Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Hi girls and boys, for what is - sadly - the last time as this is my final blog update before I'm home!
 So, this is it. 3 months are over. Can't believe I'm now at the end of the trip. I can't remember being at home because it feels like so long ago and I'm so used to being here that Australia feels a bit like home now. But then again, it doesn't feel like 3 months that I've been away. Very strange.
But I've had such an amazing 3 months and done so many things that it's all starting to blur into one now. I'm back in Sydney and I've been here a week but I feel like I've been away from the coast for far longer. As much as I love Sydney, the weather has been shocking and not up to scratch at all! It's been raining most days so it's been hard to get around and I'm not used to wearing jeans or feeling cold. I miss Queensland beaches so much! But I'll be back soon enough.
Since my last update, which was from Cairns I think, at the north end of the coast, I've only made it to the Gold Coast and then down to Sydney. I met Ma and Pa at Brisbane airport which was great, lovely to see them and we had lots to catch up on. Mum and I had lots of shopping to catch up on too, which of course we did so now my rucksack is filled with dresses! We had a flat in Coolangatta, a small town on the Gold Coast and the flat was pure luxury. Not only did I get my own room, I got my own bathroom! We had a balcony overlooking two different beaches with a good view of Surfers Paradise across the sea. There isn't much to do there except relax and everything is closed by about nine at night! It's a really laid-back place which was good because I'd been constantly on the move for 9 weeks, staying at places for 2 or 3 days and then moving on to the next place. We went for lunches and drives with the family friends we always see when we're in Coolangatta and of course Dad and I spent 2 weeks in competition...tanning...some people are so vain aren't they?! It was a bit strange to say goodbye to them because I'd got out of the swing of backpacking my way round.
Soon after they left, I headed back down to Sydney. It felt good to back in a city but I was missing living by the beach after a day. I wanted to get on the next plane back to Cairns. I guess I had to get back to normal sometime... I met up with Lisa, who used to organise the typing work for Vicky and me. I stayed with her and her boyfriend Dave, had dinner and caught up with them. They're renting in the nicest area of Sydney, Vaucluse, which is in the eastern suburbs. The houses are amazing round there and most of them have gorgeous water views of the harbour. The whole area is made up of small bays and coves so there are plenty of good restaurants and yachts. Then I met up with my friend Liz, who Amy, Flo and I met in Vietnam. I've been staying in her granny flat in Chatswood suburb which is about 10/15 mins north of Sydney. It's worked out really well because I get my own space but I have dinner with her and Nev every night if I'm home so she's looking after me! So I've spent the week walking and meeting up with people so I feel like I know Sydney inside out now. If I couldn't live in London, I'd move to Sydney in a second. They've got the best of both worlds, city life and crammed trains but with gorgeous beaches and good surf only 15 mins away! How many people can say they get to work by train in the morning and they go home by ferry past the bridge and the opera house?! Wednesday was Anzac Day in Australia, a massive public holiday where they have parades all morning and memorial services for all the Aussies and Kiwis that died in WW1 and 2. Liz and our other friend we met in Vietnam, Lynne, took me out for lunch to the top of Sydney tower where they have a 360degree revolving restaurant so had a great view of Sydney. Everytime I went up for drinks, I'd lose the table because the tables would have moved round to the other side of the restaurant! I had no idea it was such a big day but after people have stopped marching at midday, everyone heads to the pub. A couple of my friends came along to the pub with us and we didn't leave until 11 so I'd been out for 12 hrs straight! There were guys from the army, the air force and the navy all out in force in their uniforms so the girls and I were in heaven! We met a couple of prospective husbands from the navy! Got to do some gambling too and won 20 bucks which isn't much but better than nothing. We're going to have to have a two-up day at home in the summer! You spin 2 coins in the air and you bet against someone else for either heads or tails. It's as simple as that. It's a tradition that they only play two-up on Anzac Day so was good to get involved in that.
So now I've only got 4 days left so I'm making the most of it! Out with Lisa and Dave tonight, then sailing on the harbour with Lynne tomorrow before meeting up with some friends on Monday who I haven't seen in ages, then doing my bridge climb on Tuesday! Doesn't feel like I'm really going home yet and probably won't until Tuesday night! Anyway, see you all soon!!
 XXXÂ
- comments