Day 50 & Day 51: Sydney and New Zealand

Day 50: I noticed today there are alot of German tourists here as the majority of the people staying at my hostel are German. Alot of Europeans come to Australia, because it is easy to work and travel in Australia compared to other countries like the U.S. I started the day buying my ticket to the Opera House. As I had a few hours to kill I decided to try some Fish &Chips and head over to Manly Beach. There was only a few minutes till the next Ferry and realizing that was the only one I could take, since I needed to be back in time for the Opera House tour, I headed to the ticket counter. The gentlemen told me that he didn't accept credit cards and not having cash with me as I was trying to dispose of it as I was leaving to go to New Zealand the next day and didn't see an ATM in sight, I explained to the gentlemen at the ticket counter that I was leaving Aussie the next day and didn't have enough cash on hand. He told me to hold on and talk to the gentlemen that was monitoring the line and then he motioned me to come through the line. The gentlemen said to me that he was in the X-Mas spirit and 'Merry X-mas'! Boy I though wow, I have really been lucky and have met some nice people at the ferry ticket counter. Manly Beach was nice, not as nice as Bondi Beach, maybe cuz it was raining. It had a cute downtown area. The Opera House was nice, it is considered one of the Engineering Wonders of the World. I then headed to the Sky Tour to see a view of the city. I bought my ticket and once I got up there it was so rainy and I couldn't see a thing. I told the lady at the counter, once I got down that I couldn't see anything. She told me I could come back another day and I told her I was leaving then she apologized for the weather and happily refunded my money back. Boy I thought I have really met some nice people here in Sydney.


Day 51: Today is X-mas eve and I left Sydney to head out to New Zealand (Aort. As I was checking in at the counter. The lady behind the counter asked me if I had another shirt (I had a T-shirt on) I could change into, looking puzzled at her question, she told me that she could bump me up to 'Business class' as the flight was fully booked, happily I accepted and looked thru my luggage for a more professional shirt to wear. I thought, boy this is the best x-mas present I could have gotten here is to travel via Business Class! Here's to Australia....... At first I wasn't sure how I would like it as I have been having so many culturally experiences and Australia was so similar to the U.S. I didn't quite get the cultural experience being in Sydney and Cairns that I had from the other countries I had traveled to so far. Australia being such a young country (it's even younger than the U.S.) and being a mix of many different cultural groups. I have enjoyed my stay in Australia, Australia I must say is a beautiful country with nice beaches, and some of the most friendliest and helpful people I have met so far on my travels. On the plane to 'Kiwiland' I met a Kiwi. She told me that the Kiwi is actually a bird with a long beak that doesn't fly and that the Kiwi's love rugby! When I got to Auckland (pronounced 'Oakland'), by the locals. I noticed how the Kiwi's are friendly and love to talk. My cab driver was telling me all about himself and his family on the ride over to the hostel!