The crowds last weekend were crazy, so I went this evening instead.

Here are some photos I took of the Sculptures By The Sea 2009.

Forewarned is forearmed – Australia is not one of the world’s best places to ski.

If you require evidence, just take note of the fact that Australia won its first ever Winter Olympics gold medal when everyone except Sydneysider Stephen Bradbury crashed in the 1000m short track speed skate final.

If you’re from Canada, the US, Europe or Japan, then you have better snow at home. If you’re from Egypt, we have better snow than you.

Furthermore, if you’re going on to New Zealand you’ll save money (and get better snow) over there.

However, if you’re either: a) living in Sydney for a while; b) learning to ski / snowboard; or c) you want an expensive way to get smashed (drunk) with ski bunnies and university students, read on!

If you’re looking for an organised ski trip / ski tour, you could use a company such as Ski Kaos.

Ski Kaos offer 2-, 3-, 4- or 6-day ski trips to Thredbo (500 km from Sydney).

For example, you could take a 2-day ski trip to Thredbo during the weekend of August 21-23, 2009.

You’d be picked up in Sydney on the Friday night (5:50pm from Sydney’s Central Station) and get to know your group as you drive down. You’d stop in Cooma to pick up any ski hire you need. You’d arrive quite late (1:45 am) and head straight to bed (with whom is up to you).

You’d ski or board all day Saturday and Sunday (until 4:30pm) and have the choice of partying or relaxing on the Saturday night. Finally, you’d head back on the bus to Sydney on the Sunday afternoon and arrive at Central Station at 12:45 am (Monday).

The price? $219 for the accommodation and bus trips, plus $186 for a 2-day lift pass, plus $42 (skis, poles and boot hire) or $63 (snowboard and boot hire) and an optional $39 (ski pants and ski jacket hire). Total cost: $507 plus meals and drinks for a 2-day snowboarding trip, or $486 plus meals and drinks for a 2-day ski trip. It’s not cheap, but it is fun.

Resources: Ski Kaos.

You can learn to surf literally across the road from your hostel. Or you could have a surf tour pick you up from your hostel and take you over sand dunes to an uncrowded beach just out of Sydney.

Finally, you can even take a 5 day tour from Sydney to Byron Bay that stops at many beaches along the way.

All schools cater for first time surfers and will provide you with surfboards and wetsuits.

Learn To Surf Near Your Hostel

If you want a couple of 2 hour lessons, there are plenty of surf schools near the main hostel areas:

Learn to surf in Sydney at Bondi Beach, Manly Beach, Maroubra Beach or other beaches.

• Bondi Beach: Let’s Go Surfing ($75 per two hour lesson; less with international concession card)
• Manly Beach: Manly Surf School ($50 per two hour lesson)
• Maroubra Beach: Sydney Safe Surf Schools ($55 per two hour lesson; less with international concession card)

Full Day “Learn To Surf” Tours

You can take a full day out of your vacation to learn to surf at uncrowded beaches just outside of Sydney.

There are a number of companies that organise day trips, such as SydneySurf and Waves Surf School. Here’s how they work. Waves Surf School, for example, will pick you up in a 4WD from one of three backpacker / hostel precincts: Coogee (8:30 am), Bondi (8:45 am) and Central Station in the city (9 am).

Waves staff will drive you for 45 minutes out of the city. The last part of the drive will be over sand dunes, hence the need for a 4WD (although surfers do have an image to keep up with)! The fact that you are driving to beaches which are only accessible by 4WD pretty much guarantees you will be surfing at uncrowded beaches.

On a Waves surf tour, you are guaranteed over four and a half hours of surfing time. This will give you the chance to consolidate new skills, as well as have a great time and meet other travellers.

The cost of a Waves one day tour (including lessons, transfers, surfboard, wetsuit and lunch) is $69 AUD, which is not a bad deal.

5 Day “Sydney To Byron Bay” “Learn To Surf” Tours

If you’re looking for an extended surfing holiday in Australia, you can also join learn-to-surf tours that will take you from Sydney up to Byron Bay (about 800 km or 500 miles to the north). These tours stop at a number of beaches along the way as they wind their way up the coast.

For example, Surfaris Remote Coastal Adventures run a five-day learn-to-surf tour from Sydney to Byron Bay. The thing I like about Surfari’s is that the tour operators will stop the bus wherever they see good waves, rather than at predetermined locations.

All surf schools will generally provide you with a surfboard, a rash vest and a wetsuit. You’ll need to bring a swimming costume (to wear under the wetsuit) a towel and sunscreen.

Wine tours in the Hunter Valley (2.5 hours drive) are a great way to sample famous Australian wines in a truly beautiful part of the world.

You’ll get to sample legendary drops such as Lindemans, Hardy’s and McGuigan.

Day Trip From Sydney In A Luxury Mercedes Minivan

If you’ve got access to a car, you can drive to the Hunter and back in a day. If you’d rather join a tour, you can hook up with outfits such as Boutique Wine Tours. You’ll be picked up from your hotel and driven to the Hunter in a luxury Mercedes minivan. We’re talking TV, fridge and leather seats.

Hunter Valley Wine Tours. Photo: Krossbow.

The owners of Boutique Wine Tours will take you to their favourite wineries, and can alter the route to accomodate your wine preferences.

There’s a maximum of 14 people per group, so it’s pretty flexible. If you like a particular winery, you can even stay behind and have the drivers pick you up an hour later.

For about $100 AUD per person, it’s an easy way to enjoy Hunter Valley wine tasting.

Weekend Hunter Valley Wine Tours In A Classic Cadillac Convertible

If you want to spend a night or two in the Hunter, you can be picked up from your hotel in a classic 1960 Cadillac convertible with whitewall tires and huge fins.

It’s quite a stylish way to hop from winery to winery and the photos with the car in the background should be priceless.

At around $600 AUD for a 10am – 4:30 pm tour, it’s not cheap, but if you have 4 people, that’s only $150 each.

1) Are you interested in a short working holiday in Australia?

2) Do you have a passport from one of the following countries: Belgium, Canada, Republic of Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan or the United Kingdom?

If you answered yes to both questions, you should read on, as this is the working holiday visa for you! (If you have a passport from the United States of America, Chile, Thailand or Turkey, you should look into this visa instead).

Photo: GaryT70

The official name of this visa is the “Australian Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417)”.

It allows you to work in Australia for 12 months, but not for more than 6 months at the same employer. (Two lots of 6 months at two different employers is perfectly fine).

The visa can be extended to 24 months if you do at least 3 months of seasonal work in your first 12 months.

Seasonal work includes picking fruit, tree planting, working on a farm or in a fishery or a dairy.

Note that you must be between 18 and 30 years of age inclusive. (30 is ok, 31 is not). You must also be in this age range to renew this Australian working holiday visa.

Travel insurance for Australia will usually also protect you against theft of your credit cards, digital camera or other personal belongings.

There are some minor health concessions for certain passport holders when visiting Australia, but you’d still do well to take out a regular travel insurance policy.

Photo: WMY

For the record, the health concessions entail “limited subsidised health services for immediately necessary treatment while visiting Australia”.

This means if you have a serious accident requiring immediate medical attention, you may receive free treatment in an Australian public hospital. You may also receive subsidised medications as part of your care.

However, these concessions only apply to passport holders from the UK, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Italy and Malta.

Passport holders from Italy or Malta are only eligible for these concessions for the first 6 months of their stay in Australia. (The others are covered for the full duration of their stay in Australia). Check the website of your national healthcare system for the full terms and conditions.

All visitors to Australia are strongly recommended to have an active travel insurance policy before arriving.

Bondi Beach Public Transport

There are frequent direct buses (e.g. the 333 or the 380) to Bondi Beach from the following locations: Bondi Junction, the city centre and North Bondi. There are connecting trains at Bondi Junction and the city centre.

There are no trains or ferries to Bondi Beach.

A Sydney ferry. Photo: Matt Ryall.

Coogee Beach Public Transport

There are frequent direct buses to Coogee Beach from the following locations: Randwick Junction, the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Bondi Junction, the city centre and Glebe. There are connecting trains at both Bondi Junction and the city centre.

There are no trains or ferries to Coogee Beach.

Kings Cross Public Transport

The best way to get to King’s Cross by public transport is by train (although there are buses as well). King’s Cross station is the first station after the city (Martin Place station) and is also only two stations from Bondi Junction (where you can get connecting buses to Bondi Beach, Coogee Beach or UNSW).

Manly Beach Public Transport

The best way to get to Manly beach by public transport is by ferry. It’s a stunning ride across Sydney Harbour from Circular Quay (city centre) to Manly Beach. Be aware that the ferry does not operate that late at night so if you’re headed into the city for a night out, you’ll need to catch another form of public transport (this will usually mean a taxi) home.

City Centre Public Transport

The city centre is the best place to catch public transport. You can get a direct connection to pretty much any point in Sydney via bus, train or ferry.

Sydney has great weather for 9 months of the year, from August until April, although the best months are November until February inclusive. January and February are the best months for outdoor festivals and events (many of these are listed on the Free Things To Do In Sydney page).

How Hot Is A Sydney Summer?

In summer (December to February), the average temperatures are in the mid teens to the mid twenties if you measure in degrees Celsius. If you use Fahrenheit this equates to a range from the low sixties to the high seventies.

Another glorious Sydney day. Photo: Jimmy Harris.

How Cold Is A Sydney Winter?

The months of May, June and July can be cold (even though winter is officially June – August) – but not by European or Canadian standards! We’re talking high single digits to high teens when using degrees Celsius, or high forties to low sixties if you use the Fahrenheit system.

How To Protect Against Sunburn In Australia

The sun can burn you quite quickly in Australia. Because of the hole in the ozone layer above Australia, your skin can start to burn in as little as ten minutes. While this is no cause for alarm, a few sensible tips should help you stay sun-safe:

• Try and stay out of the sun for the 4 hour period when the sun is strongest.
• Be aware that your skin burns faster at the beach because of reflected UV rays.
• Wear a hat and use sunblock (SPF 30+). Reapply every 4 hours.
• If you feel your skin starting to burn, head indoors or move to the shade.

1. Look Online For New Seats Just After Midnight

At midnight, most airlines will clear out any tickets from their system that have been booked but not paid for by the due date. So a few minutes past 12 (in the time zone of the airline’s head office), you may find some new seats for sale that weren’t there at 11:59.

2. Take Advantage Of “Secret Sales”

Although it can be tempting to ask travel agents to book it all for you, the truth is that sometimes airlines need to get rid of seats urgently, yet cannot advertise this fact to avoid looking bad.

Qantas Plane At Sydney Airport. Photo: Shayan.

This is known as a “secret sale”. The trick is to ring Qantas (0845 7 747 767) or British Airways (0870 850 9 850) directly to find out the unadvertised ultra-cheap fares from London to Sydney.

3. Look For “Copycat Discounts”

Also keep in mind that when one airline announces a sale, the other airlines will often copy them. This is known as “copycat discounting”. The idea here is that you keep an eye on the other airlines for a few days whenever one of their competitors has announced a seat sale.

4. Consider Flying Birmingham – Sydney Instead

Another option is to find cheap international flights from Birmingham, England to Sydney. If you are in London, you could save some money if you take a bus or train to Birmingham that meets connecting flights to Australia.

5. Ask A Travel Agent To Match An Online Price

Find a great deal online, and then take it to one of the many cheap travel agents. Travel agents have lost a fair amount of business to the internet, and they are keen to do business with you. By dealing with one of the cheap travel agents in your area, you have a point of contact should anything go wrong.

Sydney Central YHA

The Sydney Central YHA is the second-largest youth hostel in the world – over 500 travellers can sleep under its roof. While this can feel a little impersonal, there are several little areas within the hostel designed to help you meet fellow travellers.

For example, there is an excellent rooftop terrace at the Sydney Central YHA. It features a heated swimming pool, a sauna, and barbecues to cook some snags (that’s sausages for those who don’t speak Australian) in the summer.

There are also lounges and common rooms on each floor of the Sydney Central YHA, so you can chill out on sofas with fellow travellers or watch the latest episode of Home And Away on TV.

Finally, there is a great bar at the Sydney Central YHA (the “Scubar”) where you can drink some great Aussie and imported beers and dance the night away.

Rooms and bathrooms at the Sydney Central YHA are kept clean and well-maintained. The prices for dorm rooms are $28-33 AUD for a dorm room, which is a little more expensive than other hostels, but probably well worth the extra money.

Sydney Central YHA is a security building and is located directly opposite Sydney Central train and bus terminus, so you’ll have a minimum distance to haul your backpack. Address: Corner of Pitt St and Rawson Place, Sydney (Opposite Central Station).

Wake Up! Sydney Central

The Wake Up! Sydney Central is another 500-bed monster opposite Sydney Central train and bus terminus in the heart of Sydney’s downtown. Like the Sydney Central YHA, the Wake Up! Sydney Central can feel a little impersonal, but they certainly try their best to get you to meet people!

For example, you could join the hostel’s pub crawl, the “Route 69″, or turn up to one of the hostel’s in-house parties at the “Side Bar”. You might just find yourself living up to the hostel’s slogan when you “wake up next to someone new”!

The facilities at the Wake Up! Sydney Central are quite good. The kitchen is a little small for a hostel of this size, but the dorm rooms are clean and friendly, and are priced from $27 AUD a night. High-speed internet access is available, and there is also an in-house cafe.

The Wake Up! Sydney Central is located only footsteps from Sydney Central train and bus station and thus you will have a minimum distance to carry your bags. The sheer size of the hostel also means you are likely to

find a bed (except in December and January when you are highly advised to book ahead). Address: 509 Pitt St, Sydney (Opposite Central Station).

Which Hostel Is Best?

Both the Sydney Central YHA and the Wake Up! Sydney Central are excellent Sydney hostels. The Sydney Central YHA probably wins out if you like the idea of having a swimming pool in your hostel, although it is marginally more expensive. Both Sydney hostels are a lot of fun if you don’t mind the slightly impersonal feel, and you’re sure to meet a lot of people at both of these Sydney hostels.