We took the long road through the mountains back to Sydney. The first section to Singelton is a narrow road with many climbs and bends. It was under repair. From the mining town of Singelton to Winsor the road is wider and well maintained. It followed a dry river stream through the mountains up to 500+ m and down to sea level a few times. The sun was shining and the road not busy. That changed after Winsor when we entered the commuter towns around Sydney. It was busy but with the Gps system and the help of Goggle maps we got to the city campsite without problems. Our Kiwi friends, Dave and Christine, came over to meet us and had booked a chalet at the same campsite. We just came back from a lovely night out at the local shopping mall with restaurants and chocolate outlets. Rudy’s diet is kaput. Tomorrow we are off touring Sydney together.

Our first stop on this morning trip with Christine and Dave was Bondi Beach with its golden colored sand. The sea was rough and the weather was foggy and drizzling. No swimmers were in the water. You could easily imagine how this beautiful beach could be covered with towels and sunbathers/swimmers in the summer.

Our next stop was the new Sydney fish market. This is a very large new complex. On the ground floor the fish is delivered, cleaned or sliced up for display in the large permanent stalls on the first floor. Everything is clean and well presented. I have never seen so many different types of fishes, lobsters, prawns and shell fish. There are also several cafes here with many delicious looking foods, which we couldn’t resist.  So we had our lunch here.  Inside. The market  is built on the water front. A large terrace surrounds the building with many exclusive fish restaurants.

On the other side of the Sydney Harbor is Manly Peninsula. It also has a nice beach front with an alley of large pine trees. This beach has the best waves for surfing. Despite the weather there was a group of surfers challenging the waves. We did a walk around the rocky beach head.

On the way back to the campsite we stopped in town for farewell drinks and said our goodbyes after Dave and Christine dropped us off at the camper. We had a lovely day.

On 23/5 we went to Sydney center by Metro from the campground. Beautiful new metro line all the way to the city center. 
Our first visit was the Arts Gallery. Then we went to huge Botanical Garden where we saw several trees and plants from around the world. And the highlight was spotting a big owl 🦉 in one of the trees. 
Later we walked along the waterfront to the Opera house. We were planning to go on the ferry for a ride across. Unfortunately the weather was against us. It was foggy and rainy. Instead we decided to go to the Queen Victoria Building (QVB). Big shopping mall with impressive interior design. As it is Saturday and rainy it was very busy inside. 

What I can not understand is how in Australia public transport is so cheap (50 cents a ride), the museum buildings so impressive and extravagant and free and there is no tax on capital or inheritance. How is this all financed?

Yesterday at the camping we packed our bags and cleaned the camper. Then drove via the petrol station (diesel and camping gas) to our hotel close to the airport. Peter and Narelle arrived late afternoon from Holland/Singapore.  We handed over the camper keys and had a lovely Vietnamees dinner close to the hotel. It was great listening and exchanging travel stories from the past 3 months. We also exchanged tips on how to improve each other’s camper. Today after a joint breakfast we said our goodbyes and took the train into town.
It was a very rainy day. We visited what was called China Town but that is nothing more than a 400 m street section with an Entry Arch on both sides. It was Monday and also before 11:00 so not much was going on. Further on we came to the Darling harbour. When you are at the water level you walk under several large freeway constructions. Also the towering buildings make you feel humble and small like ants. What an engineering marvel.
Since it kept on raining we dropped into the IMAX theater to see the latest Star wars movie in 3D to pass the time. After 2 1/2 hrs it was still drizzling. This time instead of taking the light rail, we boarded one of the many harbor ferries and sailed around 2 bends and underneath the harbor bridge to the “rock” area. Normally a tourist highlight in good weather. But not today.
Later we did a bit of shopping (a 10-20 mm lens for Rudy) and a lock and duffel bag for JJ. Since it was already 17.30 and the rain has stopped, we decided to stay on to watch a light show (Vivid Sydney) starting at 18.00. We watched the light show projection onto the Opera house, harbor bridge and some other buildings in town. Very impressive. On the morning of 25/5 we took the hotel shuttle to the airport and caught the plane to Singapore.