More Aussie fun

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Just 20 days have passed since I sat down to write the last blog, and in that time there's been festivals, weekend trips, picnics, movies, new friends, wildlife spotting, plenty of goodbyes, mountain climbing, enough food to end world hunger, lake-swimming and, wait for it......, money coming IN to my bank account. With so much to talk about, this may end up being quite a long blog entry. So, go and put the kettle on, grab a chocolate biccy, and prepare yourself for the long-haul with the novel that this entry will no doubt become.

First up - Trop-fest. The worlds biggest short film festival. The main event is in Sydney, but big screens all over Australia show it. I went along with a Melbourne local who knew how to do Trop-fest well. It was a gorgeous summer evening and we headed in armed with a full to bursting picnic bag. Thousands of people at the outdoor stage, all sat on picnic blankets on a grass hill, watching 14 short films with commentary between clips live from Sydney (which is a full-blown red carpet affair). Best of all, it was free! The atmosphere was amazing as the wine flowed and we waited to see which film was crowned winner. Though, my favourite part was the dip!!! My friend Jo, a truly experienced Trop-fest attendee, had been to the market in the morning and bought chorizo, crackers and 3 freshly made dips that were out of this world. We topped it off with wine and cupcakes as the sun set and the stars came out. Perfect. Plus, my favourite film won :-)

I was so grateful that Trop-fest was a free event. Money was getting tighter and tighter, and I felt guilty about every dollar spent. However, that was to be the last weekend of poverty! If you read my last blog entry, I mentioned I had an interview with an agency. I went along to it. They gave me an absolute grilling then referred me to a company which boasts the largest commercial port in Australia. I went along for an interview and 2 hours later was offered the job as temporary HR Advisor, focusing on a project aimed at reducing absence rates. So so happy! Before I came out here I knew I didn't want to end up behind a bar or performing the back-breaking, traveller classic role that is fruit-picking. No, I wanted to use my time here well; earn decent money and actually give my career a little boost too. That's exactly what this job will do for me. However, it comes with a downside. It's in the middle of an industrial estate that's a bitch to travel to without a car. Every morning, 7am as the trucks go whizzing past, there's me in my flats looking a bit windswept, trekking across grass verges to get to the office. But for this job I'll do it, and I'll call it my gym workout in the absence of my normal Zumba class. Just wish I didn't get to work looking red and sweaty every morning.

I've definitely picked the right time of year to be in Melbourne. There's always something going on in this city. Festivals, parties, gigs, more festivals. White Night has been the most recent. The city centre streets closed to traffic for the night and it opened up to around 1million festival-goers. 7pm till 7am, the city lit up and put on a show. There's was food, alcohol, bands, street entertainers, salsa classes by the river, fireworks, lasers and so much more. The city buzz was 100x more electric than usual as we partied into the early hours. Amazing. And, again, free! This city is just incredible.

Another thing that stands out since my last blog is FOOD. Lots of food. On my first payday (paid weekly) I treated myself to dinner out. It. Was. Awesome. So nice to be civilised for an evening and actually do something normal. We went for a beautiful Italian meal in the heart of Little Italy. As we sat on the balcony of a restaurant, sipping Pinot Grigio and people watching we really did feel like we could be in Rome. Every block of this city has its own character, it's own identity. Every day I feel like I'm somewhere new, and that's why I love it so much.

So, you're about half way there.... Need a toilet break? A brew and another biscuit before carrying on? No? Then here we go... the tale of what turned into a wild full day of drinking.

It was a Saturday morning. My friends Tina & Mel had been to Soundwave festival the day before and needed brunch to revive them for the rest of the weekend. I was invited along and met them in the beautiful South Yarra, which has a great cafe culture and leafy streets. We popped into a cosmopolitan cafe and I had a great goats cheese omelette. Yum. Me & Tina then head back into the city to meet some friends. Passing through Fed Square, there was a 1-day pancake festival on. Pancake with vanilla ice-cream and maple syrup - on top of the omelette. Good day!! (It's a good job I have to walk loads to get to work else I'd end up buying 2 seats on the plane home. One for me, one for my ass). After our pancake feast we spotted our 2 friends in prime location on the decking outside a city centre bar. We got the ciders in. Over the next hour we'd adopted a table of travellers, whom we then spent the rest of the day and night with. Dinner, drinks by the river, a bottle of champagne, sangria, 4 different bars then into a club. Fast-forward to 6am and I stumble in the door and crash into bed tired, drunk and happy after an amazing night. Sunday afternoon was not so pleasant; partly due to the hangover, partly due to finding a long black hair in my, what was to be, recovery chicken burger. Not happy. But the Saturday was such a good day and I loved spending it with new people who I got on well with. We even met the Cookie Monster and got a photo :-)

The final epic tale is one of the journey to the very top of Australia. Mount Kosciuszko - Australia's highest peak. In Victoria we had a long weekend, with a much needed bank holiday. Me and Tina decided to escape the city, swapping it for fresh mountain air. That could only mean one thing - ROAD TRIP!!! Friday afternoon, around 5, we piled up the boot of the car, cranked up the tunes and headed to Wodonga. Wodonga is Tina's home town, where her parents still live, and was the perfect half way point between Melbourne and mount Kosciuszko. We got there by 9pm and went to bed early so as to be ready to hit the road early on Saturday. Well, I say early, we were away by 9am, which on a weekend is very early to me!

The next 4 hours in the car were tough - very winding roads up steep inclines. We stopped on the way though for a loo break at a campsite on the river. Making our way towards the portacabins Tina whispers out to me "Lisa, come here! Quick!" as she motioned excitedly with her hand. I went over and was greeted by a group of 4 kangaroos. For weeks and weeks I've wanted to spot wild kangaroos and now here I was roughly 10 meters away. There was even a baby kangaroo hiding in the bushes. Amazing! Now it's just a koala to tick off the wildlife list.

We continued on to the town of Thredbo. It's a mountain town which is set-up for winter, when snow falls on the mountains and ski season starts. It's a cute little place that is a hype of activity in winter. However, it being summer it was still beautiful. The temperature a bit lower and more bearable than the 37 degrees we'd left in the city, and it had crystal clear creeks where the water had been filtered as it ran down the mountain. We had a picnic, rode the bobsled ride (such fun!) and did a little exploring before then checking into our hostel and home for the next 2 nights. Turned out there were just 3 other people in the hostel; we spent the evening chatting over ciders before Tina & I headed out to a tiny little authentic Thai restaurant. Just a tiny little woman and a wok. It was one of the best Pad See Ew I've ever had.

Sunday it was time to climb the mountain!!!! I put on my new walking shoes (finally glad of a reason to wear them after carrying them around in my backpack for so long, taking up valuable space!). Now, I have to admit to cheating a little. As Thredbo is geared towards ski season there is a chairlift that goes half way up the mountain. We got on. Still, we walked 13km and made it to the summit and I still think that's pretty damn impressive. The views were great and the weather still relatively warm. On the way back down we went round on the chairlift twice taking in the scenery before heading up to Jindybyne, the town we were staying in.

Lake Jindybyne is just beautiful. A gorgeous blue set in the middle of mountain scenery. I felt like i was on a film set. We felt brave and jumped in for a swim. Swimming in fresh water is so much nicer than swimming in the sea, and it worked up our appetite for dinner. We headed to the local pub for steak & chips and, of course, a few ciders. Perfect end to the perfect weekend. On Monday, 8 hours in a sticky hot car later, we were home, gutted to be back in the reality of work and living in a hostel. Seriously can't wait to be out. I've forgotten what quiet and privacy feels like.

After the return to earth with a thud, I needed a little pick-me-up. So I booked a wine tour :-D as you do. Heading out this weekend, our 4 wineries in the Yarra Valley and sampling plenty along the way. Excited! Be good to get out the city too - it's Grand Prix weekend and it'll be packed!

So that's it. You made it all the way through till the end. Maybe from now on I'll write little and often. It's just finding the time between all the fun. And work. But for now I'm bang up to date, until the next adventure.

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