27/12/2006
Ok so once i arrived in sydney i never really kept my journal. There was tooo much of going out and meeting new people and i really just never had a chance to keep it up to date. It took me until December to try and catch up with the last 4 months. So it is all a bit muddled but bare with me!! its worth reading....

Arrived at Sydney Airport early hours of Friday morning on the 15th September, By the time we got through customs and collected our visa we finally got out of the airport around 9am. Again we were all really excited but sooo tired. The flight from Bangkok wasnt so relaxing this time!!

Once we arrived me and all the girls decided to get our vodafone sim cards and get our phone's activated. (everyone knows i cant live without my mobile).

We got airport pick up from the Gemini Hotel staff and arrived at the hotel in Sydney suburb Randwick! This hotel was lovely and paid for by the hospital we were all about to start working in! The hotel was lovely and overlooked sydney harbour (from a distance) I remember feeling at the time ' i cant believe im in OZ other side of the world' such a good feeling.

Luxury ended after that night..... The next day we were taken to our new 'HOME' supposibly for the next 3months.hmmm What can i say, well this place is called the Alda vera nursing residence and it is disgusting, it looks like somewhere homeless people live the building is about 100 years old!! Apparently we are not allowed to sit out on the balcony as they are not safe! The kitchen is infested with cockroaches... eww. Luckly my room appeard cockroach free.

Ashley was staying in Randwick lodge as with her job she couldnt stay in the nursing residence (bet she was gutted) so i stayed with her for the first 3 nights. this place was gorgeous, and had balcony's you could actually STAND ON!!!! I lasted one night in the nurses accommodation - with the light on so cockroaches wouldnt come out of hiding when i was sleeping!ha ha!

We spent most of the first wk finding our surroundings, we went to Taronga Zoo, Sydny Oprah house, Sydney tower, The Aquarium, Wildlife park and all of Sydney's top spots including the amazing shopping area'a..... it was all you could imagine and more!!!

The following week we all started work:( reality definitely started to sink in) I was working in a Infant/Toddler HDU ward in Randwick childrens hosptial. I managed 2.5months there, the staff were lovely - the way of nursing was completly different and quite difficult to get use to!

Me and Ashley Moved to The Wizard of OZ backpackers, 172 Coogee bay road, Coogee NSW 2034, on the 24th September. As soon as we arrived and met everyone in the hostel, within days we felt like part of the furniture. Everyone in the hostel were sooo welcoming. I moved into Room 1 into a bottom bunk (thank god) me trying to get into a top bunk drunk would have been highly amusing!! Girls in my dorm when i arrived were Claire, Zoe, Amy, Jan and Ash all lovely girls. Zoe and Amy 2 irish girls absolutly mental - loads of laughs with them girls. However they only stayed in the hostel for 3 wks after i arrived as they were heading back to Ireland. Room 2 was the boys room.(will get into that later on).
Morven (Girl me and ash trained with in Aberdeen whom we havnt seen for 2 years)moved into the hostel and into our room on the 27th of Sept, was absolutly amazing to see her, soo much to catch up on!

Ok so back to the hostel. The boys in room 2 consisted of....
Chris, first guy i really met, Chef from Reading, Nice guy - Thinks he is funny!! (he is actually). Lots of laughs with him. God so many stories some too xrated to add in this journal. examples - Running about naked, Getting escorted of the premises of a multiplex complex by security guards and thrown out a taxi!!! Steeling a christmas tree and running over a number of cars..... oh i could go on!! Chris your a nutter.

Kirk, Chris mate from home, Came out here a few wks after i arrived at the hostel. He is my baby Boy!! We clicked straight away, such a nice guy. Bit of a nutter 2! and had many laughs with him including indoor sports, Him diving into a sea of newspapers and i will always remember 'go away with your stupid camera's' you know what im talking about darlin!!! And i do believe the kooks's is our favourite song - only when it is sung in Scottish eh?!?
'The Donchaster Boys' Andy aka Marsh, Poppet, andy baby chips and gravy', John aka, Finnie, Finbo, Johney and Jim, aka Jimbo, james, walker. these boys prob have the best boddies you have ever seen!!! funniest guys ever and you could listen to them all day especially when they are singing there little hearts out to all the Disney films you could ever imagine. Oh and Vanessa carlton - Thousand miles- def the donnie boys song! Love u boys.
Stevie P and Tone - friends of Chris and Kirk from home been out here for prob about a month now. the 4 of these boys together is mental they say things like Alriought, and darlin a lot!! Great guys.
Rich, Londoner from bedford (MOMO's man) great guy lots of laughs with him. Fell of a balcony in November and fractured his hip ended up on crutches for 6wks. Good now, However he headed home in January-Oz wasnt really for him. So he back home and loving it! miss u rich!
Guys that moved in Dec time - Nathan and Gary, Lou and Dan, Hayley and Lisa, Bethann and Lianne, Jules and Catherine, Owen and Sam and Karen all absolutly great people had an awesome time with you guys.

Ok so Coogee, Our home for the past 4.5 months absolutly gorgeous place 2 minute walk from the beach. Shops all down the road - very holiday like. And the best bit is the CBH - coogee beach hotel our second home. 4 bars, a beer garden and a club. I honestly love this place. We were there most nights, playing pool, drinking lots of beer and just getting absolutly hammered. Good times.

Mentioned earlier that i left my nursing job mid dec time. I got a job in shop called Thom Quigley, Directly opposite the hostel. Practially managed the shop. Little dress shop loved it, not bad pay either (well when i finally got paid).
The past few months have been ace had an absolutly brilliant time the hostel was really like a big family. Everyone we met were amazing couldnt have asked for better. We all spent so much time together litterly 24/7 in 4 months. We all grew really close and i feel i have built some amazing friendships.

CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR.

CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!It was Awesome. Everyone in the hostel all went on a boat cruise around darling harbour we met at Cargo bar at 1800 for a few drinks and cruise left at 1900. What a laugh. $79 for the ticket which gave us free goon and beer all night for 4 hours, Me and ash dressed up as Angels - we looked hot!! em yeah!! HAHA Needless to say everyone else in our group wasnt dressed up.
It was stunning going under the sydney bridge-made us all think about exactly where we were. SYDNEY BABY!! Awesome.

Good nite until... me chris and steve headed home. Chris assured us that he knew the best place to get a taxi from so we followed and ended up in a multiplex complex garden. we were chased by security guards who informed us that they had called the police... Luckly me and my angel wings and Steve P's Charm we managed to get our way out of the situation and he let us leave and personally escorted us into a taxi. Then....... chris and steve wound up the taxi driver and we ended up thrown out of the taxi. we had chris in the front making broom broom noises and steve cuddling the bubble that surrounded the taxi driver (bubble of safety or something) so taxi driver had enough and pulled over and we got out. Eventually we managed to get another taxi and got home for a few more drinks then off to bed..

CHRISTMAS DAYWoke up late morning (not 4am like normal) We all got together and sat in the dorm rooms and opened our pressie's it was awesome being around the guys for christmas but we all, even wee marshy got a bit emotional. I guess it just felt a bit strange not being around our families on christmas day.

The majority of us headed down to Coogee Beach.. It was so strange everyone was wearing santa hats and sunnies.. Felt a bit odd but really good at the same time. God i absolutly love it out here! Spent that evening chilling out in the hostel with everyone. Henry on of the boys friends from home was back in Sydney for a couple of weeks to spend time with his family over the festive period. So he joined us in the hostel. Good nite and lots of laughs.

NEW YEARPossibly the best new year i have ever had. After about a thousand choices of what to do new years eve we all decided to go to a place called Lavander Bay. Jo (Hostel manager) and Luke(Hostel night manager) told us all about it - Gorgeous place the other side of Sydney Harbour Bridge - Grassy area, prob about 500m from the bridge. Lots of people and lots of alcohol. Atmosphere was awesome. we arrived about 1500 and didnt leave till 0200. At 2100 there was the first lot of fire works which were gorgeous the again at 12mn which were absolutly amazing!! again another strange moment not being around the family. However spoke to my mum and dad and wished them both a good new year. Towards the end of the night everyone lost each other, so me and chris ended up walking for what felt for hours to try and find a taxi home. Eventually we ended up on the high way and flagged a taxi down. Got home and headed to my bed.
Needless to say the following day everyone was suffering. We sat and watched Robin Hood and ate pizza all night. (Domino's was open New years day, MMMMM)
It was such a build up to the festive season and it was over so quickly but it def was the best christmas/newyear i have ever had although it would have been nice to have my family there.

Now thats over with it was just the build up to leaving the Wizard (hostel). Me and Ashley bought a jeep from Jo and Luke. It is a 22 year old Holden Jackaroo 4x4 we named him Jack. He was awesome and had all the camping gear you could need. We planned to leave around the 5th of Jan, travel around the outskirts of Sydney, Palm Beach, Paramatta, Blue mountins etc, then finally leave sydney on the 12th. Well that was the plan...
3rd of Jan was chris's 22nd Birthday and kinda everyone's leaving night i suppose. Another big nite in the CBH Lots of laughs, photo's and drunkeness.

09-01-07
Ok so a few things have changed, me and Ash decided to seperate for the time being - No arguments just felt that it was a good time to split as we both had different ideas of what we wanted to do in Oz and i think we needed some time apart as we had spent the last 5months together 24/7.

A bit of a teary goodbye to Ashley at the airport she headed to Bundaburg to do fruit picking for a couple of wks. We hid momo in the car and she jamp out at the airport to say bye, ash was delighted she was there. Felt strange leaving her at the airport not a nice feeling at all but we both new we would be seeing each other in the near future.

Sooo what happened was chris, steve and tone bought ashley's part of the jeep and the 4 of us planned to head up the coast on the 10th of Jan. Road trip.........WOOOHOO.... To be cont...