Blogs from Coogee Beach, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Oceania

G'day! Busy busy week this week with a full week of work and searching for accomodation. My first flat viewing was an apartment in Redfern which is supposed to be quite a nice area. This flat however was in a dindgy unlit street which resembled more of service road as opposed to anything else. The front door to the foyer was cracked and there was a homeless guy sleeping in basement. Such a great first impression. Second was a flat in Glebe which was a pretty nice place, only there was 8 other people in bedrooms. My bedroom was nice, but I decided that wasn't for me. Luckily Dee an Irish EHO from work recalled that one of her friends had put something on facebook requiring an extra room-mate. She gave me his number and later ... read more

Hasn’t Boxing Day always seemed something of a disappointment after the fun of Christmas Day? The sun had evaporated (OK – I know! … I am a Physicist) and the Sydney waterfront was awash in a torrential downpour as we awoke and waited for the Ryder family to join us from the Blue Mountains. What were we going to do all day in the rain? Keturah, a local, obviously knew better than to panic – a short swim in the Blue Hotel pool later and things were brightening up. The Tom-tom did us proud and we were very soon on our way to the beach of Keturah’s uni days, Coogee. Although the surf seemed less impressive than Manly, that was based on our view from the carpark! We spent a couple of happy hours body-boarding and ... read more

Its been a hectic few days, but been absolutely brilliant! Done all the boring bits - banking, medicare etc - on the tuesday. We then went for lunch down on the harbour and spent the afternoon in the aquarium. It was a nice aquarium, but I feel that I have been to sooo many that I was kind of indifferent to the place to be honest. Then that night we went out to a bar/nightclub called The Gaff. Cool place with cheap alcohol ($3 beer), plus a free meal. It was a good night, although they had that wet T-shirt competition towards the end of the night. Seriously it was just a chance for the girls who entered to dance topless, was the most stupid thing I've seen. Of course all the guys were cheering while ... read more

Well had a fantastic first few days. When I got here I didn't do much really, except sleep! Sunday night I went out with two guys, Michael and Stephen, and a girl, Lynsey, who are in my Ozintro group. We had a good night at a local bar here in Coogee. Monday was a right laugh. We did a quick drive around the city and then took a walk through the Botanic Gardens. We saw fantastic views of the Sydney Opera House and the bridge. Our Ozintro leader, Ben, had brought bread with him so we could feed the cockatoos. They actually landed on your arm to take the bread! You would have hated it mum! Unfortunately, the one which landed on my arm flew away before I took the photo. I also saw fruit bats ... read more

OzIntro - 10th - 17th May 2010 Itinerary Monday Ciry Orientation Jet Boating around Sydney Harbour Lunch at 5-0's Tuesday Darling Harbour Sydney Aquarium Wednesday Surf Lesson with Mojo Surf Thursday Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk, with a beach BBQ Friday Blue Mountains with OzExperience Saturday Work/Travel Talk Oz Party Bus and Pub Crawl Sunday Farewell Dinner at Sydney Tower Restaurant I had an awsome first week in Sydney. I met some great people, and saw some amazing sights. The surf lesson was great, and has made me decide to take more lessons. I loved the Blue Mountains, but would love to go back when I have more time. Sydney is incredibly expensive, and I can see my money running out quickly if I don't do something soon. As good as th... read more