Au-straay-lee-aa- Part One: Snow, Surf and Heaps of Kangaroos

Well, here we are in Australia! After arriving in the airport my mind was filled with thoughts of Steve Irwin, beer, kangaroos, spiders and all those other things we had learned from television! First stop was Sydney which due to the big APEC conference, was a bit of a ghost town for the first few days which was not at all what we expected. I thought Sydney had a very English feel to it as it was freezing cold for the our first few days and the city has lots of Londonish bits to it, so it was a very strange feeling after all those months in Asia to be back somewhere where everything is so western. I found myself staring at the children in fascination as I hadn't seen white babies in so long. I was trying to figure out what seemed so strange about them. It all took a bit of getting used to!

After the APEC had finished Sydney was a nicer place to be. Everyone was back to work and the streets were filled with energy and interest. I really liked the feel of the place. Many nice old buildings and streets full of history were mixed with the modern and some really peaceful parks and botanical gardens. They really know what makes a nice city in Australia. We decided to get historical for a day or two and poked our noses into a few museums. Firstly learning about geology, the environment and animals that live here. There are so many fascinating animals that you only find here. Mainly due to the fact Australia has been an island for quite some time now, allowing different species to evolve here that you don't find anywhere else on the planet. Then learning a little about the prison ships or 'hulks' that used to house some of the first convicts shipped over here from England in the days of the 'empire'. So called convicts, some of whom had only stolen a loaf of bread out of desperate hunger were kept in appalling conditons on these hulks mored in various harbours within the British empire including Sydney (and Gosport). We also sampled some great pies from a place called 'Harry's cafe de wheels'. Here you can get a pie with mash. gravy and mushy peas-top draw you might say. We walked everywhere in Sydney as the centre covers a fairly small area and ambled around the harbourside to the opera house and over the famous harbour bridge. The Seagulls here are mighty birds with pristine white feathers-it must be their diet or the increased sunshine I guess! Also there are a huge amount of homeless people in Sydney who tend to shout a lot. One said to me "Your pants are on back to front". They clearly weren't. Another shouted at the woman infront of us "Why don't you get pregnant?" They really were crazy.

From Sydney we took the greyhound bus to Melborne which seemed even more like London to me. The city is very nice but I was itching to get out and see the real Australia, the reason we came! Unfortunately we never made it to Ramsey street, but I hear the neighbours night is where the fun is and Karl Kenedy is frequently there, often with his band!

After a few days exploring Melborne we were to begin our Oz experience pass which will eventually take us all the way up to Cairns. We caught the bus at 6.15am (Aaaggh!!) and being the laid back types we have become, we didn't really have a clue what was involved for our first few days except it would take 3 days to get back to Sydney. We were pleasantly surprised then, when we found that our first stop was to Wilsons prominatory national park. When we reached the prom we piled out of the bus and went to have our very quick picnic lunch on a very windy beach before jumping back in the bus to head up to the next spot. Here we followed Joel our guide through some bushes and past a very dead kangaroo in to a field filled with very much alive ones. They were everywhere and we were able to get up really close to them before they scattered and lots were carrying their joey's in their pouches. We spent about half an hour harrassing the roo's before hopping back on the bus and continuing our drive towards lakes entrance where we would spend the night.

Here we took a walk on 90mile beach, accompanied by some sunshine which was very nice and we spotted a seal out to sea. On our way back we saw some dolphins having a mooch around in the lake so we stopped to watch them for a while. A great day for wildlife! After a dinner of fish and chips and a few beers with the rest of the group we were pooped and went off for our much needed sleep! The following day we were up insanely early again to be off on our way to Jindabyne, where it was snowy! Not what we expected in Australia! We were lucky to catch it as if we had been a few weeks later it would all have melted. We had lots of fun toboganning which I haven't done since I was a child and laughed our pants off when a few of our group crash landed in the freezing cold melted pools of water which were randomly dotted about. Among our group were 3 boys and a girl from Singapore, none of whom had ever seen snow. When I asked what they thought of it "cold and wet" seemed to be the general response although they ended up staying out the longest and toboganning from the highest points. Lots of fun!

Jindabyne town is a nice place to be, with a big lake in the middle where Jed and I took a walk and went dingo spotting. Not surprisingly we didn't see any due to the fact that there aren't any to see! It was here that we had our first experience of sharing a room dorm style but we weren't really thrown in at the deep end as it was a big spacious, comfortable room and Julia our German roommate made us lots of cups of tea so we were happy! Team Singapore were up at 6am to go out for a walk and later at breakfast enquired if the rest of us were feeling ok as we had needed so much sleep - we were all up and out by 7am!

Then after a jam packed couple of days we were off back to Sydney. After parting from the group everything seemed very quiet and we enjoyed a few days catching up on our sleep and seeing some more of Sydney before catching another bus to begin the second leg of our journey. Once again we had no idea where we were headed except that we would end up in Byron bay, so it was very exciting. We met a couple of girls who we had been on the first leg with, but everyone else on the bus was starting from Sydney so lots of new faces and names to learn. It turned out we were going to surf camp where we would spend the night before having a surf lesson first thing the next day! Eeesh! I had promised myself I would no way under any circumstances be getting in these dangerous Australian seas. Everyone was so keen I was begining to think it might be fun but I decided to think about it later, as I had far more pressing worries such as what to wear for the pirate themed party at surf camp that evening.

We arrived at the camp after a long drive and were boarded by the most stereotypical surfer dudes you can possibly imagine. They showed us around the camp and Jed and I got a cabin right on the beach which was gorgeous! After we took a stroll along the beach we pirated ourselves up with a variety of plastic equipment such as swords, hooks, eye-patches and such, and went off to be pirates for the night. Some good food and beers later and we were crowded around the camp fire as a guy with a guitar sang some of the strangest songs ever. A very interesting night! The next morning we were up at 6am and out on the beach in our wetsuits by 7am. After a bit of a lesson we were off, there was no going back and I couldn't believe I was actually wading in to this deathtrap dressed as a seal!! Anyway as it turned out I was so busy trying to get far enough past a wave, being washed back to shore, starting again, getting caught in the current, starting again and actually trying to catch some waves, sharks didn't have time to seep in to my mind, which was probably a good thing!

With the help of the instructors I actually managed to get on and stay on the board and I managed to stand up for a reasonable amount of time on one of my attempts which was excellent! I can see what all the fuss is about now but as I spent the next two hours trying to do it again with no success I don't think I can call myself a natural! It was a really a surprisingly fun lesson though and we were both in the sea for 2 hours which is longer by far than I ever manage. We emerged with a few new bruises and rushed off to shower before we headed off to Byron bay.

Byron bay is a very nice little place with a relaxing atmopshere and some really nice little beaches. We also had a wander along the trail that leads to the cliffs and lighthouse. Apparently this is the most eatern point of Australia. From here we saw some humpback whales who pass on the way back from their migration from Antartica to the great barrier reef. We actually saw one jump clean out of the water before landing with an almighty splash. It was a fair distance away though so no chance of a good photo on our camera. Whilst here we shared an apartment with a couple of other people, and one, a girl from Finland, had been on a surfing lesson the day before we arrived and had to be cleared out of the water as the instructor had spotted a shark. Apparently it's very rare but it was enough to put me off getting back in for a while!

Then we took our next bus in to Brisbane in Queensland, stopping along the way to have a go at zorbing. The guys who run the place are full of energy and put you in a good mood as soon as you arrive. We went in groups of 3 so me, Jed and another English Guy from our group clambered in to a run down jeep before being driven to the top of a hill, and getting hosed down with warm water. Then after the ball was filled with warm water dyed blue with food colouring we had to climb in through a hole in the side. Both boys had a good sliding technique to get in but I managed to get very stuck half in and half out. Then after a bit of a struggle I popped in and before we knew it we were being pushed down a hill. Much sliding and screaming took place and we emerged very wet and a bit bewildered! A very random and fun activity!

Brisbane is another large modern city with a nice river running through it. From here we took a bus out to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary to see the little lazy boys for the first time. We got up close to some more little 'roos before having a cuddle with some Koalas. They really do pack some weight into their little bodies. They also smell very strongly of Eucalyptus due to the fact they sleep amongst it for about 19hours a day. A lazy but pretty good life I think.

It's hard not to like Australia. It takes many of the good bits about England and gets rid of some of the
worst. One of the most frustrating things about England is the ever increasing levels of Political correctness and the fear of offending people. In Australia there are no such reservations, everyone is a target for a joke and good sense of humour runs through everything from advertising to place names making it all the more fun to spend time here.

Next stop Noosa for the famous Australia zoo! Crikey!

Sam and Jed xx

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Part of trip: Oceania

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