Just a quick update!
Im working in Sydney and will be until the boys land on the 21st of December which is only 5 weeks away now! Its a 10 week position and am halfway through now. Staying back at Nicks until the lads turn up but had been bouncing from place to place in recent weeks to try and save cash to spend over xmas and new year!
Looking into booking tickets for a New Years Eve cruise to watch the fireworks which will be an amazing way to see in 2011! Also booking up all of the things that the lads wanna do while there here!
Finally, the No-Shows, our 5-a-side footbal team, have made it to the play offs, so watch this space!! Best defence in the league may I add..............and im the keeper!!
Basically just having a great time between sunner days and big storms and quite alot of beer!
Will keep you all updated more through December what with my Bday, Xmas and NYE!
Monday, 15 November 2010
Sunday, 3 October 2010
Travels over and so back to "Normal" life!
As per usual...........sorry for the delay! Life has changed alot for me lately as im no longer back packing around but am back in Sydney, looking for work and its as if the last 3 months travelling never happened. However, I had an amazing time but now need to focus on accruing as much cash as possible for the lads arrival in mid December so that I can enjoy the full 4 weeks while they are here and not worry about anything! So the hard work begins!! But before that, this is what I got upto in the last 6 weeks.
25th August - Flew into Auckland after purchasing a return ticket to OZ (mentioned in my last post)
25th - 30th August - Auckland, Wahekie Island and Piha (North Island)
31st August - 3rd September - Wellington (North Island). Met 2 great lads from the UK in my hostel, Calum and Jon, who have been travelling for about 18 months now, they started from England, then through the US, Oz, now NZ and then doing Asia before heading home. Spent all week with them and had some big nights, also Tom was there (from my Oz travels) and we had a great week! Randomly they are going to be in Queenstown when I get there so we planned to meet up and do it ALL over again!
3rd Sept - Flew back into Auckland and had the worst flight of my life!!! After a windy take-off and terrible constant turbulence for the whole flight, we had a failed landing with the pilot pulling up at the last minute which was scary in its self, but then on the 2nd approach the plane got struck by lightening!!! However, at the time there was a massive flash to the left of the plane (it was a night flight too) and the most amazing BANG and so everyone on board thought the worst and most were screaming hysterically thinking we were going down!! The captain reassured us that all was fine and that it was a lightening strike, which is pretty standard in bad weather (supposedly)!!! We eventually landed with one of the bumpiest landings ive ever had and the planes passengers erupted in cheers of joy and clapping! Definitely the worst experience of my life, but only the start of bad things to come in NZ!
4th - 6th - Rotorua (North Island)
However, also on the 4th was the biggest earthquake, 7.1 on the Richter scale, NZ has had in 70 years in Christchurch on the South Island. I didnt feel a thing in Rotorua but was planning to fly into Christchurch on the 7th, so spent alot of that weekend checking that it would be ok to visit as alot of the city was shut down, including the airport. On the 7th I was told all was well to fly and landed as planned (no lightening this time) in the evening. As I landed at night I couldnt see much damage to buildings on my way to the hostel, but alot of roads were shut and by the time I went for a walk in the morning it was very obvious that its going to take a while for Christchurch to recover. Not due to the fact that every building had fallen, but as most buildings in Christchurch are over 20 years old, the mortar in the buildings brick work has struggled under the pressures of the earthquake and even though no damage can be seen the buildings are no longer structurally sound and so the estimate that 50% of the town will have to be pulled down and rebuilt, including some of its oldest and iconoc buildings, which is a real shame!
On the 8th of September I was woken up by a 5.1 aftershock which was very surreal, but also strangely intriguing as I did want to feel what it would be like. In my time in Christchurch there had been smaller aftershocks which were strange to endure but this was basically another small earthquake which went on for about 30 seconds and left me and my 2 other room mates literally bouncing and rolling around the room in our beds!! It was an amazing thing to experience!!
9th Sept - 9hour bus ride from Christchurch to Queenstown. The idea of a 9hour bus trip didnt please me at all, and the first hour out of Christchurch confirmed my fears. However...........as soon as we got out into the South Islands countryside and it was impossible to be bored! The scenery is absolutely stunning! Mountains, Lakes and just amazing vista's made the trip fly by. We stopped at 2 lakes along the way, Wanaka and Takupo, and if you look at my facebook pictures that ive uploaded you'll see what I mean!
9th - 14th - Queenstown!! Met up with the lads from Wellington and Tom, randomly was put in room next door to Calum and Jon and shared a balcony so basically together for the whole time there. We had some brilliant nights out, played some Frisbee golf (which I won), went on the luge they have at the top of the closet hill/mountain! Queenstown is an amazing place with everything you'd ever want to do! Great nightlife, lots of extreme sports (bungee etc) and amazing views as it surrounding by the local mountain range, called the Remarkables!!! And the names apt when you see them!!
On Sunday the 12th I had booked in to do the same day trip to Milford Sound as Tom. Milford Sound was once described by Rudyard kipling "the 8th wonder of the world" and when you see it you can see why! However.....after a MASSIVE saturday with the lads, the 7.30am start was not what the doctor ordered and as the trip to Milford was 3hrs in a bus, I was not looking forward to the trip! After an hours worth of sleep on the bus and some paracetamol again the NZ scenery saved the day and kept me well entertained until we arrived at Milford. It was a brilliant day and something im glad I did, as I was considering blowing it out in the morning when the hangover was in full force, but glad I didnt as if you look at the pics on FB you will see what I mean. Truly breath taking!
Will stay on touch with Calum, Jon and Tom but they are all off to travel Asia next, so have fun lads if your reading this, and look forward to catching up back at home!!
Sept 14th - Flew to Auckland
Sept 15th - Flew back into Sydney!!! Travels over!!! 10 weeks round Oz and NZ Done!!!
Since being back I have been staying in Nick and Kerryn's spare room, but as Kerryn has a friend coming to stay for 2 weeks as of this afternoon (4th Oct) I am moving into a hostel for a week while I look for a more permanent place to stay.
Workwise im currently helping out with an office move in North Sydney which isnt ideal but its $$$ in the pocket for now, but I do have a role more up my street starting on Oct 12th working for the property management company Jones Lang Lasalle. I'll be doing data analysis there and hopefully it will lead on to more work with them as they have mentioned a few projects they have coming up which they need help on.
Also been on a good few nights out with the lads back in Sydney, had a day at the races which was good fun as I won enough to pay for the day and also me and the lads have started A 5 A SIDE team, currently called "The Pandas" but soon to be changed to "The No-Shows", as we only had 3 people turn up on time for our first match. Somehow............we won 6-0!!! Im the keeper due to my dodgy knee and if you want to keep a track on our performances, use the link below.
www.intrinsicsports.com.au/dyn_twr.asp?comp=714
Will update this again soon, but until then hope your all well and speak soon!
25th August - Flew into Auckland after purchasing a return ticket to OZ (mentioned in my last post)
25th - 30th August - Auckland, Wahekie Island and Piha (North Island)
31st August - 3rd September - Wellington (North Island). Met 2 great lads from the UK in my hostel, Calum and Jon, who have been travelling for about 18 months now, they started from England, then through the US, Oz, now NZ and then doing Asia before heading home. Spent all week with them and had some big nights, also Tom was there (from my Oz travels) and we had a great week! Randomly they are going to be in Queenstown when I get there so we planned to meet up and do it ALL over again!
3rd Sept - Flew back into Auckland and had the worst flight of my life!!! After a windy take-off and terrible constant turbulence for the whole flight, we had a failed landing with the pilot pulling up at the last minute which was scary in its self, but then on the 2nd approach the plane got struck by lightening!!! However, at the time there was a massive flash to the left of the plane (it was a night flight too) and the most amazing BANG and so everyone on board thought the worst and most were screaming hysterically thinking we were going down!! The captain reassured us that all was fine and that it was a lightening strike, which is pretty standard in bad weather (supposedly)!!! We eventually landed with one of the bumpiest landings ive ever had and the planes passengers erupted in cheers of joy and clapping! Definitely the worst experience of my life, but only the start of bad things to come in NZ!
4th - 6th - Rotorua (North Island)
However, also on the 4th was the biggest earthquake, 7.1 on the Richter scale, NZ has had in 70 years in Christchurch on the South Island. I didnt feel a thing in Rotorua but was planning to fly into Christchurch on the 7th, so spent alot of that weekend checking that it would be ok to visit as alot of the city was shut down, including the airport. On the 7th I was told all was well to fly and landed as planned (no lightening this time) in the evening. As I landed at night I couldnt see much damage to buildings on my way to the hostel, but alot of roads were shut and by the time I went for a walk in the morning it was very obvious that its going to take a while for Christchurch to recover. Not due to the fact that every building had fallen, but as most buildings in Christchurch are over 20 years old, the mortar in the buildings brick work has struggled under the pressures of the earthquake and even though no damage can be seen the buildings are no longer structurally sound and so the estimate that 50% of the town will have to be pulled down and rebuilt, including some of its oldest and iconoc buildings, which is a real shame!
On the 8th of September I was woken up by a 5.1 aftershock which was very surreal, but also strangely intriguing as I did want to feel what it would be like. In my time in Christchurch there had been smaller aftershocks which were strange to endure but this was basically another small earthquake which went on for about 30 seconds and left me and my 2 other room mates literally bouncing and rolling around the room in our beds!! It was an amazing thing to experience!!
9th Sept - 9hour bus ride from Christchurch to Queenstown. The idea of a 9hour bus trip didnt please me at all, and the first hour out of Christchurch confirmed my fears. However...........as soon as we got out into the South Islands countryside and it was impossible to be bored! The scenery is absolutely stunning! Mountains, Lakes and just amazing vista's made the trip fly by. We stopped at 2 lakes along the way, Wanaka and Takupo, and if you look at my facebook pictures that ive uploaded you'll see what I mean!
9th - 14th - Queenstown!! Met up with the lads from Wellington and Tom, randomly was put in room next door to Calum and Jon and shared a balcony so basically together for the whole time there. We had some brilliant nights out, played some Frisbee golf (which I won), went on the luge they have at the top of the closet hill/mountain! Queenstown is an amazing place with everything you'd ever want to do! Great nightlife, lots of extreme sports (bungee etc) and amazing views as it surrounding by the local mountain range, called the Remarkables!!! And the names apt when you see them!!
On Sunday the 12th I had booked in to do the same day trip to Milford Sound as Tom. Milford Sound was once described by Rudyard kipling "the 8th wonder of the world" and when you see it you can see why! However.....after a MASSIVE saturday with the lads, the 7.30am start was not what the doctor ordered and as the trip to Milford was 3hrs in a bus, I was not looking forward to the trip! After an hours worth of sleep on the bus and some paracetamol again the NZ scenery saved the day and kept me well entertained until we arrived at Milford. It was a brilliant day and something im glad I did, as I was considering blowing it out in the morning when the hangover was in full force, but glad I didnt as if you look at the pics on FB you will see what I mean. Truly breath taking!
Will stay on touch with Calum, Jon and Tom but they are all off to travel Asia next, so have fun lads if your reading this, and look forward to catching up back at home!!
Sept 14th - Flew to Auckland
Sept 15th - Flew back into Sydney!!! Travels over!!! 10 weeks round Oz and NZ Done!!!
Since being back I have been staying in Nick and Kerryn's spare room, but as Kerryn has a friend coming to stay for 2 weeks as of this afternoon (4th Oct) I am moving into a hostel for a week while I look for a more permanent place to stay.
Workwise im currently helping out with an office move in North Sydney which isnt ideal but its $$$ in the pocket for now, but I do have a role more up my street starting on Oct 12th working for the property management company Jones Lang Lasalle. I'll be doing data analysis there and hopefully it will lead on to more work with them as they have mentioned a few projects they have coming up which they need help on.
Also been on a good few nights out with the lads back in Sydney, had a day at the races which was good fun as I won enough to pay for the day and also me and the lads have started A 5 A SIDE team, currently called "The Pandas" but soon to be changed to "The No-Shows", as we only had 3 people turn up on time for our first match. Somehow............we won 6-0!!! Im the keeper due to my dodgy knee and if you want to keep a track on our performances, use the link below.
www.intrinsicsports.com.au/dyn_twr.asp?comp=714
Will update this again soon, but until then hope your all well and speak soon!
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
Oz travel over........New Zealand next!
Im currently sitting in Brisbane international airport slowly letting my heart rate get back to its normal pace! The reason for the mild heart attack was when checking in for my flight to New Zealand I was told by the guy at the desk that he couldnt check me onto the flight as I only had a 1 way ticket and therefore under NZ law couldnt let me board!!!! After my initial disbelief the only way to solve the problem was to buy a return ticket from the Flight Centre at departures and then show the print out to the guy so I could board. So 20 minutes and $300 later I was able to check in and make my way through security to the departure lounge and the internet terminal I sit at now! I've bought a flexible ticket that currently leaves Auckland for Sydney on Weds 15th of September, which gives me 3 weeks in NZ and ample time to see the sights.
Anyway, after nearly a month since my last update, I should really update you with my activities! As im pushed for time (as always, sorry) i'll do it in a date line like I did last time!
So.....when I left you I was getting a bus overnight to 1770 on 1st of August!
2nd August - Arrived at 9am just outside 1770 in a town called Agnes Waters. Had a nice relaxed day in a very chilled backpackers in the middle of nowhere. A good place to recharge our batteries after Airlie beach!
3rd August - Caught an early greyhound bus to Hervey Bay, which is the town that most trips to Fraser Island run from. As soon as we arrived Tom and I booked a 3 day trip to Fraser and because of the early pickup (7.30am!!!) we had an early night!
4th - 6th August - Fraser Island was AMAZING!! On a par with the Whitsundays but totally different. Fraser is the largest sand island in the world, and as it says is TOTALLY made up of sand. We chose to do a guided tour rather than a self drive, as we'd heard horror stories about trying to drive in the sand inexperienced. We were in a 4wd truck that could hold about 40 people but only 20ish had booked on our tour and so we had loads of extra room, which was good as the terrain was terrible at points and you literally felt like you were on a roller coaster at times. The other people in our group were great, and the evenings at the lodges where we stayed were great fun both nights. I wont write much else about the trip other than to say it was amazing, and you will see what I mean when I get time to put the pics up on facebook!
7th - 9th August - We just made our greyhound bus to Brisbane by 3 minutes and were the only 2 people on board, so chilled out and watched a film on the drive down. As it was a Saturday we had a big night out in "The Valley" in Brisbane (where all the bars and clubs are) and then had a VERY lazy Sunday dealing with the hangovers!!
9th - 11th August - Me and Tom caught a train this time to Surfers Paradise. Even though i'd been there before with my mate Trystan, Tom hadnt so we headed there for 2 days. Unfortunately it didnt stop raining for the 2 days and was a real wash out, so the highlight was the all you could eat pizza night for $5 at the hostel! We definitely got our moneys worth!!!!
11th - 15th - The weather when we left was much better and so filled us with hope while travelling down the coast to Byron Bay. Byron Bay is renowned in Australia as "THE" party town, and even in mid winter its pretty spot on! After a big first night on Wednesday, neither of us could face a beer on the Thursday so went to the cinema instead an saw Inception (Brilliant film - Go see it!!!). Then after the night off the booze we got back into it and had a great weekend.
15th - 17th - Headed back into Brisbane on the Sunday and went to the Gabba to watch the Brisbane Lions lose (AFL) and then on the Monday went to Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo. Brilliant place and I finally saw Kangaroos and Koalas!!!!! After being in the country for just over 5months i'd been able to prove that that didnt just exist on postcards are they are real! The croc and bird shows at the zoo were great too!
17th - 23rd August - I flew to Melbourne on my own as Tom was now back in Sydney sorting out things for his imminent departure as his oz visa runs out on August 26th. As I know quite a few people in Melbourne, I spent my first few days having lunch (Santino - Ex fitch colleague), dinner (Mike and Yvette - Ozzie friends from home), and drinks (Dom & Jon - New Friends since arriving) and then on Friday my pal Trystan arrived from Sydney, and we had an excellent weekend!! Great fun and never stopped laughing!! We also went to see my AFL team, the Geelong Cats, win at the Etihad stadium which was brilliant! I even learnt the team song to sing along at the end!
23rd - 25th August - Both myself and Trystan had afternoon flights out of Brisbane but he was going back to Sydney and also decided that he would be heading home to the UK the week after as his trip to oz, as much fun as it had been, had to come to an end at some time (as he was only on a normal holiday visa). So if your reading this Tryst, it was great catching up over here mate, we had some quality weekends. READ THE BOOK and i'll see you next year when im back.
I headed back to Brisbane for a few quiet days of recovery and to get myself sorted for my trip to NZ.
So that gets you up to date! Im flying to Auckland in 45mins and will do my best to update my blog while im over there! As I mentioned above, my return flight currently leaves 15th September, and i'll be heading back to Sydney whatever happens to stay with Nick and Kerryn initially at there new place just outside Sydney. Im going to be looking for work, similar to before hopefully, for up until mid December when 2 of my mates, Ron and Robbie, are coming over which I cant wait for!!!
1 last thing; Tom - Just wanna say a massive thanks if your reading this! Travelling down the coast with you was great mate, your a star!! I'll probably see u in NZ but if not, enjoy NZ and Asia and stay in touch and we'll have to catch up when im back in the UK!
Hope your all ok at home, and Happy Birthday to my Grandad Frost for tomorrow!!
Anyway, after nearly a month since my last update, I should really update you with my activities! As im pushed for time (as always, sorry) i'll do it in a date line like I did last time!
So.....when I left you I was getting a bus overnight to 1770 on 1st of August!
2nd August - Arrived at 9am just outside 1770 in a town called Agnes Waters. Had a nice relaxed day in a very chilled backpackers in the middle of nowhere. A good place to recharge our batteries after Airlie beach!
3rd August - Caught an early greyhound bus to Hervey Bay, which is the town that most trips to Fraser Island run from. As soon as we arrived Tom and I booked a 3 day trip to Fraser and because of the early pickup (7.30am!!!) we had an early night!
4th - 6th August - Fraser Island was AMAZING!! On a par with the Whitsundays but totally different. Fraser is the largest sand island in the world, and as it says is TOTALLY made up of sand. We chose to do a guided tour rather than a self drive, as we'd heard horror stories about trying to drive in the sand inexperienced. We were in a 4wd truck that could hold about 40 people but only 20ish had booked on our tour and so we had loads of extra room, which was good as the terrain was terrible at points and you literally felt like you were on a roller coaster at times. The other people in our group were great, and the evenings at the lodges where we stayed were great fun both nights. I wont write much else about the trip other than to say it was amazing, and you will see what I mean when I get time to put the pics up on facebook!
7th - 9th August - We just made our greyhound bus to Brisbane by 3 minutes and were the only 2 people on board, so chilled out and watched a film on the drive down. As it was a Saturday we had a big night out in "The Valley" in Brisbane (where all the bars and clubs are) and then had a VERY lazy Sunday dealing with the hangovers!!
9th - 11th August - Me and Tom caught a train this time to Surfers Paradise. Even though i'd been there before with my mate Trystan, Tom hadnt so we headed there for 2 days. Unfortunately it didnt stop raining for the 2 days and was a real wash out, so the highlight was the all you could eat pizza night for $5 at the hostel! We definitely got our moneys worth!!!!
11th - 15th - The weather when we left was much better and so filled us with hope while travelling down the coast to Byron Bay. Byron Bay is renowned in Australia as "THE" party town, and even in mid winter its pretty spot on! After a big first night on Wednesday, neither of us could face a beer on the Thursday so went to the cinema instead an saw Inception (Brilliant film - Go see it!!!). Then after the night off the booze we got back into it and had a great weekend.
15th - 17th - Headed back into Brisbane on the Sunday and went to the Gabba to watch the Brisbane Lions lose (AFL) and then on the Monday went to Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo. Brilliant place and I finally saw Kangaroos and Koalas!!!!! After being in the country for just over 5months i'd been able to prove that that didnt just exist on postcards are they are real! The croc and bird shows at the zoo were great too!
17th - 23rd August - I flew to Melbourne on my own as Tom was now back in Sydney sorting out things for his imminent departure as his oz visa runs out on August 26th. As I know quite a few people in Melbourne, I spent my first few days having lunch (Santino - Ex fitch colleague), dinner (Mike and Yvette - Ozzie friends from home), and drinks (Dom & Jon - New Friends since arriving) and then on Friday my pal Trystan arrived from Sydney, and we had an excellent weekend!! Great fun and never stopped laughing!! We also went to see my AFL team, the Geelong Cats, win at the Etihad stadium which was brilliant! I even learnt the team song to sing along at the end!
23rd - 25th August - Both myself and Trystan had afternoon flights out of Brisbane but he was going back to Sydney and also decided that he would be heading home to the UK the week after as his trip to oz, as much fun as it had been, had to come to an end at some time (as he was only on a normal holiday visa). So if your reading this Tryst, it was great catching up over here mate, we had some quality weekends. READ THE BOOK and i'll see you next year when im back.
I headed back to Brisbane for a few quiet days of recovery and to get myself sorted for my trip to NZ.
So that gets you up to date! Im flying to Auckland in 45mins and will do my best to update my blog while im over there! As I mentioned above, my return flight currently leaves 15th September, and i'll be heading back to Sydney whatever happens to stay with Nick and Kerryn initially at there new place just outside Sydney. Im going to be looking for work, similar to before hopefully, for up until mid December when 2 of my mates, Ron and Robbie, are coming over which I cant wait for!!!
1 last thing; Tom - Just wanna say a massive thanks if your reading this! Travelling down the coast with you was great mate, your a star!! I'll probably see u in NZ but if not, enjoy NZ and Asia and stay in touch and we'll have to catch up when im back in the UK!
Hope your all ok at home, and Happy Birthday to my Grandad Frost for tomorrow!!
Saturday, 31 July 2010
1 Month Travelling........Sorry for the delay!
Like it says in the title, Sorry for the delay! As much as I do have down time while travelling, this is the first time i've been in an Internet cafe since leaving Sydney! Im in Airlie beach at the moment until 11.55 tonight and then im on an overnight bus to a town called "1770" (its named that because its the year and place that captain cook landed). I havent got too long so will put a brief over view of what ive been upto below.
1st July - Left Sydney. Flew via Melbourne and landed in Darwin at 1am on 2nd July.
2nd July - 5th July - Stayed in Darwin main town. 32/35c days everyday and pretty cool party town for backpackers.
5th July - 10th July - Hired a campervan and travelled round 2 of the local National Parks - Lichfield and Kakadu. Both were amazing and had a great time. The stars at night were amazing. Saw crocs up close on a boat tour but still havent seen a kangaroo or koala!!
10th July - 13th July - Flew from Darwin to Brisbane and met my old personal trainer from the gym in London and we travelled by train to a place called Surfers paradise. Its a really cheesy seaside town like you get back home, but it was just what we were after for a weekend away!
13th July - 19th July - Trystan headed home and I headed back to Brisbane and stayed in a hostel in the week and then at an old colleagues place at the weekend. Also caught up with my sisters friend Claire who currently lives and works in Brisbane and also a guy I worked with at the bank in Sydney. My time in Brisbane was great except for my camera breaking! Ive since bought a replacement!
19th July - 23rd July - Got a bus for 2hours up the coast to a place called Noosa to meet up with Nick and Kerryn and Nicks family who were there for a week on holiday. I stayed in a local hostel dorm but spent most of my time with them on walks, meals and fishing trips! It was a brilliant few relaxed days with the Yaxleys!!
23rd July - 26th July - Spent in a small town down the coast from Noosa called Mooloolaba.
26th July - Flew to Townsville to meet Tom, a guy I worked with at the bank in Sydney who's travelling the east coast before his visa expires on the 26th!
27th July - Lazy day in Townsville so caught a ferry to Magnetic Island. Cool little island and good to tick off the list of places to go!
28th July - Caught a 5 hour bus to Airlie Beach, which is the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands. So we booked a 2 day 1 night trip that afternoon and had to be up and out by 7 to catch the boat at 8.30!
29th Jily - 30th july - The boat trip. 1 word - AMAZING! The crew were fantastic, and loved their jobs which rubbed off on all of us on board. It was a 22 person boat (+ the 3 crew) but only 15 people had booked so we had loads of room on the 23m Siska. The Siska, our boat, has sailed round the world twice and also won the Sydney to Hobart (in Tasmania) race, so its a great boat! The islands there are so picturesque and the coral and see life is astounding! We spent the 1st day sailing, with a stop to snorkel or scuba dive (I just went out in the little life raft with the deck hand), and then we stopped overnight at a small bay off hook island and had a great night with everyone. Again the stars were amazing! On the 2nd day we sailed via Whitehaven beach, and that was better than all of the hype i'd been told. Its a beautiful place and will be something i'll always remember! To finish the trip off we sailed back and just overall had a great time, finished off with an "after party" meal and drinks at a local bar with the crew and other passengers. It was a great way to finish the trip and met some brilliant people.
31st July - Mostly spent in bed hungover due to the night before but did venture out at night for some drinks with some guys from the boat trip.
1st August (TODAY) - Checked out of the hostel by 10am and have spent the day lazing by the beach in the sun. Its about 28c today so trying to stay in the shade cos its roasting!! Going to go to the marina at about 4pm to see the Siska come back in and get some "action" pics and then will probably spend the rest of the afternoon either back on the beach or in a pub watching the AFL (my team, Geelong Cats, are currently 2nd in the league) and trying to pass the time until our bus trip at 11.55 tonight!
So thats been my last month, so you can see why its been hard getting to an Internet cafe! Im sorry theres no pics on here but its so difficult to add them into the blog thats it alot easier to just add folders on facebook, so keep you eyes peeled for new albums over the next week!
I'll try and keep on top of this from now on.........but ive said that before so no promises!
Hope your all well!!
P.S Ive even got a tan!!!
1st July - Left Sydney. Flew via Melbourne and landed in Darwin at 1am on 2nd July.
2nd July - 5th July - Stayed in Darwin main town. 32/35c days everyday and pretty cool party town for backpackers.
5th July - 10th July - Hired a campervan and travelled round 2 of the local National Parks - Lichfield and Kakadu. Both were amazing and had a great time. The stars at night were amazing. Saw crocs up close on a boat tour but still havent seen a kangaroo or koala!!
10th July - 13th July - Flew from Darwin to Brisbane and met my old personal trainer from the gym in London and we travelled by train to a place called Surfers paradise. Its a really cheesy seaside town like you get back home, but it was just what we were after for a weekend away!
13th July - 19th July - Trystan headed home and I headed back to Brisbane and stayed in a hostel in the week and then at an old colleagues place at the weekend. Also caught up with my sisters friend Claire who currently lives and works in Brisbane and also a guy I worked with at the bank in Sydney. My time in Brisbane was great except for my camera breaking! Ive since bought a replacement!
19th July - 23rd July - Got a bus for 2hours up the coast to a place called Noosa to meet up with Nick and Kerryn and Nicks family who were there for a week on holiday. I stayed in a local hostel dorm but spent most of my time with them on walks, meals and fishing trips! It was a brilliant few relaxed days with the Yaxleys!!
23rd July - 26th July - Spent in a small town down the coast from Noosa called Mooloolaba.
26th July - Flew to Townsville to meet Tom, a guy I worked with at the bank in Sydney who's travelling the east coast before his visa expires on the 26th!
27th July - Lazy day in Townsville so caught a ferry to Magnetic Island. Cool little island and good to tick off the list of places to go!
28th July - Caught a 5 hour bus to Airlie Beach, which is the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands. So we booked a 2 day 1 night trip that afternoon and had to be up and out by 7 to catch the boat at 8.30!
29th Jily - 30th july - The boat trip. 1 word - AMAZING! The crew were fantastic, and loved their jobs which rubbed off on all of us on board. It was a 22 person boat (+ the 3 crew) but only 15 people had booked so we had loads of room on the 23m Siska. The Siska, our boat, has sailed round the world twice and also won the Sydney to Hobart (in Tasmania) race, so its a great boat! The islands there are so picturesque and the coral and see life is astounding! We spent the 1st day sailing, with a stop to snorkel or scuba dive (I just went out in the little life raft with the deck hand), and then we stopped overnight at a small bay off hook island and had a great night with everyone. Again the stars were amazing! On the 2nd day we sailed via Whitehaven beach, and that was better than all of the hype i'd been told. Its a beautiful place and will be something i'll always remember! To finish the trip off we sailed back and just overall had a great time, finished off with an "after party" meal and drinks at a local bar with the crew and other passengers. It was a great way to finish the trip and met some brilliant people.
31st July - Mostly spent in bed hungover due to the night before but did venture out at night for some drinks with some guys from the boat trip.
1st August (TODAY) - Checked out of the hostel by 10am and have spent the day lazing by the beach in the sun. Its about 28c today so trying to stay in the shade cos its roasting!! Going to go to the marina at about 4pm to see the Siska come back in and get some "action" pics and then will probably spend the rest of the afternoon either back on the beach or in a pub watching the AFL (my team, Geelong Cats, are currently 2nd in the league) and trying to pass the time until our bus trip at 11.55 tonight!
So thats been my last month, so you can see why its been hard getting to an Internet cafe! Im sorry theres no pics on here but its so difficult to add them into the blog thats it alot easier to just add folders on facebook, so keep you eyes peeled for new albums over the next week!
I'll try and keep on top of this from now on.........but ive said that before so no promises!
Hope your all well!!
P.S Ive even got a tan!!!
Monday, 28 June 2010
So Long Sydney!!!
So just over 3 months into my Oz adventure and it's time to say goodbye to Sydney and more importantly work! I've loved the job at Bankwest, it was a perfect role and time frame, but working on average just under 50hrs a week for 9 weeks and only occasionally not having to go in over a weekend has meant that now that my last day is tomorrow.......I cant wait!!
The job has introduced me to alot of people, and not just people who will be good work contacts in the future but people I would love to stay in touch with after I move on and even once Im back home too. The cash i've earned from this job (just under $10k!!!) will mean that my travelling is funded for quite a while (hopefully), so all in all the Bankwest job has been great!
Due to the fact that the project im working on is nearing its conclusion, the Bankwest team were all taken out last Thursday to a great restaurant/Steakhouse in the city called "Chophouse". Its a great venue and well known for its amazing steaks, so I went for the wagyu beef steak and I dont think I've ever/will ever taste another steak like it! Absolutely amazing! It wasnt cheap, but being a work dinner it was on the company, so that steak plus many other bottles of top drawer red wine were consumed. After the meal the hardcore lot (as it was a Thursday after all) moved on to 2 more bars and I rolled in to bed at about 3am!! I also rolled into work the next day with a hangover too, but I wasnt the only 1!!! Unfortunately for me this meant going out on my last Friday night in Sydney with all my old and new Sydney friends (that I'd arranged in the week) was going to be hard work! However, as it was my last night and didnt want to be a whingeing pomme, I sucked it up and went out! It was a great night and didnt end well into Saturday morning, but it was a great send off and wanna thank everyone for coming along if your reading this. You've made my time in Sydney extremely bearable (even enjoyable at times) and when I head back I'll be in touch!
So looking forwards, my first stop on my trip round Oz is Darwin! As Darwin is extremely north, I firstly need to fly from Sydney to Melbourne (I take off at 1.20pm Thursday) and then fly on from there to Darwin (8pm take off) and will land in Darwin at midnight! I then have the weekends accommodation sorted in Darwin itself and then as of Monday plan to head out into Kakadu national park, Australia's biggest, and stay there through the week. I'll be taking lots of pics so dont worry about that, bt will probably put most on facebook as its alot easier than uploading them on here. I then have a flight to Brisbane booked for 1.30am on the next Saturday (the 10th July) and land around 6.30am. The main reason to jump across to Brisbane is to meet my old Personal Trainer from London, Trystan, who is randomly over here in Oz doing the same thing as me, so once we meet up around 10am we will be jumping on a train down the coast to a place called Surfers Paradise for a long weekend, staying in a 5* hotel (we got a cheap deal). So I can see that being good fun! Trystan has a job just outside Sydney so when he heads back on Tuesday I will go back to Brisbane and stay in the city in the week and with an old Fitch colleague at the weekend. Im also gonna try and catch up with my sister's friend Claire who is over here as she lives in Brisbane too.
After all of the above it will be Monday the 19th of July, and where I go after that.........is up to me!!! So i'll keep you all posted on what I get upto, and also what I decide on doing after! I'll probably head north up the East coast, but we'll see.
A final Thankyou for all the help and hospitality i've received in Sydney! Its a great place and im sure i'll be back to catch up with you all soon.
So long Sydney...............Hello Darwin!!
P.S No need to mention the football really, but at least I dont need to keep getting up for the 4.30am games now!!!!
The job has introduced me to alot of people, and not just people who will be good work contacts in the future but people I would love to stay in touch with after I move on and even once Im back home too. The cash i've earned from this job (just under $10k!!!) will mean that my travelling is funded for quite a while (hopefully), so all in all the Bankwest job has been great!
Due to the fact that the project im working on is nearing its conclusion, the Bankwest team were all taken out last Thursday to a great restaurant/Steakhouse in the city called "Chophouse". Its a great venue and well known for its amazing steaks, so I went for the wagyu beef steak and I dont think I've ever/will ever taste another steak like it! Absolutely amazing! It wasnt cheap, but being a work dinner it was on the company, so that steak plus many other bottles of top drawer red wine were consumed. After the meal the hardcore lot (as it was a Thursday after all) moved on to 2 more bars and I rolled in to bed at about 3am!! I also rolled into work the next day with a hangover too, but I wasnt the only 1!!! Unfortunately for me this meant going out on my last Friday night in Sydney with all my old and new Sydney friends (that I'd arranged in the week) was going to be hard work! However, as it was my last night and didnt want to be a whingeing pomme, I sucked it up and went out! It was a great night and didnt end well into Saturday morning, but it was a great send off and wanna thank everyone for coming along if your reading this. You've made my time in Sydney extremely bearable (even enjoyable at times) and when I head back I'll be in touch!
So looking forwards, my first stop on my trip round Oz is Darwin! As Darwin is extremely north, I firstly need to fly from Sydney to Melbourne (I take off at 1.20pm Thursday) and then fly on from there to Darwin (8pm take off) and will land in Darwin at midnight! I then have the weekends accommodation sorted in Darwin itself and then as of Monday plan to head out into Kakadu national park, Australia's biggest, and stay there through the week. I'll be taking lots of pics so dont worry about that, bt will probably put most on facebook as its alot easier than uploading them on here. I then have a flight to Brisbane booked for 1.30am on the next Saturday (the 10th July) and land around 6.30am. The main reason to jump across to Brisbane is to meet my old Personal Trainer from London, Trystan, who is randomly over here in Oz doing the same thing as me, so once we meet up around 10am we will be jumping on a train down the coast to a place called Surfers Paradise for a long weekend, staying in a 5* hotel (we got a cheap deal). So I can see that being good fun! Trystan has a job just outside Sydney so when he heads back on Tuesday I will go back to Brisbane and stay in the city in the week and with an old Fitch colleague at the weekend. Im also gonna try and catch up with my sister's friend Claire who is over here as she lives in Brisbane too.
After all of the above it will be Monday the 19th of July, and where I go after that.........is up to me!!! So i'll keep you all posted on what I get upto, and also what I decide on doing after! I'll probably head north up the East coast, but we'll see.
A final Thankyou for all the help and hospitality i've received in Sydney! Its a great place and im sure i'll be back to catch up with you all soon.
So long Sydney...............Hello Darwin!!
P.S No need to mention the football really, but at least I dont need to keep getting up for the 4.30am games now!!!!
Sunday, 6 June 2010
Sorry its been so long!!!
First of all...............a massive apology for the long wait on this update! Ive just been so busy with work and then come the weekends (when i'm not working) we've all been heading out for nights on the town!
Firstly.....the job! I really landed on my feet. I went into Hays recruitment on a Wednesday morning and by 3pm the same day I was offered the job at Bankwest and started on the Friday (30th May)! The role is support on a project where the bank are reviewing alot of critical assets and all of these reviews and the outcomes have to be tracked and completed by the 30th of June, which is when the job will end for me. So its perfect, 2 months hard work and then I'll be able to up sticks and use the $$$ to see Australia. Its alot of spreadsheet work and is right up my street and enjoy it but am doing 50+ hours a week at least! My Boss Bernie is a great guy and recently had a baby boy, Tom, which was interesting having to look after things while he was off for a few days. Also because of the large workload Bernie got 2 more support staff on board, an English guy called Tom and an Irish girl called Marita. Tom's a good lad and also a fellow Liverpool fan and we catch up quite abit out of work and hope to stay in touch both here in oz after the job and back home as Tom is on the same visa as me but his one ends in August so will be heading home soon.
Outside of work we've been having great nights out! Normally for me on a Friday drinks start at work................in the kitchen!!! Its an aussie thing that on a Friday at the end of the day everyone has a beer or 2 after work in the office! I think its great and always a good way to start a Friday night......and cheap too!! Its been a good way to get to know all the work people too, and as the reviews on the project are being carried out by external companies its been a great way to meet lots of new people too! Not really sure what else to say about the nights out as they all seem to have blurred into one.......but they've been good fun!
On the house front, we're all moving out of Nicks flat! Nick has decided to move in with his girlfriend and the other flat mate, Dylan, has decided to head back to his mums place so they have ended the contract and we all have to be out by next Friday, the 11th!! Due to this, me and Lee have been looking for a place and actually found a guest house in a place called Glebe, which isnt far from where we are now and its perfect as it a "pay as you go" place, so we are gonna stay there for one month which will be around the time my Bankwest job ends then I think I'll go travelling for a while after that! Lee will stay in Sydney though as he has just got himself a job based in the middle of the city!
The world cup starts this week and its gonna be hard work catching games as they kick off at silly o'clock in the morning here (the first England game is on at 4.30am)! Also this weekend coming is a long weekend as we get Monday off for the queens birthday, so even though I wont be getting paid (cos im on a contract) its going to be good to have a nice long weekend and watch some real football at last rather than AFL or Rugby!!!
I probably wont update this for a while again but when I go travelling around Oz i'll make sure I do update it more regularly! I promise!!!!!!! And maybe even some pics too!!
Sunday, 16 May 2010
Work Hard, Play Hard!!!
Sorry for the delay on updating the blog but for the last 2 weeks since starting the job at Bankwest ive been doing about 55hrs a week and having pretty packed weekends (which include working)! The job is great, very tight deadline and TONS to do but luckily the work isnt too taxing.....at the mo! When I find more time i'll update you all with what ive been doing there but im really enjoying it and have met some great people because of it too. I report directly to the project manager, Bernie, and he has been off since Thursday because his wife gave birth to their first child (Thomas Eric Armistead) which has meant alot more work/pressure has been pushed my way, but its been great!
Another great thing is that i've now got a blackberry on a contract so can stay in touch with the world alot easier and its not breaking the bank as have a great deal! Its a pretty addictive gadget but worth its weight in gold! If you want to call or text my number is +61420708818.
Weekends and nights out have been excellent lately!! Meeting lots of people and had a few pretty bad hangovers but all worth it.....sort of! Not sure what next weekend entails but think it will be quieter than the last 2......at least I hope so!
Lee's gone away with work for the week so its just me, Nick and his other housemate Dylan until he gets back next Sunday!
Thats it for now, going to watch the Monaco grand prix and then get a well deserved sleep before I start another long week at work.
P.S Sorry for no pics lately. Took my camera on my walk to work today and will put them on Facebook when I get a chance.
Another great thing is that i've now got a blackberry on a contract so can stay in touch with the world alot easier and its not breaking the bank as have a great deal! Its a pretty addictive gadget but worth its weight in gold! If you want to call or text my number is +61420708818.
Weekends and nights out have been excellent lately!! Meeting lots of people and had a few pretty bad hangovers but all worth it.....sort of! Not sure what next weekend entails but think it will be quieter than the last 2......at least I hope so!
Lee's gone away with work for the week so its just me, Nick and his other housemate Dylan until he gets back next Sunday!
Thats it for now, going to watch the Monaco grand prix and then get a well deserved sleep before I start another long week at work.
P.S Sorry for no pics lately. Took my camera on my walk to work today and will put them on Facebook when I get a chance.
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
TWO-UP and and more money down the drain!
Last weekend was BRILLIANT!! It started off with the usual 5pm run when Nick gets home, a wash and brush up after that and then me, Lee and Nick headed out to meet up with Nicks girlfriend (Kerryn) and her friends at a bar in Circular Quay! However, we had to make a stop on the way to meet a Friend of Lee's, Toby, and as it was St. Georges day we met him for a beer in the George pub on George Street, which was pretty fitting! Not much fuss was made about the day by the locals, but all 3 of us Englishman plus Nick raised a glass and when we'd finished up we headed on to meet the girls. The other bar wasnt far so we were drinking again in minutes and after a few more beers Nicks boss Dominic turned up and then after that Tobys girlfriend joined us. With a decent crowd formed the topic of conversation was......where to next! A bar in a pretty vibrant part of town was decided upon and so we all jumped in cabs and headed off to "The Clock" in Surry Hills.
The Clock is a huge bar over 2 floors and was a pretty cool venue and even though there was a big crowd of us we still ended up speaking to lots of random locals and the few hours we had in place flew by. The bar shut at 12 so again another venue conversation was had and a bar called "Fringe" seemed to be the winner......however, there was a mix up in communication and so 1 cab ended up at Fringe and the other cabs ended up across town at Kings Cross, which is a well known bar street. I was 1 of the group that ended up at Fringe and decided to stay put and make the most of the place. Even though we had been split up it was a great night seeing some new places and met some really cool new people!
Due to the heavy Friday night, Saturday was a slow start, but we couldnt feel sorry for ourselves too much as we had tickets to the afternoon AFL game at the SCG to watch the Sydney Swans play the East Coast Eagles. Lee opted out of the AFL, feeling Fridays effects pretty badly, and so Me, Nick, Kerryn and our friends Mike and Renee went to the game and had a nice relaxing time slowly drinking beer and watching the Swans to a comfortable win. Nobody really fancied a big night so after the game we headed to a local 10 pin bowling alley for a game (I came 2nd) and then went home. Nick decided to stay at Kerryns and as Lee headed out to watch the Man Utd Vs Tottenham game I was home alone on a saturday night watching TV with a Pizza.......and couldnt have been happier.
On Sunday Nick came over around lunch time and picked me and Lee up and we then headed to a pub in Balmain, picking Kerryn up on the way. The main reason for going to this pub on the Sunday was due to the fact that its well known on ANZAC day to be a great place to play the traditional Ozzie WW1 soldier (aka Diggers) game of Two-Up! Two-Up is played by tossing 3 coins into the air and betting on how they land, either heads (all heads or 2 heads 1 tail) or Tails (all tails or 2 tails 1 head) and is only allowed to be played outside of casinos once a year on ANZAC day! I didnt quite see the appeal before arriving but once I saw the commotion and just how many people were playing it was hard to understand why it isnt played all the time. There was a 6ft square hardboard "area" in the middle of the room with around 150/200 people gathered around it on different tiered levels. Only 3 people stood in the central area. 1 guy all mic'd up to announce the result of the toss, his mate who for all intense and purposes didnt do much except drink but did try to keep the spectators off of the area and then the 3rd person was a random spectator picked from the crowd to do the tossing. The 3 coins were placed heads down on small wooden plank (basically a ruler) and then on the callers command the chosen spectator tossed the coins above his/her head and then the crowd scrambled for a look to see the result before the caller shouts the results. All very simple.......and the betting on it is even simpler. Everyone in the room can bet with each other, so, if you believe the toss will lands predominantly heads then you hold however much you want to bet in your hand while tapping your head with it and shouting what bet you want, for example $20 heads!! If someone else wants to take your bet, they shout $20 Tails to match your bet, and once eye contact is made you both work out the deal, the person who bets Tails keeps hold of the money and then you both wait on the result thats shouted out and however wins keeps the cash!! Being there and playing was a combination of east end dog pit fighting, mixed with a busy trading floor in a small roman colosseum!! The room was roasting hot, drink and money flying all over the place and the noise was electrifying (especially when a bad toss was done and so didnt count and a huge BOOOOOOOOOOOOing would ensue) and it was amazing!! Me and Lee instantly shoved our way through the crowd to the edge of the main area and after a few test runs we both started to bet!! Its a 50/50 game and we both won and lost our fair share and had a great time playing, however Lee had a better time and walked away $70 up while I ended up $50 down. The good thing was though, I didnt care! It was such a good laugh playing I wish we could do it every weekend, but I guess thats why everyone gets into it so much as it is only a once a year thing, and also if I played it more than that I dont think my savings would last much longer. The game has to finish once the sun has set so after a couple more pints we headed to a different bar to party the night away, and it was a good end to a great day!
Monday was a nice quiet chilled out day, and was well needed after the last few days and nights! We were supposed to all be going away camping over the weekend but it never got arranged, and im quite glad it didnt as the spontaneous things we got up to were brilliant!
This week has seen me back on the job hunt.........and the good news is, I got 1!!! I start this Friday at 9am in the city centre (known as the CBD, Central Business District) at Bankwest as support on a new 8 week project. The role will involve lots of data management and analysis and seems right up my street! Not sure if Friday will be a a full day or just a meet and greet and get used to my surroundings day, but 1 thing I do know is that me, Lee and Nick will be going out for a few celebratory drinks Friday night as Lee also picked up work this week too. Its only for 2 weeks at an events company but its a step in the right direction and may lead to bigger and better things!
1 thing though about getting this job means my planned trip to Melbourne on Wednesday next week until the following Monday will have to be scrapped. So thats another $80 plus my $50 loss at Two-Up to add to the money down the drain fund!! Im not bitter though, I'll earn that all back over the next few weeks!!
Monday, 19 April 2010
Another week and another missed flight!
The 2 agency meetings went well on Wednesday and I still feel positive about finding an interesting role rather than just doing something to get by. The remainder of the week was pretty chilled with us 3 lads just going out for runs in the evenings. Nick has shown us a decent 8km route around the harbour wharfs and doing it when we do in the evenings means its nice and cool and we also get a great view of the harbour bridge at night (I'll take a pic soon to prove it to you all).
As me and Lee would be heading to Melbourne on Saturday we all had a quiet night round Nicks girlfriends place on Friday night, who cooked a great lamb dinner and after polishing off a bottle of red win each through the evening we all ended crashing there for the night.
Our flight was at 1.30pm on saturday and, as usual with us, we made it with about 15mins to spare. I dont particularly like cutting things this fine but all the ozzies are pretty relaxed about catching internal flights and always tell us "not to worry" while we're chewing our nails off on the way to the airport. We did make it though and were in Melbourne by 3pm. After a bus from the airport to the city centre we jumped on a tram to our hostel in St Kilda, the suburb where we would be going out that night. The room was basic but all we needed, so we dropped our gear off and went for a stroll round St Kilda. Its a nice place and reminded me alot of the Ibiza coastline strip with all the bars and restaurants over looking the harbour, the weather probably helped aswell as it was about 28c!!!! After chilling out over a few beers in the sun we headed back to get spruced up for the night ahead.
The whole reason for the trip was to celebrate Lee's friend Jon's 30th birthday, so we met him and some of the other lads in a local pub so that the they could watch abit of the AFL game that was on before dinner. At about half time we all made our way up the road to the restaurant, which was a middle-eastern cuisine place that was well known in St Kilda for being pretty good......and I agree as the food was great!! At dinner there was about 20 people, and it was a great crowd. Everyone was really friendly and after the usual "pommie bashing" the conversations covered most subjects and didnt stop until we left. When we moved on at about 11, the alcohol had been doing its job and everyone was in great spirits and ready to carry on going all night/morning. We ended up queing for a bar called Big Mouth which was worth the wait as the music was great and it wasnt even too difficult to get served at the bar. We all danced and drunk the night away and then made a move/asked to leave at about 3am! Most of the gang wanted to carry on but as it was 3am nowhere was letting anyone in so 1 of the couples invited us back to their place to keep on going. Lee wanted to call it a night and walked back to the hostel, but as I was getting on so well with the group and didnt wanna stop either I jumped in 1 of the cabs to the house! A typical house party ensued and at around 6am most of us had passed out somewhere!
The 6 of us who were there when I woke up all pieced together what had happened the night before over a great home made fry up and then the birthday boy and his wife arranged for a lift home, where they then picked up their car and we headed off to get Lee and then onto the airport. Unfortunately we arrived too late at the airport and had missed our flight back to Sydney. The most annoying thing was that the flight hadnt left yet and had 20 mins still to go and both Lee and myself only had hand luggage, so we didnt see the problem with being let through! However, the Tiger airways employee wouldnt have any of it and charged us $70 each to get on the next flight an hour later. This was the last straw for Lee who begrudgingly paid the money but vowed there and then to never fly with them again. I was disappointed in them too but just coughed up the money a vowed to make my own way too airports from now on, so it can only be my fault from now on. I took the missed flight in my stride but Lee wasnt in the best mood for a while so I ended up chatting to a guy next to me on the plane who was a NUCLEAR SCIENTIST!!! A very interesting guy and helped pass the time on the flight! When we reached Sydney we waited for Nick to pick us up and then we headed home for a well deserved sleep as the lack of sleep was definitely catching up with us by then!
So far on this trip I have worked out that I have literally thrown away $260 which is nearly 160 quid!!!!!! Thats the 2 missed flights and the dropped $50 in the bar! Not good at all!!!!
Monday was a relaxing day with an 8km run in the evening and Tuesday so far has been chilled but plan to go out for dinner tonight and then to the pics with Nick and Lee to see Kick-Ass as its "cheap Tuesday" at the local cinema!
One other thing to mention about Saturday is that the couple who invited us back to theirs, Drew and Jemma, are having an engagement party on May the 8th and they invited Me, Lee and Nick along if we fancied it. I think I will go but Lee and Nick arent sure yet. Whatever happens tho................IM NOT MISSING ANY FLIGHTS THIS TIME!!!!
This weekend coming is Anzac weekend. Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, and is commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all those who died and served in military operations for their countries. The plan is go out in Sydney on Friday night and then go to a place called Jarvis bay and camp on Saturday and Sunday and come home Monday. However, as yet nothing is booked so we'll see what happens.
As me and Lee would be heading to Melbourne on Saturday we all had a quiet night round Nicks girlfriends place on Friday night, who cooked a great lamb dinner and after polishing off a bottle of red win each through the evening we all ended crashing there for the night.
Our flight was at 1.30pm on saturday and, as usual with us, we made it with about 15mins to spare. I dont particularly like cutting things this fine but all the ozzies are pretty relaxed about catching internal flights and always tell us "not to worry" while we're chewing our nails off on the way to the airport. We did make it though and were in Melbourne by 3pm. After a bus from the airport to the city centre we jumped on a tram to our hostel in St Kilda, the suburb where we would be going out that night. The room was basic but all we needed, so we dropped our gear off and went for a stroll round St Kilda. Its a nice place and reminded me alot of the Ibiza coastline strip with all the bars and restaurants over looking the harbour, the weather probably helped aswell as it was about 28c!!!! After chilling out over a few beers in the sun we headed back to get spruced up for the night ahead.
The whole reason for the trip was to celebrate Lee's friend Jon's 30th birthday, so we met him and some of the other lads in a local pub so that the they could watch abit of the AFL game that was on before dinner. At about half time we all made our way up the road to the restaurant, which was a middle-eastern cuisine place that was well known in St Kilda for being pretty good......and I agree as the food was great!! At dinner there was about 20 people, and it was a great crowd. Everyone was really friendly and after the usual "pommie bashing" the conversations covered most subjects and didnt stop until we left. When we moved on at about 11, the alcohol had been doing its job and everyone was in great spirits and ready to carry on going all night/morning. We ended up queing for a bar called Big Mouth which was worth the wait as the music was great and it wasnt even too difficult to get served at the bar. We all danced and drunk the night away and then made a move/asked to leave at about 3am! Most of the gang wanted to carry on but as it was 3am nowhere was letting anyone in so 1 of the couples invited us back to their place to keep on going. Lee wanted to call it a night and walked back to the hostel, but as I was getting on so well with the group and didnt wanna stop either I jumped in 1 of the cabs to the house! A typical house party ensued and at around 6am most of us had passed out somewhere!
The 6 of us who were there when I woke up all pieced together what had happened the night before over a great home made fry up and then the birthday boy and his wife arranged for a lift home, where they then picked up their car and we headed off to get Lee and then onto the airport. Unfortunately we arrived too late at the airport and had missed our flight back to Sydney. The most annoying thing was that the flight hadnt left yet and had 20 mins still to go and both Lee and myself only had hand luggage, so we didnt see the problem with being let through! However, the Tiger airways employee wouldnt have any of it and charged us $70 each to get on the next flight an hour later. This was the last straw for Lee who begrudgingly paid the money but vowed there and then to never fly with them again. I was disappointed in them too but just coughed up the money a vowed to make my own way too airports from now on, so it can only be my fault from now on. I took the missed flight in my stride but Lee wasnt in the best mood for a while so I ended up chatting to a guy next to me on the plane who was a NUCLEAR SCIENTIST!!! A very interesting guy and helped pass the time on the flight! When we reached Sydney we waited for Nick to pick us up and then we headed home for a well deserved sleep as the lack of sleep was definitely catching up with us by then!
So far on this trip I have worked out that I have literally thrown away $260 which is nearly 160 quid!!!!!! Thats the 2 missed flights and the dropped $50 in the bar! Not good at all!!!!
Monday was a relaxing day with an 8km run in the evening and Tuesday so far has been chilled but plan to go out for dinner tonight and then to the pics with Nick and Lee to see Kick-Ass as its "cheap Tuesday" at the local cinema!
One other thing to mention about Saturday is that the couple who invited us back to theirs, Drew and Jemma, are having an engagement party on May the 8th and they invited Me, Lee and Nick along if we fancied it. I think I will go but Lee and Nick arent sure yet. Whatever happens tho................IM NOT MISSING ANY FLIGHTS THIS TIME!!!!
This weekend coming is Anzac weekend. Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, and is commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all those who died and served in military operations for their countries. The plan is go out in Sydney on Friday night and then go to a place called Jarvis bay and camp on Saturday and Sunday and come home Monday. However, as yet nothing is booked so we'll see what happens.
Tuesday, 13 April 2010
Horses and Hangovers!
Well the quiet Friday night never happened (as usual). Nick got a call Friday afternoon from his mate Mike who was going out for a few drinks and Nick wanted to go along for a few just to catch up with him and a few other friends. Both Lee and I were invited along but Lee had to decline as so far he had spent most of Friday on (or always very close to) the loo, as either something he had eaten the day before had disagreed with him or had just picked up a bug. So when Mike turned up only me and Nick headed out with him leaving a depressed looking Lee behind. The night was great fun and included a couple of bars and a late night kebab, so a quiet night was definitely not had, but as always with the quiet nights, they turn out to be great fun.
Saturday morning arrived and me and nick woke with a headache (understandably) but knew we had to shift them as today we were going to Randwick race course for around 2pm, then onto the Sydney Swans Vs Richmond Tigers AFL game and THEN out after that!! Just by looking at Lee we knew he wasnt going to make it, not only by the colour of his face but that fact that he hadnt really eaten in 2 days and still couldnt face it! As Mike had left his car at Nicks the night before we drove to meet Mike but on the way stopped off at a local chemist so that Lee could jump out and get the most powerful drugs he could to see if he could make the AFL game later that night as we'd already paid $50 each for the tickets to the races and the game. After dropping Lee back it wasnt long before we were at Mikes, then me, Nick, Mike and his wife and her friend headed to the races. When we got there we found out that is was "Fashion day" (basically our ladies day) and that us 3 lads were the only guys in the place in shorts! Smart shorts, but still shorts! However, considering how hot it was though Im glad to not be in a suit! We headed straight for the betting room as nick had a tip on race 6 from a friend, and as much as I wanted to put $50 on a win we ended up putting $20 each way on Xavier instead! Amazingly it actually won!!!! So for the rest of the day Nick was kicking himself on not agreeing with me on the $50 win.......and I spent the rest of the day kicking Nick. We had a few more bets through the day but had no joy, but after a few hours drinking and the bets, me and Nick walked out without spending a penny due to our win, so all in all a great day so far.
After we left the races we headed to a pub near the SCG (Sydney Cricket Ground) where the game was being played (N.B AFL games are all played on cricket grounds). There we met some other lads who were also going to the game and amazingly Lee called us and met us at the bar too. The drugs from the chemist had kicked in and finally Lee could go further than 15 meters from the Loo. So after topping up on some food and a few more drinks we strolled to the SCG. Ive been watching alot of AFL since arriving, Ive even decided on supporting the Geelong Cats, but as with most sports going to the game was totally different to watching on TV. We were pretty close to the action and you can really see how brutal the game is. Fights off the ball are well within the rules, amazingly, and sometimes watching the rows going on off the ball was even better than the actual game. The game is really easy to follow so I was engrossed through all 4 quarters and it ended with the Sydney Swans beating the Richmond Tigers comfortably 106 to 81. However, the best bit of the game was at the end, because..............they let you on the pitch and your allowed to kick a ball around!!!!!! It was great fun even tho we had to improvise with a volvic bottle, but occasionally other peoples footballs would bounce across and we could grab them and kick them back. Finally a buzzer went and we were all escorted from the pitch and we moved on to another local bar.
Only Me, Lee, Mike and Nick went to the bar so had a good chat and the live band there were brilliant. Later on we were told by a couple of locals we started chatting too that Hugo Weaving was drinking 5 meters behind us. If you dont know he was Agent Smith in the Matrix films and Elrond in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, amongst other things. We never went up and spoke to him but it was our claim to fame for the rest of the night! At about 11ish we moved on to try and find somewhere a little more lively and ended up in the Bondi Hotel on Bondi beach. It was a good place but not too busy, so at about 2am we made a move home, which was probably a good idea after 12 hours out drinking!
As you can guess we all felt pretty rough on Sunday! So the whole day was spent on the sofa watching films and feeling pretty sorry for ourselves.
Monday and Tuesday were pretty lazy days too, mostly spent watching sport on TV spent applying for jobs but also being healthy with all 3 of us going for an 8km run on both days. The plan is to continue doing the same run every few days and once we have jobs we'll join the local gym. Me and Lee also purchased an AFL ball and also a normal football so plan on have a few kick arounds in our local park as much as possible.
Finally, tomorrow I have 2 meetings with agencies so hopefully they will lead to something.
Saturday morning arrived and me and nick woke with a headache (understandably) but knew we had to shift them as today we were going to Randwick race course for around 2pm, then onto the Sydney Swans Vs Richmond Tigers AFL game and THEN out after that!! Just by looking at Lee we knew he wasnt going to make it, not only by the colour of his face but that fact that he hadnt really eaten in 2 days and still couldnt face it! As Mike had left his car at Nicks the night before we drove to meet Mike but on the way stopped off at a local chemist so that Lee could jump out and get the most powerful drugs he could to see if he could make the AFL game later that night as we'd already paid $50 each for the tickets to the races and the game. After dropping Lee back it wasnt long before we were at Mikes, then me, Nick, Mike and his wife and her friend headed to the races. When we got there we found out that is was "Fashion day" (basically our ladies day) and that us 3 lads were the only guys in the place in shorts! Smart shorts, but still shorts! However, considering how hot it was though Im glad to not be in a suit! We headed straight for the betting room as nick had a tip on race 6 from a friend, and as much as I wanted to put $50 on a win we ended up putting $20 each way on Xavier instead! Amazingly it actually won!!!! So for the rest of the day Nick was kicking himself on not agreeing with me on the $50 win.......and I spent the rest of the day kicking Nick. We had a few more bets through the day but had no joy, but after a few hours drinking and the bets, me and Nick walked out without spending a penny due to our win, so all in all a great day so far.
After we left the races we headed to a pub near the SCG (Sydney Cricket Ground) where the game was being played (N.B AFL games are all played on cricket grounds). There we met some other lads who were also going to the game and amazingly Lee called us and met us at the bar too. The drugs from the chemist had kicked in and finally Lee could go further than 15 meters from the Loo. So after topping up on some food and a few more drinks we strolled to the SCG. Ive been watching alot of AFL since arriving, Ive even decided on supporting the Geelong Cats, but as with most sports going to the game was totally different to watching on TV. We were pretty close to the action and you can really see how brutal the game is. Fights off the ball are well within the rules, amazingly, and sometimes watching the rows going on off the ball was even better than the actual game. The game is really easy to follow so I was engrossed through all 4 quarters and it ended with the Sydney Swans beating the Richmond Tigers comfortably 106 to 81. However, the best bit of the game was at the end, because..............they let you on the pitch and your allowed to kick a ball around!!!!!! It was great fun even tho we had to improvise with a volvic bottle, but occasionally other peoples footballs would bounce across and we could grab them and kick them back. Finally a buzzer went and we were all escorted from the pitch and we moved on to another local bar.
Only Me, Lee, Mike and Nick went to the bar so had a good chat and the live band there were brilliant. Later on we were told by a couple of locals we started chatting too that Hugo Weaving was drinking 5 meters behind us. If you dont know he was Agent Smith in the Matrix films and Elrond in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, amongst other things. We never went up and spoke to him but it was our claim to fame for the rest of the night! At about 11ish we moved on to try and find somewhere a little more lively and ended up in the Bondi Hotel on Bondi beach. It was a good place but not too busy, so at about 2am we made a move home, which was probably a good idea after 12 hours out drinking!
As you can guess we all felt pretty rough on Sunday! So the whole day was spent on the sofa watching films and feeling pretty sorry for ourselves.
Monday and Tuesday were pretty lazy days too, mostly spent watching sport on TV spent applying for jobs but also being healthy with all 3 of us going for an 8km run on both days. The plan is to continue doing the same run every few days and once we have jobs we'll join the local gym. Me and Lee also purchased an AFL ball and also a normal football so plan on have a few kick arounds in our local park as much as possible.
Finally, tomorrow I have 2 meetings with agencies so hopefully they will lead to something.
Thursday, 8 April 2010
The last 14 days - Bear with me!!!
So its been a busy 2 weeks, and ive finally got a bit of time to write up whats been happening! Its just gone 7am when im starting this and ive been up since 5am so I could watch Liverpool play in Europe..........and for once it was worth the effort!!
So as I mentioned before on Friday 26th March Alexa (an old Fitch colleague) arrived from the UK on a 2 week trip to Sydney and to welcome her we all decided to go out drinking in an attempt to help her with the jet lag! It was a great night out with numerous bars and even more drinks and by the end of the night our group had expanded to about 10, consisting mostly of Nicks friends who we met along the way, and after the customary 3am kebab we all went our separate ways and headed home in a cab! Saturday morning I was abit tender but knew that another mate of mine, Mike, was travelling up for the weekend so I got myself in order and met him in Sydney at 3pm. Both Lee and Nick declined to join as they just couldnt face anymore drink! It was great to see Mike and have a good catch up as we hadnt seen each other in months as Mike used to live in the UK but moved home with is wife late last year. By 7pm we made our way to 1 of Mike's favourite restaurants, a German place called "UNA's", and as we knew we had a long night ahead we had 2 huge meals washed down with a couple of German beers. Due to Mike wearing thongs (dont worry, its what Ozzies call flip flops) we couldnt get in many bars in the evening, but we got into 1 half decent place and decided to see the night out there. As the evening went on we both moved away from beer and onto Mojito's, and while holding a $50 note in my hand ready to order 2 more I was accidentally bumped into by a guy pretty hard. He did apologise but the damage was done...............i'd dropped the $50 (about 30 quid) over the bar and there was no sign of it!!!! The bar staff near by tried to help me find it when I explained what had happened but it never reappeared..............so as it was still my round I ordered the Mojito's and when you include the $50 i'd just dropped, the round came to $83!!!!! Very painful, and something I think i've only just got over. The night ended with Mike walking home 1 way and I headed to the harbour to get the last ferry home. Despite the $50 incident it was a great night, so CHEERS MIKE! Hopefully see you again soon!
Sunday was a VERY lazy day due to the previous 2 nights and luckily enough it was a grand prix weekend, so all 3 of us laid on the sofa's watching a great Melbourne grand prix.
When we met with Alexa on Friday she mentioned that she fancied doing the 5km walk from Bondi to Coogee beach on Monday so Me and Lee decided to join her and we got the bus from Circular Quay (the main city harbour transport hub in Sydney) to Bondi and started the walk at about 11. The weather wasnt great but it was still warm and probably the best kind of weather for a long walk along the coast rather than blaring sun. The views along the way were great and the walk goes past a number of other bays, beaches, a huge cemetery and also a coast line bowls club which im sure my nan and grandad would LOVE (see below)!!
With a few pit stops along the way the walk took around 4 hours and once we reached Coogee, which is a really nice place, we jumped on a bus back to Circular Quay had a drink with Alexa and then said our goodbyes as we would be heading to Melbourne on Wednesday and Alexa would have headed home by the time we got back. Tuesday was a day spent cleaning the Clontarf house ready for us leaving that night and moving into Nick's apartment in Prymont, near Darling Harbour, for the foreseeable future.
Wednesday was a quiet day as we (Me, Lee, Nick and Kerryn) were flying to Melbourne that evening, and even though it was touch and go with missing the flight due to traffic, we made it and landed in Melbourne at around 7pm. After a cab ride to Kerryn's parents place to pick up a car for the weekend we then drove to Nick's parents place and stayed the night. As we werent heading off camping until Friday we spent Thursday in Melbourne seeing a few of the sites but mainly spending a nice hot afternoon in a great beer garden (the size of a park) in the city! The days drink helped us sleep well and get ready for an early start the next day. As we'd packed the car the day before we all woke at 6am and were on our way by 7. It was about a 4 hour drive in a pretty cramped car as Nick's sister had joined us for the trip to Apollo Bay but we all dozed most of the way. Melbourne weather is supposed to be very different to Sydney weather, and it was. Even though still warm it was very overcast, and as it was on the coast the cool breeze did make it nippy at times. When we arrived most of the other campers (Kerryn's friends) were setting up and after introductions we did the same. The rest of the day was very chilled but when the evening came the BBQ and beer came out and it was a raucous but hilarious night. Kerryn's girlfriends are great and there fellas even better, even with the usual pommie insults being thrown about! After a nice lie in on Saturday, we spent the afternoon in the local pub betting on the horse races as 1 of the lads knew his stuff, and by the last race the syndicate total meant we'd all get our money back. However, we decided to put the lot on 1 horse in the last race..................and lost (of course), but it was great fun and for a $20 whip it kept us entertained all day. We had another BBQ when we got back but due to the over indulgence the night before not many people stayed up drinking other than the hardcore. As Sunday was a much better day weather wise me, Lee, Nick and Kerryn went for a drive along the great ocean road to see the 12 Apostles, a collection of limestone stacks off the shore of the Port Cambell National Park by the great ocean road. However, due to erosion, there are only 7 left now, so glad I got to see them before it was too late. Its an impressive site and well worth the trip.
After seeing the Apostles we headed to the nearby Great Otway National Park so we could go on the Otway fly tree top walk which is a 600 metre long 25 metre high elevated tree top walk through the forest. Its another impressive site and feels alot safer than you expect except for the spiral stair tower which is 45 metres up and sways alot!!
The walk took about an hour and when we were done we headed back and had ANOTHER BBQ (not that im complaining) and again had a few drinks before bed. Also the clocks went back over night so this now means that there is only 9 hours difference between here and the UK.
We all woke on Monday morning and started to dismantle the tents until Nicks sister Claire received a call from her mum saying had we missed our flight??? This didnt make sense as we were all sure the flight was on Tuesday the 6th at 6am rather than Monday the 5th at 6am. However, after checking we found out that unfortunately the flights were booked incorrectly and we had missed the flight, but instead of letting that get us down we finished packing up and took a road trip for the day through the coastal towns of Lorne and then......TORQUAY!! It has nothing on our our one tho (cough)! After the pit stops we headed home to Nicks parents and stayed there again and booked flights for the next day at 7pm.
As Kerryn is from Melbourne she was staying for the rest of the week so me, Lee and Nick had a walkabout in Melbourne in the day and then made our way to the airport for our flight back to Syydney. Melbourne' is a great town and totally different to Sydney and it definitely reminds me more of London. Hopefully i'll get a chance to spend a decent bit of time there in the future but all 3 of us are heading back on the 17th April foe the night for one of Lee's mates birthdays, so im looking forward to seeing what the nightlife is like. Luckily enough we were at the airport early and were bumped up a flight so got home earlier than planned, but we all hit the sack as soon as we got in as the long weekend had finally taken its toll!
So far this week Wednesday, Thursday and Friday have turned out to be pretty lazy days spent on the net looking/applying for jobs. I visited 1 recruitment company which was positive and have a lot of leads to follow up so im sure a job isnt far away. However, the call regarding the job I mentioned in my previous post still havent called so I have sent a chase e-mail and will hopefully get some news today. Fingers crossed. Also we've been making the most of the chilled time by getting out for runs which has felt good as it seems like I havent done anything but eat and drink for months!! Tonight I think will be a quiet night, either watching the AFL game (Nicks team is playing) or going to the pics as tomorrow we are off to the races for a 10am start and then on to a livel AFL match (Sydney Swans Vs Richmond Tigers) so its definitely a "Calm before the Storm" evening tonight! I'll let you know how we get on ASAP.
So as I mentioned before on Friday 26th March Alexa (an old Fitch colleague) arrived from the UK on a 2 week trip to Sydney and to welcome her we all decided to go out drinking in an attempt to help her with the jet lag! It was a great night out with numerous bars and even more drinks and by the end of the night our group had expanded to about 10, consisting mostly of Nicks friends who we met along the way, and after the customary 3am kebab we all went our separate ways and headed home in a cab! Saturday morning I was abit tender but knew that another mate of mine, Mike, was travelling up for the weekend so I got myself in order and met him in Sydney at 3pm. Both Lee and Nick declined to join as they just couldnt face anymore drink! It was great to see Mike and have a good catch up as we hadnt seen each other in months as Mike used to live in the UK but moved home with is wife late last year. By 7pm we made our way to 1 of Mike's favourite restaurants, a German place called "UNA's", and as we knew we had a long night ahead we had 2 huge meals washed down with a couple of German beers. Due to Mike wearing thongs (dont worry, its what Ozzies call flip flops) we couldnt get in many bars in the evening, but we got into 1 half decent place and decided to see the night out there. As the evening went on we both moved away from beer and onto Mojito's, and while holding a $50 note in my hand ready to order 2 more I was accidentally bumped into by a guy pretty hard. He did apologise but the damage was done...............i'd dropped the $50 (about 30 quid) over the bar and there was no sign of it!!!! The bar staff near by tried to help me find it when I explained what had happened but it never reappeared..............so as it was still my round I ordered the Mojito's and when you include the $50 i'd just dropped, the round came to $83!!!!! Very painful, and something I think i've only just got over. The night ended with Mike walking home 1 way and I headed to the harbour to get the last ferry home. Despite the $50 incident it was a great night, so CHEERS MIKE! Hopefully see you again soon!
Sunday was a VERY lazy day due to the previous 2 nights and luckily enough it was a grand prix weekend, so all 3 of us laid on the sofa's watching a great Melbourne grand prix.
When we met with Alexa on Friday she mentioned that she fancied doing the 5km walk from Bondi to Coogee beach on Monday so Me and Lee decided to join her and we got the bus from Circular Quay (the main city harbour transport hub in Sydney) to Bondi and started the walk at about 11. The weather wasnt great but it was still warm and probably the best kind of weather for a long walk along the coast rather than blaring sun. The views along the way were great and the walk goes past a number of other bays, beaches, a huge cemetery and also a coast line bowls club which im sure my nan and grandad would LOVE (see below)!!
With a few pit stops along the way the walk took around 4 hours and once we reached Coogee, which is a really nice place, we jumped on a bus back to Circular Quay had a drink with Alexa and then said our goodbyes as we would be heading to Melbourne on Wednesday and Alexa would have headed home by the time we got back. Tuesday was a day spent cleaning the Clontarf house ready for us leaving that night and moving into Nick's apartment in Prymont, near Darling Harbour, for the foreseeable future. Wednesday was a quiet day as we (Me, Lee, Nick and Kerryn) were flying to Melbourne that evening, and even though it was touch and go with missing the flight due to traffic, we made it and landed in Melbourne at around 7pm. After a cab ride to Kerryn's parents place to pick up a car for the weekend we then drove to Nick's parents place and stayed the night. As we werent heading off camping until Friday we spent Thursday in Melbourne seeing a few of the sites but mainly spending a nice hot afternoon in a great beer garden (the size of a park) in the city! The days drink helped us sleep well and get ready for an early start the next day. As we'd packed the car the day before we all woke at 6am and were on our way by 7. It was about a 4 hour drive in a pretty cramped car as Nick's sister had joined us for the trip to Apollo Bay but we all dozed most of the way. Melbourne weather is supposed to be very different to Sydney weather, and it was. Even though still warm it was very overcast, and as it was on the coast the cool breeze did make it nippy at times. When we arrived most of the other campers (Kerryn's friends) were setting up and after introductions we did the same. The rest of the day was very chilled but when the evening came the BBQ and beer came out and it was a raucous but hilarious night. Kerryn's girlfriends are great and there fellas even better, even with the usual pommie insults being thrown about! After a nice lie in on Saturday, we spent the afternoon in the local pub betting on the horse races as 1 of the lads knew his stuff, and by the last race the syndicate total meant we'd all get our money back. However, we decided to put the lot on 1 horse in the last race..................and lost (of course), but it was great fun and for a $20 whip it kept us entertained all day. We had another BBQ when we got back but due to the over indulgence the night before not many people stayed up drinking other than the hardcore. As Sunday was a much better day weather wise me, Lee, Nick and Kerryn went for a drive along the great ocean road to see the 12 Apostles, a collection of limestone stacks off the shore of the Port Cambell National Park by the great ocean road. However, due to erosion, there are only 7 left now, so glad I got to see them before it was too late. Its an impressive site and well worth the trip.
After seeing the Apostles we headed to the nearby Great Otway National Park so we could go on the Otway fly tree top walk which is a 600 metre long 25 metre high elevated tree top walk through the forest. Its another impressive site and feels alot safer than you expect except for the spiral stair tower which is 45 metres up and sways alot!!
The walk took about an hour and when we were done we headed back and had ANOTHER BBQ (not that im complaining) and again had a few drinks before bed. Also the clocks went back over night so this now means that there is only 9 hours difference between here and the UK.We all woke on Monday morning and started to dismantle the tents until Nicks sister Claire received a call from her mum saying had we missed our flight??? This didnt make sense as we were all sure the flight was on Tuesday the 6th at 6am rather than Monday the 5th at 6am. However, after checking we found out that unfortunately the flights were booked incorrectly and we had missed the flight, but instead of letting that get us down we finished packing up and took a road trip for the day through the coastal towns of Lorne and then......TORQUAY!! It has nothing on our our one tho (cough)! After the pit stops we headed home to Nicks parents and stayed there again and booked flights for the next day at 7pm.
As Kerryn is from Melbourne she was staying for the rest of the week so me, Lee and Nick had a walkabout in Melbourne in the day and then made our way to the airport for our flight back to Syydney. Melbourne' is a great town and totally different to Sydney and it definitely reminds me more of London. Hopefully i'll get a chance to spend a decent bit of time there in the future but all 3 of us are heading back on the 17th April foe the night for one of Lee's mates birthdays, so im looking forward to seeing what the nightlife is like. Luckily enough we were at the airport early and were bumped up a flight so got home earlier than planned, but we all hit the sack as soon as we got in as the long weekend had finally taken its toll!
So far this week Wednesday, Thursday and Friday have turned out to be pretty lazy days spent on the net looking/applying for jobs. I visited 1 recruitment company which was positive and have a lot of leads to follow up so im sure a job isnt far away. However, the call regarding the job I mentioned in my previous post still havent called so I have sent a chase e-mail and will hopefully get some news today. Fingers crossed. Also we've been making the most of the chilled time by getting out for runs which has felt good as it seems like I havent done anything but eat and drink for months!! Tonight I think will be a quiet night, either watching the AFL game (Nicks team is playing) or going to the pics as tomorrow we are off to the races for a 10am start and then on to a livel AFL match (Sydney Swans Vs Richmond Tigers) so its definitely a "Calm before the Storm" evening tonight! I'll let you know how we get on ASAP.
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
The weekend and what's ahead!
Just a quick update to say the weekend with Alexa and Mike around was great! We all went out drinking with Alexa on Friday, who drank through her jet lag until the bouncers wouldnt let her drink anymore, and on Saturday me and Mike had a proper drinking session starting at 3pm with a visit to a German restaurant around 7ish and then carried on until the early hours.....which included me losing $50!!!!!!!! (I'll explain in more depth when I can)! Sunday was spent recovering and watching the excellent Melbourne grand prix at the Clontarf house and then on Monday Alexa, Lee and I did the 5km walk between Bondi beach and Coogee beach. The weather wasnt great but some of the views, bays and beaches along the way were still great to see. Tuesday me and Lee cleaned the house ready for all of our departure on Wednesday when we are all jetting off to Melbourne to go camping for a week down in Apollo Bay, which is along the great ocean road. Cant wait and will report back with all the info and pics ASAP.
P.S Got a call this afternoon about a job, so hopefully will have some good news about an interview by the time we get back!
P.S Got a call this afternoon about a job, so hopefully will have some good news about an interview by the time we get back!
Thursday, 25 March 2010
1st week and a bit in Oz!
So after another sleepless 12 hour flight we finally landed in Sydney! Stepping off the plane at 9am and feeling heat for the first time in a long time was great, but also daunting!! If this is the temperature at 9am, whats it going to be like mid afternoon!! My fears were right and so far in the 8 days here I doubt we've had a day under 25c and hitting 35c+ on the hottest afternoons!
Immigration was simple and within 20 minutes of stepping off the plane both Lee and myself walked through to arrivals where we met our Ozzie mate Yax (aka Nick) waiting for us. Yax is the main reason both Lee and I came to Sydney as Yax is a mutual friend of ours and is based in Darling Harbour in Sydney and always promised that if we were to EVER come over he would put us up at his place for a while. However, Nick being Nick meant that we weren't actually going to be staying at his place for the 1st 3 weeks of our stay but instead he was housing sitting his boss' house in a VERY NICE part of Sydney called Clontarf, and when we saw the place we realised that Yax had landed on his feet......AGAIN! The house is set back on a hill in a very affluent part of town and if the fact that the place had its own pool didnt put the price up then im sure the view did even more. The view of the bay below when the sun is setting, as u can see, is amazing!
After a few drinks at a bar in the local town of Manly we headed home and ended our first night in Sydney with an evening BBQ on the patio with a few beers and had a good catch up and also met Nick's great girlfriend Kerryn. As she works for an Oz telecoms company she had arranged phones and credit for both me and Lee, so Kerryn quickly became our new best friend.
Tuesday morning Nick's parents turned up to check out for us and we said goodbye but will be seeing them again in a week or to when we head their way to go camping. As Tuesday was Nick's actual birthday, after a trip to Bondi Beach in the day, me, Lee, Nick, Kerryn and her friend Chrissy went out for a steak dinner in Manly. The meat was great and the company wasn't bad too. All in all Nick had had a birthday weekend and a nice quiet meal out wasn't a bad way to end it. As Nick's parents had gone we all came back to the Clontarf pad and I crashed back in my old room again.
Wednesday was the coolest day so far and so because of this Lee and I walked to the local shop (which isnt that local really) and got provisions for the rest of the week, and then when Nick got home as it was still cool all 3 of us went for a run. It was hard work as about 1km of the 5km was flat, but it was good to get back running again. Hopefully this trip to Oz will finally get me back in shape, but need to do more running than beer drinking which looks difficult.
After the cool Wednesday Lee and I decided on a walk to Manly around the coast on Thursday. However, it wasnt as cool, rather the opposite, but the 2 hour walk wasnt too bad due to the cool breeze from the Sea. The walk was great and some of the views were brilliant.
In the evening Yax got home from work and declared that we were going fishing as it was a "man thing" he had been waiting for ages to do with us, so we grabbed the rods, bait and enough beer to keep us going for an hour or 2 and ventured down to the beach. It was a treacherous walk and climb down but well worth it. We were the only people on the very secluded beach and after 2 and a bit hours ended up catching 2 fish each and having a great time. The walk back in the dark was a nightmare but the whole trip in a nutshell was Male bonding at its best.
Friday see's my friend Alexa arrive from the UK for a 2 week visit to Sydney and also my friend Mike who lives in Melbourne is up for a lads weekend, so looking forward to catching up with both of them and finally seeing what the Sydney night life is like.
Immigration was simple and within 20 minutes of stepping off the plane both Lee and myself walked through to arrivals where we met our Ozzie mate Yax (aka Nick) waiting for us. Yax is the main reason both Lee and I came to Sydney as Yax is a mutual friend of ours and is based in Darling Harbour in Sydney and always promised that if we were to EVER come over he would put us up at his place for a while. However, Nick being Nick meant that we weren't actually going to be staying at his place for the 1st 3 weeks of our stay but instead he was housing sitting his boss' house in a VERY NICE part of Sydney called Clontarf, and when we saw the place we realised that Yax had landed on his feet......AGAIN! The house is set back on a hill in a very affluent part of town and if the fact that the place had its own pool didnt put the price up then im sure the view did even more. The view of the bay below when the sun is setting, as u can see, is amazing!
After a few drinks at a bar in the local town of Manly we headed home and ended our first night in Sydney with an evening BBQ on the patio with a few beers and had a good catch up and also met Nick's great girlfriend Kerryn. As she works for an Oz telecoms company she had arranged phones and credit for both me and Lee, so Kerryn quickly became our new best friend.Due to next to no sleep on the flight to Oz we both had a nice long lie in the next day and felt pretty refreshed by the time Nick got home from work at 5pm. Nick had forgotten that he had a client meeting/drinks that evening so Kerryn dropped us all off up the road at Manly again and while Yax went off to "talk Shop" me and Lee decided to do abit of bar research. We decided on the last bar on the sea front (charlies bar) and as im an avid Guinness drinker back home, and its not easy to get a good pint of it over here, I decided to try ALL of the Ozzie beers on option. After trying them all the final verdict was that Carlton Draught was the best and would be my beer of choice over here. 1 thing about Ozzie beer is that you dont get served a pint, instead you get served a "Schooner" which is about 3/4 of a pint. The logic being that as the weather is hotter here a pint would get warm before you finish it, so a Schooner being smaller solves the problem. Great Ozzie logic!! Nick and his work associates eventually met up with us and after a few more pints and a lot of good banter and Pommie jokes at our expense, Kerryn came and picked us up and took us home.
Friday again was a lazy day trying to sleep off the jet lag (& hangover) but again by the time Nick had got home we had recovered and so headed out into the main part of Sydney for some drinks. This time it was Nick, Lee and myself and also 1 of Nick's friends who I have met in the past, Renee. We had a few beers over looking the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House and then moved on to have some dinner at a nice Chinese just up the round. After dinner we all went hunting for the next bar but as Lee and I were in thongs (dont worry....its what the Ozzies call Flip Flops) no places would let us in........except for 1! It was an ok bar and we drank alot while chatting to each other and locals. By the end of the night we were all in a bad state, and unfortunately this time I was in the worst state of the lot. We all "jumped" in a cab and headed home.
Saturday was another lie in day, and I didnt surface until well into the afternoon. As it was Nick's birthday the next Tuesday (23rd), his Mum, Dad & Sis were flying up from Melbourne for the weekend. They had originally planned to stay in a hotel near Nick's Darling Harbour place but due Nick now have this amazing pad with 3 bedrooms they were going to stay at the house and then Lee and I would stay in the hotel they had booked. So Saturday night Nick picked up his family from the airport and me and Lee checked into their hotel and we had a nice quiet evening (for once).
Sunday was the day that Yax had planned to have a birthday BBQ at the Clontarf pad so after picking up some fresh seafood and meat for later he came and got us from the hotel and we all headed to the house ready for the BBQ. There must have been about 15 people, family and friends, in total and it was great day. Me and Lee were able to nip out in the week and get Nick a Collingwood jersey (his AFL team) for his birthday so we handed that over and he was VERY impressed. We also got Kerryn some shopping vouchers for her local Westfield because of all her help so far, and she was well chuffed too. As AFL (aussie rules football) is massive over here I have had to pick a team as Nick is Collingwood and Lee is a Brisbane Lion (he picked them when he 1st came to Oz 5 years ago). Not knowing much about AFL I basically went with the team that meant something to me, and as back home all the boys call me "Matt the Cat" I have decided to go with.....the GEELONG CATS!!!! Luckily enough they have won 2 out of the last 3 leagues and grand finals, so even though I didnt pick them for that it looks like I may be in luck (more than with Liverpool FC back home anyway)!! At the end of the night 1 of Kerryn's friends gave us a lift home and we both sat up until 1am (due to the time difference) and watched Liverpool lose to Man Utd!!!! As I said above, I just hope the Cats win something this year!!
Tuesday morning Nick's parents turned up to check out for us and we said goodbye but will be seeing them again in a week or to when we head their way to go camping. As Tuesday was Nick's actual birthday, after a trip to Bondi Beach in the day, me, Lee, Nick, Kerryn and her friend Chrissy went out for a steak dinner in Manly. The meat was great and the company wasn't bad too. All in all Nick had had a birthday weekend and a nice quiet meal out wasn't a bad way to end it. As Nick's parents had gone we all came back to the Clontarf pad and I crashed back in my old room again.
Wednesday was the coolest day so far and so because of this Lee and I walked to the local shop (which isnt that local really) and got provisions for the rest of the week, and then when Nick got home as it was still cool all 3 of us went for a run. It was hard work as about 1km of the 5km was flat, but it was good to get back running again. Hopefully this trip to Oz will finally get me back in shape, but need to do more running than beer drinking which looks difficult.
After the cool Wednesday Lee and I decided on a walk to Manly around the coast on Thursday. However, it wasnt as cool, rather the opposite, but the 2 hour walk wasnt too bad due to the cool breeze from the Sea. The walk was great and some of the views were brilliant.
In the evening Yax got home from work and declared that we were going fishing as it was a "man thing" he had been waiting for ages to do with us, so we grabbed the rods, bait and enough beer to keep us going for an hour or 2 and ventured down to the beach. It was a treacherous walk and climb down but well worth it. We were the only people on the very secluded beach and after 2 and a bit hours ended up catching 2 fish each and having a great time. The walk back in the dark was a nightmare but the whole trip in a nutshell was Male bonding at its best.
Friday see's my friend Alexa arrive from the UK for a 2 week visit to Sydney and also my friend Mike who lives in Melbourne is up for a lads weekend, so looking forward to catching up with both of them and finally seeing what the Sydney night life is like.
Friday, 19 March 2010
1 Week In China!
After a choked and emotional goodbye (mainly on my part) I walked through heathrow security at 3.30pm and the adventure finally began! The plane took off on time despite a fire alarm scare in departures and even though I didnt get as much sleep as I would have liked the 10 hour flight passed relatively quickly and we landed safely in Beijing at lunch time on Wednesday the the 10th of March.
After a quick, cheap and scary cab ride to the hotel both Lee (my mate im doing the trip with) and I felt pretty hungry so decided to throw ourselves straight into the local delicacies....................Lee went for a Big Mac and as I felt adventurous I went with the "Big N Beefy" burger (which was pretty good)! As we weren't far from the Olympic park we decided to take a stroll and walk off the food, but headed back pretty quickly after we took a few pics as the jet lag was kicking in and we both felt shattered! We were in bed by 8pm Beijing time but set our alarms for 4am as Lee wanted to get up and watch the Man Utd Vs AC Milan (Lee's a Man Utd fan unfortunately)! After watching them win we went back to sleep, and were up about 11ish to check out at 12.
We decided to stay in the 5* hotel just for 1 night so that we could get a good first nights sleep but the rest of the trip we would be staying in a hostel in a much busier part of town. It was my first trip to a hostel and I was amazed by the standard and even Lee was impressed with the place and he's stayed in alot of hostels on his travels over the years.
After a quick, cheap and scary cab ride to the hotel both Lee (my mate im doing the trip with) and I felt pretty hungry so decided to throw ourselves straight into the local delicacies....................Lee went for a Big Mac and as I felt adventurous I went with the "Big N Beefy" burger (which was pretty good)! As we weren't far from the Olympic park we decided to take a stroll and walk off the food, but headed back pretty quickly after we took a few pics as the jet lag was kicking in and we both felt shattered! We were in bed by 8pm Beijing time but set our alarms for 4am as Lee wanted to get up and watch the Man Utd Vs AC Milan (Lee's a Man Utd fan unfortunately)! After watching them win we went back to sleep, and were up about 11ish to check out at 12. We decided to stay in the 5* hotel just for 1 night so that we could get a good first nights sleep but the rest of the trip we would be staying in a hostel in a much busier part of town. It was my first trip to a hostel and I was amazed by the standard and even Lee was impressed with the place and he's stayed in alot of hostels on his travels over the years.
As we only really had some of the afternoon left and still didnt feel 100% on Beijing time, we decided to take a walk to Tienanmen Square. Typically, it was closed off to the public due to an upcoming "flag raising" ceremony but we could see it from a distance and knew we'd probably go back again later in the week. Right in front of the square is the Forbidden City, which used to be the Chinese imperial palace, so we decided to venture inside as we were there. The place was amazing and the sheer scale of the thing is unbelievable! Every building inside is huge and they just keep on going. You walk through 1 and in the distance over a massive courtyard or walk way is another. It was an amazing place to visit and even if i'd just done that in China it would have been worth the trip. We had signed up to a trip to the Great Wall through the hostel for the next day so decided a few drinks would help us sleep better but didnt have too many as the trip started at 6am!!!
Getting up at 5.30 wasnt easy but we knew it was a 2.5 hour drive to the Wall so dozed most of the way there. As we got close you could catch glimpses of it in the distance which blew me away but when we finally got there and you stand on it and look for miles and its all you can see, it really is unbelievable. Since being in China the days were cold and the nights colder but the day at the Wall was the best we'd had yet! Not a cloud in the sky and even though we're in our coats in the pic it was more due to the wind and needed to take them off when we sat for lunch in the sun. I wish I could describe in more detail how amazing the place is, but I wouldnt do it justice. I think the pictures speak for themselves really; just jaw dropping. We did an 8km hike (and it was a hike at times, not easy on the legs at all) but it was worth all the effort. Definitely the best experience of my life so far and doubt it will ever be beaten. We ended the 5hour walk in style to by taking a zip wire down to the base, which you dont need much convincing to take when they say you either do a 45sec zip wire trip or more walking down the hill! It was a brilliant day and I slept well that night; we were shattered!
Getting up at 5.30 wasnt easy but we knew it was a 2.5 hour drive to the Wall so dozed most of the way there. As we got close you could catch glimpses of it in the distance which blew me away but when we finally got there and you stand on it and look for miles and its all you can see, it really is unbelievable. Since being in China the days were cold and the nights colder but the day at the Wall was the best we'd had yet! Not a cloud in the sky and even though we're in our coats in the pic it was more due to the wind and needed to take them off when we sat for lunch in the sun. I wish I could describe in more detail how amazing the place is, but I wouldnt do it justice. I think the pictures speak for themselves really; just jaw dropping. We did an 8km hike (and it was a hike at times, not easy on the legs at all) but it was worth all the effort. Definitely the best experience of my life so far and doubt it will ever be beaten. We ended the 5hour walk in style to by taking a zip wire down to the base, which you dont need much convincing to take when they say you either do a 45sec zip wire trip or more walking down the hill! It was a brilliant day and I slept well that night; we were shattered!
On the 4th day we had a decent lie in and then headed to Lama Temple which is one of the largest and most important Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the world. There were so many people there and only a handful were western tourists and as it is a functioning temple the locals had come to burn incense and pray, which was brilliant to see. When we left there we got a tube to the Olympic park so that we could get some pics of it at night. As it was Saturday and we'd read about the good bar areas in our guide book we agreed that we should have 1 big night out........and it went according to plan. The local beer, Tsing Tao, isnt too bad but is very cheap, so we drunk a fair few of them and ended up having an eventful night!
After dealing with the hangovers we travelled out to the southeastern part of central Beijing to visit the Temple of Heaven. However, over night there was a massive downpour of snow and it was a total shock when we walked outside and saw our local street and roofs covered. We had heard snow was expected but didnt expect to get that much. Again we got the tube (which are great and were mostly put in due to the Olympics so are in great shape) and spent an afternoon walking around the temple and its grounds. Its another amazing place and well worth the trip. As Tienanmen Square was on the route back we jumped off the tube early and hoped it was open this time. It was, so we got lots of pics and then headed back to the hostel.
Day 6 was pretty relaxed but we did head off to the Summer Palace, which is on a huge hill and over looks a massive lake. Im sorry if this blog is getting boring now as im gonna say it again.........it was an amazing place. The buildings themselves were so impressive but the views from the top of hill over the lake was even better. You can understand why the emperor had it built when you stand at the top. We strolled back through the finance district and saw some amazing MODERN buildings for a change, the main 1 below being the CCTV HQ (China Central Television Headquarters) building.
So after a good nights kip, we packed up and headed back to Beijing airport to head on to Oz. Im so glad we decided to do the trip through China, its something I definitely wont forget and would recommend it to anyone. The people are nice, most dont speak english but all signs are in english aswell as chinese (since the Olympics), its cheap and has so much to see and do. Its going to be a world away from what life in Oz is going to be like, but that was the point of going, totally different but absolutely amazing!
See all the pics on my facebook page.
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Leaving China
(Posted by Matt's Dad)
Matt has text us today to say that he was at the airport waiting for his flight to Australia. He should arrive in Sydnay at 09:00 (ish) local time on the 17th March.
Matt has text us today to say that he was at the airport waiting for his flight to Australia. He should arrive in Sydnay at 09:00 (ish) local time on the 17th March.
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