One of the reasons we chose Australia is that our friends Rena and Tony moved to Sydney last year. So, we were able to see them at night and on the weekends while we made preparations for the Outback during the day.
Here are some of the things we did and saw in Sydney:
Sydney:
- Dinner cruise on the harbor
- Ferry ride to Manly Beach
- Saw the Sydney Opera House, Luna Park, and Sydney Harbour Bridge
- Explored Manly Beach for an afternoon
- Walked around downtown (otherwise known as the Central Business District or CBD)
- Learned that Dim Sum is called Yum Cha in Oz
- Learned that food is expensive in Australia
- from grocery stores and at restaurants
- Experienced the Sydney Fish Market
- had the best lamingtons of the trip at a bakery within the fish market
- Avenue Q (without Ryan)
- Improv night in which Tony performed
Preparations:
- Picked up eight Jerry cans from Super Cheap Auto
- mounted 10 Jerrys total
- Picked up two, 4kg propane tanks from Super Cheap Auto after trying multiple stores
- other tanks were short and squat and did not fit on the trailer
- Bought new OME shocks from ARB
- fronts and rears for the LX450
- installed these on the side of the road in a residential area!
- Bought a Magnum Hand Winch
- Installed UHF CB antenna and radio
- Installed Hi-Lift jack on roof rack
- it was located on the bull bar
- we were told we’d be pulled over by the police if we left it in this location
- Installed dune flag (from ExplorOz.com)
- Repacked vehicle and trailer
- Provisioned food and water