Apparently there are two Francis St’s in Sydney. Armed with a fifty percent chance of getting the correct one we drove the van and Toby’s car, now named The Interceptor, right into the heart of the city. A long way from the correct Francis St. When we finally arrived at our desired destination it was late and dark, we were tired and sweaty. Thankfully Kate was kind enough to provide us with a hot shower and fridge stocked with cold beer.

My old mate Luke and cousin Lisa were in Sydney for the beginning of their Aussie holiday, so it only seamed right to begin the mayhem post haste. I had been told that Kings Cross was an area that required respectable dress, so I borrowed some jeans, put on my least smelly Fred Perry top, slipped on my cons and hit the town. Toby and I lost each other the second we left the taxi, but in the first bar I passed, Marco and a group of lads we met in Byron were having drinks. Before long Luke, Lisa, all the girls and Toby had joined us. The drink flowed and it was awesome to see everyone. The bouncers wouldn’t let me in the cocktail bar because I didn’t have a girl around my arm and they wouldn’t let us drink outside because the chairs were all taken. But I didn’t care. It was a top night, tainted only by the fact Maccies weren’t serving McFlurries. I made my views about this known to the staff and headed back for a night by the side of the road in the van.

The next night saw my first visit to an RSL, which is like an English ex-servicemen’s club on speed. We were too late for the weekly seafood raffle but had a meal and drinks over looking Bondi Beach.

After that rather quiet night it was time to hit Kings Cross again. But before that we had a BBQ at the apartment and cracked open a sack of wine. No surprise the night’s events were a bit hazy the next day, but the pictures revealed Luke getting a Chinese guy thrown out for piggy backing him around, Lisa falling off her chair and chatting up the toughest looking guy in the club, and some generally horrendous behavior. A little rest bite from the van saw me crash on the floor in the hostel room.

The rest bite didn’t last long, as when I returned to but my bag in the van an Aussie woman shouted from a second floor apartment:

“Oi ya bum! Stop living on our street!”

Not the proudest moment of my life, but one I enjoy sharing. A less humorous encounter involved a resident asking when exactly we planned to leave, as she didn’t care for a camper van cluttering up her street. I suppose I should be grateful no one called the police, and next time be more subtle.

After surfing for a week solid in Bali, I was itching to get back on a surf board and figured Bondi would be the best place to buy one. However an important purchase like that usually takes me a while, so after looking around I ended up just buying a skim board. Twenty dollars from the corner shop, and it has provided plenty of fun and exercise. Our Canadian travelling buddy Carolyn was in Bondi, so went to the beach with Toby to test it out. The Bondi surfers were riding the waves and the beautiful people strolling up and down the beach, while we spent the afternoon falling over in the shallows looking like ridiculous tourists. This might have been fun but was not a look I cared to embrace for very long, so before we departed I woke early and bought my first surfboard. Not exactly flush with cash, I ended up buying it from the second hand chain Happy Hockers. For $220 I got a board, wax, leash and case. The peripherals are pretty low grade, but the board actually turned out to be pretty decent. The guy even cut me a deal on a fishing rod and reel. The money was actually Christmas presents that Lisa had brought over, so thanks to my relatives for the dollars! I hope it is nice to know your money didn’t get blown on sacks of wine?

Ash also bought a skate board and convinced Carolyn to come on the next leg of our road trip. Luke, Lisa, Katya and Harriet were also slumming it with us camping bums for a few days. Stocked with boards and bodies, the van and Interceptor headed for the Pacific Highway.