Middle-aged flash packers

Met Hannah for breakfast at her home this morning. She shares the cutest little house in the mount Kiera area of Wollongong. The views from the terrace are amazing.
Hannah is a great cook and served up a feast.
Fortified, we set off to conquer mount Kiera and also Robertson’s Lookout. They are both accessible on foot from Hannah’s house. She lives in the most amazing setting.
The hills are forested and very pretty. From the top we had spectacular views of Wollongong and surrounding bays.
Two and a half hours later, the next stop was a cafe for coffee, cakes and the most delicious green smoothie for me. We discovered at the cafe that last night, at about the same time we visited the beach with Hannah, there had been a shark attack on a surfer in the next bay. He survived, but had a huge chunk taken out of his thigh.
Undeterred, it was on to the beach (not the shark attack one) for a quick swim. By the time we had done that, we needed to head off to Sydney.
As advised by Hannah, we took the scenic drive back along the coast which was beautiful.
The traffic got really busy as we approached Sydney and Mrs Google was playing up on Steve’s phone. As a result, we missed our turning and had a totally unnecessary journey through the city Tunnel which costs a small fortune. Luckily this was the only wrong turn, unlike poor Ian and Kylie when they visited Sydney. Apparently they got very lost and ended up going through the tunnel several times.
Our accommodation is at The Mariners Hotel in Woolloomooloo. It was originally built as a home for retired sailors but ended up being sold off. It has a slightly institutional feel about it and our room stinks of bleach, but it’s great value and just a short, if slightly edgy, walk to shops and restaurants.
Dinner tonight was at Una’s, a German restaurant, where we were served the biggest schnitzels in the world. Steve actually ate all his which must be a record in itself.