Well I thought I'd better finish this off!!! I spent Friday in Sydney shopping (what else can I do for my final weekend!). Sinead by this point had returned to Sydney for the weekend too, so she helped me!! After that we decided to go out for a drink, and found the YHA's bar next door had a pretty good happy hour (I started this blog drinking, I may aswell finish it the same way!). We ended up having a few glasses of wine there (I say wine, it was probably goon!), before heading back to our hostel for my last hostel night. I'm pretty lucky the people in my room were nice, so didn't have any bad experiences for my last weekend.
I got up on Saturday, and checked out. I knew I couldn't check into my hotel until one, so I went and used the internet for a while before catching the train to Wollie Creek. The hotel was a 10 minute walk from the station. Apparently. It took me not far off an hour to find it. With my backpack on my back. And there were no taxis there that I could jump into. 2 people stopped me on route to ask me was my bag heavy. How very kind of them to ask me that! After walking for ages, I found a train station, and figured I'd walked in a circle and got back to the train station I'd walked out from. I guessed that would be ok, coz I could either phone for a taxi from there, or there are maps on the wall to find directions. As I got closer to the train station, though, I realised it wasn't the one I'd arrived at earlier, but a completely different one. I'd walked completely the wrong way. The other side of the train station, though, was a highway, which I knew I needed to cross to get to this hotel. So, after some more walking I arrived at the hotel shattered and hungry (had only eaten a cereal bar by that point - and it was now 2 o'clock). Of course nowhere was open for lunch in the hotel, so I walked to the 7-11 to grab some food.
Later that afternoon, Chris arrived at the hotel (he got a taxi after asking me how I got there!!). We then headed to the bar (well why not), and had food. The next morning after checking out, I waited for the shuttle bus to take me to the airport. I was going to b really early arriving there but refused to pay $15 an hour for a late check out, especially when I could sit in the airport for free. Obviously I got to the airport much too early, and check in didn't open for ages. All the seats were taken up so I got to sit on a bar!! Very comfortable - not!
Eventually check in opened, so after getting rid of my bag, I went to find something to eat. Then it was a lot of sitting around and waiting until the flight was leaving. My 2 flights back to London, and the stop at Hong Kong were pretty uneventful. Boring but uneventful. I was a bit late landing in London, and it took ages for my bag to come through, and then I went to find the bus station, and waited there for a couple of hours, until it was time to catch the bus to Swansea where I was being met by Mam and Geoff. And then home at last.............................
Wednesday, 28 January 2009
Thursday, 15 January 2009
Thursday 15th Jan 2009 - almost at the end.....
Well, all I can say is that I think Adelaide is boring!!! I didn't do much on Monday other than sleep (I was pretty tired!!). On Tuesday I had my wine tour of the Barossa valley. Now that was not boring!!! ;-) We started off by stopping for breakfast at the World's Largest Rocking Horse (the catch is that it doesn't rock - so in theory it's not the world's largest rocking horse, but anyway...). After stopping there we were supposed to go to the Whispering Wall, which is a dam. Apparently if you stand on one side of the dam, and someone else stands the other side, you can have a normal conversation with them. I say 'apparently' because I never got to test this out. It was so hot on Tuesday (over 40 degrees), that there was a complete fire ban in Adelaide, and the surrounding area. This meant that the national parks, and other similar areas were closed in case people decided to start a bbq there. It wouldn't take much at all for a fire to start, and then it would be a major disaster. All it meant for us though was that we could start drinking sooner!!!
The first vineyard we went to was the Jacob's Creek. They gave us a little history first (come on...we're waiting for the wine!!), and then came the tasting. We tasted loads there. We had sparkling (white not red mam!!), white, rose, and red. Not a bad start to the day. The rest of the day carried on pretty much the same! The second vineyard was Vine Creek. The wine here was really yummy. It's a pretty small vineyard, and they don't export their wine anywhere. You can't even buy it in Adelaide. I think it was nicer than Jacob's Creek, though. They even had a white port. I'd never had white port before, but I'll take a guess at the fact that I may have it again!!!
The next vineyard was Richmond Grove. We had a tour here, and they showed us how the wine was made. After this one we went for lunch. We were supposed to have a barbie for lunch, but again because of the fire ban we couldn't. We ended up going for a pub lunch, and I had kangaroo. It was yummy.
After lunch we went to one more vineyard (Bethany's), and there they had a list of tonnes of wine, and you could choose to taste any one you wanted off it. Hehehehe!!! I didn't try them all though, thought I'd look like an alchoholic!!! Most people only tried one or two, though, think they'd had enough by then because of the heat. It's strange though, out of the 17 people on the tour, 5 didn't really like wine. They came on the trip to view the countryside. Strange, strange people!!!
Anyway, that was Tuesday. Wednesday was supposed to be sightseeing day of Adelaide, but I walked round the city centre in less than an hour, and then got bored. I spent the rest of the day reading, and that was about it.
Thursday (today) I had to get up early to catch the shuttle bus to Adelaide airport to fly back to Sydney. After getting to Sydney I caught the train to the centre, and then checked into my hostel. I only have 2 more nights left in a hostel now!! That seems so strange. I went to the cinema today and saw Bride Wars. It was actually a pretty funny film!! After that I went to Darling Harbour shopping, and then headed back to the hostel. On the way back to the hostel it poured down, and within ten minutes the temperature had dropped by 10 degrees (that's what the news said anyway - I don't carry a thermometer around with me!!!). That pretty much takes me up until now............
The first vineyard we went to was the Jacob's Creek. They gave us a little history first (come on...we're waiting for the wine!!), and then came the tasting. We tasted loads there. We had sparkling (white not red mam!!), white, rose, and red. Not a bad start to the day. The rest of the day carried on pretty much the same! The second vineyard was Vine Creek. The wine here was really yummy. It's a pretty small vineyard, and they don't export their wine anywhere. You can't even buy it in Adelaide. I think it was nicer than Jacob's Creek, though. They even had a white port. I'd never had white port before, but I'll take a guess at the fact that I may have it again!!!
The next vineyard was Richmond Grove. We had a tour here, and they showed us how the wine was made. After this one we went for lunch. We were supposed to have a barbie for lunch, but again because of the fire ban we couldn't. We ended up going for a pub lunch, and I had kangaroo. It was yummy.
After lunch we went to one more vineyard (Bethany's), and there they had a list of tonnes of wine, and you could choose to taste any one you wanted off it. Hehehehe!!! I didn't try them all though, thought I'd look like an alchoholic!!! Most people only tried one or two, though, think they'd had enough by then because of the heat. It's strange though, out of the 17 people on the tour, 5 didn't really like wine. They came on the trip to view the countryside. Strange, strange people!!!
Anyway, that was Tuesday. Wednesday was supposed to be sightseeing day of Adelaide, but I walked round the city centre in less than an hour, and then got bored. I spent the rest of the day reading, and that was about it.
Thursday (today) I had to get up early to catch the shuttle bus to Adelaide airport to fly back to Sydney. After getting to Sydney I caught the train to the centre, and then checked into my hostel. I only have 2 more nights left in a hostel now!! That seems so strange. I went to the cinema today and saw Bride Wars. It was actually a pretty funny film!! After that I went to Darling Harbour shopping, and then headed back to the hostel. On the way back to the hostel it poured down, and within ten minutes the temperature had dropped by 10 degrees (that's what the news said anyway - I don't carry a thermometer around with me!!!). That pretty much takes me up until now............
Sunday, 11 January 2009
Monday 12th Jan 2009 - What a week......
Well, on Sunday after the Blue Mountains trip, I got showered and packed ready to leave for the airport the following morning. I then went to meet Maggie and Sinead for food and a couple of drinks. I thought that this would be the last time I would be seeing them, but as it happens Sinead is staying in the same hostel as me in Sydney when I'm there for the last weekend. After meeting them I went back to my room, which was empty. I read for a while and then went to sleep. At 1:30, 2 of the girls came backand were really noisy. One of them went to bed and the other went back out. She came back in at 2:30 again, but this time with a guy. Talk about being unlucky - this has happened to me twice in 3 nights!! I tried to ignore them for a while, but got really annoyed so switched the lights on and told the guy to leave. He said that they were about to go to sleep, but I told him it was an all girls dorm and to get out. thankfully, he did. It took me ages to get back to sleep after that!!
When the alarm went off on Monday morning (5th) I wasn't amused to say the least!! Anyway, I checked out of the hostel and caught the train to the airport ready to fly to Alice Springs. The flight was almost 3 1/2 hours long. There was a time difference of an hour and a half here from Sydney too. At Alice Springs airport, I caught the shuttle bus to take me to the hostel and checked in. The hostel seems really nice. It's pretty small and close enough to town so that I can walk in. I wondered in after checking in, so that I could pay for the rest of my tour that I was supposed to be doing the next day. I then went for a walk around town. There were a lot of Aboriginies in town, but they all just seemed to be walking around doing nothing, while everybody working in the shops were white. I was quite disappointed by it, but found out later that the aboriginies here are ones that have been thrown out of their tribes for misbehaving, so theyr'e not all like the ones I saw. Also I found that a lot of people in Alice Springs smelt!! Seriously!! They can't wash that often!!
As I was walking around the town I got a phone call from the people I'm doing the tour around Uluru with asking if I could change the date forward a day. It suited me to do this as it meant I didn't have to get up too early the next day. Walking around Alice Springs, I found that there wasn't a lot to do there so I just walked back to the hostel where I read for the afternoon. I got chatting to a girl who'd been to the Desert Park, and she recommended that. I figured that there wasn't much else to do so I may as well do it. I booked to do it the following morning. The tour company then phoned me again to ask if I could actually go the next day after all. But by then I'd booked a trip for the next day, and changed my accomodation around, so said I couldn't. I then got chatting to an English girl in my room who happened to be doing the same tour as me, so that was good.
Tuesday 6th - I got up around 8 to get ready to catch the bus to take me to desert Park. Here you see different types of deserts and the animals that live there. We saw a bird show that showed how buzzards cracked open emu eggs using stones. It was pretty cool!! Not all the birds in the show were trained, some were wild, but had learnt what the different sounds meant so joined in!! After finishing there I went for food in a place called Fawlty's and then headed to the cinema to see Brad Pitt's film the curious curse of Benjamin Button. It was pretty good. I then spent the evening in the hostel with a couple of people I'd met and prepared for my tour starting the next day.
Wednesday 7th - I had to get up at 5:15 this morning ready to go on the rock tour. It was a long drive, we did around 800 kms that day. On the first stop we all bought fly nets. Such a sexy look!!! Definately needed them though!! Our first walk was at King's Canyon. It was a 3-4 hour walk that started with Heart attack hill. At over 40 degrees it was really tough. During the walk though ,we got to swim at the Garden Of Eden. That was really refreshing!! I was so proud of myself when I finished the walk!! We then drove to a camp site. There was nothing at all at the camp site. No toilets, lights or anything!!! We lit a camp fire, and then cooked chilli con carne for food made with kangaroo!! We slept in a swag under the stars. I woke up in the middle of the night, and the stars were amazing. I could see the milky way. Other than that I slept really well.
Thursday 8th - we all woke up around 5am and had breakfast. Our first walk was Kata Tjuta. It was tough, but nothing like Kings Canyon. We then headed to a different campsite (this one had toilets and showers!!). We had lunch there, and then I jumped in the shower. Afterward we went to Uluru cultural centre where we read lots of info about Aboriginies. we then did the Mala walk, which is about 1km long at the start of the Uluru base walk. We saw lots of caves there and paintings on the walls. After that we went to see sunset at the Rock (Uluru). It was really pretty and you could see the rock changing colour. After that we went to the campsite where we slept in a swag again.
Friday 9th - We were up at 4 this morning. We drove to watch the sunrise over the rock and had brekkie there. We then did an 8km base walk around Uluru, and finished that by 9am. After that we started making our way back to Alice Springs. We stopped at a camel farm on the way, where I rode a camel for the first time ever!! It was pretty bumpy but fun! We got back to Alice around 5 and planned to go out for food and a few drinks with the group that evening. we went for food at Toddy's bar and the went drinking at Bojangles. It was a mad outback bar, with boots niled to the ceiling, etc. I got to bed around 1.
Saturday 10th - I had to get up early again today, as I was startin a 2 day tour from Alice Springs down to Adelaide. Our driver was Steve. It was a long day, and I spent most of it asleep on the bus. We stopped at Coober Pedy for the night, which is the World's Opal mining capital. Most people there live undergroud, as it remains a constant temperature all year round. We had pizza for food and then went to an underground bar for drinks, and then went to sleep underground!! It was actually a really good night's sleep!!
Sunday 11th - we were up at 6 this morning, and had to do the rest of the trip down to Adelaide. Again I spent most of the day asleep!! We got to Adelaide around 6pm, and I checked into my hostel, The Guest House. It's a nice hostel. I was pretty hungry by then so went on a search for a food shop that was open. Not as easy as I thought on a Sunday evening, but eventually found a convenience store. Though it was really expensive!!! My ankles were really swollen and aching aswell after all the travelling. It's not happened to me before so was really strange. After eating I had to wash all my clothes - they were all pretty disgusting after all the tours.
Monday 12th - this was my first chance for a lie-in in a while. Of course that's not gonna happen though. I had people checking out of the hostel room, and they were so noisy!!! Tyical. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do in Adelaide today, probably just walk around. I've got a wine tour of the Barossa Valley booked for tomorrow though!!!
When the alarm went off on Monday morning (5th) I wasn't amused to say the least!! Anyway, I checked out of the hostel and caught the train to the airport ready to fly to Alice Springs. The flight was almost 3 1/2 hours long. There was a time difference of an hour and a half here from Sydney too. At Alice Springs airport, I caught the shuttle bus to take me to the hostel and checked in. The hostel seems really nice. It's pretty small and close enough to town so that I can walk in. I wondered in after checking in, so that I could pay for the rest of my tour that I was supposed to be doing the next day. I then went for a walk around town. There were a lot of Aboriginies in town, but they all just seemed to be walking around doing nothing, while everybody working in the shops were white. I was quite disappointed by it, but found out later that the aboriginies here are ones that have been thrown out of their tribes for misbehaving, so theyr'e not all like the ones I saw. Also I found that a lot of people in Alice Springs smelt!! Seriously!! They can't wash that often!!
As I was walking around the town I got a phone call from the people I'm doing the tour around Uluru with asking if I could change the date forward a day. It suited me to do this as it meant I didn't have to get up too early the next day. Walking around Alice Springs, I found that there wasn't a lot to do there so I just walked back to the hostel where I read for the afternoon. I got chatting to a girl who'd been to the Desert Park, and she recommended that. I figured that there wasn't much else to do so I may as well do it. I booked to do it the following morning. The tour company then phoned me again to ask if I could actually go the next day after all. But by then I'd booked a trip for the next day, and changed my accomodation around, so said I couldn't. I then got chatting to an English girl in my room who happened to be doing the same tour as me, so that was good.
Tuesday 6th - I got up around 8 to get ready to catch the bus to take me to desert Park. Here you see different types of deserts and the animals that live there. We saw a bird show that showed how buzzards cracked open emu eggs using stones. It was pretty cool!! Not all the birds in the show were trained, some were wild, but had learnt what the different sounds meant so joined in!! After finishing there I went for food in a place called Fawlty's and then headed to the cinema to see Brad Pitt's film the curious curse of Benjamin Button. It was pretty good. I then spent the evening in the hostel with a couple of people I'd met and prepared for my tour starting the next day.
Wednesday 7th - I had to get up at 5:15 this morning ready to go on the rock tour. It was a long drive, we did around 800 kms that day. On the first stop we all bought fly nets. Such a sexy look!!! Definately needed them though!! Our first walk was at King's Canyon. It was a 3-4 hour walk that started with Heart attack hill. At over 40 degrees it was really tough. During the walk though ,we got to swim at the Garden Of Eden. That was really refreshing!! I was so proud of myself when I finished the walk!! We then drove to a camp site. There was nothing at all at the camp site. No toilets, lights or anything!!! We lit a camp fire, and then cooked chilli con carne for food made with kangaroo!! We slept in a swag under the stars. I woke up in the middle of the night, and the stars were amazing. I could see the milky way. Other than that I slept really well.
Thursday 8th - we all woke up around 5am and had breakfast. Our first walk was Kata Tjuta. It was tough, but nothing like Kings Canyon. We then headed to a different campsite (this one had toilets and showers!!). We had lunch there, and then I jumped in the shower. Afterward we went to Uluru cultural centre where we read lots of info about Aboriginies. we then did the Mala walk, which is about 1km long at the start of the Uluru base walk. We saw lots of caves there and paintings on the walls. After that we went to see sunset at the Rock (Uluru). It was really pretty and you could see the rock changing colour. After that we went to the campsite where we slept in a swag again.
Friday 9th - We were up at 4 this morning. We drove to watch the sunrise over the rock and had brekkie there. We then did an 8km base walk around Uluru, and finished that by 9am. After that we started making our way back to Alice Springs. We stopped at a camel farm on the way, where I rode a camel for the first time ever!! It was pretty bumpy but fun! We got back to Alice around 5 and planned to go out for food and a few drinks with the group that evening. we went for food at Toddy's bar and the went drinking at Bojangles. It was a mad outback bar, with boots niled to the ceiling, etc. I got to bed around 1.
Saturday 10th - I had to get up early again today, as I was startin a 2 day tour from Alice Springs down to Adelaide. Our driver was Steve. It was a long day, and I spent most of it asleep on the bus. We stopped at Coober Pedy for the night, which is the World's Opal mining capital. Most people there live undergroud, as it remains a constant temperature all year round. We had pizza for food and then went to an underground bar for drinks, and then went to sleep underground!! It was actually a really good night's sleep!!
Sunday 11th - we were up at 6 this morning, and had to do the rest of the trip down to Adelaide. Again I spent most of the day asleep!! We got to Adelaide around 6pm, and I checked into my hostel, The Guest House. It's a nice hostel. I was pretty hungry by then so went on a search for a food shop that was open. Not as easy as I thought on a Sunday evening, but eventually found a convenience store. Though it was really expensive!!! My ankles were really swollen and aching aswell after all the travelling. It's not happened to me before so was really strange. After eating I had to wash all my clothes - they were all pretty disgusting after all the tours.
Monday 12th - this was my first chance for a lie-in in a while. Of course that's not gonna happen though. I had people checking out of the hostel room, and they were so noisy!!! Tyical. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do in Adelaide today, probably just walk around. I've got a wine tour of the Barossa Valley booked for tomorrow though!!!
Sunday, 4 January 2009
Sunday 4th January 2009 - Sydney (still!)
I woke up on New Years Day with no hangover (not drinking much really helps you know!!!). I had quite a lazy day though. Me, Sinead and Maggie went to Manly beach to meet one of Sinead's friends. We basically didn't move very far, though I did make it into the sea. It was flippin cold to start with, but you soon got used to it. It was probably my last time in the sea in Oz. That feels so strange. After getting back to the hostel, we went (with Simon) for a curry. Yum!!! After that I had to pack coz I was moving hostels the next day.
I got up and checked out the next morning, but after that I didn't move too far. It was too early to move to the next hostel, and the rest of the gang were staying in the Glebe one, so I just stayed in the room for a while chilling. I eventually caught the bus to take me into the centre. I was pretty excited about this next hostel coz I'd stayed there before in a 4 bed. It was really spacious, and the people in my room were lovely. Unfortunately though (what a surprise!!) the room was tiny. You couldn't open the door fully coz there were lockers behind it and you would bang them (which I did, and still do. I don't think I'm gonna learn this one!!). The other 3 people in my room seemed lovely, though, despite the fact they were out for most of the day so I didn't see much of them. I went out in the evening, and when I got back they were getting ready to go out.
Only one of the girls came back that night. Unfortunately though she wasn't alone. She'd pulled and thought it was a good idea to bring the guy back to the room. I hate it when this happens. Why should I have to try and sleep through that????? One of the other girls got back around 8 the next morning, and announced to the girl that was in bed (and the guy that was still with her) that she just had to do the walk of shame. I never actually saw the 3rd girl again, they were checking out that day. What a pity!!!!!
I met up with Sinead and Maggie on the 3rd to go for breakfast with a few other people, and then we caught a train with Simon and Chris to go ice skating. I'd only ever been once before, so it was fun!! Me and Sinead were kinda at the same level (rubbish!!), whilst the others kept lapping us, stopping from time to time for a chat. It was fun though, and that's whats important. After finishing there we caught the train back to the centre, and then I went back to the hostel for a bit. In the evening I met Maggie and Sinead for a game of pool (again another sport I'm rubbish at. I'll find one I'm good at soon!!!). Then it was time for bed. Thankfully the 3 new people in the room seemed nice, didn't go out and bring random men back to the dorm!!!
I had to get up early today (Sunday 4th) because I was doing a Blue Mountains trip. This was the trip I was supposed to do in September during my first week but couldn't because I was ill. We were being collected at 7:20, so a nice and early start. It was a good day. We saw some kangaroos, and did 2 walks. The first was for 2 hours, and the second was for an hour. It was a hot day, but in the shade the ground was very wet and muddy. Me, being me, managed to find a nice deep puddle and attempted a Vicar of Dibley scene. I only managed to get one foot in though. I couldn't see that food then, and my trainer was filthy. I looked really silly though walking around with one muddy shoe and one clean one. It could be a new trend!!! After the mud dried, it kinda just fell off though, so by the end of the day I was looking more equal again!!! At the end of the second walk we caught the world's steepest train. It was 51 degrees. This train took us up the mountain, backwards. And part of it was completely covered by rocks so it was pitch black and water was dripping down on us.
Tonight will be my last night seeing the people I met in ozintro in September, before we all go our separate ways. It's gonna be so strange saying goodbye to them, and it's almost like my first step home. We're off to the pub, what better way to end!!! And then tomorrow I'm flying to Alice Springs. Another early start.......
I got up and checked out the next morning, but after that I didn't move too far. It was too early to move to the next hostel, and the rest of the gang were staying in the Glebe one, so I just stayed in the room for a while chilling. I eventually caught the bus to take me into the centre. I was pretty excited about this next hostel coz I'd stayed there before in a 4 bed. It was really spacious, and the people in my room were lovely. Unfortunately though (what a surprise!!) the room was tiny. You couldn't open the door fully coz there were lockers behind it and you would bang them (which I did, and still do. I don't think I'm gonna learn this one!!). The other 3 people in my room seemed lovely, though, despite the fact they were out for most of the day so I didn't see much of them. I went out in the evening, and when I got back they were getting ready to go out.
Only one of the girls came back that night. Unfortunately though she wasn't alone. She'd pulled and thought it was a good idea to bring the guy back to the room. I hate it when this happens. Why should I have to try and sleep through that????? One of the other girls got back around 8 the next morning, and announced to the girl that was in bed (and the guy that was still with her) that she just had to do the walk of shame. I never actually saw the 3rd girl again, they were checking out that day. What a pity!!!!!
I met up with Sinead and Maggie on the 3rd to go for breakfast with a few other people, and then we caught a train with Simon and Chris to go ice skating. I'd only ever been once before, so it was fun!! Me and Sinead were kinda at the same level (rubbish!!), whilst the others kept lapping us, stopping from time to time for a chat. It was fun though, and that's whats important. After finishing there we caught the train back to the centre, and then I went back to the hostel for a bit. In the evening I met Maggie and Sinead for a game of pool (again another sport I'm rubbish at. I'll find one I'm good at soon!!!). Then it was time for bed. Thankfully the 3 new people in the room seemed nice, didn't go out and bring random men back to the dorm!!!
I had to get up early today (Sunday 4th) because I was doing a Blue Mountains trip. This was the trip I was supposed to do in September during my first week but couldn't because I was ill. We were being collected at 7:20, so a nice and early start. It was a good day. We saw some kangaroos, and did 2 walks. The first was for 2 hours, and the second was for an hour. It was a hot day, but in the shade the ground was very wet and muddy. Me, being me, managed to find a nice deep puddle and attempted a Vicar of Dibley scene. I only managed to get one foot in though. I couldn't see that food then, and my trainer was filthy. I looked really silly though walking around with one muddy shoe and one clean one. It could be a new trend!!! After the mud dried, it kinda just fell off though, so by the end of the day I was looking more equal again!!! At the end of the second walk we caught the world's steepest train. It was 51 degrees. This train took us up the mountain, backwards. And part of it was completely covered by rocks so it was pitch black and water was dripping down on us.
Tonight will be my last night seeing the people I met in ozintro in September, before we all go our separate ways. It's gonna be so strange saying goodbye to them, and it's almost like my first step home. We're off to the pub, what better way to end!!! And then tomorrow I'm flying to Alice Springs. Another early start.......
Wednesday, 31 December 2008
Thursday 1st Jan 2009 - Happy New Year!!
Saturday 27th December was our complete day of rest!! We stayed in the hostel and just chilled all day, chatting and reading. Though, saying that the following few days were pretty much the same!! Though, we did go out into Sydney on Sunday night. It was Sam's last night out so we went out to a couple of bars. It was a good night, not a mad one though!! I was supposed to spend the next couple of night going out aswell, but decided against that - and I wasn't the only one!! We were all shattered.
On Tuesday we went into George Street to the cinema to see Australia. It was a really good film, well worth watching. We then went shopping for food and stuff that we would need on New Years Eve, and then headed back to the hostel for a Domino's Pizza and a drink!!
Wednesday (New Years Eve) - we all got up and got ready. This meant going to buy our booze and then filling plastic bottles up with various drinks as you couldn't take glass into the park we were gonig to. After this, and making our sandwiches, we headed over to the park, which was in Balmain. We got there around half 2, and the park was almost empty. We were so lucky. people had been queuing since 6 in the morning to get into the parks in the centre of Sydney. We sat by the fence, which meant we had a fab view of the Harbour Bridge where the fireworks would be. We spent most of the day there just chatting, eating and drinking, but time went really quickly. At 9 o'clock, the small fireworks started. Though they were small, they were pretty amazing!! At around half eleven we went out to stand by the wall so that we had a really good view of the bridge. There was literally no-one standing in front of me so I could see everything it was amazing.
At midnight the fireworks started. Wow!! They are definately the best fireworks I have ever seen. They were above the bridge, coming up from the bridge, and coming down off the bridge. Really amazing. Unfortunately words or pictures won't be able to describe them!! After the fireworks finished, we celebrated a bit longer, before heading back to the hostel. There were buses running, but they were so full that they weren't even stopping at most bus stops, so we decided our best option was to walk. Unfortunately we didn't really know which was the quickest way back, so we walked the way the bus had taken us that day. Probably a really long way around. It only took us about an hour to an hour and a half to get back though, so it actually wasn't that bad.
I've got to say I think that was one of the best New Years Eve parties ever!!
On Tuesday we went into George Street to the cinema to see Australia. It was a really good film, well worth watching. We then went shopping for food and stuff that we would need on New Years Eve, and then headed back to the hostel for a Domino's Pizza and a drink!!
Wednesday (New Years Eve) - we all got up and got ready. This meant going to buy our booze and then filling plastic bottles up with various drinks as you couldn't take glass into the park we were gonig to. After this, and making our sandwiches, we headed over to the park, which was in Balmain. We got there around half 2, and the park was almost empty. We were so lucky. people had been queuing since 6 in the morning to get into the parks in the centre of Sydney. We sat by the fence, which meant we had a fab view of the Harbour Bridge where the fireworks would be. We spent most of the day there just chatting, eating and drinking, but time went really quickly. At 9 o'clock, the small fireworks started. Though they were small, they were pretty amazing!! At around half eleven we went out to stand by the wall so that we had a really good view of the bridge. There was literally no-one standing in front of me so I could see everything it was amazing.
At midnight the fireworks started. Wow!! They are definately the best fireworks I have ever seen. They were above the bridge, coming up from the bridge, and coming down off the bridge. Really amazing. Unfortunately words or pictures won't be able to describe them!! After the fireworks finished, we celebrated a bit longer, before heading back to the hostel. There were buses running, but they were so full that they weren't even stopping at most bus stops, so we decided our best option was to walk. Unfortunately we didn't really know which was the quickest way back, so we walked the way the bus had taken us that day. Probably a really long way around. It only took us about an hour to an hour and a half to get back though, so it actually wasn't that bad.
I've got to say I think that was one of the best New Years Eve parties ever!!
Friday, 26 December 2008
Saturday 27th December - here goes.....
Tuesday 16th December I spent the day just wondering around Melbourne and shopping with Sinead. We decide to go to a shop that sells half price tickets for shows that evening, and managed to get quite cheap tickets for a show called Witches in Britches. Reading the itinerary for the evening (obviously after we got the tickets!!), we saw that we were going to have to participate in the show. After reading this we both decided we needed to head to the pub before the show!!! After a quick pint, we headed over to where the show was being held, and waited for the doors to open. The first part meant walking through a dark corridor with people dressed up jumping out at you. After getting to the end of that we decided that the next stop should once again be the bar!!! We bought a glass of wine each, and then stood around whilst the people dressed up came round to chat to us. Thinking they were just being friendly we chatted away, only later to realise that they were actually just getting as much information off people as possible to use in the show!! D'oh!!!!!
There was a 3 course meal included in the price of the tickets, so we then went through and were seated ready to eat. At this point we decided to buy a bottle of sparkling wine (it's cheaper than buying by the glass!!) to drink with our food!! To start with we had a lovely soup (no idea what it was!), and that was followed by steak and a salad, and then a chocolate dessert for pudding. During this time another bottle of wine was ordered. Some of the cast got on stage during this time and introduced the whole audience, using the information they had got off us. I will admit here that me and Sinead got off very lightly. They just told everyone where we were from, and said that they liked to give a free gift to some people during these nights, so they gave us a cocktail shaker filled with a cocktail. Woohoo!!!!!
The show itself was funny. Neither of us are sure whether or not there was a story line, but there was lots of singing and dancing, and they got members of the audience up to do silly things like karaoke and stuff. We got off so lightly!!! After the show you could stay behind and drink some more and dance. We did!!! And then got a taxi to another pub, and then a tram to another. It was about 5am when we got in, but somehow, and I am not sure how, there was no hangover the next day. Well not for me anyway hehehe!!!
Wednesday was a very lazy day though, where we just went to St Kilda beach in Melbourne, and had a wonder around. We did go out for food that evening though, with someone Sinead had met on her tour, and a couple of drinks but it was quite an early night.
On Thursday we were changing hostels, so after checking out we caught the tram into the centre, and then another one out towards the hostel. It was surprisingly easy to find, and was a very quiet hostel. After checking in we went out for the day. To start with we walked to Fitzroy gardens, that was quite close to the hostel, and then caught a tram to chinatown. We had lunch in chinatown (using chopsticks of course!!). That evening we went to the cinema to see Madagascar 2, and also for a cocktail. It poured down with rain that evening, and we got drenched heading back to the hostel.
Friday, again, we just wondered around Melbourne, and I went to Albert Gardens for a while, but left because there were too many people running. I felt very unfit, and left to go an meet Sinead. We got a bottle of wine, and then headed back to the hostel. The bottle was only $5, but really nice (and it said wine on it, which is a pretty good sign!!!). We also went to Victoria Market to walk around. It was a fab market, with tons of fresh fruit and veg.
Saturday was an early start, because we were going on a Neighbours tour. We got to the where we were being picked up from at around half 8, and then got the bus that took us on the tour. We went to Ramsay Street, that is an actual street, and then saw the school and then went to the studios to see different buildings. After that we met someone who used to be in Neighbours and had our photo taken with her. As someone who hasn't watched Neighbours for quite a while, I didn't have a clue who she was!! After finishing the Neighbours tour, we headed to Chinatown again for lunch. We did go to a different place though, so that's ok!! We then spent the afternoon wondering around the museum and got another bottle of wine to take back to the hostel.
On Sunday we decided to head to a Science works place that was supposedly in Williamstown. After getting to Williamstown we found out it was actually in Spotswood that we had passed on the train and had to get 2 trains to get there. After reaching there we walked the wrong way so took us ages to find!! Once we got there we actually had a really good time, it was a real interactive place, so we were like kids running around!!
On Monday we wondered around Melbourne again (after I got Hayfever tabs - was suffering and the pharmacist made me take one before even leaving the pharmacy!!). We were supposed to go out Monday night, but things didn't work out as planned, so we just stayed in (yes, with another bottle of wine).
Tuesday we were leaving Melbourne, so we checked out and caught the train to the bus station, and then a bus to the airport. We then flew to Sydney. After eventually getting to the hostel, we checked in and then headed into the city to get some decorations (oh, after checking out the local first!!). After getting back to the hostel the rest of the group had checked in (there were 6 of us in the room - we were all from the Sept ozintro group), and we took the rest of them to show them the local (well we felt we should!), and then got pizza and a few drinks and came back to the hostel. We all had decided to do a Secret Santa, so picked names out of a hat for that!!
Wednesday (Christmas Eve) we caught the bus over to Coogee to the ozintro office because a few of us had post and stuff to collect from there, and then headed into town. We all went shopping for our secret santa pressies and I think that may have been the most stressful hour of my life. I hate busy shops, and never shop on Christmas Eve!! Never again!! After that we went to the supermarket to get food for Christmas Day, and then headed back to the hostel to get ready for our night out. We had tickets for a cruise, where all the drinks and food were included in the price. We all got quite a few looks as we headed there (and a couple of car horns sounding!!). We all had santa hats and tinsel, and Chris had dyed his hair blue (as you do!!). The cruise was real good fun, and loads of people had dressed up. Once the cruise had finished, we headed to the Gaff which is a really cheesy club (I first went there on my first night in Sydney!!). Around one o'clock we left and headed back to the hostel.
On Christmas Day we all got up feeling a little worse for wear, and decided against our cooked breakfast and Bucks Fizz. Eventually we all got moving, and sorted ourselves out. We gave out the secret Santa gifts and I got a plastic wine glass. I can't see why!!!!! We then caught the bus over to Coogee to the beach. As we arrived we were all hungry so got a burger from McDonalds, before finding a good spot on the grass (we decided the beach would be too sandy!!) and spending the afternoon there drinking beers, cooking and eating a barbie, and just having fun. I did wonder into the sea though to have my photo taken as proof I was on the beach on Christmas Day. After getting back to the hostel, I phoned home to say Merry Christmas, and then we all just kinda collapsed on our beds and slept!!
Boxing Day, we all felt ready for the Bucks Fizz for breakfast, and then headed over to Randwick Racecourse where we were going to spend the day. It was free to get in for International people as long as we had our passports, so that was all good!! It was a really good day. we drunk sparkling wine (we are backpackers so couldn't afford champagne), ate hot dogs (not quite as posh!!), and bet on a few horses. I came away pretty much with the same money I took so basically won back what I had bet. We then caught a taxi over to Bondi Junction to an Irish bar. There was an Irish Band playing, and I think around 80% of the people there were Irish. They were all singing Irish songs, and it was fab to listen to and the atmosphere was great. we then went for Mexican for food, and after eating I decided to head back to the hostel, and 2 others came with me while the rest stayed out drinking, All in all it was a pretty good Christmas!! One that I won't forget anyway!!!
There was a 3 course meal included in the price of the tickets, so we then went through and were seated ready to eat. At this point we decided to buy a bottle of sparkling wine (it's cheaper than buying by the glass!!) to drink with our food!! To start with we had a lovely soup (no idea what it was!), and that was followed by steak and a salad, and then a chocolate dessert for pudding. During this time another bottle of wine was ordered. Some of the cast got on stage during this time and introduced the whole audience, using the information they had got off us. I will admit here that me and Sinead got off very lightly. They just told everyone where we were from, and said that they liked to give a free gift to some people during these nights, so they gave us a cocktail shaker filled with a cocktail. Woohoo!!!!!
The show itself was funny. Neither of us are sure whether or not there was a story line, but there was lots of singing and dancing, and they got members of the audience up to do silly things like karaoke and stuff. We got off so lightly!!! After the show you could stay behind and drink some more and dance. We did!!! And then got a taxi to another pub, and then a tram to another. It was about 5am when we got in, but somehow, and I am not sure how, there was no hangover the next day. Well not for me anyway hehehe!!!
Wednesday was a very lazy day though, where we just went to St Kilda beach in Melbourne, and had a wonder around. We did go out for food that evening though, with someone Sinead had met on her tour, and a couple of drinks but it was quite an early night.
On Thursday we were changing hostels, so after checking out we caught the tram into the centre, and then another one out towards the hostel. It was surprisingly easy to find, and was a very quiet hostel. After checking in we went out for the day. To start with we walked to Fitzroy gardens, that was quite close to the hostel, and then caught a tram to chinatown. We had lunch in chinatown (using chopsticks of course!!). That evening we went to the cinema to see Madagascar 2, and also for a cocktail. It poured down with rain that evening, and we got drenched heading back to the hostel.
Friday, again, we just wondered around Melbourne, and I went to Albert Gardens for a while, but left because there were too many people running. I felt very unfit, and left to go an meet Sinead. We got a bottle of wine, and then headed back to the hostel. The bottle was only $5, but really nice (and it said wine on it, which is a pretty good sign!!!). We also went to Victoria Market to walk around. It was a fab market, with tons of fresh fruit and veg.
Saturday was an early start, because we were going on a Neighbours tour. We got to the where we were being picked up from at around half 8, and then got the bus that took us on the tour. We went to Ramsay Street, that is an actual street, and then saw the school and then went to the studios to see different buildings. After that we met someone who used to be in Neighbours and had our photo taken with her. As someone who hasn't watched Neighbours for quite a while, I didn't have a clue who she was!! After finishing the Neighbours tour, we headed to Chinatown again for lunch. We did go to a different place though, so that's ok!! We then spent the afternoon wondering around the museum and got another bottle of wine to take back to the hostel.
On Sunday we decided to head to a Science works place that was supposedly in Williamstown. After getting to Williamstown we found out it was actually in Spotswood that we had passed on the train and had to get 2 trains to get there. After reaching there we walked the wrong way so took us ages to find!! Once we got there we actually had a really good time, it was a real interactive place, so we were like kids running around!!
On Monday we wondered around Melbourne again (after I got Hayfever tabs - was suffering and the pharmacist made me take one before even leaving the pharmacy!!). We were supposed to go out Monday night, but things didn't work out as planned, so we just stayed in (yes, with another bottle of wine).
Tuesday we were leaving Melbourne, so we checked out and caught the train to the bus station, and then a bus to the airport. We then flew to Sydney. After eventually getting to the hostel, we checked in and then headed into the city to get some decorations (oh, after checking out the local first!!). After getting back to the hostel the rest of the group had checked in (there were 6 of us in the room - we were all from the Sept ozintro group), and we took the rest of them to show them the local (well we felt we should!), and then got pizza and a few drinks and came back to the hostel. We all had decided to do a Secret Santa, so picked names out of a hat for that!!
Wednesday (Christmas Eve) we caught the bus over to Coogee to the ozintro office because a few of us had post and stuff to collect from there, and then headed into town. We all went shopping for our secret santa pressies and I think that may have been the most stressful hour of my life. I hate busy shops, and never shop on Christmas Eve!! Never again!! After that we went to the supermarket to get food for Christmas Day, and then headed back to the hostel to get ready for our night out. We had tickets for a cruise, where all the drinks and food were included in the price. We all got quite a few looks as we headed there (and a couple of car horns sounding!!). We all had santa hats and tinsel, and Chris had dyed his hair blue (as you do!!). The cruise was real good fun, and loads of people had dressed up. Once the cruise had finished, we headed to the Gaff which is a really cheesy club (I first went there on my first night in Sydney!!). Around one o'clock we left and headed back to the hostel.
On Christmas Day we all got up feeling a little worse for wear, and decided against our cooked breakfast and Bucks Fizz. Eventually we all got moving, and sorted ourselves out. We gave out the secret Santa gifts and I got a plastic wine glass. I can't see why!!!!! We then caught the bus over to Coogee to the beach. As we arrived we were all hungry so got a burger from McDonalds, before finding a good spot on the grass (we decided the beach would be too sandy!!) and spending the afternoon there drinking beers, cooking and eating a barbie, and just having fun. I did wonder into the sea though to have my photo taken as proof I was on the beach on Christmas Day. After getting back to the hostel, I phoned home to say Merry Christmas, and then we all just kinda collapsed on our beds and slept!!
Boxing Day, we all felt ready for the Bucks Fizz for breakfast, and then headed over to Randwick Racecourse where we were going to spend the day. It was free to get in for International people as long as we had our passports, so that was all good!! It was a really good day. we drunk sparkling wine (we are backpackers so couldn't afford champagne), ate hot dogs (not quite as posh!!), and bet on a few horses. I came away pretty much with the same money I took so basically won back what I had bet. We then caught a taxi over to Bondi Junction to an Irish bar. There was an Irish Band playing, and I think around 80% of the people there were Irish. They were all singing Irish songs, and it was fab to listen to and the atmosphere was great. we then went for Mexican for food, and after eating I decided to head back to the hostel, and 2 others came with me while the rest stayed out drinking, All in all it was a pretty good Christmas!! One that I won't forget anyway!!!
Monday, 15 December 2008
Tuesday November 16th - Melbourne!!!
Last Thursday I had to get up at 6am, ready to fly to Melbourne. I caught the train to the domestic airport, but the plane was a bit late. Never mind - we got there eventually!! I flew into Avalon airport, which is an hours drive out of Melbourne. I then had to catch a bus into the centre, and then a tram out to St. Kilda. That was scary. I didn't really know what I was doing, and the whole tram system was pretty new to me!!! I found the tram stop I needed, and got on the tram, then realised I didn't have a clue where to get off. So, I was trying to follow our tram path on my map, and managed pretty well. I only got off 1 stop too late, and the stops are all pretty close to each other. It took me a bit longer to find the hostel, though. I really didn't realise how bad I was at map reading!!! I eventually got there, and checked in. There were 2 girls in the room, but they were both asleep so decided to go out somewhere. I went to the Docklands, where there was a carol concert being held for a children's charity. After that finished, I went back to the hostel to find one girl getting ready to go out. She invited me along - it was only to the bar downstairs - so off I went. It was ladies night, so there was free fizzy wine for ladies between 9pm and 11pm. I think that had to be one of the cheapest nights out I've had!!! I didn't spend any money at all!! Result!!
After waking up early, I decided to catch a tram to Federation Square. There was a visitor's centre there, so I went there to see what I could do in Melbourne. There is a free tourist bus that goes around the cenrte, stopping at around 11 different places of interest. The first stop I got off at was Fitzroy Park, where I saw Cook's Cottage, a Fairy tree and a Miniature Tudor Village. I then got back on the bus and went to St Patrick's Cathedral, and then onto Melbourne Museum. By this point it had started raining, so after finishing at the museum I headed back to the hostel.
I was awake early again on Saturday, and caught the tram into the centre. I went to see Myer's Christmas window. Myer's is a big department store, and every year they have a big Christmas display. This year it was based on the work of an English children's author. It was worth seeing, and people would queue for ages to see it. After seeing this I decided to wonder around the shops. It was pouring with rain at this point so I didn't want to be out!! I ended up just buying a book (a real treat at $25!), and headed back the hostel. By mid afternoon, everyone waas back in the room, in bed, reading!! I then ended up going out Saturday night!
On Sunday I managed to sleep in. I caught a tram to Federation Square and went to the Australian Moving Images Centre. It shows how movie sets are made and how they affect films. They showed examples such as the Matrix, A clockwork orange, The Shining, and Australia (that I still haven't got round to seeing yet - must do that!!). After finishing there I caught the city centre tram, and whilst on it, I was a sign for a Welsh Church. I decided to go and check it out, and it happened that there was a Welsh Carol Service starting within half an hour. I decided to stay for that, and everyone there was really nice. I was introduced to pretty much everyone, and there was food afterwards. After this I went back to the hostel.
On Monday I did a Great Oceans Road tour. It was an all day tour, where you see many sights from the South Coast of Australia. We stopped at Bells Beach, Split Point Lighthouse (this was the lighthouse that was used in Round the Twist!), Lorne, Cape patton, Apollo Bay, Maits rest where we walked through a rainforest, the Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Lodge and London Bridge. I was a really interesting day, and the sights were fantastic. I discovered that there weren't 12 Apostles there, and that one had collapsed recently. Also London bridge had collapsed quite recently, with a young married couple on it. They were fine, but not very keen to be interviewed by the reporters there. The reason for this worked out to be that they were a marreid couple, but unfortunately not to each other!!!
After waking up early, I decided to catch a tram to Federation Square. There was a visitor's centre there, so I went there to see what I could do in Melbourne. There is a free tourist bus that goes around the cenrte, stopping at around 11 different places of interest. The first stop I got off at was Fitzroy Park, where I saw Cook's Cottage, a Fairy tree and a Miniature Tudor Village. I then got back on the bus and went to St Patrick's Cathedral, and then onto Melbourne Museum. By this point it had started raining, so after finishing at the museum I headed back to the hostel.
I was awake early again on Saturday, and caught the tram into the centre. I went to see Myer's Christmas window. Myer's is a big department store, and every year they have a big Christmas display. This year it was based on the work of an English children's author. It was worth seeing, and people would queue for ages to see it. After seeing this I decided to wonder around the shops. It was pouring with rain at this point so I didn't want to be out!! I ended up just buying a book (a real treat at $25!), and headed back the hostel. By mid afternoon, everyone waas back in the room, in bed, reading!! I then ended up going out Saturday night!
On Sunday I managed to sleep in. I caught a tram to Federation Square and went to the Australian Moving Images Centre. It shows how movie sets are made and how they affect films. They showed examples such as the Matrix, A clockwork orange, The Shining, and Australia (that I still haven't got round to seeing yet - must do that!!). After finishing there I caught the city centre tram, and whilst on it, I was a sign for a Welsh Church. I decided to go and check it out, and it happened that there was a Welsh Carol Service starting within half an hour. I decided to stay for that, and everyone there was really nice. I was introduced to pretty much everyone, and there was food afterwards. After this I went back to the hostel.
On Monday I did a Great Oceans Road tour. It was an all day tour, where you see many sights from the South Coast of Australia. We stopped at Bells Beach, Split Point Lighthouse (this was the lighthouse that was used in Round the Twist!), Lorne, Cape patton, Apollo Bay, Maits rest where we walked through a rainforest, the Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Lodge and London Bridge. I was a really interesting day, and the sights were fantastic. I discovered that there weren't 12 Apostles there, and that one had collapsed recently. Also London bridge had collapsed quite recently, with a young married couple on it. They were fine, but not very keen to be interviewed by the reporters there. The reason for this worked out to be that they were a marreid couple, but unfortunately not to each other!!!
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