Crazy Weather, An Olive Farm and Aspiring Dutch Emigrants

The most common comment from visitors from England and New Zealand last week was that the weather was just like home and not what they were hoping for. We've had a pretty crazy few weeks weatherwise here in Sydney. There was a long run of extreme heat (40 degrees plus) then about a week of cool wet weather which was almost like winter had come 3 or 4 months early. Many of the visitors were only here for a week or less and just suffered the wet days which made it hard to do much sightseeing.

I ran across a young English guy (late teens) who had spent some time in Sydney but also about 2 months work on an olive farm in Hillston, NSW, He quite enjoyed the farm work but found it very hot.

Travelling home on Malaysia Airlines was a 30's Dutch couple who were here for 3 months, mainly in Sydney. They had been here a few times before and loved it so much that they were checking out job opportunities so that they can live here.

On the same flight was an older Malaysian couple who had flown to the Gold Coast with the budget carrier, Air Asia and had already booked another dirt cheap fare on Air Asia to Melbourne later in the year. We desperately need more low cost airlines such as Air Asia to fly into Sydney.

A couple of weeks back I finally got around to doing something that so many of our overseas visitors do in Sydney - the Harbour Bridge climb. It was a great experience and I would certainly recommend it. Not many locals tend to do it and just think 'it's something we can do anytime and put it off till later'. I'll try and post a photo here soon.

Till next week.

Peter

Souvenirs Australia Warehouse

An Exam Visitor from Egypt, A Young Swiss Tourist and Lots More Family Visits

At the weekend I talked to a friendly Egyptian guy who had come to Sydney for 5 days just to sit for a computer networking examination. There are apparently very few cities where this exam can be done. Despite failing the exam he was still very happy and upbeat and loved Sydney so much that he was seriously considering moving here with his wife and daughters. He had already done some checking on property prices and determined that it was affordable for him.

There were many more family and friend visits including those from England, Wales and Germany. The very bubbly Welsh girl spent the time with her boyfriend here in Sydney and did the Harbour Bridge Climb. She assured me that I would really enjoy the Bridge Climb when I get to do it next week. I've been talking about doing it for years but now it's finally happening. It just seems to be one of those things that visitors do all the time but us locals keep putting off doing.

I came across a Malaysian women here on business for a week. There was also an English woman who combined a holiday in Byron Bay with business in Sydney. However she stayed in a backpackers in both places and not the typical luxury hotel for a business visitor.

The young Swiss visitor I met had stayed with friends on the Gold Coast and also did camping tours in the Northern Territory - including Alice Springs, Uluru and up to Darwin. Unfortunately she fell sick while on the Gold Coast and spent a longer time there and was unable to visit some of the other areas she had planned.

Till next week.

Peter

Souvenirs Australia Warehouse