I flew into Sydney today via Aukland, leaving Fiji at the godawful hour of 3:45 AM. With Carla as my personal tour guide, we visited Sydney's Central Business District, Manly Beach, Chinatown, and Darling Harbour, and got doses of Australian slang and '80s fashions along the way.

Sydney was originally settled as the first English penal colony, after abandoning their original settlement at Botany Bay. Then called Port Jackson, Sydney was selected for its magnificent natural harbour and nearby fresh-water source.

On day 2 we visited the Harbour Bridge and its museum and explored The Rocks, the old part of Sydney town. After a pleasant lunch at the Botanic Gardens, we took astroll through Hyde Park and King's Cross and visited the Australian Museum. The evening closed out with some catching up at the hostel bar.

Day 3 was the Big Event day, beginning with a matinee play at the Sydney Opera House. Following that, we went to Olympic Park to witness game 2 of the State of Origin game, the biggest rugby match of the year.

In 2000, Sydney played host to the XXVII Olympic Summer Games, which featured 199 participating countries and 10,651 athletes taking part in the world's largest sporting event. Despite its relatively small population, Australia still finished fourth among participating countries with 58 medal winnings.

Carla left early morning day 4, so I was on my own for the rest of my stay in Sydney. I visited Sydney Tower and Darling Harbour, including the Outback and Northern Territory Centre for the Sounds of the Outback show, a one-man digeridoo concert set to contemporary background music.

Day 5 was a wildlife-filled day, with visits to Taronga Zoo to see many animals from Australia and Southern Asia, and then to Sydney Aquarium to witness the many creatures from the deep blue Ocean.

Day 6 took me to the famed Bondi Beach, where beach volleyball was held during the 2000 Olympic Games. Following that, I took the long shoreline walk down to Coogee Bay and visited the monstrous Coogee Bay Hotel bar.

An early start to Day 7 brought me to the Blue Mountains to explore the eucalypt forests and learn some aboriginal legends. The route back included a stop at Featherdale Wildlife Park to pet the koalas, wallabies, and kangaroos.

The Blue Mountains are called blue because of the bluish haze visible along the horizon over the mountains. The haze is created by oils from the eucalypt leaves evaporating into the air.

A short morning flight brought me to tropical Cairns, where the day was spent wandering The Esplanade and enjoying the view by the lagoon. The evening was spent at the famous backpacker bar, The Woolshed.

Day 2 was spent similarly to day 1, with much time spent enjoying the view at the lagoon up close. The evening saw me move to an uptown hotel to meet some of the members of our upcoming Contiki tour.