Sydney to Melbourne to Sydney

Well, after using the Internet, Mike and I went for a walk to the Harbour from our hostel, but it was a lot further than we first expected. It took about 40 minutes, but we made it in the end. We took a few photos of the Bridge, and then wandered over to the Opera House, which looked really cool. I never realised that it was actually made up of 3 different building - I thought it was one, but it still looked good. I tried to take some good photos, but the sun was directly behind the bridge, which made most of my photos too bright. We headed back to the hostel at about 4pm, and Mike literally bumped into some of his friends from Primary School!! They walked past us on the street, and he was stunned. I think they all were, as its a big city, and its just a few miles away from home! We had a chat, and then made it back to the hostel, in time for the cheap dinner at The Gaff. As it was a Sunday, we were given roast chicken, which was nothing special, but it was only $5 with a drink. After dinner, we went to visit Martin (the one from further up the coast) to say goodbye to him, as he was leaving us. He was staying at a hostel called Wake Up! so we stayed there for about an hour, and then we left to go and watch the Liverpool match at a bar nearby. By that time (about 10.30pm) it was just myself, Mike and Martin left, so we had a pint and enjoyed Liverpool thrash Blackburn! We got back at about 12.30 and went to bed after that.

On Monday, we'd decided to get up early and go surfing at Manly Beach, but like most days, we ended up getting up quite late, but we still managed to get there! The ferry took about 20 minutes to get there, of which we spent most of it undercover, as it was raining really heavily. We arrived at about lunchtime, so we went to Hungry Jacks (Australian version of Burger King) and then we went to the beach. The waves were enormous!!!!! The big ones broke quite far out, but then they rose up closer to the shore to break again. We went to a surf shop where Alex and Mike rented boards (I couldn't be bothered, as I wanted to look after my stuff, and save money!) and then went to the sea. They managed to catch a few waves, but they were battered about a lot more. The waves at the beach were ridiculous; they must have been 10-15 feet high, and were definitely the biggest I'd ever seen. When they finished surfing, I went to body surf some, but even in the swimming zone, the current was too strong to do much. Te waves broke quite far out, but the surf pushes you back towards the shore, so its a constant struggle to get out. I got battered about quite a lot, but had a good time. Plus the sea was so cold, I didn't stay in for very long! We got back on the ferry at about 4pm, and went back towards the city. The rain had cleared up by that time, so the view as we went towards the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge was stunning. I made sure I took loads of photos! We then met up with Joe and Emma, who were at a rooftop bar near the harbour. They'd hoped to see the Opera House in the sunset, but the biggest cruise ship I'd ever seen was blocking their view, so they were quite annoyed!! We stayed there for a bit, but then got the bus back to the hostel to collect our bags, ready to get the Greyhound to Melbourne! We got on the bus at about 8pm, and started to watch Braveheart, but the driver turned it off about 2 minutes before the end (the best part!) as we'd arrived in Canberra. By this time I'd finished my water, so we went to a hotel and got the receptionist to fill up our bottles. Now I can at least say I've been to the Capital City of Australia! We got back on the coach, and then I fell asleep for the rest of the journey.

I woke up on Tuesday just as the sun was rising, and it looked beautiful. We were driving through a forested area, but the next time I opened my eyes, we had arrived at the Southern Cross Train Station. We got out bags off the bus and then went to find somewhere to sleep, as we were both so tired. We were approached by a man from a local travel agency who said he could take us to Nomads (our original hostel idea for free, as it was on the way to his office) We were a bit sceptical, but when more people came over to him, we weren't as apprehensive. In the end, he actually took us to the doorstep for free! We checked into a room, and I wen to sleep straight away. I woke up at about 12, and then Alex & I went to explore. We went down the main street and made it to the riverside, before we got our usual Subway for lunch. We wandered to the Southbank, and down an underpass, which we thought would take us across the road, but it actually took us into an art gallery!?! We walked around for a bit, but it was pretty boring, so we left. We headed back to the hostel, and on the wa we stopped for the normal supplies (muesli!!!) and made it back in time for the included meal. We paid $7 to upgrade, and get a bigger portion and a pint, so we were full. They had a quiz later on in the evening, but sadly we came about 4th with a team made from people in our room, so we didn't win anything. We went to bed not long after that, as we were still so tired.

On Wednesday, it was Mike's Birthday, so we went to the train station to meet him (he was staying with a friend on the outskirts of the city). Alex and I had bought him some things earlier on in the day (party hats, party blowers etc, and 1kg of Nutella!) We walked to Brunswick Street, which was supposed to have a good atmosphere, to get some lunch. We found a cafe that did pizzas and a glass of wine for $9, so we couldn't resist. Mike managed to persuade the manager to let us have beer instead of wine, as it was his birthday! Loads of people walked past and congratulated him, which was surprising, as that would never happen in England!! We then headed back towards the town, and stopped off at some shops along the way. We walked around the city for a bit, before going back to the hostel for our free meal. Mike managed to get a free one as well, eventhough he wasn't staying there!!! Well, it was his birthday I suppose. We got changed and prepared for a night out, but were slightly disappointed, as there were barely any bars open. We managed to find an Irish bar, near the waterfront, but it was so expensive, we only stayed for one pint, before calling it a night.

On Thursday, Alex and I had breakfast and then went to the train station to meet Mike. We had planned on going surfing, but the day seemed to go so quickly, we let that idea go. We met Mike at about 2.30, and then went to the GameOn exhibition by the river. It had the whole history of gaming, starting with the first computer games invented (pong) all the way to the best games of today. It was really good as we could actually play the games, so we ended on staying there until about 6pm! We walked back to the hostel and made it back for the $7 deal, but it took ages! We had a few drinks, and stayed there a bit longer, as they had a game called ''Toss the Barman'', where you choose your drinks, and the barman tosses a coin, and if its head, you don't pay, but if its tails, you do. It seems quite strange, as they'd surely lose money, but I didn't care, as I got a couple of free beers! We went out into the town at about 10pm, and went to try and find a bar called the Cherry Bar. We walked around for ages, but couldn't find it, until we found the road it was on. We alked up and down, and then found out that it had been shut down, which was annoying. We found another bar though, called the Traders Bar, which had cheap drinks, and on every day of the week apart from Thursdays, it works like a stock market - the more popular drinks go up in price, and the least popular ones go down. We stayed there for a while until Mike had to get his train back to the house he was staying in.

On Friday, Alex and I had organised to go out with Anthea (one of my distant relatives), so we got up at about 9am and went and had breakfast. She picked us up at about 10, and took us to the Werribee Open Range Zoo, which is basically a safari park (a lot like Windsor). She paid for us to get in, which we were both very grateful for. We were allocated a time to go on the safari, so we had a coffee to pass the time. They had 3 walks around the park as well, so after our coffees, we went on the Australian themed one. Most of the animals in it were hiding, but we did see emus and a few other birds around the tracks. After the walk it was about time to get on the bus, so we went to the station and waited for it. It arrived and we got on, and started the tour. It took us through a number of animal areas, which had animals such as zebras, giraffes, rhinos and camels. They were all really cool to see, and even better to see in an environment thats close to their natural one. The tour lasted about 45 minutes, so after it we went and got some lunch. The weather had improved over the morning as well, so by that point, the sun was shining and it was relatively warm. After my chicken and chips, we went and did the other two paths around the park. The first one was the biggest, and had lions and hippos on, and the other one was just aimed at showing people how to save water (Victoria is in the middle of a drought at the moment, so water conservation is very important). We left the zoo at about 4pm and went back to the hostel for some dinner. The bar was a lot busier, as it was a Friday, so we went out into the city as soon as we could. We went to Brunswick Street again, and found a student bar that had a cheesy 90's music night, so we stayed there for a few drinks, but then decided to go back to bed, as we were both really tired.

On Saturday, I was woken up by Alex at about 9.30, saying that Mike wanted us to get the train to where he was staying, so we could go out from there. So we had a quick breakfast and went down to Flinders Street Station to catch the train. We bought a ticket (it cost $10, but is similar to a travel card, so we could get the train, bus or tram for the same price) and ran to get on the train. We didn't realise how far away Mike was staying, but it took us just over an hour to get to Belgrave, but we gave him a call, and he arrived with Ellen (his friend) within about 10 minutes. We started driving, and made our way towards a place called Phillip Island, which has really good surfing. We stopped on the way to get some lunch (KFC!) and then continued our journey. As we drove along the highway, I realised how stupid some of the names in Australia were! For example - Puffing Billy and Nar Nar Goon!! I know some of them have Aboriginal names, but these are just a joke! We got to Phillip Island at about 2pm, and went to a beach called Smith Beach, which is a good surf beach. We rented surf boards, and were about to go in, when Ellen told us that a leg was washed up on a beach in the area the week before, which was nasty to hear about. She said it was a shark attack, but there was no evidence for it, but still...! We spent about an hour and a half in the water, and it was so cold! Now I know why we were given wet suits to wear! We caught loads of waves, but then had to leave at about 4pm, so we could get back. We drove back, and were dropped off at the station at about 5:30pm, and got on a train to Melbourne city center. We planned on watching an AFL match at the famous MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground), but the train took so long, we missed the first 20 minutes, but made it for the rest of the match. I can honestly say that it is the most intense match I've ever seen, of any sport! The amount of points scored, and in a stadium so big (capacity of just below 100,000), the atmosphere could not have been any better! We wanted Collingwood to win, but sadly they lost in the last 10 minutes, as the Kangaroos came back, but none of us really cared that much - we were just glad to have seen it! We left the stadium and went back to the hostel before going out in the evening. It was another one of those nights that didn't really turn out to be very good, but I was so tired from the whole days events!

On Sunday we got up at about 9pm, as we had to check out by 10am. We had some breakfast, and then went to explore the market that was located about 200m behind our hostel. We'd been meaning to have a look round it before, but we never got round to doing it. It was quite good, but in general, it was just another market, with fruit & veg, clothes, art... We spent the morning there, and got some fruit for lunch there (we are being healthy!!!) before going to use the internet. The place that we usually go to was closed for some reason, so we decided to go to a small suburb of Melbourne, called St. Kilda. We got a travel card (which was only $2.90, as it was a Sunday :S) and jumped on the tram to St. Kilda. We got there at around 2pm, and had a wander along the seafront. It was a typical seaside resort, with the ice cream stalls, mini theme park, a beach and a pier. The weather was really good as well, and it was the hottest day in Melbourne for quite a while (26C). We walked along the pier, and took quite a few photos, before we spotted a skywriter in the sky. I've never seen one before, so it was quite cool, but it was only advertising a real estate company, so nothing exciting. We then went to the internet cafe to sort out some photos and the main part of the visit - to find out the address of the Neighbours road! We left St. Kilda at about half 3, but realised it was probably too late to get to Vermont South (the area the road was in). We got on the slowest tram in Australia (unofficial, but obvious record) and made out way towards the street. We realised that after the 20 minutes it took for us to get through the city center, we had no chance. But, we stayed on and got halfway before we admitted defeat. We went back into the city (which as Sod's Law states, it took half the time!) and mourned the loss (lol). We weren't too bothered, as it would have been good to see the road, but it gives us another reason to come back to Australia!!!! We went back to the hostel and started to cook our food, and then even got a free meal, as the chef let us have one for some strange reason, so we were both well fed. We left the hostel with our bags, and got to the train station on time, ready for the bus back to Sydney. We go on and found that there were 2 spare seats next to us, so I vowed that I would sit in them if they were free. The bus filled up, and they were the only two seats that were empty! So I think Alex and I were the only people to get a good nights sleep on the bus!

We arrived in Sydney on Monday, and were met by driving rain, so we knew we were definitely back! We gave Stu a birthday call (his 19th) and met him at the hostel he was staying at. He was there with his parents, who had promised to take him out for breakfast, so we all left and got a massive fry-up each, and told each other about our stories from other parts of the world. It was strange to see Stu's parents in a cafe in the middle of Sydney, but as I've been travelling for a while, seeing people in weird places doesn't really shock me! We all left and met up with Joe & Emma at our hostel, before we went our separate ways. Alex & I went to try and sort out what we're doing in New Zealand (I'll tell you when we have it confirmed!), and Stu, Joe & Emma went to the pub a few birthday pints. They met up with Sunil and Priya there as well, so it was like being back with the old gang! We were gone for about an hour, but when we got back, Stu wasn't exactly sober! He fell off his stool 2 times, while we were there and then he bought us a jug of beer, which we had quickly, and then we went to the cinema to watch a film. We saw Superhero Movie, which was another superhero spoof film. It was really funny, but only 80 minutes long, which let it down quite a bit, but I think Stu needed to time to sober up! We went back to the hostel for a bit, and tried to have asleep, but Tom and Theresa (Stuart's parents) came in with a cake. Theresa also bought some sparklers, which we started to light, before I realised there was a smoke alarm directly above her! We tried to open the window which was stuck, and Stu burnt his hand when trying to put them out with his fingers, but in the end, the inevitable happened - the alarm started. It wasn't too loud to start with, but we then heard throughout the hostel, which was when we started to panic. In Australia, the Fire Brigade charge for hoax calls, and all of the hostels are directly linked to the hostels. We went down the fire stairs, while Theresa tried to explain it to the people on reception. We got outside and were met by one fire engine, and then another!!! About 10 firemen walked into the building, and found Theresa standing in the room, who explained exactly what had happened. They said that she wouldn't be charged that time, so we were very lucky. There was a sign next to the detector, which explained that there would be a fine of at least $250 or a jail term!! The luck of the Irish prevailed! We laughed it off in the room, and ate the cake, before we went out to Scruffy Murphy's for another few pints. Tom bought them for us, so we saved a bit of money, but they didn't really help Stu out. We went back to the hostel and played a few drinking games with the infamous goon, and then went to one of the local clubs. By this point, I don't think many of us could see straight, which made the evening even better! Stu was so drunk by that point, but luckily his parents had already left for Coffs Harbour. He did some really funny things during the night as well, which I sadly missed the best one - he told Alex he was really hot, so he took off his top. The barman told him to put it back on, so he stuck both of his middle fingers up at him!! The barman went to get a bouncer, so Stu disappeared onto the dance floor to cause more trouble. He also tried to start fights with as many people he could! Nothing happened with any of them, but only because people were there to break it up! I have no idea what time we left the club, but I had a bowl of muesli when we got back, before stumbling to bed.

We woke up in the morning, and I was greeted with a pounding headache, but I must say I deserved it! Stu was still drunk when we checked out, and he was so funny to watch throughout the morning. We went to Subway for breakfast, which was the best one I've ever had, and said goodbye to Sunil & Priya, who were moving back to their relatives in the Sydney suburbs. Stu's hangover started around lunchtime, so he suffered for most of the day, and the journey on the boat to Manly Beach didn't really help him!!! We checked into the hostel, and Alex & I let Stu sleep for most of the afternoon, while we went for a walk along the seafront to try and find the cheapest surf shops. We got back to the hostel, and made some soup, before watching a couple of episodes of the Simpsons and Family Guy. We didn't do anything in the evening apart from watch TV and feel sorry for ourselves, but we were all happy to do that!

Yesterday, I woke up at 5am to watch the Liverpool - Chelsea match, and was happy to support the leading side until the 94th minute, (and own goal from Liverpool), which made me annoyed. I went back to bed, and got up properly at about 11am. We went into the city center to meet Joe & Emma for a farewell lunch, as they were getting the bus to Melbourne later on in the day. We went to Scruffy Murphy's and got the Beer & Steak deal, which was relatively cheap, and then met up with Immi and Rachel (friends from school). It was weird to see them in Sydney, as the last time I had seen them was in Redhill before Christmas!! They got on the train with us towards Bondi (as I still hadn't been there!), but got off on the stop before, so they could go to their accommodation. We went to the beach, and found the cheapest surf shop, and went straight in! It was only $20 for 2 hours board and wet suit hire, so we couldn't complain! The waves were so hard to surf though - they came from every direction and the current was so strong. We had a laugh though, until Stu hit himself on his head with his board! We stayed in for about an hour until that happened before we called it a day and took the boards back. We got on the bus towards the City as we were so tired. It took almost an hour as the traffic was so bad, but we got there at about 7pm. We got a phone call from Mike to say he'd be there in about half an hour, so we waited for him, so we could all get the ferry together. We got the ferry back to Manly, and he checked into the hostel, and then we made dinner - soup and pasta! It was nothing special, but we were so close to the end, we couldn't be bothered to do anything extravagant. We went to bed quite early again, as the day had tired us out, and to save money as well!

We got up at about half 9 today, as we needed to checkout, and then went to get some breakfast. Stu got a phone call from Immi, who was in Manly at the time, so we told them where we were, so they met up with us and had some food. Alex, Mike, Stu and Immi rented surfboards for the day, but I wanted to save some money, so Rachel and I watched them catch the waves, while we sat on the beach. The weather was really nice, and probably the best we'd had in Sydney for the whole time we've been here, but it didn't last long - it started raining when Immi and Rachel had to go. I was bored on my own, so rented my own board as it looked like so much fun! I caught so many waves, and it was the best time I've been surfing. We finished the surfing at about 3pm, and went back to have showers. We bumped into a friend that we'd met in Cairns, so we all went for a coffee. We got back to the hostel at about 6pm, and since then we've watched South Park, Family Guy and The Simpsons!

Tonight we're off to the airport, so we don't have to get a ridiculously early taxi, but it does mean we have to sleep there, which won't be too pleasant.

I've had such a good time in Australia, and I know I'm going to come back, but it does get expensive if you don't work, so that could be an option for when I come back (and any people planning a big trip here!) but now all i say is: Bring on New Zealand!