17th – 21st May

When we first arrived in Australia from New Zealand, we had a full day in Sydney before our flight to Brisbane. Due to the early flight time from Auckland, the day was very laboured, we were shattered! We did manage, though, to see all the ‘main sights’ of the city during the 6-7hr layover.

Arriving at Sydney airport was not stressful. Immigration was fine. No fuss. Quick with the chip passport readers. No need to wait in line to see an official here! We heard so many horror stories but it was nothing compared to the US.. we had a coffee in Mc Donald’s to decide what to do for the day. After some research I found a walking route from Hyde Park to the waterfront. We got an Opal travel card and boarded the train. What a rip off. $17 each way. Fffflipin eck!! Oh well.

We wanted to see the botanical gardens, of course, but walking aimlessly around with our back packs (heavy 28 litre bags that will be our luggage for the next 3 months) was a struggle, so a lot of sitting down was required. We met some of the new Australian wildlife along the way; a long beaked bird with a balding patch on the back of its head (later found out this was an Ibis bird, a scavenger bird) got the name ‘long beaked dicker decker’ by Mr Drennan. He has such a way with words 😉

After having a nap on the grass, we decided food was the key. Gotta keep eating to stay awake! We went to a rather posh food court. Felt rather out of place in our travelling get up. We watched all the young professionals, me with a sort of nostalgia, this had been my life for the past 3 years, lots of expensive lunches. We ate our posh lamb Turkish kebab wraps, and afterwards we hauled the bags back on our shoulders to walk to the Sydney opera house.

Magnificent as always. It was not my first time here but it holds a very strong appeal. We didn’t go inside but walked right up to it.

Soon another nap was calling to us. We had an ice cream which melted too fast, and got onto the train again back to the airport. The flight to Brisbane was on time! We did have to do a bit of a shuffle with all of our stuff (too heavy for the 7kg limit). This involved taking all the technology out; phones, battery, camera, and putting it all into pockets. Christ what an ordeal!

When we returned to Sydney 11 days later, we were staying with my friend Katharine and her boyfriend Brett. Katherine and I had known each other from the womb, our mothers met and made firm friends, and even though K and I had never been to the same school, we had grown up together.

Andy and I got a taxi to their place in Randwick, which was considerably cheaper than the train experience, and let our selves in. A gorgeous apartment 10 minutes from Coogee beach. Katherine arrived back from work and we had a delicious meal with lots of wine, met Brett, and spent the evening catching up!

Day 1 – Coogee to Bondi

There is a coastal walk from Coogee to Bondi. We were now completely hooked on Bondi Rescue (a very terrible TV programme about idiots going for a swim at Bondi Beach outside the flags and the life guards’ tales of how they had been saved, it’s amazing) so of course, naturally, we wanted to go for a swim there.

We set off to Coogee and had a coffee in a fancy cafe. After reading the local magazine about rescue dogs (errr, yes please, so cute) we set off along the path around the coast. There are so many beaches and swimming pool areas, it’s beautiful.

We made it to Bondi! It’s just like the show!! We did go for a swim but my goodness, the currents were so strong. Yes I can see how you can quickly get panicked in the water. It’s is constantly pulling you away.

We received notification my glasses had arrived at the Randwick Specsavers branch! Hurrah! Went to collect them, yay I can see again.

We returned to K&B’s and had homemade gnocchi and roasted pumpkin for dinner. Scrummy! We watched an AFL game on the TV, Brett’s team won, I don’t mind this sport. It’s exciting!

Day 2 – Marrickville and Newtown

Today is Saturday so Katharine and Brett were off work and we had a very nice boozy day of bar hopping.

First thing we did some organisation, we booked our flights to the Philippines. That’s it! We are going. Oh it’s nice to have a plan.

After a delicious cheese toasty (hats off to K – we’ve had some awesome food this stay) we got an Uber to Marrickville. Wandering around the neighbourhood, it felt a little like the Dog Patch area in SF, very industrial but some hidden gems.

Our route took us from Stockade Brewery, where we sampled a nice pale ale, to Sauce, where we also went to a nearby bakery to get meat pies. Yum! Next we went to play Boules at the local club, it was hilarious fun. We played in couples and for the whole match to 15, K&B were clearly winning.. until Andy and I got our act together and won the last few rounds. So much fun!

Photo credit: Katharine Aries 🙂

We next went to Newtown which was the neighbourhood K&B lived in initially when moving to Sydney, it’s got a younger feel, more bars, more restaurants. We went to the Courthouse to watch the AFL, but Katharine and I were getting hungry so we went to Mary’s for a burger. Delicious! The boys joined soon after and we got a taxi back to Randwick. It had been a very good day!

Day 3 – Lazy Centennial Park

Today was very quiet, very relaxed. The morning was spent watching the telly, then Andy and I went for a walk to the park. It was huge, lots of ponds and parrots. We met up with K&B at the pub in Randwick to watch the football final between Sydney and Perth. It finished nil-nil after extra time and went to penalties. This is why I prefer AFL.. at least people bloody score during the game!!

We ate an Australian delicacy, a parmy, which is battered chicken breast (bit like a schnitzel) coated in tomato, cheese and a special sauce. It was tasty!

Day 4 – Spit to Manly Coastal Walk

Everyone was back at work after the weekend, so with nothing else to do we decided to get on the bus, using those Opal cards, and travel over to the Spit bridge. There was a 10km walk all the way to Manly beach and stops along the way.

The bus trip was easy to navigate, and we soon got to the start of the walk at the Spit marina.

We walked through some leafy areas, and up and down lots of steps. Quite the work out! There were plenty of people running it, and lots of hidden cove beaches. It felt remote.

We went off the trail on a detour to see a lighthouse, love a lighthouse, and all I kept thinking was, what if a snake comes out.. we aren’t wearing those knee high garter things..!!

On the return from the lighthouse we met a naked man. At first I was confused, ok topless I get, sure it is warm today, but fully naked? Really – it’s not that remote. So in the end we did see a snake in the bush… it just wasn’t the type we were expecting.

We got to Manly beach and caught the ferry back to the harbour. Fantastic sunset, and gorgeous photos.

What a lovely walk!

Our last evening with Katharine and Brett was great, we ate and drank and fondly said our farewells. The next day was a flight to Singapore to begin our travels in Asia. Thank you both for a fabulous stay.

11th – 16th May

Day 1 – AFL

We arrived with Richard and Hazel Smart at 3am with an Uber from the airport. Shattered, we whispered hello to Richard who let us in, showed us the kitchen, bathroom and then to our room. Gladly we fell asleep.

The next morning at around 10am we woke and said hello properly! A breakfast of our left over crunchy nut and croissants was eaten whilst we told them of our travels to date. Andy used to work with Richard in Leeds before he and Hazel moved to Melbourne 18months ago. Hazel works for Arup (small world eh) and we had met once in SF. Despite being a stranger to one half of the couple, awkwardness was never apparent as they welcomed us into their home, and again we feel so lucky to know wonderful people living in amazing places!

We discovered R&H lived a 10minute train ride from the world famous MCG which this afternoon would host AFL with Collingwood vs Carlton (a strong rivalry). We soon learnt that AFL was something we needed to quickly get into. Everyone was talking about it, so might as well immerse ourselves in Australian culture! The tickets were cheap at $27 and there were 69,000 people watching in the stadium! The atmosphere was friendly and the game close, exciting! I was on the edge of my seat, mainly because I was struggling to see long distance but even so. It was a thrilling game! We drank a few pints of Carlton beer and ate a meat pie with ketchup. Proper Ozzie style.

After the game we went for a walk to Federation Square, through the graffitied streets of AC/DC lane, and finished at the Arbury Afloat waterfront bar for a glass of wine.

We had food back in South Yarra and it was very tasty. Melbourne, we’ve decided, is pretty cool.

Day 2 – Brighton to St Kilda Pier

The day started by going to the very nice, organic, Prahan market to pick up some food. We were having a bbq later (despite the chilly weather). I popped into specsavers (it’s apparently a thing here too) whilst the others were shopping. I left purchasing a pair of clear glasses and a pair of sunnies (up sold to polarised..) with the promise that they would be in Sydney by the end of our stay in Australia! Fingers crossed.

Met up with R&H at the market and had a coffee. Gosh it’s lovely here. This afternoon the plan was to get the train to Brighton Beach (sounds familiar) and walk to St Kilda Pier.

The painted beach boxes: a classic Instagram post for anyone passing by.

The pier!

My friend Tania has moved from SF back to Melbourne and it just so happened she was available to come along with us, though because it was Mother’s Day in Australia, she caught up with us in Elwood where we stopped for a drink. It was so lovely to catch up with her. She now works at ANZ bank working on sustainable projects, which sounds ace.

We were at the pier to watch the penguins. There were lots of people, so clearly this was the thing to do! We saw them eventually come out of the water and jump up over the rocks to their nests. So cute!

Tania introduced us to the awesome combination of wedges, sour cream and sweet chilli sauce. It was delicious! We then got a lift with her back to the flat.

After a scrummy bbq and a few episodes of Bondi Rescue (new favourite tv programme) it was bed time.

Day 3 – Brunswick and the Docklands

We are picking up a car today for a road trip! We decided to pick it up today so we could leave early tomorrow morning. The cheapest car available was from Live Jucy. God – we are now ‘one of them’ and it makes me slightly sad as we go to a warehouse outside St Kilda to pick it up. We write our name on a white board (what no iPad registration?) and sit at one of the green stools to watch the promo video of Live Jucy global. They are even in SF! I hadn’t heard of them before NZ but I can’t say I ever went camping in California.. Except for that one time with Jacinda. We finally get shown to our car and it is a beaten up specimen, scratches everywhere, and 300,000km on the clock. The girl basically marked the whole car as ‘scuffed’ and off we went. We parked at R&H’s building garage, and then set off to meet up with Ruby for lunch.

Ruby is another ex-Arup friend who has now moved on to do exciting things. We went to a quirky cafe for a tasty lunch in Brunswick and caught up. It was great to see her and she was enthusiastic telling us about her latest projects. Go girl!

Next we visited the New Gallery of Victoria. It was full of interesting stuff. We picked up a thank you card for R&H and then went into the Melbourne Arup office for a tour. I knew the lighting lead Tim, and he showed us around. It was gorgeous, and credit to him, the lighting design was mostly working! It looked very good in the evening. The office boasts a gym, light lab and all sorts of little break outs, with plants that looked healthy!

We were next going to meet up with Tom, a friend from Sheffield who now lived in Sydney, but randomly was in Melbourne on a project! We enjoyed a couple of bottles of wine and a pizza! It was getting quite late so we headed back to R&H’s, to catch up on their day. Quite busy seeing everyone but a lovely day!

Day 4 – Grampians

We packed up our little bags and dropped Richard off at work this morning, on the way to Ballarat. I went panning for gold in Ballarat with my family when I was 13 and the trip came flooding back. Squashed into the back of Uncle Nigel and Aunty Sheila’s car, my mum, dad, sister and I sat. I vividly remember the rain on that day, and all of us having a great time, wearing our tie dye jumpers. What weirdos.

We didn’t stop in Ballarat this time, we drove through to the Grampians preferring to hike than search for gold. It took about 3 hrs. Half way we noticed a strange sound from the car. Took a look and the mud guard around a front wheel was coming loose and required bolting back together… gah this was an old car.

We arrived at Hall Gap and had lunch, picked up snacks for the walk and then hiked up to the pinnacle.

These photos were taken at the top and during the descent back down!

We returned to the car and then drove south to the coast at Port Campbell. We stayed in a holiday park! In a cabin.. feeling quite luxurious, we marvelled we were now one of those people that tenters would be jealous of! Oh how quickly we forget..

We had a meal at a nearby hostel, which had its own brewery and pizza oven. Delicious food, and early to bed for tomorrow’s adventure.

Day 5 – the Great Ocean Road

In the morning we found a shop and bought muffins, orange juice and a coffee. We sat at a picnic table by the port and ate our food, watching the sea gulls.

The first stop was Loch Ard Gorge. We walked around the headland, reading about the boat that crashed here with only 2 survivors. Quite a harrowing tale. There was a cemetery for the 100 odd people who died. The colours of the landscape were amazing even though it was quite a blustery windy day.

We took the Gibson steps down to the beach, worth a trip.

Andy being the gentleman.

Next stop was the Apostles! There were 12 supposedly at one point but wind and sea erosion meant that now there are only 7 still standing.

The road then took us to Cape Otoway where there was a lighthouse apparently. But along the way we saw 2 kuala bears IN THE WILD!!! The fuzzy ball in the trees was just noticeable and it was amazing!

Here is the lighthouse. They were charging $12 or something to go inside so instead we went to see it from a short distance. We weren’t that fussed..

We had lunch at Apollo Bay, fish and chips, not the best we had ever had, and the tartar sauce was questionable!

Because Andy’s parents have a van in Anglesea, Wales – we had to stop here too for a quick wee and a photo! We finished our drive at the super quaint Chianti cottages in Torquay. It was a lot of driving to do.. but some lovely landscapes along the way. We fancy coming back and cycling it next time!

Tomorrow we will take the car back to Live Jucy at the airport, and fly back to Sydney to stay with my friend Katharine and her bf Brett. We will be staying with them until next Tuesday! Melbourne and the surroundings has been wonderful. Definitely want to come back!

7th – 10th May

We stayed in a self service apartment close to the bridge. It was basic but good enough for our needs, and certainly more comfortable than the tent had been! It was located next to a construction site that had work being undertaken from 6am in the morning, and needless to say with curtains that didn’t close properly (fixed later on with the bed spread looped through the curtain rail..), we were up early every morning.

We had four days in Brisbane and had hired a car from East Coast rentals. We wanted to see as much of the coast line as possible. The weather was spectacular; sunny and warm. If this is winter in Oz…

Day 1: South Bank and the CBD

After breakfast of crunchy nut cereal, we did all of our chores. Washed our clothes, went shopping at Cole’s and bought sufficient supplies for the next few days. I made up some sandwiches (salami, cheese, tomato, cucumber, lettuce and mayo.. mmm yummy!) and off we went.

We love a botanic garden, so naturally this was our first stop, and we followed the scenic river walkway to the bridge.

I enjoyed the shading!

We arrived at the Streets Beach, which was in South Bank. It was very cool, and we enjoyed the vibe! There were swimming pools, beaches, kids play parks, fountains to cool off in, and bars and restaurants. It was pretty quiet, gladly not the weekend!

This guy was watching us eat our sandwiches, hoping for a bite! We chilled at the beach and went for a swim.

Chilly water but very refreshing.

Spot the Andy…

We wandered back to the hotel and cooked, early to bed after an episode of ‘Lego Masters’. It was tense, but apparently it’s been on the telly for months, we are only getting into it for the finals week. God these people are geeks. Apart from the one woman involved. She’s very artistic!

Day 2: Noosa Headlands

The builders woke us up at 4am this morning, pouring concrete. It was so loud whilst we were having our breakfast on the balcony we could barely hear each other!

We drove north for a couple of hours to the Noosa Headlands. The drive was all along the highway, and there wasn’t too much to look at. Missing cycling already..

We arrived and there was a Californian vibe of too many people, not enough parking, and queues of cars slowly inching through the town. We did the loops but ended up parking a little way away. We walked along the paved path to the end, keeping our eyes pealed for koalas! We reached sunshine bay and, sweaty and hungry, we stopped for lunch. We ate our sarnies, and were all of a sudden swarmed By flies. Except they weren’t flies they were mosquitoes! Day time mosquitoes!?!?! Argh. Went for a swim to wash them off. We walked back via the bush walk, which was a quieter route. Didn’t see any koalas – they have all gone 😦

Walked back to the car and got an ice cream along the way. I went for a pistachio flavour – delicious!

Day 3 – Coolangatta

The builders started work hammering later this morning, how reasonable of them.

We had to get more breakfast items and bread for sandwiches but soon set off for the Gold Coast. After some speedy research on best beaches I found a place called Coolangatta which proclaimed to be quieter than Byron Bay but still beautiful. That’d do.

We arrived and set up a spot, it really was beautiful. We went for a swim and I blogged for a while whilst Andy read the news.

After the customary amount of time we went for a walk to the snapper rocks. Google told me there was a good look out, and always in search of a hill to climb, off we went!

Gold Coast city in the background.

Lots of people were gathered around some railing and there was a rig of lights being installed. We were told there was filming going on for a new film called ‘Monster Problems’ staring the guy from Maze Runner.. ooh. We watched them all and marvelled at Hollywood in action.

We walked back to the original beach and went for a final swim. As we were showering off the sand I realised that my glasses were nowhere to be found. Rats. Retracing our steps we raked our eyes over the sand but to no avail. They were gone. Oh well. The score of ‘lost items’ is currently running at 2:1 to Andy. Mine are just slightly more expensive though..

We drove down the road to Currumbin where there was a look out point called ‘elephant rock’. The sunset was incredible. Gorgeous.

Day 4 – Australia Zoo

I woke up early to research where I could buy glasses. Luckily I had a recent prescription. Could I order a pair in England and get M&D to send them here, but how long would that take? And where would we be? Could I buy some in Australia? But where from? Did they allow that, or were they madly expensive and strict like the US? In the end I decided not to worry about it. Today was our last day in Brisbane, glasses or not, I was going to enjoy it!

On the top 10 things to do in Brisbane is the Australia Zoo. It professes to be kind to animals, allows animal encounters, and has good reviews for a family day out. We could get a bit of discount from our hotel so we went for it.

Both of us are now very cynical about zoos, you hear of all sorts; cruelty to animals and awful living conditions. But we were surprised with the space in the zoo today. All the animals seemed happy to be there, the kangaroos and lemurs allowed you to get close up, the kuala bears hung out in the trees, smelly and cute, and we saw a few rhinos and giraffes too. There was a show in the croccoseum (ha ha) where the crocodile Graham (odd choice of name for a crocodile, surely Curley the Croc is better. If Andy and I ran a zoo there would be alliteration all over the place).

Again – trained wild animals not my favourite thing to watch.. but it was a good show as this guy was just trying to kill Dave the zoo keeper (not his real name).

After we had our fill of the kuala bears, we drove back to the airport. On the way we stopped off at the Glasshouse Mountains. Wowee, stunning!

Our flight was scheduled for 7.30pm but guess what… delayed until 11.15! We were annoyed for our hosts in Melbourne who would now have to wake up at 3am to let us in. But, such is the way when flying with budget airlines in Australia!