First of all, I'll have to apologise for the picture, it was taken in Manly last week, not Bondi this week, but it's the only photo I've got that really fits this blog entry!

09/07/12
After checking in to Surfside backpackers, we went for a walk and a chill out on the beach. Chill is probably the wrong word to use as the sun is shining and the surf is good. This is the Bondi I wanted to see. Sitting in the room now, having met a couple of the guys in the room, Luke's just back from the shower and they are 'warm and powerful'. I didn't mention this in the last blog entries because everything else was brilliant, but the showers in Base were a bit weak and cold a lot of the time. So we are as Luke rightly said: "Living the dream". I checked everything I read, and yes, we get to use their sports equipment free of charge. Which includes their surfboards! :D On that note, the board I hired on Saturday was a bit slippery around the edges, so I've bought myself some wax. This is when I start feeling like I'm in Australia. Ooooo! Just booked my surf lesson for Wednesday (or Thursday if numbers are low) either way, it's not like I'm busy!

10/07/12
Today started out with an early morning surf, unfortunately most of the larger boards were gone by the time I got to them so I was left with a 6'8 which is smaller than I'm used to. Managed to catch a couple of waves but I've picked up a bad habit of dragging my back foot and going on my knee, so hopefully this surf lesson tomorrow should change that. When I got back, we had lunch and went to Bondi beach to chill out. Did the famous walk from Bondi to Coogee, man that's a long walk. Thought it was only going to be a short 45 minute walk? Oh no... 2 hours later we arrived in Coogee, so we got the bus back. We were meant to be meeting Rachel, Michelle and Ricky for food and got a text off of Danielle, Nikki and Joanne saying that they were coming to Bondi for the evening, so a lovely meal was had by the 8 of us in a Bavarian bar that me and Luke checked out last night. $5 for the beer of the month, the beer is Hoffbrau. Can't exactly complain about that! After a walk along Bondi beach with the girls it's away on their travels they go and back to the hostel for us. Surf day tomorrow so I'm in bed at 21:18. Who says I don't know how to party?

11/07/12
I don't really want this week's blogging to be 'surf, surf, surf' but it really is starting to seem that way. The surf trip was pretty good, 6 of us with just 2 brits! So quite a nice cultural diversity going on! The surf school itself was decent, but I would've preferred bigger waves, there were a lot of times where I wanted something more challenging. Which is good, it shows I'm progressing :D I'm not taking anything away from the surf school itself, but it was definitely aimed at real beginners. The beach was gorgeous though and the water so clear you can open your eyes and not struggle to sea (get it?!)

After an evening of not a lot, I really can't wait to get up to Cairns. Starting to miss the guys from last week already and having to tip-toe around people that want to go to bed early or stay in bed late is actually quite annoying. Spent the evening watching the Matrix in the TV room - side fact, did you know it was filmed in Sydney? The 'Girl in the red dress' walks past somewhere I recognised: The fountain on Pitt Street! Anyway, I'm assuming most of the French are going out, judging by the noise they were creating. God, listen to me! Complaining about other people. I'm assuming I'm just tired. Things will look better tomorrow morning. Night!

12/07/12
Pretty boring day tbf, I'm only writing because I'm on the bus back from the city with nout to do. We got up in slow time and went to the office to get the vouchers for the activities we're booked on for. They're all open dated, so it doesn't matter when I get to the specific places, just so long as I get there and tell them that I want to do it! Also I registered for the OzIntro Job site, I can start looking for work when I fancy/need to. Luke's dead set on a job decorating donuts on the Gold Coast. After that we went to the contemporary art museum up at circular quay. I don't mean to sound uncultured, but I don't see the massive deal. There were a few things that were pretty cool, but mostly; I could hang a sheet from the ceiling, come up with some bulls*** about how it 'represents the recessive nature of the youngest child in a nuclear family post WWI' and call it art...if I wanted to. But maybe, as I said, I'm just uncultured. So, plans for tonight are... The girl that Greg 'knew' from Saturday night is meeting up with us and taking us out to a bar in Bondi! Also, Lauren from the first night and her friend Ellen are coming to meet us. It should be a good night.

14/07/12
Thought I'd leave it a couple of days to build up something to write, but not a lot has happened. Well, apart from two awesome nights out with people we hardly know. First night, we went to the c*** and Bull. An English/Irish bar in Bondi Junction, live bands, great company, an overall good night. Last night, we went to the Rocks, a bar called 'The Argyle', with Issy and her mates. To put this place into perspective, there were two sets of bouncers, they checked your shoes and they gave your change on a tray. Gotta love the classy Ozzy birds that were there though. Today we were meant to go to Manly with them to surf, but for some reason they cancelled... can't imagine why! But still, I went for a surf on Bondi and whilst I was sitting with my board, taking notes on other surfers, a woman approached me. "Hi, my student is from New York and she doesn't know how to surf. She's just rented a board and tried, but she can't do it. Can you give her some tips?". I must have the natural surfer look. Don't get me wrong, I didn't try to bulls*** my way into sounding like a pro, I explained my experience is minimal, but they seemed happy enough. By the end of it, Jenny was surfing. I just taught someone to surf. 2 more days left of Sun, Sand and Surf before jetting up to Cairns for Hot Weather, Hot Water and Hot Women. I can't wait.

15/07/12
Today was the last day I could surf, and surf I did. Got up for a skype with Mr Borland (senior) and the lads in Plymouth to watch Zoe 'receive' her present. After which, I went took the short walk to the beach and got on the surf. I won't bore you any more with the word 'surf'... So yesterday I remembered that HelpX exists! For those of you that don't know, HelpX is an organisation which 'hosts' and 'helpers' can meet. Hosts offer food and accommodation in exchange for 4-6hours work per day. So, after remembering this, I went online and checked some out. If everything goes okay, I will be working here: http://www.daintreewild.com.au/ it also counts as work I need to do for a 2nd Year (If I want it)

-update on that one... They don't have any vacancies for 3-4 weeks. So I may see if I can get some work in Cairns until then, or maybe just bum about enjoying the hot weather!

I'll leave it there until I'm up in Cairns. I don't expect you enjoyed my week of doing nothing but surfing and chilling out in a beach town but I certainly did! I promise the next few entries will be a bit more interesting.