We had a peaceful and comfortable night because we were well clear of the highway and the temperature only got down to 11°C (52°F).
We reached Narrabeen in time for lunch. We had brought the weekly laundry with us as the weather in Barraba has been to wet to get things dry. I got it all done by afternoon tea time.
We check with the Weerasuriyas who had just arrived in Sydney to make some arrangements for the weekend. They agreed to have us take them to the zoo on Sunday. If they haven't any other people to see, we will also catch up with them on Saturday.
Having found out that Iain was away in America, we arranged to have dinner with the Hastings tomorrow night.
We arranged to visit the Weerasuriyas in Homebush. After a long chat catching up on 40 years of history, we asked them what they wanted to see in Sydney. They opted for the Opera House which had some resonance for Neale because our old friend Ivor and his cousin, Ellis Chan, had both worked on the project for Arup. Ellis was the engineer who proved that Utzon's design for the shells was structurally unsound. This study led to Arup engineers redesigning the shells so that they could be built.
We drove through the city and parked in the underground car park at the Opera House. Unfortunately we were not able to do a guided tour (a blessing given the extortionate price) but we had lunch in the precinct and wandered around the outside and took lots of pictures of us and the Opera House to take back to the folks in Sri Lanka. We dropped Neale and Yvonne back in Homebush and then drove through the nightmare of late afternoon traffic in and around Parramatta Road back to Narrabeen.
In the evening we took the Hastings to dinner at Rampai's Thai Kitchen. The food was, as always, absolutely blooming marvellous and it was really nice to catch up with Ron and Mary after a fairly long time.
We went to Homebush and picked up Neale and Yvonne. I checked the weather forecast for Katoomba and it seemed reasonable so we decided to take them for a trip to the Blue Mountains which they had said they wanted to see. We had a pretty good drive up and I decided to take them down the Megalong Valley to see some real Australian bush. We came upon the Megalong Valley Tearooms and decided to stop there for lunch. Neale and Yvonne were much taken by a big wattle tree which was covered with bright yellow blossom and were awed by the sight of the cliffs. The tea room had a welcoming fire and the food was superb.
We went to Govetts Leap to show them the Gross Valley which looked stunning. We drove back to Katoomba and went to Echo Point. By this tile the sun had come out and the view was marvellous. Neale and Yvonne had fulfilled their dream to see the Blue Mountains and will take some dramatic memories back to Sri Lanka.
We had a dream run back to Homebush and dropped them off in time for their evening with their friends from Singapore.
We picked Neale and Yvonne up and took them to the zoo. The car park was full so I had to drop them at the entrance and find a parking space in a nearby street. We had a very pleasant tour of the Australian section before going to the Treetops Restaurant for a very nice lunch. We walked slowly up the hill and I left them at the zoo entrance while I went to get the car.
We stopped in Mosman for a cup if coffee before heading for Homebush via Epping Road. I was misled by the road signs which didn't allow me to avoid the tunnel and I incurred a toll which must be paid retrospectively. There was no indication of how I can pay. I will try and find a contact number on the internet. I am incensed that the public road system has been hijacked by a private road builder with the RTA not sign posting the approach to the toll road adequately.
It had been such a joy to catch up with Neale again and to meet Yvonne. We had had a wonderful weekend.