Sydney update # 2

I've meant to update so many times, but I never seem to have the time!!! Only a week left in Sydney now, then a week in Perth and then home to Trondheim. I don't want to go home, but I don't want to stay here either if that makes sense... I am looking forward to getting home to family, friends and my own flat though.

I'll start from where I last left off and try to recap from there. Mardi Gras was great fun! About 3 hours of loads of gay and lesbians parading the streets, in everything from lifesaver speedos to full on Thai "ladyboys" in flamboyant dresses, "Dykes on bikes", singing, dancing, people in leather thongs whipping each other and more "normally" dressed people just having a good time. It's one of the biggest events in Sydney so a LOT of people in the streets!

In conjunction with the Mardi Gras Spencer Tunick came and did an installation in front of the Opera House. Guess who was there? Yep! Together with 5200 other people at 4 am a cold Monday morning. A bit of waiting around before we stripped off just after 6 am when the sun came up. It was a weird experience being naked with so many other people, but at the same time very liberating and fun! Everyone was in a good mood, cheering and waving to the ferries going past. There were people of all shapes and sizes, even one man with his whole body covered in tattoos, and I mean ALL of it (apart from his head), and he even had piercings in his you know what!! Weird... After the outside session we filled up one of the concert halls and had a photo shoot inside. Kinda strange having naked people sitting on each and every seat in the hall and lying on the stage. And don't worry, we got plastic bags to sit on...

I went on a daytrip down to Jervis Bay, a beautiful place a couple of hours drive from Sydney, where we visited a beatiful beach, went on a dolphinwatching cruise (saw 3 dolphins and a couple of sealions), and stopped by a huge waterfall in Kangaroo Valley on the way home.

The weekend after I went on a surfcamp! Mojosurf took me up to Cresent Head, a really nice place about 6 hours north of Sydney, with a beautiful deserted looong beach and lush forests. The camp was 5 mins walk from the beach, and it was really nice. There were a lot of very loud obnoxious Americans on the trip which wasn't that nice... But I made friends with the other 10 "non-Americans" so we stuck together and had a good time. And the surprising bit is: I stood up on a surfboard! On my first try!!! I was so surprised I fell off... Last time I went surfing I just gave up, I couldn't do it at all. I thought I would go up and check out the camp and just relax on the beach for the weekend, but I had to have one lesson as I promised Ronnie (Mojoguy), but I actually ended up having all three of them. So now I'm a pro! haha...

I've also been out a few times with the crew here, one restaurant we went to was a Brazilian barbeque one where you could eat as much as you wanted, and we eat! The food was delicious, and everyone rolled out afterwards...

A couple of weeks ago I went horseriding with Louise in a place called Glenworth Valley, about an hour from Sydney. We had booked to go out for 6 hours, but we gave up after about 4 as our legs, thighs and bums were so sore we could hardly walk... But it was a really nice day, we rode through lovely lush rainforest, the horses were great and the sun was shining.

My Dad, stepmum and brother has been visiting for the past 10 days, so been doing lots of touristy stuff around Sydney with them. Visiting The Rocks, been to see La Traviata in the Opera house, dinner with more family living here, climbing the Harbour Bridge pylon, Taronga Zoo, Darling Harbour and so on. We also hired a car and drove up to Port Stephens for a couple of days, a beautiful place a couple of hours north. If you ever come to Australia, go there! We stayed at Melaleuca backpackers, they have dorms, cabins and tents set in a campground/forest 5 minutes walk from the beach, with their own pet kangaroo named Josie jumping around. One of the mornings there was even a wild koala climbing up the tree right next to our balcony! Of course I was in the shower so I didn't see it... We spent the days hanging out at the beaches, going for walks and eating good food. On the way back to Sydney we drove through Hunter Valley which is a famous wine district, and we stopped at Mt.Pleasent, Lindemans and Rosemount vinyards.

Sorry for the way to long entry, I'm impressed if you've made it this far without falling asleep...