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Published: January 11th 2008
Hello, I'm back!
It's been at least a week maybe two now since I wrote something on here. Although you were probably all too busy to come on here anyway! I hope everyone had a great xmas and New Year period. Happy 2008 everyone!
I want to start this blog with a place I forgot to mention in the last one: Brisbane! We ended up only spending 2 nights then, when we had intended to spend a few more at least. We barely touched on the city really but I would like to acknowledge one of the best things about Brisbane: JANE! Jane is a friend of Joe's aunt, Ros who kindly found us a place to stay whilst in Brisbane (Also a big thanks to Sam and Kim who let us stay in their flat despite never having met us! It was lovely by the way, a great change from hostels!). Not only did Jane find us somewhere to stay, she also picked us up when we arrived, took us to have a look over Brisbane, took us out for dinner and cooked us dinner the 2nd night and then took us to the bus station rather early
the day we left!!!
Jane was basically a real hero. We had some great chats too so I just wanted to say thanks a lot to Jane and others involved with helping us communicate with Jane beforehand! If we're ever back in Brisbane, we'd love to meet with Jane again.
It would've been brilliant to have seen much more of Brisbane though. There seemed to be a lot to see but we only touched on the river which we got the river cat boat down, the noisy backpacker area where we met up with some people from our Fraser Island trip and the shopping area. We had a drive through the very hilly suburbs but that was about it. We have so much to cover if we ever have a chance to come back!
One crazy memory I'll always have from Brisbane though was going to sleep from 11pm until 1am, waking up and making our way into the city, watching Arsenal beat Chelsea 1-0 in a street bar, going home at 4am and getting up at 6am to get the bus to Byron Bay!!! It was worth getting up to watch Arsenal beat Chelsea but we
had a lot of sleep to catch up on after that!
So, on to Sydney... It's a city that's really grown on me. At first, I wasn't too blown away by it as I had been expected to (being such a feature of our trip). Yet after 2 weeks, perhaps after seeing the iconic Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, along with the range of activities and landscapes being so close together, things have changed...
At first Sydney seemed a little like London, especially with all the similar names (eg: Liverpool St, Oxford St, Kings Cross etc), and the mass of buildings in some parts and some people seemed just as annoyed to be there as people can be in London! However, there's lots more to Sydney (as there is to London when you have a look around). One day you can be among all the shops, the next walking along the river and taking in the bridge and Opera House, the next walking along the cliffs from Coogee to Bondi or lying in the Botanical Gardens. It's strange having the beach, parks, the river and a normal city all within walking distance. It makes for a
lot of variety and lots of outdoor activities. Some people have gotten bus passes or train passes but I think one of the best things has been walking to most places (unless it's just miles away) and taking in the city.
One great thing has been having a base for two weeks. We've been quite tired so it's been nice some days to wake up a bit later or come and have a nap at times, when that wouldn't have been possible in dorms. The lack of dorms and tours (except the Blue Mountains) probably means less friends were made but we reestablished friendships we'd made along the way.
There's been a lot to do here and we've only managed maybe 70% of what we wanted to achieve!
One of the most touristy and obvious things was seeing the famous bridge and Opera House but funnily enough, they really helped cement in our minds that we were in Sydney. We walked down there a few days after arriving and they were amazing to see. The whole area looks well kept and the river flowing underneath the bridge and around the Opera House looked beautiful. It was an
amazingly sunny day too! When I saw the bridge coming in on the bus, I didn't think it looked that nice but against the scenery it seemed to fit better.
Christmas at Bondi Beach was definitely the obvious route to take but as it was a bit cloudy, it turned out not as crowded as it would've been and a great day overall. We set up camp on the grass beside the beach with two people we met in Rainbow beach, Pritti and Alaka and had an excellent picnic until we felt very fat! We also had some sneaky drinks as the alco-patrol were on and kept pouring away peoples drinks. (Spoil sports...) Anyway, after a few hours in the cold, we decided to be very boring and go get a hot drink! Considering it didn't really feel like Christmas at all here, I think we had a brilliant day. In the morning, Joe had made me a lovely stocking and we had a little present each. Also, we'd bought some very budget crackers (that were so budget they just put the same 3 jokes two lots of the crackers!).
I think Christmas did miss the turkey and
a bit of cheer but with a little effort and a few friendly faces, we managed to restore Christmas in a sense!!!
Boxing day we had a trip to the cinema and saw The Golden Compass. It was great visually and some of the characters were very well-acted. The only thing I found alarming was the ending! Has anyone read the book and seen the film too? I can see why they might have cut the film at this point, especially for the sequel but I was all revved up for the ending I expected!!!
NOW, I have news for the DUDLEY family in particular... I visited Dudley Street!!! We went to see Nikki, who we met on the Whitsunday trip and did the Coogee to Bondi walk (stopping for fish and chips and deep fried Mars bar! It tasted like a Mars flavoured sugar donut. I can't believe I tried one in Australia and not Scotland! Talk about the long way round...). The walk was great to do, filled with breath-taking views. Nikki was also a good guide and kept saying 'This looks like a photo spot'which was pretty funny. After that, we caught the express bus
Joe at the Blue Mountains
The view is amazing but that woman behind Joe doesn't look too impressed by it, or Joe...back to Coogee (as Nikki had to go out later) and she took us to her street-
DUDLEY street!!! Family, we're famous! Nikki also lived in Dudley Gardens so that was even stranger. How could I meet someone called Nikki who lives in Dudley Street????
Another great day out was the Blue Mountains tour. We got to the station at 8ish and made the train in the nick of time. 2 hours of the worst carriages ever (absolutely no leg room AT ALL and yes, even worse than that trampoline train), we got to Katoomba. We were travelling with Alaka, Pritti and another girl called Ellen we'd all met previously. We'd booked onto a bus which had 29 stops and we had no idea where to go!!! After some quick research, we had a few places in mind and had a good old push to get onto the bus (it felt like we were in London all over again).
A few minutes later, we jumped off the bus (not literally of course) at a place called Scenic World. Scenic World consisted of a sky rail, a cable car, the steepest railway in the world and also the Katoomba
cascades. We had a walk to a lookout and the view was immense. There was a canopy of trees stretching on as far as the eye could see and mountains upon mountains, all this from a massive height. You can only ponder on the mass of life in those trees and the amount of space it occupies.
The sky rail went completely over this immense cavern of trees and nervously, I agreed to join Joe and Alaka in going across it in a lovely glass contraption hanging on some wires (whilst the others decided to walk). I only agreed on the condition that I wouldn't have to stand on the frosted glass that became clear as it started to move! Although I thought it''d be really scary, I was less shaky than I thought on it and even managed to look around but as in numerous circumstances involving heights, I didn't look down!!!
The sky rail and cable car were a bit brief but still enjoyable. We had a nice walk around the rainforest on a platform and Alaka broke the law by stealing a Eucalyptus leaf from a National Park! It did smell amazingly minty though and
thankfully, no charges were brought...
The railway was an experience! First of all, the queue was a bit manic and we had a bit of a rowdy girl who decided to push us all because she thought we'd pushed in. After being rightfully corrected, her dad said he was sick of 'rude Australians'. Hmmm, we're weren't Australian last time we checked... Anyway, after the ruckus, we safely boarded the train and off we went at a 50 degree angle! I held on tight as there were no rails or straps of any kind and we were falling forward but after an initial view of the mountains, the trees blocked most of the remaining ride. It was definitely worth doing though.
After a bit of confusion about reconvening with our group, we didn't have a great deal of the day left! So we got on board the bus and made our way to a lookout for the famous 'Three Sisters' rock formations. The lookout again provided an immense view and it made you feel a bit insignificant standing at the edge of a cliff looking at such a big vast area of nature. The 'Three Sisters'were interesting, especially the
claim that there used to be 7 sisters but 4 have eroded. I wondered how long it would take the rest of them to erode away.
The Blue Mountains I had heard of but knew little about them. Basically there was just a lot of natural beauty and vast amounts of nature stretching on for miles. The touristy add ons weren't too invasive and there was still plenty of walking to do and the touristy paths/lookouts/stairs etc barely dipped into the area. Really, a 2 day tour is probably needed in order to pace it out and get to do a few more walks (especially the longer ones). Though with the time constraints, still a great day out at a good price too!
Now onto the big finale... NEW YEARS EVE! Along with about a million others, we decided we simply couldn't be in Sydney and miss the fireworks. So we packed a picnic and headed to one of the many lookout points around the harbour. In a twist of good luck, we heard of a place called Cremone Point through a friend of a friend which turned out to be a great place to view the fireworks
and also a great place to spend the day. We got the ferry across and trekked through an already throbbing crowd (at around 12pm) and found an amazingly good spot under a tree where we could hide from the scorching sun!
We spent the day with Alaka and Pritti, lounging around doind crosswords, eating, drinking, reading and playing games. We had to set up a sun protector with the blanket we stole from out hostel after a while as it was simply too hot to move.
The harbour looked amazing when the sun finally set. There were boats with all their sails lit up and the bridge had a moving hourglass that was counting down the time until the fireworks. At 9pm, the so called 'kiddie' fireworks began. There were fireworks coming off boats and off the bridge. They in themselves were pretty big and impressive. I wasn't sure how the 12am ones could get much better but they could!
At a few minutes to 12am, we tried to find a good spot and eventually settled on one where we could see most of what was going on. There were fireworks everywhere! Some off boats, some off
the buildings surrounding the harbour, off the bridge and the hour glass was spinning and going crazy throughout. I'm not sure why it looked so great- perhaps the fact that we were in Sydney, perhaps the atmosphere, perhaps the shere mass of fireworks and things to see. But the fireworks were impressive and especially off the bridge, it looked like rain shooting off it in all directions. Afterwards, there was a smokey fog hanging over the bridge and the Opera House.
Almost immediately, we started walking towards a place called Mossman where there was supposed to be a ferry to take us home. We weren't sure where we were going but we just knew we wanted to make the 1.15am ferry. At a junction, we found ourselves completely unsure of where to go when a family next to us said they'd direct us to the ferry. We were saved! It was a little strange as most people were walking in the wrong direction as the ferry was in quite a secluded place down some dark steps... In a nice act of kindness and a good start to the new year, the father of the family walked us most of
the way when he had no need to even go that way. We gave him a Ferrero Roche for his troubles!
Just as we reached the ferry port, literally as we were a few meters away, the ferry left! We couldn't believe it and were anoyed as it was 45mins until the next one! Though in some strange twist of luck, right then, a river taxi pulled up. We instantly ran over and asked him if he could take us across the river and he said yes! All four of us jumped in and had a lovely solitary ride across the river, taking pictures of the scenery. It was a lovely private ride and in this sense, we were actually glad to miss the ferry!!!
The above story of missing the ferry seems to represent something that Joe and I have begun to suspect in the new year- that public transport hates us! We seem to always miss the ferry/bus by a fraction of a second. Yet most of the time, something better seems to show up, like the private river taxi or a bus that goes nearer to where we want to go. So hopefully, it isn't
negative but theres just a second option that is slightly better instead...
In 2008, I have now attended my first Cricket match! We went to the SCG to see the first day of the Australia v India test. I wasn't expecting to be that impressed by it but test cricket was quite good as you can zone in and out, read the paper for a bit and have a bit of a picnic. The cricket was pretty good too! We saw lots of 4s, a couple of 6's and I saw a few good catches too. All in all, it was a good fun day and in Melbourne, Joe wants to take me to Twenty20 cricket now! I guess I'll give it a go... 2 matches in a week, not bad for a beginner!
We managed to achieve a lot of what we wanted in Sydney- Taronga Zoo/Bondi Beach/Coogee to Bondi Walk/the Australian Museum/Blue Mountains and some others. There were still some we missed out but I think overall we did well, especially as we weren't feeling 100% for most of it.
Sydney is overall a good diverse city but a 'grower'.
I'm looking forward to
Melbourne now which is meant to be more chilled out than Sydney and of course, it's the home of Neighbours! New Zealand is growing ever closer and it's exciting but also a bit of a new start. Everyone we have met along the way is either going the other way or jetting off somewhere else so we won't know anyone. We're probably planning on a bus tour around New Zealand though as it's cheaper and also then we can probably meet people on it. We hear about one called 'Stray' which sounds good and will steer clear of one nicknamed 'Chlymidia bus'- enough said.
Thanks for reading this as it's been a long one. Just always so much to cover! If you've even received a card from me though, you'd expect me to go on for this long...
Take care everyone. Nx
ps: The Australians like putting a dollop of ketchup on top of their pies! We tried it but it was a bit strange. What do the fellow English think of this? And any Aussie readers, do you like this?
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