Ok, so there is lots of travel and adventures to catch up on. I have been a specifically bad, absent blogger for the last month or so and hope that I can make up for it by re-creating all of my adventures for you now. With two papers leading up to my birthday I was extremely busy getting my work done and of course celebrating another year passed. My actual birthday fell on a Tuesday so I felt it was appropriate to go for a nice dinner with those few close friends I have in Melbourne so we headed out to an Italian restaurant called Sugo…as if I didn’t have enough Italian cuisine from working at Rococo. Being very eager I ordered two bottles of wine right off the bat, in birthday spirit of course. It was the perfect evening and ended with a surprise desert with sparklers and candles that Kristina arranged beforehand. Made turning 22 feel a little better J . We followed up by going out on chapel street to a bar called Never mind but all in all kept it a low key night since the wine was making me sleepy and thoughts of heading to school hungover would have been painfully probable if we stayed any longer, not to mention after 21 your drinking stamina depreciates quickly.
After many birthday wishes and cards from around the world, I had Mitchells visit quickly approaching and could not be more stoked. After much anticipation, the morning to go get the guys finally came! We headed off to the airport bright and early and collected a couple of Canadians. Their long flight left them tired but they suited up, toughed it out and came out to celebrate my birthday at Bridie Oriellys an Irish bar that felt like home J Before we barely shut our eyes it was 5:30 am and we awoke in a mad rush to get to the airport for our 7am flight to Sydney. All of us except for Kris slept through our alarms so thanks to him we made it just in time for our flight. For future reference I will not be drinking the night before an early morning flight.
We were greeted in Sydney with rain but decided to explore none the less. A 30 minute walk from our hostel and we stumbled upon the Opera House. It was spectacular and surreal standing underneath this huge iconic building. Our hunger led us to some random Indian restaurant in darling harbour, which I found out the next day was a horrible idea. My stomach of steel could not hold the butter chicken down, and I spent half of the next day in and out of the bathroom. Luckily it was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the sun while touring Sydney on a boat cruise and running around the Sydney Aquarium like little kids. Good news is we found Nemo! Definitely felt slightly out of place being the only non-children and non-parents.
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| sydney aquarium |
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| token couple shot infront of opera house on our harbor cruise |
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| bondi beach |
The next day was the hottest day in Sydney at only 21 degrees but we decided to take advantage and headed to Bondi Beach. It is just as picturesque as in photos and was by far my favourite place in Sydney. We braved the windy beach and managed to lay in our bathing suits for a few hours till we clothed back up covered in goose bumps. Kristina underestimated the sun (and the hole in the ozone layer above Australia) and lobstered pretty bad. After a yummy lunch filled with sangria (that hit us all too quickly from being sun drained) Mitchell and I really felt in the spirit to do some ‘impaired judgement’ shopping. Surprisingly our hat choices didn’t turn out too bad…well not for me anyways. Everyone was sun drained when we got back to the hostel but Mitchell and I decided to be a ‘fun’ couple and go out with people from the hostel to a local bar called ‘the world bar’. It was like most Australian bars, two levels, but the upstairs level was a silent disco and was by far the coolest night out I’ve had in Australia. Upon walking into the room upstairs you were handed headphones and were able to choose from two channels. It was interesting to take off the headphones and be able to talk to the people next to you and the bar tenders without shouting, and also listening to the different people singing different songs and dancing to different beats. The cocktails we ordered came in tea pots and before we knew it 2am arrived and I made the executive decision to get home since we had an early morning trip to a wildlife reserve in ‘blacktown’ aka the middle of nowhere, an approximate hour and 15 minute train ride from our hostel. Before we left the world bar I freaked out in excitement because I saw some local celebrities. Mitchell having spent all of 3 days in Australia didn’t understand my excitement but diligently played the role of camera man as I posed with a smile ear to ear. A reality renovation show ‘The Renovators’ is one of our favourites so it only seemed suitable to discuss their experience on a deep level and congratulating them for changing my Australian television experience indefinitely. Again, star struck mixed with alcohol left me babbling but it was a surreal moment I will remember forever.
As planned we had to get our groggy buts out of bed early and headed for the long train ride to the outskirts of Sydney…(if you can even call it Sydney) to a wild life farm. Upon our arrival the rain came down pretty heavy, so we all invested in some awesome Poncho’s that really was more of a fashion statement than protective rain gear. This day was one of the coolest because we got to be up close and personal with many of the animals that you for sure wouldn’t come across anywhere in Canada. The Koalas slept peacefully while we went nuts taking pictures, and Kristina almost made the rookie mistake of patting the Koala on the head which apparently aggravates them. After surviving the koalas we fed some very cute and cuddly kangaroos. A younger kangaroo really took liking to me and we bonded while he gently nibbled out of my hand, so of course I named him Joey and brought him back to Melbourne with me. Just kidding, but I really could’ve kangaroo-napped, they were that cute! After getting so up close and personal with the roos I began to feel guilty about the kangaroo rug that we have back home L , mom time to throw that one out! On a brighter note the next day we were heading out of Sydney and up the coast to Byron Bay.
It was definitely easier said than done because our journey was long and gruesome. In thinking we’d save money we hoped on a cheap overnight train. It was far cheaper than flying but no one slept and we were in close proximity to a mother who felt the need to badger and yell at her children to have them listen to her. The train went through some pretty amazing country side, but was populated by 70% bogans (hicks) that made the 12 hour ride more interesting than I wanted it to be. Anyhow after my first encounter with Australian farmers and their life styles, we disembarked at 4am in Casino. Apparently the town has a gambling problem, but to our disappointment we didn’t even get to see the actual Casino in Casino. From Casino we took an hour long shuttle greyhound to Byron Bay. It was on this bus, and as my battery died that I saw my first Australian sunrise. Finally a beautiful day to greet us as we arrived nice and early to Byron Bay at 6am. The town was still asleep so we dropped off our things at the hostel and headed to the beach. We decided to try our luck with surfing, even though we were tired from our train ride from hell, but we knew it was the perfect day to do so. All of us took our turns standing up on our boards and after a couple of assisted attempts; the instructors gave us the go ahead to catch the waves on our own. There were some pretty strong rip tides and the waves definitely beat me up a little but I was getting up and riding and even being able to steer by the end of it! The next few days rained harder than I have seen it rain in Australia so we laid low and walked around while enjoying the relaxed atmosphere and local shops. Mitchell bought me my very first Australian bikini (thanks J) and we tested it out the following day. Our hostel was one of the ideal set ups because it had its own bar, restaurant, lagoon, pool and rec room. Good thing about the local bar was you didn’t have to go far to have fun since the trip to town was about 10 minutes by foot, and the combination of no street lamps and the sun going down it sometimes took longer. The Buddha Bar (the hostel bar) had happy hour daily from 4-6pm and served beer schooners (4 ounces less than a pint) for 2.50$, it really was the backpackers dream. Our last day in Byron Bay started out windy and grey, but a few of us decided to go for one last breakfast at a café I feel in love with. To our surprise the clouds broke and Mitchell and I decided to to attempt the lighthouse walk. We weren’t sure what to expect and we were dressed for rain, but quickly learned that we were sweating through all our layers as this lighthouse ‘walk’ really was a hike. It was very scenic and rewarding once reaching the top after about an hour climb. We saw a pod of dolphins swimming off the shore, and made it to the most eastern part of Australia which was well worth the gruelling hike. That pretty much concluded our trip and we headed on the 2.5 hour flight back to Melbourne. Although it was sad that our 10 day vacation was over, it was so nice to be home and out of hostels…weird how Melbourne is now the place I call home.
Although it was back to school for Kristina and I, I still had two weeks to show Mitchell around Melbourne and get some fun time in before exams. It seems like we were doing something special daily and in between going to local comedy, renting bikes and riding to Brighton beach, rock star bowling in the city, movies in the super comfortable, luxurious movie theatre at Melbourne central, romantic dates on the beach and a number of nights out exploring Melbourne nightlife and some shopping I think my favourite experience was renting a car and driving the Great Ocean Road. After a full night of not sleeping due to our neighbour blasting music and having a party till 4am, we woke up early, sucked it up and took turns driving the very windy road to the twelve apostles. It was the most perfect sunny day and driving on the other side of the road felt oddly natural. We stopped at a few scenic places along the way, played hours worth of car games (since there was no radio), saw Koalas and porcupines and finally reached our destination. It was the most spectacular thing I’ve seen in Australia thus far and to top it off Mitchell and I decided to spontaneously take a helicopter tour and got a bird’s eye view of the twelve apostles. Mitchell’s camera battery died mid-flight but we managed to snap a few pics from air. We arrived home exhausted, speechless and definitely not looking forward to giving up our Hyundai elentra and driving privileges. However, the next day came too soon and it was back to the unreliable trams and public transport of Melbourne.
Mitchell’s Aus adventure came to an end just as quickly as it began and before I had time to blink or protest he was on his long journey home. It was definitely a rude awakening and back to reality for me, but on the bright side of things I finished my last Australian essay and class and am currently enjoying ‘swat vac’ a little too much (swat vac= study period before exams). I cannot believe I am writing that my school experience is more or less finished in Australia; I honestly have no clue where the time went. I am now dreading studying and writing four exams but am looking forward to the arrival of my dear friend Alex and our plans to travel in Queensland. I am booked on a flight out of Melbourne on November 22nd and am excited to travel and experience Australia but know I will be extremely sad handing over the keys of 8/16 Marine Parade.
I know time will fly by even fast than before so I better say it now…watch out Vancouver, I’ll be home December 10th!
