The ferry journey from nearby Parramatta to Cirular Quay, at the heart of New South Wales was wonderful. It doesn’t matter how many different angles I see the Sydney, the Opera House or Harbour Bridge from, I still look on it and think, "wow!"

Today was a fairly relaxed day. We mooched around, taking in the sights that Sydney has to offer, at our own pace. First stop was Darling Harbour, in the blazing sun. From there we took the monorail to Pitt Street and meandered down through Hyde Park to Saint Mary’s Cathedral. The colourful King’s Cross was our next stop, taking in the views of the hotel that I stayed in last time: it’s surrounded in netting as a conversion is underway. Next time we visit Sydney, it will be a luxurious apartment block!

On our way back to the train, we wandered through Woollamooloo. No sign of a university there, alas, never mind a Bruce-infested philosophy department. Bugger!

It’s now dark (these sunsets don’t last long), which means that it’s Friday night. Time for me to put the laptop to bed, methinks!

I think it’s high-time I filed an update. I haven’t touched the laptop for a couple of days, now.

After typing my last blog entry, we went out for some Japanese food. I’ve had Japanese food before, but (as the photos we took show), Ichi Ban Teppenyaki in Parramatta is very different to your average Japanese restaurant abroad. A chef comes and cooks your meal on the hotplate in your table, before serving it to you by throwing at you: eggs, rice, the lot! Our chef really was a great sport and made the evening a lot of fun for us!

Tuesday was to be the day that we would go and climb the mighty arches that define the most prominent landmark in Sydney: The Sydney Harbour Bridge. We got given a slot at precisely the time that we had in mind, which left some time in the morning to grab a tasty lunch at Sam’s in The Rocks and take a look inside (and on top of) the South-East Pylon of the bridge. Mrs Johns was particularly excited to see the Tyne Bridge’s big brother, which was engineered in Middlesbrough.

Having been breathalysed, dressed up in a grey suit that would not look out of place in Spock’s wardrobe, had sunglasses and a cap attached to our suits, climbed and descended the "simulator" and been issued with a radio, we were told that there would be a brief delay. After the brief delay, we were informed that we would not be climbing due to a road traffic authority decree. We were later to learn that there had been a bomb threat.

To their credit, the BridgeClimb staff were very good and helped us rearrange our climb for yesterday afternoon. We made the most of the couple of hours that we now had free that afternoon to go up the Sydney Tower (it was a day for high things) and mooch around the City.

We caught the twilight o’clock ferry to Manly, to meet our hosts for dinner. We were taken to the Ribs and Rump Grill at Manly Beach. This is, we learned, one of the establishments that Martin Johnson and his band of merry men frequented when they were Down Under last November. There were autographs, photographs and signed shirts on display. My favourite was the one by Jason Leonard who declared that the Mixed Grill beat him. I spotted this after polishing off an entire mixed grill. Stick that over your touchline and convert it!

Anyway, yesterday, we got to do the bridgeclimb. The weather was great and the conditions were perfect. Three-and-a-half of your Earth hours, it takes from the time you check in ‘til the time you get presented with a certificate to say that you’ve survived climbing the Eastern arch to it’s peak, crossing the eight traffic lanes and then descending the Western arch. I forget how tall the arches are in metres, now, but one statistic did stick in my mind: four-and-a-half seconds! Not one for those with a fear of heights. Oh no! Astounding views of one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Also on yesterday’s agenda was the taking of compulsory tourist shots of a certain opera house. Very nice it is too.

We would up the day with Aussie mate, Sean. He filled us in on the last couple of years over a few schooners of Toohey’s Old and a meal in Chinatown. It’s always good to catch up with him.

Now… if you’ll excuse me, we have a ferry to catch…

A brief pause in the day in between visiting the breathtakingly magnificent Blue Mountains and heading into Sydney for an evening meal provides me with the opportunity to record a word or two!

N will be back from the office shortly, then we will be off out for the evening. M’s office is the back room of his in-laws’ house. He has been telecommuting to Horsham (West Sussex), since he moved back from England, last year!

The barefoot author sits in the evening cool on the patio of N’s parents’ house, the site of last night’s fantastic barbecue: steaks and prawns, mushrooms and hash browns. We also had some lovely smoked mullet, fresh salad and the finest home-brewed beer I have ever tasted, as we caught up with M and N. We are surrounded by fruit trees and vines. I can see lemons, oranges, grapefruit and grapes growing in green-fingered B’s garden.

Australian hospitality really is overwhelmingly good! In Perth, we were provided with lovely accommodation, tasty meals, superb day-trips and, of course, fine company. Our time in New South Wales looks like being every bit as good, it has to be said.

B and M (N’s parents for those not in the know), not only make fine home brews and a comfortable guest room, but also ensure that their guests get a personal guided tour of the Blue Mountains. The scenery at 1000m, above the eucalyptus and gum trees, is absolutely awesome.

On our tour of the Blue Mountains, we visited the towns of Katoomba, Blackheath and Lithgow. Wonderfully peaceful towns with views that would make it so easy to get up in the morning. We saw scenic railway lines and orchard after orchard. We really are in a fruit-growing region, here.

In the skies again! Days seem to be passing at more than the recommended 60 mph (minutes per hour) rate, I tell you!

Travelling isn’t so bad, y’know? I know a lot of people who don’t like flying, but long-haul flights are pretty fun. Unless, of course, you get the same film (say, Stuck on You) on every leg of your journey! Other than that, though, it’s pretty good; you get to press a little button and a nice lady or a camp gentleman will deliver you beer. The sun is likely to be over the yard-arm in either your departure point or at your destination! Aeroplane food isn’t so bad, either; the portions may not be the largest, but you get three courses in a tiny little tray. Plus about three drinks. These, I guess are to encourage you to walk to the back of the ‘plane and back, from to-to-time.

And so Perth is a tiny spot on the horizon to our rear. We’ve said our farewells to T and A, who have been wonderful. I’m sure it won’t be long before we see them again, whichever hemisphere we happen to be in at the time.

In a couple of hours’ time, we’ll be meeting up with more friends on the opposite coast of this vast country. We’re staying with M‘n’N at N’s parents’ house, to the North of Sydney, NSW. It’ll be great to see them. N and I worked together at $PETES_EMPLOYER-1, until the time came for her and M to move home to get married. I’ve only met M a couple of times, but we got on like the proverbial burning residence.

I’m also looking forward to being back in Sydney. Last time I was there with R and M we saw lots, but I still feel like I have so much more to see. Mrs J and I intend to do the whole bridge-climb thang. Apparently at the top of Sydney Harbour Bridge there is a stamp that reads, "Made In Middlesbrough", so we have to witness that. N’s Dad has kindly offered to take us walking in the Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains are among the most scenic places I have ever been, so we’re both very much looking forward to doing some walking in between all of those lovely-smelling eucalyptus trees.

I’ve come up with a solution to the poor quality audio problem that I seemed to be suffering from during the first leg of this trip: I need to buy an iPod. They’re nearly £100 cheaper in WA than they are in the UK. If I find a similarly-priced one in NSW (or perhaps Tokyo, if I can wait that long), then I shall go for it. The batteries should last for longer on a flight than this ‘ere laptop, which I have to say is serving me very well. I promise I’ll let K have it back when we arrive back in England, though ;-)

Technology is great, isn’t it? Last night, I took some pictures of the City by night. Within minutes, they were on the laptop and a few minutes later, they were online for my friends on the other side of the planet to marvel at. I heart the Internet!

Are we there yet!?

Rottnest Island or Rotto, as it’s known locally by the folks who like to abbreviate as much as possible, is a small Island to the West of Perth. Mrs Johns and I thought that this place would provide a nice setting for our first Friday in the Antipodes. This decided, we caught a train into the City, followed by a bus to Hillarys Marina where in turn we boarded the fast ferry to the Island.

Once on the Island, we immediately headed for another ocean vessel. This time, a semi-submersible boat, with thick glass windows in the hull. A 45-minute voyage sat inside the belly of this beast gave us some amazing sights: Many colourful fish, brightly-coloured coral, sponges, starfish and two shipwrecks.

Back on Rottnest Island once more, we headed for some food at the tea-rooms, to provide some energy for the afternoon ahead.

Rottnest Island has many cyclists. Bicycles are available from a number of hire shops both on the Island and the mainland. We opted to ride on our own Shanks’ Pony and head for the hills. It was a gorgeous day and the sun was beating down on us from the Heavens. We walked past a big lake of salt crystals and up a big hill with a gorgeous view of a lighthouse, before turning left and up a much steeper hill to where there was a huge gun. Having taken in the views atop the hill, we made our way back to the harbour area to take on some liquid before heading back to Perth.

Back in the company of Mr & Mrs Moore (who know a fine variety of restaurants in WA, incidentally), we headed for a Chinese restaurant for our evening meal. Five miles walking in the sun had given me quite an appetite and I ate my fill, leaving no room to sample the fried ice cream that was on offer for dessert!

Yesterday, gold was on the agenda. We paid a visit to the Perth Mint. An excellent tourist attraction, where we watched gold being poured, set and then melted back down. I learned that if I really was worth my weight in gold, I would be worth 1.38 million dollars! I also learned that I could lift 12.5kg of gold through a hole large enough to put my hand in, but not large enough to get the bar back out.

We spent the afternoon shopping and I sampled a pint of Chilli Beer at The Brass Monkey Bar before heading to a fine Italian Restaurant for a repast of pasta to set us up for the evening.

The evening was to consist of two pubs. First up: The Elephant and Wheelbarrow, a traditional British pub, apparently. Then we moved on to Rosie O’Grady’s, where they sold a range of Irish drinks and even Irish Crisps (Tayto… Mmmm!). A fine evening’s drinking in good company: just the way I like to spend my Saturday nights.

Today is Sunday, the day of rest, and so it shall be so. Alas, this is also our penultimate day in Western Australia. For this visit, at least. Plans are already afoot for our next visit down here and for our hosts’ reciprocal visit to the UK. It is always good to have something to look forward to.

Yesterday was an excellent day. As previously mentioned, we had an early start to drive into the City. In the City, we boarded our 27-seater 4×4 bus; a weird and wonderful vehicle and very, very comfortable, it has to be said. The bus drove us North of Perth, to the Pinnacles Desert, making a couple of stops along the way. These stops were largely to give us a break on the long journey, but were also there to give us a glimpse of Australian life outside the city. We saw a solitary koala, munching on some eucalyptus leaves, but nothing of real excitement…. until we reached some rather large sand dunes. This is where the 27-seater 4×4 came into its own. It mounted the sand dunes without too much effort and hurtled down the other side. Being in a bus going over the edge like that was pretty exciting and made me think of the Italian Job! Some of us took the opportunity to witness the bus going over the dunes from the outside, affording us the opportunity to record the occasion for our own posterity.

After the driver had finished throwing us around the sand dunes, he offered us some "sandboards", so that we may have a go at flinging ourselves down these sand dunes at speed. Alas, the sand was not as dry as we might have hoped, so the speed was ‘slow’.

Onward, then, to the main attraction, The Pinnacles! Having been sat on a coach for half the day, I was beginning to wonder if I might be disappointed by the phenomenon that us The Pinnacles. Would it all be worth it? As we made the final approach to the desert, I knew that it was worth it. Not one of the photos that I took in the hour that we spent in between these large natural structures could do justice to the magnificence that they portray or the vastness of the whole spectacular. The Pinnacles really do have to be seen to be believed. And seen close up – no amount of megapixels could demonstrate how awesome a sight the Pinnacles make up. Very much worth spending a day on a coach to see!

We kept our travelling down to a minimum today, choosing to visit a local winery at Sandalford to find out how they do things and to sample their wares. There are many worse ways to spend a sunny afternoon in Western Australia, I am sure of that! So, sample we did and we did not come away empty-handed. Neither did our hosts, so I guess we can call that another successful excursion.

This evening saw us visiting a drive-through bottle store to pick up a couple of ice cold beers to accompany our pizza and video evening. A drive-through bottle store! Something, I imagine we’ll not be seeing in the UK before we see The Pinnacles there!

Tomorrow we head off to Rottnest Island to meet some Quokkas. Stay tuned for more exciting adventures!

Time for another update, methinks, while it’s all fresh in my head.

Yesterday, was Easter Monday, the anniversary of the day in 1876 that six Irish Fenians escaped from Fremantle Prison, here in WA, to America, aboard the ship Catalpa. We know this because yesterday we were down in Freo and took the time to take a look around the prison. Some readers may remember me writing about Fremantle Prison last time I was down here in Australia, so I won’t duplicate information here. I can’t recall (and I’m not hooked up to the Internet at the moment, so I cannot check) if I wrote about how good the fish and chips at Cicerello’s are; I personally think that they are among the World’s finest. And I’ve had fish ‘n’ chips in Whitby!

This time around in Freo, we had the opportunity to explore a bit further, taking in the Round House and the flea markets. A also insisted that we paid a visit to a bar called the Sail and Anchor, where they brew their own beer. A fine recommendation, I say! Should you be in town, I recommend the white beer named after the local Aussie Rules Football team, Dockers. Most tasty.

On the subject of taste, we indulged in another fine meal that evening (you’ll note a recurring theme, here) as we went to the Chinese restaurant at the Burswood casino, before cleaning up on the game Two Up (heads and tails, for the uninitiated).

Today was another gorgeous day weatherwise. We went shopping in Morley at the Galleria shopping centre. Groceries and postcards and the like. We stocked up on a picnic for tomorrow’s activities. Having done all of our shopping and having called my credit card company after a small breakdown in communication, we headed off to Caversham Wildlife Park, which has moved to a much larger site since I was last in Perth. It was good to see that kangaroos, koalas and wombats are still every bit as cute as they were some three years back.

An early night is in order tonight. Not only have a few late nights catching up with old friends taken their toll, but the alarms are set for ludicrous o’clock tomorrow morning (probably as our friends back in the UK are retiring tonight). We have to be up in the City before eight o’clock in the morning to board a bus to Cervantes and The Pinnacles. This is something to which I am looking forward enormously.

Looking ahead to the weeks ahead, I have been in touch with friend Sean of SophOz fame in Sydney, with whom we’ll be indulging in a liquid libation or two during our stay in NSW. We’re also in touch with my former Sophos colleagues in Tokyo, who are organising lots for us to see and do in our short time with them the following week. We really are having a fantabulous time and the holiday is really only just starting.

Life is good!

"What’s the weather like, this morning?"

…asked Mrs Johns as she got out of bed this morning. It is hot and sunny. Just the way it always seems to be Down here in Perth, WA.

I feel like a lot of time has passed since I last typed some words into this small, portable computer. The battery lasted me long enough to decide that I really liked Enterprise Architect; I’ll be recommending to my line manager on my return that we buy the licenses. After playing with UML tools, I spend some time trying to get some sleep on the ‘plane. I wasn’t very successful. I then watched some of the highlights of R.E.M.’s latest DVD, which they were showing in-flight. Every time they played "It’s the End of the World as We Know it.", which is one of my favourite songs, I wanted to sing along and bounce around in my seat. I don’t think that the sleepy population of Qantas Flight whatever-number-it-was to Singapore would have appreciated that, so I refrained. Such a shame!

Singapore’s Changi airport continues to be a wonderful place. K and I spent a little while investigating the rooftop cactus garden before looking for food. I say ‘food’, but it was actually a beer that I had for what you might call "Second Breakfast". Our time in Singapore was short lived and, before too long, we were airborne again, hurtling towards Perth.

The flight to Perth took no time at all, or so it seemed. My friend msjs bought me "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" as a farewell gift when I departed company with $PETES_EMPLOYEE-1; I saved it for this trip. Once we were on the ‘plane to Perth, I opened it, commenced reading, and didn’t put it down until I had reached the back cover. This is quite rare for me, which highlights how good this book really is. I spend a lot of time smiling, nodding and even laughing in agreement with the author’s observations. A must read, I would say. I even enjoyed it more than "31 Songs", which I had spent some time reading on the previous leg of the journey.

Having finished the book and another can of Victoria Bitter, I managed to catch my only thirty minutes of sleep of the journey, waking in time to catch my first glimpse of Australia. It was a further half-hour before we landed at Perth, but already I felt as if I had arrived.

Our friends were there waiting for us in the Arrivals Hall and dove us in the glorious Western Australian sunshine to their new abode.

On Saturday evening we had a barbecue with some friends that I had not seen since T and A got married, some three-and-a-bit years ago. A prepares a fine barbecue and we ate beautifully marinated food of the highest order. And oh yes, there were snags on the barbie!

Tiredness got the better of me around 10 o’clock and it was some twelve hours later before I was ready to face Easter Sunday. The Sun had already risen in the East and was beating down on Western Australia long before I opened my eyes.

A drove us to King’s Park in Perth, which comes highly recommended. There were hundreds of locals with their ‘Eskies’ (coolboxes) enjoying picnics with their families on the hectares of short, green grass that King’s Park affords. The scenery there of the Park, the City and the River was beautiful. Even the freeway that divides the Park from the City looks pleasant.

We then went to Lake Monger in the town of Cambridge to see the Black Swans. I shattered some of A’s illusions as to place names that she thought were Australian, but were English. Sorry, A.

Lunch was some gorgeous seafood at the Kailis Brother’s restaurant (highly recommended. I had Snappers. Mmmm…

A brief shopping trip ensued, followed by a seafood lunch and a couple of pints in the English-style pub, "The Moon and Sixpence" in the City, not far from the hotel where I stayed with R and M on my last visit!

More food, then. Thai, this time, before heading back to le Château for a nightcap and an early night.

Well, it sounds like every one else is up and about, now, so I shall wrap things up here and get ready for today’s jaunts. More later.

The thing about taking even the shortest period of time off work is that it takes so damned long to catch up on your inevitable return.

This is is what I am finding this morning, having had a day off on Friday so that I might spend a weekend with my Wife-to-be and her parents in the delightful setting of the Champagne region of La Belle France.

Despite the weather forecasts, it turned out that I would have been better prepared if I had packed my sunglasses, rather than my waterproof jacket. This is not a complaint, my friends, especially as ‘waterproof’ is rather a misnomer for the aforementioned jacket.

It was the most relaxing weekend I can remember for a long time, staying in a lovely hotel in Vertus. The décor was decidedly dodgy, but the cuisine at Hôtel le Thibault IV was outstanding. I even sampled snails for the first time. Yum!

On Saturday, after taking in the delights of Epernay and Reims, we stopped off at a local landmark. Atop one of the region’s many hills stood, what I suspect to be France’s most successful lighthouse. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed that this lighthouse did not possess any great powers of illumination. Perhaps the reason for the lack of wrecks of unfortunate sea-faring vessels was due to it’s location, approximately 250 km away from the sea! The building did, however, house an informative museum.

All in all, it was a tremendous weekend, for which I thank D and M enormously.

Software is a bit like making sausages. People want to enjoy it but they don’t really want to know what went into it

–Dan Kusnetzky, IDC, Microsoft’s bid for secure computing

One of the most amusing quotes I have read in a long time. I guess software engineers, such as Yours Truly, aren’t people. Other than that, I think Mr. Kusnetzky is spot on!