#10 Sydney/Manly Thrill Seeker

#10 Sydney/Manly Thrill Seeker – Completed 19 December

FFAAARRRKKKK this has to be one of, it not the best, thing to do in Sydney. Definitely tops my list of fun things. OH MY GOD it was awesome. The driver was a kiwi guy Andre from Auckland. I had the best time - just can’t believe the boat doesn’t flip as you go so fast and just fly through the water and doing 360’s. I was absolutely soaked at the end but who cares its only water!

To see Australia from the open sea is just awesome - we left Rose Bay and headed straight out through the heads to Manly.

This task is something I’ll never forget.

17 down, 23 to go.

#18 Comedy Store

#18 Comedy Store - Completed 13 December

Far out talk about hilarious…. I haven’t laughed that much in a long time. Comedians really do have a special talent. Sophie joined me on this task - unbeknown to us it was actually a festival hosted by Julia Morris and she has ask other famous comedians - Akmal Saleh, Kitty Flanagan and Mikey Robbins to join in. The festival part was for the video and photo submissions that people had done using a large face cut out of Julia. Have to say there are some weird people in this world. Couple of funny videos the rest were more along the line of “what the?” … at least the comedians in between kept us laughing. No words to describe how funny “J-Mo” is.

Oh and another note - the night was a charity night raising money for Breast Cancer - so well worth the ticket in more ways than one.

16 down, 24 to go.

#9 Tall Ship Twilight Cruise

#9 Tall Ship Twilight Cruise – Completed 5 December
After a few days of crappy weather in Sydney the sun was finally shinning for our evening on the harbour. Maria’s home for Christmas from Toronto so she joined me on this task. What a beautiful night! We left Campbell’s Cove (outside the Hyatt Hotel) at around 5.30pm then headed out pass the opera house. The dinner was a simple but nice BBQ – they even served fresh prawns. It was great to spend time with Maria, who has been away for 3 years – catching up while drinking champagne and cruising Sydney harbour was just perfect!

Whether you live in Sydney or are just visiting – this cruise should be on the list!

15 down, 25 to go.

#37 Roller Skate/Blade around Centennial Park

#37 Roller Skate/Blade around Centennial Park – Completed 24 November
This ended up being such a fun task – Lea the wiz on blades and me unsteady on roller skates… I decided to hire roller skates so I could get in touch with my youth!

It was a bit scary leaving the store so we skated around a bit before attempting to cross the road and go into the park. Once we got on to a flat surface without the bumps it wasn’t so scary. I could feel the burn in my legs almost immediately god I am so unfit! Having said that I wasn’t sore the next day.

Lea and I are definitely going to do this again so we don't have to rush against the clock and get the skates back, going to go further into the park and enjoy the scenery more. Fantastic task and so glad I did it, hey might even buy my own skates.

14 down, 26 to go.

#23 Bondi Icebergs

#23 - Bondi Icebergs - Completed 20 November

Elise is heading overseas for over 2 months so I thought it would be fun to have a ‘farewell’ for her and complete my #23 in the process. There were 16 of us who ended up coming including Bec who lives in Melbourne as a surprise for Elise.

The location of the restaurant is just amazing, overlooking the famous pool and side on to Bondi Beach. The weather was spectacular so made for a great view.

The food was exactly what I thought – expensive! I had a steak which came with onion rings and had to order veges separately - of course! have to say the desserts looked and tasted great!

All in all it was a fantastic day and worth every penny.

13 down, 27 to go.

#14 Play

#14 Play - Completed 16 November

Now this task was a big surprise. I’ve seen plays before but never in a such a small setting where I could almost touch the actor. Sophie found this play called “The Sweetest Thing” at the Belvoir Theatre in Surry Hills. There was only 6 people in the cast and 3 of them I had seen on TV over the years in various shows. What a great experience so glad this is what Sophie suggested. I only got a couple of photos from the venue, no way I could get any of the play itself.

This is the description of the play.

Sarah is trapped in her parents’ story. Now she’s fled to New Zealand after the sudden death of her father, leaving the grief stricken remains of her family behind. Teetering out of balance she finds herself falling in love and lust with Jim, a relationship that will change everything, forever.Exploring the random and unexpected turning points of life through a fluid time frame and chaos theory, The Sweetest Thing is the latest offering from award-winning Australian playwright Verity Laughton. Director Sarah Goodes brings her exquisite vision to this tender, funny, sharp and sexy text in a must-see premiere production of a heartfelt local story that examines the desires and contradictions of the human heart.

Cast: Caroline Craig, Vanessa Downing, Diana Glenn, Thomas Conroy, Christopher Morris & Lucy Wigmore.

12 down, 28 to go.

#27 Taronga Zoo

#27 Taronga Zoo (include Ferry/Cable Car) - Completed 1 November
What a day.. weather is not looking to crash hot. Mum and Dad joined me on this task as they are here on holiday. They were looking forward to seeing the baby elephant as they had watched him on TV in NZ.

We caught the train to Circular Quay then Ferry across the harbour to the Zoo. I was lucky enough to have a ticket to get in (thanks Lee!) M&D were able to get in as seniors (@ $30 each) - I have to say going to the Zoo is a costly exercise Adult ticket $43, Ferry ride $10.60 and the Train $6.40 – crazy!

Anyway back to the Zoo – we ended up doing two rounds of some of the enclosures because a lot of the animals were asleep, best part by far was the lions and tigers – WOW they are amazing creatures!! (can’t wait to go to Canberra and play with one…#3 on the list). Got some reasonably good photos through the glass. The baby elephant was just hilarious, you could go out the back and watch as they were being washed, one of the trainers was playing with him – just like any toddler really. We missed another one being born by only a couple of days.

The weather just got worse and by the time we wanted to see the seal show it had pretty much rained out! we managed to get a spot under the cover, so worth the wait the show was just hilarious – those seals really are half human I swear! We decided against seeing the bird show as we’d pretty much enjoyed over 4 hours of wondering around and had had enough of the weather by then, time for the marathon trip home – managed to get on the cable car thing back down to the ferry (at least that was free!), ferry back to Circular Quay then the train home … all in all a great day and made extra special because my parents participated in one of my tasks!

11 down, 29 to go.