Sydney

Well the party is over and the long trek back to Lightning Ridge will soon begin. The ship docked at Circular Quay at 5.00am ready to disembark almost 2,000 passengers, most of whom have been on board for the last 114 days. 

I couldn't quite pull myself out of bed for our arrival through Sydney Heads but as it is a slightly cloudy day that will reach about 28 degrees Celsius I showered early and headed to the upper decks to take in the sights of Sydney. It is a view I rarely tire of. One of the joys of sailing on a vessel the size of the Crown Princess is that you get to see the city from a different perspective. Just before we docked I looked out of my window just as we were passing Kirribilli House. The guys on the other side of the ship would have had the even more spectacular view of the Opera House. Looking down on these iconic buildings is not something you would normally get to do and it really was a real treat to do so. 

I took one of the aft elevators to deck 15 and walked to the back of the ship to treat myself to a bird's eye view of the Harbour Bridge. I then ascended the stairs up to decks 16, 17 and ultimately 18 and caught the sun rising behind the Opera House. The city was coming alive with joggers doing their stuff around the foreshore, the harbour ferries were coming and going from Circular Quay and the roads were filling with traffic ready for the last day of the working week. 

The breakfast buffet was its usual chaotic mess, the espresso coffee stations were getting hammered and everywhere I went I was stepping over the luggage of those people yet to disembark. The staff and guests were saying their last goodbyes. There were hugs, some tears, lots of laughter and lots of good intentions, promising to stay in touch. 

Its a little sad to break up my posse of ship board friends. Hailing from San Francisco, Perth, England and South Africa we were a veritable United Nations. It may have only lasted 36 days but real and hopefully lasting bonds were formed. My liver will be thankful though, it has not taken this kind of beating for some time. 

I'm heading to airport, in an ironic twist, to pick up my car to start the drive home. Today I'm just driving to Toowoon Bay, on the Central Coast, where I'll spend a couple of nights and start to detox. Then on Sunday it will be on to Narrabri with Monday seeing me make the final run into Lightning Ridge. Its been an absolute blast and in a heart beat I could happily turn around and do it all again. Sadly the bank balance and the need to replenish it stands between me and that goal.