What’s a house and cat sitting trip without a COVID scare? It happens every time I’m about to travel interstate.

It wasn’t me who had COVID. And it wasn’t the Queensland Government threatening to lock out the other Australian states and territories. It was Pixel’s owners—the French couple I house and cat sat for in April 2021—who had the COVID scare. Someone in their building tested positive days before they were due to fly home to France. The couple wasted no time in making their way to the international airport’s testing clinic where they paid $79 AUD to get their results within 90 minutes. Both of them tested negative and were cleared to fly to France on Saturday morning.

On the Friday before they left, I went over to their Surry Hills apartment for dinner. It felt like I was catching up with old friends, not just another couple I was house and cat sitting for. They’d asked what I wanted for dinner and I told them I’d like the same eggplant dish we had last time. I learned it’s actually called Tian de légumes. Pixel attempted to join us for dinner, but was shooed off the table because he’s not allowed on it when they’re eating.

Pixel—for those of you who mightn’t remember him—reminds me of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. I think it’s his expressive face and he has a bit of a smirk going on. He’s also got that larger build and has the British/Scottish Shorthair face to match. While I’m not sure he remembered me when I came over for dinner, he was quite interested in my suitcase when I arrived on Saturday morning. It’s possible he could smell himself on it from the last time I looked after him.

I ventured off to the French Christmas Market not long after dropping my stuff off at the apartment. This market is usually held in July to coincide with Bastille Day, but it was cancelled due to an increase in COVID cases across Sydney. Pixel’s owners joked I’d catch COVID at the markets, but I escaped the crowds by going first thing in the morning. I did, however, receive several notifications throughout my stay informing me I had been somewhere at the same time as a now COVID positive person.

The state of New South Wales went from having about 1,000 positive cases each day to more than 6,000 in the week following the couple’s departure. It was averaging around 25,000/day by early January and got up to about 60,000/day in my final few days here. Testing clinics were turning people away and other clinics closed entirely. People were waiting in testing lines for hours and COVID home testing kits sold out everywhere. I even saw a 35-pack of N95 masks retail for $209 AUD. COVID panic had taken over. Again.

Like most cats, Pixel was oblivious to the COVID craziness going on outside his home. He would go about his days knocking the washing basket over to sleep in it, pulling the postcards off the fridge, attempting to open the bedside drawer to get more treats and napping next to the toilet. He also liked to rest on the exercise bike and would lovingly look up at the fridge when I opened it. One time I caught him engrossed in a David Attenborough ocean documentary. He started to move closer and closer to the TV in hope of catching the fish. The couple told me he loves nature documentaries, especially ones with wild cats as the subject. Pixel considers himself to be a bit of a lion. Another memorable Pixel moment is when I gave him catnip—a one-off treat to ring in the new year—and he became fixated on the portable air conditioning unit for the next hour.

Things to do

I forgot how great the couple’s Surry Hills location was. For both cafes and restaurants, and getting around Sydney. I managed to get to parts of the city I’d never been to before and only wish I’d checked them out sooner. While I was initially a little unsure of what I’d do for 29 days, I managed to find something interesting/worthwhile to occupy almost all of my time.

Royal National Park

Turns out Royal National Park is the second oldest national park in the world. I’d never heard of it until I started putting an itinerary together for this trip. I had originally wanted to see the Figure Eight Pools, but I was told it’s about a four hour hike. I decided to do the Bundeena to Wedding Cake Rock walk instead. Wedding Cake Rock is a sizeable white rock you stop at on the way to Marley Beach. I gave Marley Beach a miss because I wanted to return my hire car before the afternoon traffic. Sydney drivers are on par with those in Los Angeles.

Manly Beach

Getting the ferry from Circular Quay to Manly is somewhat of an ‘iconic’ Sydney thing and it’s something most international tourists do when they’re in town. Manly has a totally different vibe to the beachy suburbs in Sydney’s east. It’s a lot more chilled and family friendly, but it’s still very, very popular. Things worth doing in the area:

• Walk from Manly Wharf to Fairlight Beach
• Walk back the other way to stop at Manly Beach and Shelly Beach
• Shopping in the Corso area.

Mitchell Road Antique & Design Centre

I visited the Mitchell Road antique centre last trip and couldn’t wait to return. I spent a few hours here and went back one last time during my final week. It’s more of a warehouse, with about 50 or 60 different stalls. Their pricing is pretty reasonable, especially in contrast to what another nearby antique centre charges for its bric-a-brac and furniture.

Other walks worth doing

I did a loooot of walking in Sydney. Not because the public transport is terrible, but because there’s so many walks worth doing. My favourites were:

• Wendy’s Secret Garden to Lady Gowrie Lookout. It’s along the harbour, and you’ll pass through Luna Park and the prime minister’s Sydney residence.
• South Head Cemetery to The Gap Bluff. There’s a nice view of the Sydney skyline, too, in the opposite direction.
• Bondi to Bronte Coastal Walk. I’d never ventured further than Bondi Icebergs previously, but it’s worth walking the bit extra to see Tamarama and Bronte beaches.
• Anywhere from Rose Bay up to Watsons Bay.

Shopping at Chatswood

Chatswood is probably the closest thing I’ll get to Japan right now. My favourite ‘area’ was around the interchange. There’s lots of Asian supermarkets, Asian restaurants and cute stores selling super cute Asian things.

Next stop

After one month in Sydney—my longest house and cat sit to date—I’m heading home for a very short time. I’m grateful I no longer have to show a border pass or a negative rapid antigen test upon arrival at Brisbane Airport. It means I can get out quicker and get started on packing for my next trip. I’ll (hopefully (I need a negative PRC test first)) be flying out to the USA on Wednesday where I’ve organised several house and cat sits.