Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
November 28th 2006
Im in Sydney, Im in Sydney, Im in Sydney! I had an awesome trip from Melbourne to here (apologies now for using amazing too many times!) I made lots of notes in my Journal so I wouldnt forget anything (thanks for the great prez katie!) so will try and recap as much as possible for you! I was gunna do separate entries for each day but itd take too long so will squeeze them all into this one! Its took me an hour to load all the pics from the last few days, valuable drinking time being spent on this for you guys! So, here it goes, my road trip from Melbourne to Sydney......
November 23rd - There were 13 of us on the bus which was a cool size group, mostly females but of all ages so was a good mix. Our driver and dedicated tour guide was 'Kakoda' (or Craig if ur his mum!) who happened to be a nerd when it came to trees and plants but he was dead good, not just a normal bus trip at all, they explain everything to you along the way from history to local gossip! Our first stop was Wilsons Prom, Australia's most southerly point on land (when it was first discovered they thought it was an island but its connected to the mainland by a huge sand dune) Its just a massive national park really but has loadsa beaches and amazing views. We got off the bus and went kangaroo spotting - there were loads of them hoppin around and we managed to get so close to them! Apparently when the aboriginees were first asked what these jumping animals were they said 'Gullaroo' meaning 'I dunno' and it developed into 'kangaroo', so if someone asks you where the name comes from just say I dunno and you'll be right! We were warned to watch out for snakes, tiger snakes were common there and are the third deadliest inthe world, nice! Also the little ones are worse cos they cant control how much venom they inject (there were a few who wanted to stay on the bus after that!) We went down to Derby beach for lunch which sounds nice but it was soo bloomin windy down there! We hiked up a trail to get an amazing view of Normans Bay where we got a lesson in the sand on the geology and history of Oz! Craig kept telling us all about the different types of trees too cos he loves stuff like that! Then we trekked downto Squeaky Beach which was awesome - the sand actually squeaks when you walk on it (something to do with high silicone content?) and the beach itself was brill so we chilled there for a while after all of our hard walking. After that it was pubbing and then we spent the night in 8 bed camp homes (ours was like a dolls house!) where I got to know the girls and group more. The place we stayed in was Foster, famous for gold being discovered there many moons ago (it was by accident tho, a group of people said they were looking for gold in the river when they were actually illegally logging trees but then they actually found loadsa gold!)
November 24th - Up early and off to Tarra Valley - a low temperate fern gully. The drive into it was amazing enough but then we went trekking thru it which was even better! The noises and smells and size of the trees was amazing and of course Craig told us lots about trees, plants and spiders! Then we were off to Wyanga Park where we met Jeff the guy that runs the joint and we did lots of wine tasting before lunch, some were nice others were a bit toooo much! When you first go in Jeff makes you sign your name on a map of your home country, there was already someone on the map for rothwell but couldnt read th name properly! Also found out why we get called 'Pommes' it comes from POME - prisoner of mother england - apparantly we're all convicts or something when we come here! In the afternoon we went to Lakes Entrance where the main lake system enters Oz and Ninety Mile beach is there too - the longest beach in Oz. The beach was awesome, didnt walk along the whole 90miles though, maybe another day....? It was a lovely hot sunny day and we chilled on the beach for ages. The beach and sea were stunning, we didnt walk to lakes entrance cos werent sure how far down it was! Then our surprise - we travelled high into the bush and spent the rest of the afternoon and night at a Buddist Commune 'Sakya' It was way up in the mountains and the views were stunning, it was so quiet and relaxing! We have lovely cabin rooms that were really comfy (apart from there being a Huntsman spider outside ours, Crikey!) When we got there some of the monks were playing cricket which seemed bizarre! They were dead friendly though and made us feel welcome. We got an hour lesson on the art of meditation from the head monk where we were taught how to 'find ourselves' and be at peace! It was a strange experience but we all really enjoyed it and it was so interesting! Dinner was from their own grown food and we even got pud - peaches and ice cream (though nowhere near the size portions Paul used to give me!) Really relaxing day, lovin it!
November 25th - We had a 4 hour drive to Jindabyne but Craig kept us well amused with his quirky oz tales! We drove through the bush where the 2003 bush fires hit, such a sad sight but regeneration has kicked in! We learnt all about how some trees depend on bush fires to regenerate and how fires are started deliberately for this. We also drove through a town called 'Seldom Seen' where the population is a total of 1!!! Apparently he's a bit of a nutter though and the best desciption we got was that he was like the guy out of 'Jeepers Creepers!' even in the bush fires he refused to leave and stayed in the dam with his dog under a tin bath!? Craig got us to close our eyes and then open them as we drove into the Snowy Mountains - oh my god what an amazing sight, it was one of those moents where you get all choked up - breathtaking and I dont think the pics do it justice at all! We stopped at the Victoria - New South Wales Border and wandered down to Snowy River, its only at 2% flow at the minute cos of all the droughts and urgent action is being taken, u can see from the pics where it should be comapared to where it is! We learnt about the biggest killer in the bush - eucalyptus trees! Apparently they store water the their branches to the point where they are so heavy they fall off - one girl died last year when one fell on her tent, so no camping under eucalyptus trees! Also saw some 'scar trees' where the bark has been stripped by the aboriginees to make canoes! Then we went high into the Australian Alps and had a killer 2.5 hr hike to the stunning glacial Blue Lake where we found snow and climed up to it!! We also saw the peak of Mt Kosciuszko, Oz's highest mountain. The walk was an absolute killer!! My poor calfs on the way up and thighs on the way down, it was a hell of a hike! Well worth it though for the views, it elt like we were in New Zealand (or what I imagine NZ to be like!) awesome views and we all felt very proud of ourselves and had an amazing time! Now for our reward, we spent the night at a luxury hotel overlooking Lake Jindabyne!! We had double beds, fridges, TVs, Tea and Coffee, and outside the most amazing view of the lake! We had a massive feed and then spent the night in the bar (well we'd had such a hard day!) In the morning the view was amazing as the sun came up and then we started the day with afull english brekkie!
November 26th - Legs hurting today from all the walking! Long driving day to Canberra then onto Sydney yay! So we visited Canberra, the Australian State Capital. We went to Parliament House where Craig gave us his 'unofficial tour' and filled us in on all the last PMs (including the one with the record time for downing a yard of ale!) From the roof we saw the old Parliament house, the anzac route and war memorial. Craig told us lots of history and stuff but Ive forgot now! Not really much at Canberra at all so we drove on into Sydney ....... 3 hours later ........ we're in Sydney!!! Checked into 'Wake up' then we all went down to 'The Gaff' for our free meal and loads drinks! We got drunk, did the bizarre quiz and won $100 bar tab (didnt go far between 13 of us tho so they gave us loadsa free drinks too, bonus!)
November 27th - Me, Jo and Nikki (girls from B'ham who I was on the tour with) hit Sydney big style. They only had 2 days here so we did a quick tour of everything! I had butterfiles walking down to the opera house and then wehen we got there we all stopped in our tracks with a massive grin as we scanned the harbour and its surroundings, awesome!! Again a 'choke' moment, its so impressive its unreal! ( I kept thinking of finding nemo too..)There was lots of entertainment going on in teh harbour including some aboriginees playing to promote their CD so I had my pic taken with them ha ha! We wandered round the 'Rocks' full of cafes and shops and wandered under the harbour bridge. The girls went to an Ice Bar ( i thought $30 for 30mins was a bit extreme!) where the whole bar is made of ice and you have to wear big wooly coats and hats like eskimos! Then we went to Oz Tower for views overlooking Sydney, amazing, I never knew Sydney looked like it actually does! We also did an Oz Trek which is like a 3d virtual reality ride thing but its awesome! Cant really describe it its a sort of cinema trip through Oz but the seats move too - pretty cool anyway! Then onto Darling Harbour where we had lunch by the harbour side, great day! At night we hit the bars, found lots of happy hour places too thanks to some lads who knew where to go so partied till the early hours!
Today ..... finally, are you still with me!!? Today we spent the day at Bondi Beach where all the surfers were at! Beautiful beach, just as I thought it would be! It s been roasting today 35C so the sea breeze was well welcome and it was good just lying around after we did so mych walking yesterday! So, time for me to go now, Ive got people waiting for me in the bar cos Im moving to a different hostel tomorrow! Im in an 8 bed dorm at the min where Im the only girl hmmmm, was a bit daunting at first but theres 3 lads that have been ther the whole time and they're really nice so meeting them for drinks now! Jo and Nikki have left Sydney now so tomorrow after I check into my new hostel Im meeting up with Penny, a lady I met on the bus who has retired from teaching and just so happens to be staying opposite me so gunna wander round with her!
Think thats everything, feels like ive been in this internet for hours and hours, but to summarise Im having and awesome time in Oz!
Ang xx
- comments