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Published: February 28th 2012
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So after spending a few days staying at Ange and Phil's apartment, whom we met in Malaysia, in Sydney, I headed out to Penrith, an hour or so West of the city, to stay with Rob and Leslie. They are lifelong friends of my uncle and of my mum so we had plenty of stories to share..
Anyway, Penrith is a quiet suburb, but big enough to almost be considered a town by itself and provided me with base to explore the nearby Blue Mountains National Park. A mere train ride away are valleys of infinite perspective shrouded in a blue mist from the eucalyptus forests in it's depths (hence the name). The most famous point in the park being the Three Sisters rock formation that overhangs into the gorge like an Australian teenager's mullet.
Rob and Leslie and I were joined by Rich and Ally on a really nice walk through the forests below, in the rain, which means one thing up here. Leeches. I got lucky. The scream that came from Leslie when the first one struck will stay with me for a long while! And then when we made the fatal error of stopping whilst she removed
it from her leg, they swarmed upon us and we were fending them off like the soldiers of Troy! Emerging wet and exhausted at the other end of the track, we de-leeched and headed back home only for Rich to find another blood-sucker attached to his stomach! The next morning Rich and I had booked in to go canyoning back down in the valley of yesterday's feasting. But first we had to be taught how to abseil. We had a great time learning the ropes (I'm too funny for my own good sometimes!) out on some rock formations hidden in the bush. For once in my life I managed to pick up the skills very quickly! Once we finished that, the rains began. And got heavier and heavier and heavier. It was like a monsoon by the time we got to the top of the valley. The two guides, Paddy and Rich were still upbeat about us being able to wade down the river jumping across rocks and then abseiling down a 30m waterfall. Once we got to the bottom of the staircase to the river (which was more like a river itself) Paddy looked distinctly more unsure about us
being able to do this. The river had turned from a gentle ankle deep current into a grade 3 rapids! The guys had little choice but to cancel the trek but we weren't too upset about it, we'd still had a good day.
The next few days we spent doing not a lot in Penrith... And then it was Australia Day, which we spent wandering around the The Rocks market in Sydney checking out some music and eating and drinking along with the locals. In the evening we managed to bag a great spot on the edge of Darling Harbour marina to watch the awesome fireworks. And then it was my birthday... on which I was taken out for a Thai feast by Phil and Ange (thanks girls!) at Thai-riffic, followed by a trip to Max Brenner's Chocolate Cafe. So, so good! My rather extended stay in Sydney was over and it had been good! Really glad I could stay with people I knew as it meant I wasn't by myself. (I was adjusting to solo travelling life) but it's not easy to keep busy for 3 weeks in Sydney!
Anyway, I jumped on the Greyhound and headed
up for a quick stopover in Port Macquarie. A quiet seaside town, it's main attraction being the Koala Rescue Hospital which was really interesting. Whilst in Port, I made a crucial and definite decision. To go to New Zealand early, by 3 weeks. I didn't come to this decision lightly, and it is made from several reasons, but mostly from the cost of travelling in Australia and the fact that I may not to see much of the South Island of NZ if I go on the same day as oroginally planned. So a quick call to Virgin and my flight was now from Brisbane in a week instead of from Cairns in 4! Crazy!
The next day I made my way to Byron Bay which I really liked. It's a real chilled out town, with great cafes, a fantastic beach which we (I was back with Rich and Ally) spent many days on, and a good vibe about the place. I spent 4 days here kicking back and enjoying the sunshine whilst it was here. Australia has been experiencing it's worst summer in a decade and most of the days here have been humid and overcast, so to get
some blue skies was a real welcome relief and I made the most of it!
My final stop was Brisbane/Brissy. A nice city I thought, with a winding river running through the centre spanned by several interesting bridges, a cool cultural centre on the south bank incorporating the city's galleries, museums and an artificial beach! There isn't a great deal to do here but I imagine it would be a nice place to live.
Apologies for the lack of detail today but my mind is currently full of all things Kiwi!
I'll come back to Australia when I have a)more cash and b)a different mindset to that of the one that I came here with. I think that spending 9 months in Asia meant I wasn't prepared for returning to Western living and thus rejected the country in a way. I really enjoyed Perth and the West Coast but I would like to give the East Coast another crack one day.
G
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