Xmas and New Year in the Sun!!??

Hello readers!

In an attempt to reduce the shockingly long writing hours, I am pleased to announce that there will be more photos and less text in this episode! (win win for all I hear you say! ). Oh, and incidentally I have been requested to post more 'face' shots instead of from the rear.... #ahem# I mean the back (and I thought you liked my bum Jay!?). I like to give my public what they want!

So it was back to OZ to celebrate the festive period in the sunshine, whilst most of you (back home in the U.K.) endured bitterly cold weather and probably more snow than I have ever seen ('would' have ever seen may i add! ).

My home throughout my 2nd stint in Sydney would be in an affluent suburb called bayview. The hospitable hosts, Paul & Lisa are distant relatives of mine (Paul is my step-dad, Ed's, cousin). But I must say It didn't ever feel that way! From the moment Paul picked me up from the Sydney Kingsford Smith airport to when Lisa dropped me off there, I was treated really well, like a member of the family.
I must say Paul and I immediately bonded after my airport pickup when he stopped off at the 'bottle shop' on the way home and bought us both a can of bourbon + coke! he certainly knows the way to my heart hehe!

Waiting back at the house in Bayview were Paul's parents Ken and Joan who are also over from England visiting. Its possibly been a couple of years since I last saw Ken and Joan back home so it was a welcomed reunion.

I last saw Paul probably when I was a teenager and indeed when he wasn't grey hehe! Paul met Lisa (a native girl) in England and then they eventually got married here in Australia where they now reside.
They have 2 gorgeous baby boys - twins; Charlie and William (well 18 months or so, are they still classed as babies!??).

We spent a day on Paul and Lisa's boat along the 'pittwater', check out the family, including the ship's captains; Charlie and William - I was in safe hands!:

oz xmas - pauls boat 3

oz xmas - pauls boat 2

oz xmas - pauls boat 1

A few days after I arrived, on Xmas eve in fact, was the hotly awaited annual event for the community of Bayview - the dog race! Now I know what your thinking, as it was exactly what I expected too, but oh no.... it is not conventional dog racing! This dog race is done in the water! The dogs and their owners are transported over to an island which is the starting point of the race. They then have to make their way together (so owner AND dog) to the mainland. The first 'team' to set foot on terra firma is the winner! Now this is no easy feet for either mammal - I would say that its a couple of k'ms swim from one side to the other. The only saving grace for the owners is that they don't have to swim, they can kayak or paddle on a surfboard for example. The dog HAS to swim. (the reason the owners swim alongside is obviously for safety reasons in case the dog gets in to trouble.. and of course to keep them going in the right direction!).
Pretty much the whole community comes out in force - hundreds, probably thousands of people cheering either on the shoreline, or like me, on a boat right on top of the action!
It sounds pretty bizarre and it is. But its charming. Its good fun. Its what travelling is all about for me - doing, seeing random and unusual things!
For the record, Lisa and Paul's friend won the race for the 4th year in a row with his dog 'Cooper' a black labrador. Check out the action:

oz xmas - dog race 2

oz xmas - dog race 1

After the dog race was over, I stayed on Paul's boat with Lisa's sister Rebecca and her friends to carry on partying! It was soo strange being on a boat on Xmas eve but sure was good fun! People were getting 'taxi' boats out to our boat and jumping aboard - it was awesome! I became the resident DJ and plugged my ipod into the boat's, quite impressive stereo!
We all then went to Lisa's brother's (James) for a house party which was really cool and then I went to a club on my own (don't ask!) and spent a large portion of the night dancing with 2 German guys.... I really shouldn't have added that in... visions of 'the village people' are filling your minds I'm sure! Damn it!
Have a look at various photos. The first of which is Rebecca and I, who i must give a special thanks to for taking me under her wing:

oz xmas - eve

oz xmas - eve 1

oz xmas - eve 2

Christmas day wasn't quite the roasting hot sunny day we had all hoped for but im sure a lot warmer than it was back home. Traditionally the Australians have cold meat buffet due to the hot weather. So we did and as usual tasted really good! Lisa sure is a good cook and I really, really miss her food!!
We exchanged gifts and I generously came away with 2 t-shirts, a book and of course chocolates... everyone needs chocolate! All in all it was a good day, check out some snaps of the big day. Oh and notice that both boys are happily un-wrapping their presents until... any child's worst nightmare..... they received arsenal shirts! A couple of spurs fans in the making right there! Hah, vintage!

oz xmas - prezzies 2

oz xmas - prezzies 3

oz xmas - prezzies 1

As it turned out, I was not the only backpacker visiting family in Sydney. Valena one of the Canadian girls I travelled with in New Zealand, was also doing the same thing for a week or so over the festive season. Naturally we met up a couple of times and re-visited various landmarks in Sydney like the harbour and Bondi beach. We were hoping to compete against each other in a 'surf off' and display our board skills that we have improved along the way, but sadly there were no waves on the day we planned for it!
As always had a fantastic time with Valena and was good to see her again. Even though she did turn down my marriage proposal! I put it down to the fact that she is a Mormon christian and although I'm sure very tempted, I lost out to the big guy in the end! hehe just kidding V! :P
A couple of pics:

oz xmas - Valena and I

oz xmas - Valena

For much of my time there I was helping with renovations to the house. This largely included landscaping, painting and sometimes being a mule! :P
Paul and Lisa plan to sell this property in search for a new home that is more child friendly. Their current house sits high up on a hillside of Bayview, Sydney. Detached with 2 balconies (one on each level) overlooking the garden and of course their swimming pool!
Here are some pics of us working and me relaxing by the pool:

oz xmas - working 2

oz xmas - working 1

oz xmas - relax by pool

New year came around fast and it gave me an awesome opportunity to witness what is regarded as one of the best, if not THE best new year firework displays in the world - over Sydney harbour bridge!
Cue another re-union, this time with my dutch friend Tanika, which was actually the 3rd time I have bumped into her in Australia! Small world for such a huge country eh!?
Like 10's of thousands of other people, we watched the firework display from the bank of the park. Tanika and her friends qued up nice and early and secured a really good vantage point. I rolled up 12 hours prior to the countdown at midday and Tanika snuck me in without the standard couple of hours queuing time! Result!
Sitting in a park with thousands of people for 12 hours isn't something I would do again. It was quite fun though. I actually bumped into another backpacker there, a guy from Harlow funny enough who i played in a pool competition against in new Zealand! He and friends were dressed as 'umpa-lumpa's' and were really funny getting the crowd going with various chants and singing. He actually saw me in the crowd and I then had the embarrassment of being lifted on their shoulders and paraded around in front of thousands of people! It was sooo funny, everyone in the crowd were cheering! Good times!
Take a look at the day time shots leading up the fireworks:

oz xmas - new year 4

oz xmas - new year 2

oz xmas - new year 3

Unfortunately you were not permitted to take alcohol to the event, which was strictly enforced. That way they could have the monopoly and the cheek of charging $11 for a can of Bourbon and coke!!!!!????? Total rip-off! I opted for 2 bottles of red wine which set me back $70 and a few swigs of neat vodka which someone managed to sneak in.... needless to say it did the job and I don't remember 'too' much about getting home that night. All I know is that it took me 7 hours including a nap at a bus stop! lol!
The fireworks were really amazing though and worth the wait. Notice all the dig cams illuminating in the photos!:

oz xmas - new year 1

oz xmas - fireworks 1

oz xmas - fireworks 3

oz xmas - fireworks 2

During my stay in Bayview I was lucky enough to be invited to attend a yacht race! Lisa's dad, 'dingle', has a small yacht which they enter in the weekly race. Dingle himself was actually racing on another, faster boat, but lends his boat out to Rebecca's partner, Mark.
The crew consisted of 2 rookie Englishmen (myself and Paul) and Mark, the local! The race itself is competitive as it has a league table and handicaps but its also fun and laid back. For example, we were all drinking alcohol throughout the race and by the end of it, a little tipsy - inc the captain!
Mark explained the basics to me as we went along. However he would have tough time in the race this time round! You see there is something called tacking. To 'tack' basically means you are changing the sail from one side of the boat to the other. You do this to angle the boat in a zig-zag pattern to get the best out of the wind. Generally a two man job. We however had one sailor and two rookies who couldn't work out there ass from their elbow!
I managed to damage my camera during the race when Paul did the opposite to what Mark instructed and so the boat jerked to one side unexpectedly whilst I was taking a snap! I ended up being thrown onto my camera whilst the zoom lens was extended! It bent the lens which meant no more pics on the race but it bent back into shape afterward. Granted a yacht race isn't ideal for taking pictures, but I did it for you guys - I like to keep my blog littered with action pics! :P
It was all good fun though. I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and a big thank you to everyone involved! its not every day you get to crew a yacht in a race! I cant remember where we came but it wasn't too bad, we certainly weren't last so that's the main thing!
Photos of the race, meet Mark the skipper in the 2nd pic with Paul:

oz xmas - yacht race 2

oz xmas - yacht race 5

oz xmas - yacht race 1

oz xmas - yacht race 4

oz xmas - yacht race 3

Staying in a real bed (double may I add!) was amazing luxury for me after 8 months of backpacking it as cheaply as possible! It did however have its Drawbacks; meet my 2 room mates, a Huntsman spider bigger than the palm of my hand and a little lizard which I didn't mind so much... oh and While we are on the subject of spiders... I also have two photos of a funnel web spider which we came across while landscaping the garden. This is the most poisonous spider in the world! It lives underground, which is a relief and literally makes a funnel web, like a cylinder. Its size is similar to a 50p piece:

oz xmas - spider 2

oz xmas - spider 1

oz xmas - spider 3

oz xmas - lizard

After spending a month at Paul and Lisa's it was time to move on to my next adventure - south east Asia.
Once again a special thank you to the both of them for letting me stay and making it so memorable. I must say I really miss everyone there especially the boys; William and Charlie who I ended up getting pretty close to! Although twins, both have different personalities. They kind of remind me of Fraser and I when we were children; William more like me, cheeky, hyperactive and likes to beat his brother up (got that one in heheee!). Charlie is more methodical in his approach and takes everything in. Both adorable though! I really miss Charlie running up to me every morning when I arrived upstairs through the baby barrier! So sweet!
I will leave you with some more photos of the boys.
Hope everyone is all good back home! Miss you all!
Grantxx

oz xmas - charlie 1

oz xmas - william 1

oz xmas - charlie 1

oz xmas - swimming pool 1

oz xmas - swimming pool 2