I'm in Australia!!! Well I have been for the last two weeks but this is the first chance I have had to actually sit down and write about it. So far I have been to Melbourne, Sydney, Byron Bay and Surfer's Paradise (definitely not what it sounds like...loads of sky scrapers and not many surfers!). Whilst I've been here I have been trying to draw similarities with New Zealand and in fact Ben, who had the pleasure of putting me up in Sydney, asked which I preferred. The answer is that there is no comparison. Both places are so different. New Zealand is all about the scenery whereas here, its all about the surf. Well, surf among other things but the whole way of life is very different here. It's so much more laid back. As far as travelling goes, Australia is definitely more party orientated as well, which is fun but not very good for the purse strings!
So I started my Aussie Experience in Melbourne. It not a big city, but to be fair I didn't spend that much time in the city. Melbourne is the gateway to the Great Ocean Road which is about 300km of scenic coastal driving. I decided this had to be done, so took a day trip which, although provided some great photo ops(especially of the 12 apostles- 12 massive rock formations in the ocean, looks better than it sounds,)was overall slightly disappointing. I mean after a while, each bit of coast line looks much like the next. Definitely not something you need to spend 14 hours looking at! I imagine if you were with some friends and had your own car it would be much more fun, but as it was I was with 14 strangers in a rather uncomfortable mini bus. The next day I took another day trip to Phillip Island which was much better. I got to hand feed some kangaroos ( who are deceptively big and can be slightly terrifying...they have massive feet!), and watch the penguin parade. This is when hundreds of tiny little penguins waddle up the beach after a hard day's fishing. They were so cute! And it was very tempting to smuggle one into my bag. I really don't think anyone would have noticed...
In Sydeny I caught up with Ben and saw all the major sights, including the Opera House, The Bridge and of course Toronga Zoo- the main attraction!! Everything in Sydney is very expensive, in fact its expensive everywhere in Australia. Especially food, which is rather annoying. Apparently its because people get paid so much here. Someone working in McDonalds here can earn about $14 an hour! I am seriously considering moving here permanently! The lifestyle is so different to home especially in Sydney. I think its because although it's a major city, within 10 minutes on the train you can be on a beach. Everyone is so chilled out as a result. I've also noticed that everyone is so fit here! I did the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk which takes you about 1.5km along the coast, passing through different beaches. Almost everybody that passed me was jogging. Most of them men. Most of them topless...yes there's definitely an attraction to living in Australia!
So from Sydney I moved onto Byron Bay ( I survived the 12 hour bus trip) which was good fun- met a lot of people there, had a couple of good nights out- but definitely glad I only stayed for a couple of days. Byron is basically about the beach and the nightlife, and for the two days I was there, it rained almost constantly. Definitely not beach weather. Its pretty much the same here in Surfers' (again, more rain) except there are quite a lot of good shops. Not so great for living on a budget.
I'm moving steadily up the coast and have a few activities planned, namely camping on Fraser Island (don't worry, I opted for the campsite that has a flushing toilet and a shower) and two days sailing the Whitsundays. I'm praying for good weather there though as I imagine two nights on a boat in rough waters could potentially be memorable for all the wrong reasons...
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