Nov 6

Today was just another driving day.  Sydney is our goal as we have a meeting with our sponsor at Webasto who has agreed to install a new air cooler on the expedition vehicle.  The Webasto Bycool Camper is a high performance evaporative cooler system that will work whether the engine is on or off. It is a low maintenance, low water consuming product and is perfect for our needs as it will run on our 12v electrical system.

After finding the area where Webasto is located, on the south side of Sydney, we found a park in a residential area where we set up camp for the night and set up the BBQ for dinner.

Nov 7

Today was taken up completely with the professional installation of the cooler at the Webasto headquarters.  Luckily the Fuso could drive into their building as it ended up raining most of the day.  We kept ourselves busy working online as we were able to connect our computer to the Webasto network.  At the end of the day, we learned how to operate our new cooler and took the opportunity for a photo-op with our sponsor, Christian.

We have decided not to try to drive into the center of Sydney as it seems that parking in the city is a major issue, and if we are lucky enough to actually find a space then the parking fees will be exorbitant.  So we found a parking space in a lot next to the train station in Sutherland where we'll spend the next couple of nights and we'll ride the train into the city.  The parking lot was very centrally located as we could walk to the grocery stores, the laundromat and cafes.  What a find, even if we get to listen to the rumble of trains during the night.

Nov 8

We got up fairly early so that we could use the laundromat before exploring the city.  Within a couple of hours we had all of our errands completed and boarded a train for the 40 minute ride into Sydney. 

What a busy day, we must have walked for miles.  Arriving in Sydney, we first took a tram to the Pyrmont Bay Wharf so that we could catch a ferry for a "poorman's" cruise of the great Sydney Harbour.  The ferry made a couple of stops at points in the harbour, then took us right under the Sydney Harbour Bridge and alongside the Opera House.  While we were on the cruise, the sun came out and the views of the harbour, the bridge and the opera house were absolutely stunning.  This was a great way to introduce us to the city.

After exiting the ferry, we explored the quays at the harbour, wandered through the alleys and streets of the old city in the area of the Rocks, then stopped for lunch at a old hotel/pub.  After lunch we climbed up the hill and walked out across the Harbour Bridge, enjoying the views and then looking up to where more intrepid travelers were actually climbing along the spans of the bridge up to the very top!  After a long day exploring the city we joined the masses of commuters for the train ride home.

Nov 9 - 13

We continued on to Seven Mile Beach National Park where we had wanted to camp, but when we arrived we found the camping area closed and a burned out car sitting in the parking area.  Obviously the area was no longer safe to camp in, so we had to drive further on.  We did find an excellent camping area in Shoalhaven to spend a couple of days. 

The camping area at Shoalhaven was located at a point of land along the ocean and at the silted up old mouth of the Shoalhaven River.  The old river mouth is now an estuary that is home to thousands of wintering birds.  Too bad for us that they hadn't arrived yet.  During our stay we gave the Fuso a thorough cleaning, his first in months.