Sydney, Australia

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Thursday 7th January

So as we start the Australian chapter of our journey we have decided to that as we will both be working we will not be keeping a daily blog as it simply would not be as interesting to read as the past 3.5 months have hopefully been! We will however be keeping you updated on some of the things we get up to so please keep checking back and please keep us updated with all your news too.

So what have we been up to since arriving in Australia?

Upon arrival the customs officials took the dulce de leche with coconut (like a caramel syrup) off us as it was apparently a threat to Australian bio-security. I had bought it as a present for my mum, we’d carried it all the way from Mendoza in Argentina and it tasted soooo good but I’ll never get to give it her, sorry mum!

For our firsts three nights in Sydney we stayed at the Kanga House Hostel in Kings Cross. Kings Cross is a bit like Marmite, you’ll either love it or hate it and we were of the latter ilk. The Red Light District type establishments and unsavoury bars helped to give rise to our opinions. The Kanga House Hostel was also awful and by far the worst hostel we’ve stayed in on our whole trip. The dorm rooms were hot, cramped and dirty and the bathrooms were really unclean too. However, the conditions we found ourselves in did provide good motivation to get ourselves out of there and we were up at 7am every day searching for a job, apartment and car and within 3 days we had found the apartment and car!

We have moved into an apartment in Clovelly which is an eastern suburb of Sydney, close to Bondi and Coogee beaches. We are sharing the apartment with an English guy called Ollie who has lived here for the past 6 years. It is great to be living in a house again and to be able to unpack our clothes for the first time in 3.5 months! It is also great to be able to buy food knowing that we don’t have to eat it in just a few days before we move on again!

We have been spending a lot time at the beach, the water is warm and at Coogee there is a big stretch of sand to relax on and sometimes big waves to play in. However our favourite is probably Clovelly Beach which is also nice and sandy, but also it is usually a bit quieter. It is a great beach to snorkel at and we’ve seen a wide variety of fish including an orange backed octopus. There is also a 25m sea water swimming pool which is good for doing a few lengths and improving our fitness!

We have bought a 19 year old Holden Commodore, a huge beast of a thing but a good run-around for us. When we went to look at a house the people moving out were also selling their car. We didn’t like the room but we ended up buying the car, it’s funny how these things work out!

So with both the car and apartment sorted we needed o find jobs to pay for them. Within 3 weeks we both had secured jobs. I am working in an ice cream parlour in Coogee. It is a nice and relaxed job and the customers are always happy and friendly, plus I get free ice cream which is definitely an added bonus! Doddy has a job working in schools teaching gymnastics and fundamental skills much like he did in the UK. He is working with some good people and enjoying the challenges that working with kids brings!

The weather is great, sunny most days and the odd shower in the evening just cool things down a little.

So that is a brief update of where we are up to so far. We are both still having an amazing time and are enjoying exploring our new surroundings. More updates to come!

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Photos

The Relflection Pool
In Hyde PArk

Replica of Cpt. Cook's ship
At Darling Harbour

Australian Navy ship and submarine
At Darling Harbour

Street Performer at Town Hall
Sydney City Centre

Clovelly Beach
On Australia Day

A sandcrumbed Doddy!
On Coogee Beach