Last thoughts on Oz.

Where to begin?!The thing that made my trip so AMAZING was most definitely the people I met along the way! I would have been lost without them and I've made lifelong friends in the process.

I have to say that the customer service industry in this coutry leaves a lot to be desired!!The people working in hostels and the like fail to realise that it is backpackers that is keeping them in a job. There should be more respect!!!

There is scenery here that you will never see anywhere else and you would never get sick of seeing it!

The locks on bathroom doors go backwards (ie they open in the direction we turn them to lock at home), just like the water flushing in the bowl!! It's too weird!!

One thing that I will never forget is perhaps the thing that shocked me the most about Oz and that is the complete racism towards the Aboriginal race! I don't understand it!!

Another confusing thing is the lack of mobile phone coverage on the west coast!! This is a massive area that is largely cut out of the mobile market!!

I have loved every second of my time in Oz and that is no lie. The only thing that I would change would be to have another month so that I could have taken it at a slower pace, perhaps just one more month. Mind you I can't really complain now can I?!


I've had the time of my life and I've learned a lot. Australia, I'll be back!!!

Back to Sydney.

So I'm back in Sydney now and it's my last day. I've had the most amazing few days here, sightseeing, catching up with people I met all around Oz and reminiscing on the last time I was here. The weather is beautiful at the moment (it was 39 degrees today) and it really makes you want to stay here for a while. I met Tina from Tassie on Sunday, we went to Manly and then sat at the Opera house bar that evening watching sunset over the bridge and the opera house. I couldn't stop smiling at how lucky I am to have had the opportunity to do this trip!! Being down there on a Sunday evening is an experience in itself as it is where practically every gay guy in sydney comes on a sunday. It was a great laugh and an experience not to be missed!!

The next day was spent down on the Rocks and Darling Harbour again (I just love this place!)which was followed by a trip to the Aquarium, again!!! I have definitely fallen in love with this city all over again. It's amazing the difference a bit of sun makes!

Yesterday I did the coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee with Nina and it was scorching!! We were like two old granny's by the time we got back, we were so exhausted (and burned!) That evening I was treated to a gorgeous meal by Nigel in Nick's restaurant in Darling Harbour. We had a great night there, followed by Salsa dancing in the Establishment! Definitely to be recommended! And that ended my last time back in Sydney!I DON'T WANT TO GO HOME!!!

Tassie!!!

What a week we had in Tasmania! It was absolutely brilliant, despite the fact that it was FREEZING, SNOWING and RAINING practically the whole time we were there! The trip was a very full one for the first 3 days, after which a few people went their own way. Our first stop after leaving Hobart was the Horseshoe and Russell Falls after a walk through the tall trees. After lunch we were off to the Nelson Falls and on to the beautiful town of Queenstown, voted Australia's worst town!! And I could definitely understand why! We stayed in Tullah that night and the group started to bond!

We had another early start the next morning and it was such a beautiful day (the only full day of no rain we had the whole time we were there!) We headed straight for the Henty dunes and made like Arabs through the sand! Our asses were definitely firm that night after 2 hours of walking up and through dunes! The dunes led to a beach where there a carcasses of some Sperm whales which were washed up over 6 months ago. Mind you from the smell you'd think that they were still quite fresh! It was really fascinating and quite sad to see so many though. Apparently this is also the most secluded beach in Tassie and true enough there was nobody else but us there. After lunch we headed for a nice long walk through mud and water to reach the Montezuma falls and it was definitely worth all the dirt. We went back to Tullah that night and spent most of the evening trying to warm ourselves up again, but we weren't very successful!

Unfortunately the next day we didn't get the weather that we'd been praying for. It was lashing rain and there was nothing but cloud and this was the day that we were doing Cradle Mountain. We ended up just doing the circuit walk around Dove Lake as it was freezing, wet and there was no point going up the mountain as you couldn't see a metre infront of you for the cloud. Ah well, you can't win them all! But Adam (the guide) did bring us to a chocolate factory on the way to our accomodation where we got the best hot chocolates to heat our cold bones! It was gEorgeous!!! The bus then wouldn't start when we went back out to it so all the lads had to push start it!
It broke down again later and then the next day we were stuck for over an hour while the driver went and found help to jump start us! All part of the adventure that is 'Adventure Tours'! We all went out for dinner that night and had a good laugh. It was a really good group of people and I was trying to brush up on my German with all the German girls!

The next day was quite probably the worst weather of all, just rain rain rain and cold!! It was pretty much a driving day but we did get to meet Priscilla the pig and feed her beer! I kid you not! We stayed at Bicheno that night and had a real girlies night in chatting, twas great!

The final two days of the tour flew by and I wasn't looking forward to it ending as I didn't want to have to leave the group!It's really amazing how close you can get to people you only met a few days previously. There were 5 of us that got on brilliantly, all of us were travelling on our own and none of us wanted to go back to being on our own, but it can't last forever! We were so lucky the day we went to Wineglass bay as it was really sunny that morning and only started to get cloudy as we were coming down Mt.Amos. This was a bitch of a climb, with a lot of it being done on hands and knees and coming down on asses! It's all granite rock and hence quite slippy in places. I don't think my puma runners were the best choice of footwear for that day!!! The view from the top of Mt.Amos was utterly breathtaking (literally!) We sat up there for about half an hour (more so because we were dreading the hike down!) It's called Wineglass Bay as it is the shape of the bottom of a wineglass, but also because there used to be a whaling station here and the water was generally full of blood and thus looked like red wine!! Ewwww!!!

We stayed in Port Arthur that night and gorged ourselves on freshly made calamari rings. Mmmmm!! The next morning was spent exploring the historical sights of Port Arthur, in the pissing rain!! Then it was off to a wildlife park to see some Tassie devils before the drive back to Hobart.

We all went out that night and had a great night out and then the group all split up! Sniff sniff!!It truely was a brilliant trip and one that will be remembered fondly for a long time to come. The scenery is amazing, the people lovely and it reminded me so much of home that I was feeling slightly homesick by the end of it! Tasmania is not a place that you should leave out of your Oz trip. So many people don't bother with it because of the weather, but it was quite possibly the best tour I did in Oz, so DO IT!!!

The Great Ocean Road and Melbourne!

Well as expected the great ocean road trip was brilliant. There were only 5 of us on the 3 day trip but it was great! The company I went with (Goin South) is relatively new and the owner was our driver. He did everything possible to make the trip one of the best I've been on in Oz. The first day started wine tasting (yes more) followed by caving (probably not the best combination!) It was definitely something different but I don't think I'd be taking it up as a full time hobby any time soon! After the caving we went to the drivers hostel and had a fabulous home cooked meal, probably the best I've had to date. It was yummy!!

The next morning we were off to the Grampians and a trek up Mt.Hollow. It was so hot that day that I actually got burned! The view from the top was amazing! From Mt Hollow we headed to Reed Lookout and the Balconies where I very boldly climbed down to one of the balconies which is forbidden!! Oops!! Then came Mackenzie Falls and about a million steps. It was perfect going down but I was cursing on the way back up I can tell ya!! That night we stayed in best hostel in Australasia! It's in Warrnambool and it's worth going to Oz just for this (well, maybe not JUST for this!)

The following morning we headed for the start of the Ocean road with the first stop being the amazing Bay of Islands before we went to London Bridge. This was attached to the mainland until 1983 and you used to be able to drive over it. Infact, the day it collapsed there were people on it and they had to be helicoptered off. It's a miracle they weren't driving over it as it collapsed! Afterwards it was off to Loch Ard and a lovely little coastal walk before getting to the long awaited 12 Apostles. The weather was just so amazing that day and I felt so exhilerated considering the last time I was there it was pissing down cats and dogs and it was windy as hell, resulting in Alison being a drowned rat!! I don't think you'd ever get sick of looking at this coastline, no matter how many times you see it as you're always going to see it with a different light, more clouds or something else that will alter it.

On the way to Melbourne we stopped at Apollo bay for some fish and chips and then onto Kennet River to feed the birds!This was great fun and one actually landed on my head at one stage! we arrived in Melbourne around tea time and I was actually quite sad that the trip was over as it really was brilliant! If you're doing the trip do it with Goin South!!!

Then there was Melbourne and one of the best weeks of my trip! It was completely mad and full of drinking, which I'm sure my mother and father don't want to hear but they always taught me not to lie!! I met up with people from other trips, people from home and new people and it was fun all round.

One of the highglights for me was obviously the Neighbours tour!! I know I'm so sad, but it had to be done!!I know you're all REALLY jealous!! But then there was also the Melbourne cup!! I was so lucky to be here at the right time. This is the biggest sporting event in Oz and the whole country stops for a half an hour for this one race. For all of us that were at it, it was a a full day of dresses, drink and laughs. Not to mention freezing our asses off in our little dresses!!. It really was such a great day and was finished off nicely with a flutter in the casino!!

I met so many wonderful people in Melbourne and it's definitely a week that I'm going to remember fondly for a very long time. It's a beautiful city and the shopping is amazing!! Definitely a city I could settle in for a while! So long Melbourne, I've had a ball!!!

Adelaide and Kangaroo Island

I know it's been forever since I've written, so I'll try to make this as interesting and as concise as possible so as not to bore you all stupid!
So Adelaide was emmm...ok. That's about all the enthusiasm I can muster I'm afraid! It's definitely not a city set up for backpackers and there's not even that much to see other than Haigh's chocolate factory and Glenelg beach and the shark museum down there! My only real purpose for going there was to visit Kangaroo island.


Kangaroo island itself is much much bigger than I was expecting, it's actually not that much smaller than Ireland. I was anticipating a Fraser island type island and I couldn't have been more off center! It's inhabited and all!! I did a 2 day trip to the island, which is definitely way too short to see it in, but the weather was so cold and wet while I was there that I was relieved that I didn't have to stay any longer! We saw a lot and it was a great group with a great night had by all as you can see from the photo's!
One of the best sights we saw while here was definitely the Remarkable Rocks. It's fascinating the way they are positioned on a cliff face!

Probably the best part of Adelaide was the Groovy Grape wine tour of the Barossa Valley. This was another full day of drinking and it was a great laugh!! Definitely to be recommended!!!

Sorry that I can't be more enthusiastic about this part of my trip, but it just didn't do that much for me compared to the rest of the country!