Leaving Sydney...

It's been four months since we arrived in Sydney Harbour last November, and now it's time for us to leave this beautiful city! Sydney is the first long stop we have had on this journey so far, and even though four months have passed by so quickly, we have meet so many lovely new and old friends here, and we have learned to know this magnificent place better than any other city we have visited in the world, - only, of course, with the exception of our home town Oslo.... And speaking of home towns, we could actually see ourselves living here for good! You never know - as the famous actor/governor says - I'll be back!

Thanks to Astrid and Simon we got the best berth we could ever dream of for Go Beyond while we became landlubbers to discover Sydney and New South Wales. And thanks to Ole (or Olly as they say here) we got to stay in his wonderful condo at the heart of the metropolis - namely Kings Cross!

Matt and Tania took us to their farm in the Blue Mountains, we have been in the woods of St Ives, at Torunn and Foads, - and Rune and Live showed us the North Beaches of Sydney. Elins mother Ragna came to see both Astrid and Elin in November, and our two girls Thea and Kine, whom we had not seen for a year, came to visit us for x-mas and new years, and we got to show them some of Sydney as well.

We have seen the start of Sydney to Hobart on Boxing day and the fireworks on New Years Eve, both from our boat in the Harbour - we have been to museums, galleries and the Botanical Gardens, the Opera House and QVB, to the Fish Market, the Aquarium and the Zoo - and visited the suburbs Balmain, Bondi Beach, Crows Nest, Darlinghurst, Manly, Neutral bay, Newtown, Potts Point, Rushcutters Bay, Surry Hills, Woolloomooloo, and many, many more. And we have learned to appreciate the fine cuisine of Sydney. Mads will introduce Pork Belly to Norwegians who still thinks Ribbe is special…)

But most precious are the memories we have got through the people here. We really hope to see you all again soon! Astrid and Simon, Ole, Live and Rune, Matt and Tania, Torun and Foad, Jackie, John, Janie (and Joycie - vuff!), Oscar, Dorian and Tansy, Kat and Brad of Ghost, Sammy and Mike of Quartermoon, and the wild bunch of Stellamans on A Small Nest! We love you all for your hospitality and for making our stay in Sydney so fantastic!

All works on Go Beyond was ready today, and we left Balmain Cove Marina for good – at least for now…We got our new solar panels, and the rig is tuned for ocean sailing! Many thanks to Peter and his lads at Sydney Rigging for a great job, - and the same to Carl Hanley and his mates at Cosine Shipwright Services.

Before we said good bye to Astrid on the dock, we got some free drama involving the famous Sydney Water Police (we used to watch the series on Norwegian TV…)! We had found two suspiciously tied up dingys on our pontoon this morning, so we called Sydney Marine Rescue and reported this. After less than an hour, the Water Police arrived, and soon came a forensic expert to check the dingys for prints. The two dingys were stolen from the bay next to ours last night – and the owner of the $10.000 one came and was pleased to find his boat safe!

Bye, bye Sydney – we’ll miss you!

 

Elin and Mads