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Published: January 25th 2006
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An Abseil in the Blue Mountains
An hour from Sydney, the blue Mountains and start of my 20 metre decent.... Hello there peeps,
In the last month and a half, I have been mostly eating. no that's travelling, australia and more precisely-doing my east coast trip from melbourne to cairns by foot. The first month I spent away from hostels (on the whole) and I stayed with my uncle's and aunties in Melbourne and Sydney, who were all grand to me, and love hearing all their stories, especially Maurice's stories. i can never remember all stories that happen to me! hehe - thus Im writing them down here!
annnnnywayy I was staying with mee Uncle Maurice in Melbourne and my first error in Australia (oh and there's more!) was giving the wrong airline to Maurice! how crap of moi. Eventually we met at the airport. Next time - it's easier to give a flight number Im sure!
I went to stay in a hostel in Melbourne centre for 3 nights to sample some stand up comedy, some live music and finally some Australian clubbing. hehe. well i got 2/3 done. The first night, I went for some stand up comedy in the suburb of St. Kilda - but the bouncer on the door wouldn't let me in because he
Walking from Bondi to Clovelly
I tried to tell this guy he was too close to the edge but he just wouldn't listen! required ID (or didnt like the look of me) and I had not taken my passport! or photocopy. So I went around the corner and watched Sin City. Quality film.
Melbourne has a lot of bands and accordingly, I went along to a live music venue to see three bands playing and one of the three bands was pretty good. I saw a techno party advertised in Melbourne and I was like - im in luck - I love the techno! it was a basement party, so on my 3rd night of three in Melbourne centre, I went along. It was a very small basement room, sweaty, strobe lights, disco balls and hairy monkeys dancing along. I was chatting to a guy in there and he was explaining to me that Melbourne has a little drug problem and I thought that he was complaining but no, next minute he's necking back some medication he's brought into the club!! headache tablet was it mister!
that was good, especially when a bon jovi track ("you gave love a bad name"?) got dropped and mixed into a techno version of the same track! the place went bananas!
I was telling my uncle
Postcard Sydney
the highlights of Sydney in the background (and for a limited period only, in the foreground also) that I think Australia, well Melbourne's central business district in particular has a lot of slim people and a lot of blonde people. it's true! one of the DJs at the techno party called discopussy! was tall slim and blonde, not like fatboy slim. anyway. that's another argument. I have no real rationality to back up my claims, but I have become a little slimmer while Ive been here and my hair is getting lighter!
australia cracks me up though. some of the road signs are hilarious. For example. on a slip road that leaves a motorway, in the opposite direction there are signs that say "Wrong Way: Turn around" but Im sure you would be pretty much in three showers of shite by the time you read the sign and hit an oncoming car. Also a sign next to some stairs saying "Stairs ". Im sure there's a reason. probably for wheelchairs but there are in general some funny signs. Erm, im lacking in evidence here also! hehe
After my 3 nights of exploration, Maurice kindly drove me along the great ocean road to see the 8 apostles (used to be the 9 Apostles but one had
Family Postcard!
Auntie Flo, me and Uncle Christian. previously collapsed (from exhaustion) into the sea!) (I asked for discount but the desk was closed.) I visited an Auntie-Slyvanie with Maurice and met my two cousins. Estelle is a year younger than me and already married! how rude. I met Josette, my third relative in Melbourne and she became the first person to increase my backpack with some presents for my family in England (which subsequently didnt weight me down as I fetched a pretty penny selling the stuff! only kidding - how cheeky)
Soo then i travelled on a coach to Sydney, taking 12 hours and stayed with Auntie and Uncle - Alix and Damien, and lots more funny stories they were to tell me too. 😊
As with Maurice, I fed them false or incomplete information. I said what time I was arriving and the coach station but not the street name! But alas, they know their stuff and they suitably contacted the CIA who have a satellite tracker on me!! no they knew where the company's station was and they found me (or was that the other way round hey! hehe 😉 )
So from Sydney I got a few things done. I sampled
dans Canberra
Uncle Damien, me and Auntie Alix taking in a funky museum in Canberra. 'Hungry Jacks', which is the Burger King here and that was yummy... mmm McJacks..no
I visited the Blue Mountains and to be honest - it was a disappointment compared to the Drakensberg of South Africa!! im sure that's harsh to say but yaa. however i made a recovery by choosing to go abseiling whilst I was there and ive included a piccy -pop pickers. that was brilliant stuff. I did some walks around sydney. From the gorgeous Bondi Beach (where people swim, surf, body board and sun bath and sell stuff all in different sections) to Coogee Beach, except we only made it to the preceding beach - Clovelly, but alas Damien was a better country distance walker than me- I finished behind him. (0.03 seconds!) i also walked around an Area called Manly which got it's name from the bay of Manly which was i believe named by 'Captain Philip something' who found the bay and found the native people of the area as very confident, bold and manly.
I visited Canberra with another Uncle from Sydney - Christian, and Alix and Damien, and it was cool to meet up with Christian again, as had only met once
Hehe
here's some evidence! previously in 1992 for 4 weeks. true to consistency, Christian told me some funny stories too and also has a top draw sound system. nice 1.
My cousin Paula kindly took me along to some Sydney live music, and so I could now compare to Melbourne live music and hmmmm. hehe - the bands that nite were all kinda acting desperate, Paula and I found that funny! between the tunes, the lead singers made really odd comments - like "we don't have a name - if anyone can think of one - please let us know" and "come and talk to us after we finish - we don't bite... much" haha A couple were very good bands though - a par with Melbourne!
Cousin Mark took me along to an Electro/house nightclub in Sydney but we weren't allowed in -too many guys in the club- so we went to another club and had boogie sausageland/ wonderland. More Rn'b at the cheese clubs here than actual cheese. I like that. Keep the cheddar away from the dance floors..
Mark's elder brother Andrew was also grand, taking me to central Sydney and a posh bar called the Establishment, where it was very interesting to see all the suits (presumably lawyers, bankers etc from offices in central Sydney) being 'hit on' by loads of girlies and vice versa (lest i make a sexiest declaration there!).
Cousins Gerry, Mary-Anne and little Alison took me along to some drag racing, a first for me, and explained all about the different cars racing and modifications done to the cars! The Burnout section of the night is where people create as much destruction to their tyres as possible. Someone blew up all four of their tyres! That was a good laugh.
I also caught up with Adrian, an old school friend who moved to Australia 5 year ago (ooh er) and is currently planning his wedding with his wife (to be). I reckon you've put on weight Adrian! hehe but you've definitely matured a lot. Cheers for the introduction of Krispy Kreme doughnuts 😊
I also got in a visit with my Auntie Flo(rence), who I have bumped into a few times before and thank you for the cake Flo.
So then i began my tour, around 10th August, a month into Australia trip, going from Sydney to Cairns on a backpacker bus-the travelling on foot was a bad idea. Back to hostels again and im gonna post what Ive been doing in my
next blog, lest this particular blog continue for too long...
Now I'm in Airlie Beach and on a waiting day for my sailing trip around some islands collectively called The Whitsundays and Im going to be around these islands for my birthday so that is nice timing.
This blog is dedicated to my Auz relatives and thanks for letting me stay round and giving me tours around the place. I thank you please!
hope yas doing oks and speaks again
Pat : x
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danny boy
non-member comment
nice one rivet
hello mate great to see your still having a great time sorry have not replied before been very busy...... Buying a house in aldershot 5mins away from our beloved football team (the rec)and now just having a big promotion in abbey, hope you are well not having tooo much fun and will speak soon ALSO HAPPY Birthday MR RIVET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! look after yourselF!!!!