There wasn’t really a plan for Wednesday so we headed out mid afternoon to Darling Harbour for a spot of exploration and souvenir shopping. It was only one bus to Darling Harbour from our home and because of mums horrendous toe, we didn’t want to do too much walking as it was only 24 hours after.I do like the harbour. It has the aquarium, Sydney wildlife zoo and Madame Tussaud’s along the edge and a shopping mall with copious amounts of restaurants the other side. It’s just a nice place to sit and watch the world go by. We ate in Hard Rock Cafe as none of the others had eaten there before and then we headed back to the Queen Victoria Building. It’s the bus stop the 441 takes us to and from Birchgrove. It’s an area of beautiful buildings. On our way there, we passed the cenotaph and St Martins Place which was stunning.We passed through the posh part of town with expensive boutiques either side of the roadworks before arriving back at QVB.The city of Sydney is truly stunning, full of such architectural beauty. Once the sun had set off the balcony at home, it was time for a few card games.I could happily live in the house we’re staying in! Card games, toasties and timtams were the evening entertainment. We got the hire car sorted and whale watching too! Thursday came around and it was another slow morning with us catching a few rays off the balcony before heading to Hyde Park. There, we’d take the gang on a tour of Sydney as we did the first day we got here. Up through Hyde Park, past St Mary’s Cathedral to the Royal Botanic Gardens. It is a beautiful walk. This time we went a different way and ended up on the right of the Opera House. It’s a shame the sky was so cloudy. The views here are just amazing, everywhere you look. We got back to circular quay ready for our whale watching trip with ‘fantasea,’ in the hope of catching a glimpse of humpback whales. The boat ride was incredibly rough, but it was so worth it.The views looking back at Sydney were what kept me from feeling sick to begin with. It didn’t take too long for the first sighting of the whales to occur. After seeing the blue whale in California, I had wanted to see humpback whales. They were a bit far out from the boat to see them clearly to begin with, but they were recognisable from the huge spout of water being blown out the water. There were two sets of two whales and they were huge!They were majestic as they folded through the water, gracing us with their presence for a few minutes before they dived back down to around 200m. Roughly 5-8 minutes later, they’re surface again. The question was, would it be the left, right or front of the boat? As much as I thought I had sea legs, and I have never ever been sea sick, I was feeling the sickest I have ever felt on a boat. Mum, who hates boats, was staring at the horizon and holding on for dear life. Eventually, I gave in and headed to the bottom deck, where I was greeted with the stench of puke as people were emptying their stomachs into sick bags kindly provided by the crew. Mum followed me down and I soon felt much better, darting from left to right to see the whales. I managed to not be sick, however Mum and Claire both were.

Whilst we didn’t see them breach at all, we did see a double fluke from them which was magnificent. We saw them so many times so we’re incredibly lucky. After about an hour and a half at sea we headed back in, pretty quick.It felt much better being on dry land. Trying to find somewhere for the five of us to eat proved troublesome, especially with a fussy eater and a vegetarian. We found a pizza place which wasn’t what we anticipated but it was very quirky from the outside. We didn’t eat there and instead headed to Rashays in Darling Harbour for delicious food and distinctly average service. We headed back for an evening of card games and trying to plan the next few days as the weather was turning dreadful.

Until next time…