a clean, good-natured place

I'm on a beach in Mallacoota right now, trying to finish this before the sun goes down. Mallacoota is on the Southeast tip of Victoria, about halfway between Sydney and Melbourne. I've been driving now for the past few days, stopping only at National Parks, beaches, supermarkets and gas stations. I'm planning on getting to Melbourne sometime on the 6th, which is probably around the time I'll post this.

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday break. I spent both Christmas and New Year's Day on Bondi Beach. As I mentioned earlier, there's nothing like a dip in the ocean to clear the head.

As you might guess, NYE was the purpose of my trip to Sydney, as it was for every other backpacker in the free world. For good reason, though. Here are a few fast facts on Sydney's NYE celebration:
-- 1.5 million people surrounded Sydney Harbour to take in the fireworks
-- The fireworks lasted 12 minutes and cost $5 million dollars
-- The fireworks were launched from the Harbour Bridge, six barges, and nine city buildings
-- It cost $160 thousand dollars to clean up the mess everyone left behind
-- 130 people were arrested

(Rest assured, I was among the 1,499,870 souls with the good fortune of waking up unshackled.)

I thought it would be a good idea to watch the fireworks from a park called Observatory Hill. It was close to the bridge and provided an elevated view of the harbour. Also, it was one of the few vantage points that allowed alcohol. Minor detail, really. When I arrived early in the afternoon, I found the hill swarming with thousands of people, drinking, dancing, cheering, chanting, some dressed in costumes that would barely pass as normal on Halloween. Yes... minor detail, indeed. Lucky for me a group of friends had already staked claim to some prime real estate and fortunately they were happy to let me crash their party.

NYE on Observatory Hill is like spring break for twenty-somethings out of college. It's one big party, but the Wild 'n' Crazy element isn't turned up to 11. You can't rev your engine full throttle all day and expect to see the fireworks. In the end, that's was the day was all about.

They were worth every second of sitting atop that hill. It was a spectacle. I recorded the first two minutes, but my camera ran out of batteries. Poor foresight on my part. In any event, I'll post the video on facebook soon. Anyone with a flip comment on my video-recording skills should try steadying a camera on NYE at midnight.

My stay in the city itself was an unexpected highlight. Sydney has a wealth of neighborhoods, each with their own personality. Much like the New York boroughs, except without the attitude. Actually, with a good attitude. You'd find it hard to frown too if you lived on a world-famous harbour where it's never too hot or cold, and the sun never goes on vacation. I'm no city slicker, but I definitely could have spent more than ten days there.


Some of the standout moments for me were: walking through Olympic Park and exploring the massive grounds of the 2000 summer games; spending a rainy day in the Australian Museum and Queen Victoria Building; buying a discount-Tuesday ticket to Sherlock Holmes, bringing in 16 chocolate chip cookies and a litre of milk, and theatre-hopping to Where the Wild Things Are and Avatar; and aimlessly walking through the city with a big, stupid grin on my face until my legs got tired. I've gotten quite good at that. A walk around the Opera House and across the Harbour Bridge was a perfect way to spend my last night.

My stay in Sydney not only represented the halfway point of my time in Australia, but also the last of my scheduled stops. I can pick up and go wherever I want. It's a good feeling, like stepping off the school bus in late June and having the whole summer in front of you.

I can't help but think, as the Tasman Tide creeps up to my toes, and a long highway waits through miles of the green Victoria bush, that my trip has only begun.