The second of six catch-up posts that I hope to get out in February.

One of the side perks included in my move contract was being able to rent a car for 60, non-consecutive, days in my first year. That year has just run out, and in order to make sure we made the best of it, we rented a car for the entire month of December.

We saw a lot of the city this past month — a whole lot more than if we were relying on public transport — and I really feel that having the vehicle was a huge added value. We explored alternate neighborhoods in case we decide to move; trendy, out-of-the-way places with tasty food; ikea a half-dozen times; and costco. We were also able to spend a good portion of the Christmas holiday road tripping around New South Wales.

Our adventures included:

• Wollongong
• The Illawarra region
• Jervis Bay
• Canberra
• The Hunter Valley
• The Blue Mountains
• A bit of the Central Coast

I’ll update over the next few days with some photos of the different places we visited.