed for the night. The RTA website had no useful information what-so-ever. It reminded me of a scene in War of the Worlds where people in the crowd are discussing what cities in the world have been destroyed. Some people think that America is safe and Europe has been decimated. Others think it's the other way round. Rumours spread like wildfire and fiction is taken for fact. The RFS and the RTA had a very busy day on New Year's Day but they failed the motorists who were diverted off the F3. I wonder how they'll cope when the Aliens land *G*.

Andrew and I spent New Year's Eve with the usual suspects at Norah Head. A group of Alison and Sue's school friends organised to spend their Christmas break camping at Norah Head tourist park. They kindly squeezed us into a tent for New Year's Eve. Thanks for letting us tag along! (photos)