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Published: July 20th 2012
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After a rather dissapointing night in St Kilda, we had a meeting the following morning to see where we should go. After realising that we would probably spend quite a lot of money on beer there as that's all there seemed to be, we decided to hit the Great Ocean Road where we hoped it would be quieter. After a 4 hour drive from Melbourne to the Great Ocean Road, we arrived in a beautiful little town called Apollo Bay. This drive was amazing with a mix of lush green rainforests, giant rockfaces and the Blue Ocean, but in all honesty we probably picked the worst time of year to visit. It was absolutely freezing and rained the whole 6 nights we stayed there! Probably the best thing about it was the hostel! It was an 'Eco' friendly hostel and boy it was tidy! Oh and another good thing that came from staying there was the lack of things to do, forced Saul and I to take up running along the beach.
During the 6 days, we relaxed, played games, drank "Goon juice" ( Which is a really really cheap and nasty wine in Australia that comes in a box!)
and did some sightseeing considering the atrocious weather! We didn't get as far as the 12 Apostles sadly but we did get to Otway National Park where there are 'Heaps' of Kololas. I put heaps in speechmarks as the Aussie's use this LOADS. We got there and literally there must have been millions of Eucalyptus trees with hundreds of Koalas either hanging from them or sleeping in little balls in between the branches. It was much nicer seeing them free in their natural habitats than in the zoo. While we were there, there was a tour guide explaning to his group that they are quite agressive if you try to touch them and it is actually now illegal for tourists to cuddle them! Apparently you have to have a special Koala touching license! Wow.
After a week literally doing nothing in Apollo Bay, we could finally leave Victoria in the car and start our travels. The original plan was to head straight up North through Alice Springs and Ayers Rock. However after doing a bit of research we decided it was probably best to stay in Victoria or New South Wales a little while longer as job prospects
looked better there. Basically as soon as the weather drops in Winter, all the backpackers head to Darwin and Cairns where its warmer. But because we left it too late after the farm, loads of people told us we would struggle for work now. To cut a very long and complicated story short, we basically visited the whole of Victoria without finding any real work. We stayed in Echuca which was very cold, stayed in Mildura to look at this vine pruning job we got. After buying our Pruners from Bunnings ( the B&Q equivalent) we took one look at the caravan park the boss suggested we stay in and hit the road again promptly.
After a tough couple of days, we decided the best thing for Saul and I to do was to head back to Sydney where it was much warmer, find some jobs and await Laura's arrival in a place we both loved so much. Our foursome became a twosome and Phil and Rob took the road towards Brisbane to find work up there. The trip back to Sydney was actually crazy! Picture this... Saul and I, 6 bags, 2 connecting trains, a night sleeper train
and a 15 hour journey from Echuca to Sydney Central. I actually really enjoyed the sleeper train and kept thinking we were on the trans siberian or something but Saul didnt really enjoy it, I must admit. It probably had something to do with the fact that I can sleep anywhere and Saul stayed up all night listening to others snore and fart!
During our first week back in Sydney, all became beautiful again. Honestly this place is like magical. Saul got a brilliant job for an Exhibition company building stands and displays for events and shows. I got a job as a Childcare Educator in and around all the different centre in the Northern Beaches. Saul gets to walk in the sun to work and I get to sit on Mona vale Beach on my lunch break. So for now, we are planning on working here until we can really, save lots of money, await Laura's arrival in 2 weeks, and probably look for a flatshare around here. Where better really to live and save money than here!? We are very lucky indeed. Some days when I sit on the beach on my lunch break, it's one of
those surreal moments when I think ' Am I actually in Oz, sitting on the beach watching surfers on my lunch and have to pinch myself!' We can work all week, then visit all that Sydney has to offer at the weekends.
On our first weekend back in Sydney, we decided to hit the beaches around the Northern Beaches (That's the name of the area we live in) while the winter sun was out! Last Saturday we went to Palm Beach(Summer Bay). It's about 20 mins on the bus from our hostel and all the way there I was singing... "Hold me in your arms, don't let me go... la la la.. I actually think Saul wanted the bus to fall off the cliff on the way up! We got there and we were like WOW. The beaches are nice everywhere here it seems and to you guys they probably all look the same! But this spot is a Beauty spot. It is supposed to be a Millionaire's area and apparently Nicole Kidman has a house here! Sadly we didn't see ALF or in fact any Home & Away fiming or any surf shacks. But it was still really
good. That evening, for anyone who knows me at all and my love for Pizza, especially Dominos... since I have been away have been craving Dominos. We found a local one in Narabeen and quikly ordered as much food as possible. WORST PIZZA WE HAVE EVER HAD. I just don't know how they got it so wrong but this means we actually found a food that the English do better! 😊 And man will I be looking forward to coming home at Christmas to order a real Dominos!
Whilst we have been in Sydney, I have already had 3 different jobs! I have done some gardening for a celebrity wedding, been a Child 'Educator' ie working in a nursery, and delivered Pizza's around Collaroy! Its funny really but while there is jobs available we may as well take them so we get to enjoy our time off even more! And considering it's winter now, I can't even begin to imagine the amount of work around in the summer for backpackers.
Another observation of Aussie's is their love for 'Morning Tea'. I first heard it when I was gardening. The guy picked me up in his Yute (Pick up
truck) and said... "G'day Darl, we just need to go to our local Bakery for the cake for Morning Tea'. I was like YES I landed on my feet here. It turns out, its actually a very normal, everyday thing here and in the Nurseries I work in now, they have morning and afternoon tea on a daily basis. Very posh I say! In England I think we just call them snacks!!
One last thing to make you all even more jealous of us .. 😊 while we were sitting in the "Surf Rock" our local, overlooking the sea, we saw 5-6 dolphins just swimming along about 10-15 metres away from us. Now that was a strange amazing moment.
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barbara smith
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Hello from Blackpool!
Ah Jo and Saul what a fab blog you have written - it looks amazing there, the photos are really stunning and am missing you both very much! Continue having loads of fun and taking care of yourselves and we will look forward very much to seeing you at Christmas. Love you, Mum and cheers from Roy!! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx