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MELBOURNE:
Arriving in to Australia was really exciting and Shane and I couldn't believe that we had come this far already. We arrived at our hostel in Melbourne early that morning and the minute we stepped off the bus it started raining which was definitely not what we had pictured. Never the less, I was happy to get to the hostel as we were meeting Sean (who I used to work with) there. We threw cushions at him, slapped him and shouted at him for a good few minutes before he woke up- I think he'd had about as little sleep as we had. However, there was no way Shane and I wanted to go to sleep after just arriving in the country so we dragged Sean downstairs to the bar for a beer and we all had a good catch up before Shane finally gave in to the temptation of sleep leaving Sean and I ready for a good explore.
We had all decided to stay in the area of Saint Kildas for a week, which is a small beach town in the bohemian part of Melboune. The shops, restaurants and bars were all really small, relaxed and remarkably
cosy so after wandering the beach front Sean and I decided it was time for a break and some 'happy hour' wine. We chose a small cafe/bar and curled up on the big sofas which was lovely and became our favourite spot for the week. I found it very easy to feel at home in St Kildas and got the impression that it was definitely one of those little towns where everybody knows everybody and it's very friendly. We definitely met a lot of great people in our hostel.
Unfortuantely the following day was the only chance we had during the week to sunbath on the grassy hills next to the sea as the rest of the time it was too windy and cold. Nobody swam in the sea, I don't think it was especially dangerous but the seaside is more of a harbour and the water doesn't appear very clean. The beach front was beautiful though with grassy terrain and sea view restaurants and bars dotted about. We made the most of the sun and I also took a walk by myself along the pier where there was a variety of birds and a great view of the
coast.
The city centre is rather large but at the same time it is very easy to find your way around and it still manages to maintain a homely feel. We were really lucky to be there whilst the famous Melbourne comedy festival was on and although we couldn't afford tickets to the main shows, every day there was 'The Big Shout Out', a number of acts performed in the city square for free. Some of the acts that we saw were really funny and the performers were clearly exceptionally talented. The shops in Melbourne were beach/surf shops which were all really funky, bright colours and rows of flip flops- or thongs as the Ozzys call them. They were also suprisingly cheap in comparison to the stores in New Zealand and, as we were soon to find out, sydney too. We also explored Melbourne's China town before finding a small cafe with cheap food to have our Chinese dinner.
SYDNEY:
Sean decided to come along to Sydney with Shane and I and so we managed to get him on our flight and all took off to 'The Maze', a cheap hostel in the Chinese quarter of Sydney's
city centre. The hostel was horrible but it was amazing in the fact that they had a rota of daily activities and provided us with lots of free food and drink- a big bonus. I wasn't actually that fond of Sydney, apparently, or so we've been told, you are either a Melbourne person or a Sydney person and I definitely preferred the first. Sydney was very high-rise and I found it extremely difficult to get around. All the blocks looked very similar if you walked anywhere and they did have a 'light-rail' system but it was not as efficient as the New York or London underground systems and the cost was also a lot more expensive. Never the less, we did enjoy the activities that we attended during the week.
Many great nights were organised, where we dressed in fancy dress, or the guys dressed up as girls-which was amusing to say the least. We were taken to some great bars with cheap drinks and free wine. One night we went to a place called Govindas, this was a vegetarian Indian restaurant with an Indian style cinema above it. For one price you got to help yourself to an
Indian buffet before going upstairs to watch a film. The food was simply delicious and the cinema was very 'different', with large beanbags and sofas to rest on whilst you enjoyed the film. The film shown was 'Into the wild', which, although slightly disturbing, was a really powerful film- the type that sticks in the mind for a while. It was about a young man and his struggle to conform to society and as it was mainly about travelling, it was actually very relevant.
During the day times we explored the area quite a bit, obviously taking a walk to the famous Harbour bridge and the Sydney opera house which fell against a beautiful backdrop of the city skyline fringed with palm trees. We took a day trip to Bondi beach and walked along the coast over 6 other beaches until we reached Coogee beach. This beach was so nice that we returned a few days later and had a bbq there. In australia all the beaches are equipped with bbq areas etc so that people can cook on the beaches which is a really great idea.
Quite a few of the days in Sydney there were thunder
storms which left us miserable but we went next door to 'Wicked travel' and booked our East Coast package from Cairns to Brisbane, where we got an ok deal with lots of travel vouchers thrown in. Here the weather was supposed to be wonderful all of the year round which sounded more like the Australia we had imagined. We were now to say goodbye to Seany and fly to Cairns for the next part of our big adventure.
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