Dec 2006

Friday December 15th, Sydney.

What a wonderful week in a wonderful city! I've loved every minute of Sydney- a city littered with history, national icons, and of course, thousands of backpackers.

My hostel was friendly and vibrant, and proved to be a great base from which to explore the city. Even on a relatively quiet first night, we tucked into some infamous 'Goon' (dirt-cheap box wine) while getting to know each other a little better!

Then there was a big, debauched night out on the town before a day of recovery and an evening listening to Christmas Carols on the picturesque Darling Harbour. despite it being nearly 30 degrees and feeling absolutely nothing like the cold, dark Christmasses I'm used to, it certainly made me realise just how lucky I was simply to be there.

Finish this off with a walk around the shoreline of the famous Sydney Harbour, with a first (albeit gloomy) look at the iconic Harbour Bridge and Opera House by night, and it was fair to say that I'd had an unforgettable start to my time in Sydney.

The next day was spent seeing Sydney on foot with an epic walk around the city centre- taking in Hyde Park with its' ANZAC war memorial and Captain Cook monument, Sydney Cathedral, the Royal Botanical Gardens and Macquire's Point, Circular Quay, a walk accross the Harbour Bridge, and Sydney Aquarium. I finished feeling exhausted but rewarded as I looked back on a mammoth day around one of the world's great cities.

Later in the week, I took a ferry to Manly and its' beach, which afforded some stunning photo oppourtunities of the harbour, and also took a day out to visit the famous Bondi Beach.

My week-long stay in Sydney ended with another crazy night out, before it was once again time to say my goodbyes and move on, this time to Melbourne. Christmas and cricket are just around the corner, and I can't wait!

Friday December 8th, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia

After a short bus trip down from Brisbane, I arrived in Byron Bay- the self-proclaimed haven of both surfers and washed-up hippies alike. Byron's a small place with a unique atmosphere- beautiful beaches and a laid-back attitude- which all proved ideal for a few days of chill-out.

On my second day in byron, I took a day trip inland to Nimbin- Australia's infamous hippy capital. The tour took us 100 km inland for a tour of the town, its shops, museums and a couple of other local attractions. The town itself was small and quaint, just full of people trying to sell you all manner of substances (both legal and illegal). In short, for anyone reading this who I went to Uni with, it was probably Bhavo's idea of hell and Jim's idea of heaven!

Apparently it all started with some new-age festival back in the 60s, and I guess the hippies just never left! The result is a fantastic little town, who's residents' sole aim in life seems to be to get cannabis legalised and then just chill out... man!

Our tour then went to an estate owned by what can only be decribed as a crazy man, who must of done too many hallucinagens way back when, and ended up buying 100 acres of bare land, and planted trees with the help of an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and turned his home into a national park!

Then it was on to Minyon Falls, before a short drive back to Byron on the tour bus that can only be described as a rollercoaster ride set to music! Bizzarre but cleverly done and highly recommended.

That night we had a huge thunderstorm (the first rain I had seen in well over a month!), and the next day I took a bike up to the Byron Bay lighthouse- the most Easterly point in Australia- for some spectacular views of Byron and the surrounds.

Once again it was time to move on far too quickly, so I left Byron for my next destination, the decidedly un-touristy Coffs Harbour. It was slightly larger than most of the places I have visited so far, with pleasent beaches, and small harbour and pier. Although I only stayed one night, it was great fun exploring Coffs' sandy beaches and harbour on foot, before catching the overnight bus to Sydney and then a morning train on to Bathurst, a small farming community 2 hours West of Sydney.

I was there to visit Simon hall (a gap-student at Wycliffe when I was in my final year), to celebrate my 23rd birthday, see the Blue mountains, and frankly to get away from the coast and all those beaches that were all starting to look the same!

I spent three days with Simon and his Uni mates, mostly drinking and trying out his housmeates' new Nintendo 'Wii'. We also met up with Alice Hardy, another of the Wycliffe Gaps who's now a Tv reporter, and went for a drive around the famous Bathurst racing circuit- home of Australia's biggest V8 motor race (much more popular even than F1 out here) and an associated week of madness during race week in October. The circuit itself takes up a fair part of the town's roads, and climbs up naerby 'Mount Panorama' for some spectacular views before plunging back down into town via some hair-raising chicanes.

And now, I'm on the train back to Sydney, to spend a week there before I head on to Melbourne for Christmas and the 4th Ashes Test. I've just realised that I've managed to leave my wallet in Bathurst, but apart from the fact that I now have no money, no ID, and no bank cards, everything's fantastic and I can't wait to take in the sights of one of the world's most beautiful cities!