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Published: August 8th 2007
Sunset at Sydney
The amazing view from the rooftop garden at the hostel in Kings Cross. The view to drink whiskey to.Welcome to Australia! It was torrential raining the moment we stepped off the plane at Sydney airport, and the first few people I came in contact to were rude to me, welcome to Australia Chez, you are no longer in New Zealand!! Luckily, that has not been consistent, everyone else have been friendly and warm.
The first few nights were spent in Kings Cross, the seedy part of the city, not that I noticed this much the first time, but the second time we stayed in this area it was really obvious. Hookers and strippers hanging around the streets and out of entrance ways, drugged up homeless people lying on the floor with a half drunk drink in their hands, and the odd syringes littering the street. As I said, I was completely oblivious to this the first time, as awestruck by the size and glitter of the city, but after returning from the chilled out beach, it hits you like a wet fish in the face. Still felt safe there though, no one seemed like a threat in any way.
Over Easter weekend there was a Juggling Festival at Darling Harbour, a posh part of the neighbourhood.
There were several stages where jugglers and circus performers were doing their stuff, entertaining and involving the huge crowds in their tricks and shows, with street performers and buskers alongside. One of the stages was an acrobatics show, performed by kids. It was really impressive, they were tight rope walking, doing the trapeze and other acrobatics, almost completely perfectly, pretty amazing really. The atmosphere was electric. The best bit of it was the workshop area in the corner of the main field, where mostly kids were playing with the circus toys and getting tips from the stewards working there, although some of the parents were joining in, much more scarier to be close to. We got talking to one of the guys there, who happened to be the Australian ambassador of juggling, or something of the sort, who happened to be amazing at all the toys, so he taught me some poi moves that I didn't know, and Adam some more diablo. We spent most of the day there, playing, and absorbing the sunshine, as the weather had drastically improved, and Sydney is now going through a heat wave (lucky us!!). Also in the city, we have taken a hungover
The Beach at Bondi
This is where we spent many days chilling out. stroll through the Botanical gardens, infested with mossies, but decorated with some beautiful flora and fauna, and scattered with some interesting and crazy bird life, which is right next to the Opera House, where we admired the interesting design in architecture. In order to walk across the Harbour Bridge, we had to stroll through The Rocks, where the first convicts were shipped to Oz, and subsequently, where the first British settlement in New South Wales was, so the buildings were pretty old, and had much character. The view from the bridge was really amazing, couldn't believe how many boats there were in the harbour, don't know why I was so surprised by this really!
We have managed to meet up with loads of people whilst here, already. Within the first few days we had drinks with an old friend of mine from school, Lucy, and her new ozzy husband, who kindly treated us to many rounds, and with whom we had a fun and enjoyable evening, catching up on old times. It's amazing how accents can change and develop over time, real crazy!! We have also met up with Rachel, who we met in New Zealand, and partied with
The Calm Before the Storm
The view of Manly from Shelly beach, minutes before the storm began. then, the second time we were in Kings Cross, and the third time back in the city, and Warren and Jacquie who are currently living in Bondi, but met in Fiji. Luckily we have an Australian phone now, easier to organise the piss ups!
Escaping from the mad capped city has rewarded us with some amazing white sandy beaches, and the world famous Australian surf. We spent a few days at Bondi beach, just down the road from where Home & Away is filmed, chilling out on the beach for most of the time. We spent much time walking along the coast line, listening to the weird sound created by scuffing our feet along the sand, a bit like breaking polystyrene, pretty crazy, 'ey?, and watching the waves breaking from right to left, finishing with a crash into the rocks. It is a big surf spot, although there is a dangerous rip tide current, which caught many of the surfers unaware, slowly dragging them out to sea. Pretty much continuously, this particular day, the lifeguard, adorned with a jet ski, was dragging these surfers back in to land to safety. Didn't go into the sea that day. There is
Skippy, Skippy
Kangaroo spotting in Blue Mountain National Park. a famous 12 km coastal track heading south to Coogee beach, passing many other scenic beaches and bays along the way, which we walked one hot day, finishing with a dip in the refreshing sea. One of these beaches, Tamarama, was the spot of a small beach party that we attended last night, sloshed on 'goon', as it is called, or in common terminology, 4L boxes of cheap and cheerful wine. We got lost on the way back to Sydney that night, but got there eventually. Woke up this morning to find my bed covered in sand and half the beach in my shoes!! I love the beach.
After a quick stop off in the city, and another night of drinking (it's a hard life!), we hopped on the ferry to Manly beach, where Heartbreak High was filmed! The beach was even more amazing, stretching over a wider area, and is straight, rather than in a bay, so the waves broke a lot cleaner and evenly. So beautiful, although someone had the great idea of planting trees along the perimeter of the beach, really tall trees at that, which covers the beach in shade from about 3.30 in the
The Blue Mountains
You can just make out the blue haze from the eucalyptus trees in the valleys. afternoon, as the sun is lower due to it being the start of the winter. After discovering this the first day, we walked around the coast for about 10 minutes to Shelly beach, which was facing the opposite way, to adorn ourselves with the sun on the beach all day. We had a perfect view of Manly getting covered in shade, he he. For the days after that we sunbathed on the beach all day, then went surfing as the shade started to creep up, clever thinking!! One thing I really like about the beaches here is that there are sea water swimming pools along side of the beach, most of which are free to swim in, although the one at Bondi you had to pay. I guess its to allow you to swim safely, away from the sharks and jellyfish (seen none of either so far), and the dangerous currents. It's great, you can swim in calm waters, and hear the waves crashing into the rocks and side of the pool, what more could you ask for. This was one of my favourite morning activities. Swimming, sunbathing, surfing. The perfect day, great. One night there was the most incredible lightning storm, starting over Manly, so close I thought it was going to hit us at one point, concerned that I didn't have rubber soled shoes on, then stayed out at sea for hours. The lightning bolts rolled across the sky, lighting up in the most magnificent ways. We did stay in a nightmare hostel for the first few days (Manly Backpackers, don't stay there), dirty and the other guests were really disrespectful of others, so we promptly moved to a cleaner, more civilised place. The kitchen was so dirty that we had to eat out, repulsed by the hygiene standards, and we heard a rumour that someone found a turd in the corner of the shower.
We have surfed a few times since being here, in Bondi and Manly, now progressing from the foam learner boards, to the proper fiberglass boards. The foam ones are easier to stand up on, but are harder to control, really noticeable after using the fiberglass boards, which I preferred as the struggle to get to the waves was drastically reduced. So much fun. We have both noticeably improved with our technique, I can spot when the waves are about to break, and when to catch them. It is amazing when you manage to catch the wave from the correct point at the start of the break, and you rise up and then dip down into the wave, exhilarating!! I've even got board wax on my boardshorts now, fully fledged surfer-ish!!
Taking a day out from the wonders of the beach, we went on a one day trip to the Blue Mountains, a popular National Park in New South Wales. Not actually blue mountains, but canyons, it has got it's name from the blue haze that is created from the aroma of the eucalyptus trees that adorn the surrounding valleys. Stunning views, for sure. Over one of the edges of a viewing platform, there were several burnt out cars amongst the trees. Suicides, accidents or inventive dumping ground, who is to know! We had a ride on the steepest railway in the world, which used to be for transporting coal from the mines below, in the valley by the Three Sisters, three rocks at the edge of a cliff with an aboriginal tale to it. It was really steep, and sitting on the front I was expecting a rollercoaster ride, but it ended up being a really slow descent, been doing too much thrill seeking I guess! Our trip was finished off with some kangaroo spotting in the National Park. It amazed me how close you can get to Skippy and his pals, they don't mind you being around them at all, and in fact just ignore you. Wouldn't want to get too close though, they've got a pretty harsh left hook when they want to!
So now we are just about to leave Sydney, it was hard work dragging ourselves away from the beach, but there are many more along the way up the east coast. As our funds are drastically falling we have been trying to get work fruit picking, but since it is towards the end of the fruit season in New South Wales, there is nothing available, so we need to head north to catch the start of the harvesting season in Queensland. So we are skipping town in the morning, after two great weeks in Sydney. I see why everyone gets stuck here!!
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christine (mum)
non-member comment
Don't like the sound of Kings Cross... but so long as you both were safe ...ok. More poi tricks you'll be such an expert by the time you get home. The beaches and surfing are amazing. Good luck with the harvesting in Queensland . Take care. Mum xx