First Week in Australia

At the end of my first week in Australia… I’ve fallen in love with this Country. It really is as beautiful as everyone says it is. I can see why people arrive here and never want to leave. I certainly don’t.

I moved in to my new place on Monday…which compared to what I could afford to rent in London is a luxury pad. It is really comfortable home, we are at the end of a quiet road and we have a garden, two lounge rooms, a nice kitchen and a fridge dedicated entirely to drinks. My housemates are all really friendly and prepped for my fear of spiders. It’s me, two Aussies, an Irish guy and a dog called Ruby. We are planning a house warming party which apparently has on previous occasions taken place on the roof! Aussies definitely like to party.
My room is plenty big enough for what I need, and I cleaned it from top to bottom to ensure that there was not one single uninvited guest hanging around. There is a big spider outside my window, I’m not sure what he is he looks like a big cross and is about four inches across. But we have an understanding that so long as he stays outside and doesn’t move I will stay inside and I won’t disturb him. He seems to be okay with this agreement so far. I had a bit of confusion over Daddy Long Legs as obviously as most of you reading this will know in the UK a daddy long legs is a ridiculous creature that doesn’t so much fly as bounce off of ceilings and walls for a couple of weeks every year making a nuisance of itself but causing no real problems. Where as over here a daddy long legs is a kind of house spider and I’ve had to concede to their existence in the house as there is a couple in pretty much every room (NOT mine!) and apparently they eat other spiders so I’m trying to learn not to like them.

I’ve been to an Aussie Westfield’s, quite similar to the one in London, again the familiar brand names and shops that are everywhere makes it easy to forget that I’m 10,000 miles away from London.
Shaun educated me (perhaps not successfully) about the differences between Football, Soccer and Rugby and I experienced my first Aussie sporting venture in watching a game of touch rugby (I think its Rugby at least?) where the players seemed to be sporting just as many injuries as a contact rugby team. I was very amused when I got chatting to an Australian girl who wanted my accent. (But I don’t have an accent!!!) I also learned that going to the gym with two personal trainers will result in several days of pain, but still at least I can say it was definitely a thorough work out!!!

I cant forget to say either that when Sarah was in London she insisted that Australia does cooked breakfasts better… and it has to be said it really was the best bacon and hash browns ever…Thanks Sarah!

I had an interview for a job at a shop just up the road from where I’m staying and I’m waiting for confirmation but I’ve been told that I’ve got it. I’m hoping it will work out pretty well as it opens at 5am so if I do morning shifts I’d be finished work by 11am and have the rest of the day to play with!

I experienced my second Aussie sporting venture playing Netball with Sarah’s team… apparently it has been so long since I played I really couldn’t remember anything. Was still fun, I used to enjoy playing a lot, but don’t think I’m much good anymore!!!

On Wednesday I had my first Aussie beach trip. I was SO excited, and Australia did not disappoint. Kathryn took me to Surfers Paradise at the Gold Coast… think miles and miles and miles of golden sand without a rock in sight and crashing waves with surfers and kite boarders a plenty. Gorgeous.
Kathryn was amused at my checking that there was shark nets (got to be sure!) and after an affirmative I could not wait to get in to the water! My first swim in the Pacific. The water was quite cool which was appreciated because of the hot sun. It was a breezy day so there were some pretty decent waves crashing; I got dunked more than once! After an hour or so in the sea I found out how quickly the weather can turn in this climate! A biiiig black cloud moved in so we vacated the beach sharpish! The contrast in such a short space of time was amazing, from bright blue sky and the water looking so inviting to storm clouds and dark moody looking water. It seems that it’s the price Australia pays for having such beautiful warm weather that it can change to a storm in a heartbeat.

We went to explore the touristy shops and get a ‘feed’ as Kathryn would say. I discovered that Burger King is called Hungry Jacks over here, not too sure why. The sun came out in time for us to dig in to some Ice Cream… swimming and sea air makes you hungry!!!

The day ended in true Aussie style with a beer and Kathryn’s parents (who have been so good to me and I really cannot thank enough) putting on SUCH a good barbecue.
I’ve decided that the Aussie’s definitely live up to their reputation of being laid back, enthusiastic drinkers and the best at throwing BBQ’s! In fact they have free BBQ’s scattered around beaches and other public spaces that anyone can use.

I’d well and truly been bitten by the Australian Beach Bug (along with a fair few other insect bites!) so next day much to my delight we hit the beach again. Jen came up from Sydney to visit so after a quick stop at the airport (I wasn’t keen to be reminded of the existence of the airport as I don’t want to ever have to leave this place!) Kathryn began the drive up to the Sunshine coast. We went a good far way up north taking the scenic route, think scenery somewhat akin to Wales; lots of greenery and mountains, but Sunny!!!

Driving here is fun, tanning opportunities in the car (I actually had to put sun cream on while we were still in the car because I could feel my skin getting too hot!) and the blue skies, windows down, music up – it’s got to be the best way to travel.

We drove right up to Noosa Heads; first stop a lookout from a vantage point up a mountain. Stunning is the only word I think can come close to describing the view. The whole of Noosa laid out beneath us with golden strips of sand weaving their way around the land and the white tips of the waves breaking far out to sea.

Next stop… to arrive at one of those beaches; and we had to put the effort in to get there as it required much clambering up, over, round, through and down less than kind on the feet rocks and thankfully my fears of sunbathing snakes or spiders were not realised.
But then we arrived... and to say that the journey was worth it would be the biggest understatement of my life. I’ve been to some beautiful places in my time, but Noosa is something else.
Picture a cove protected by rocks at each end of the beach scattered by only the few people who have made the walk, low hanging trees behind you, and laid out in front of you an undisturbed stretch of sand, the bluest crystal clear calm sea water you can imagine, bright sunshine and not one single cloud disturbing the sky. Completely breath taking. The Aussie’s got a giggle out of my speechlessness; this is their home after all. But to me, it was the kind of place you see in the media and fantasise about seeing some day, but to actually be there was something else entirely.
The whole suncream ‘slip slop slap’ process was highly frustrating for me as I was itching to get in to the water, which was the absolute perfect temperature. At least to me but apparently I have an English temperature gauge and the Aussies were less than convinced about the warmth of the water. But to me it was completely perfect in every single way. The water was so clear that you could see schools of fish ranging from babies up to four or five inches swimming about. There was a few waves coming in but the water was shallow and mostly calm without any particular current or rip to worry about and left to my own devices I would have probably happily floated around that bay until the Sun had fried me to a crisp. Complete and total paradise.
I might be on a working holiday but I am technically still on a holiday, it boggles my mind that it was just a day off of work for Kathryn and a couple of hours of driving leads to a day like that!

We had to leave to go in search of food and walked round to the main beach which was almost as pretty but much busier so it didn’t enjoy the same air of serenity as the cove where we were. Once our hunger was satisfied and our thirst quenched, Jen did some celebrity spotting and we headed back to the beach. I spent a little longer being blown away by what I was seeing before having to tear myself away (with the promise that we would be returning another day very soon) as there was still much more of the sunshine coast to be seen.

Our navigator and personal tour guide (Kathryn) found the coast road so as we headed back down the coast we must of passed stops for ten or more beaches. Next stop was Mooloolaba which was a much bigger beach than Noosa and had a more similar feel to the Gold Coast with miles of beach stretched out in front of you. The heat and the salt had by this point made me feel like I hadn’t had any water in a week so we stopped for a quick refuel before exploring the beach further. We timed it well as there was beach safety/ life saving classes going on a the beach so we watched them running up and down and swimming in and out with their surfboards…whilst we took it easy sitting on the sand. The wind had picked up a bit and it was less sheltered here so we decided that paddling would suffice.

The last beach of the day, Caloundra, was well worth the wait and we got there just as the sun was setting. This beach was almost a mixture of the previous two beaches, being slightly quieter and more protected but also going on for as far as the eye could see. As we walked along the edge of the sea the sky changed from blues and purples to oranges and reds as the sun went down. Once again another breathtaking view. There were very few people about and in a similar way to West Witterings at low tide there was undisturbed sand banks and shallow pools and it was just completely picturesque. I met my first jelly fish, small, clear and a couple of inches across and I was told completely harmless, good job as there were lots of them. Once again I didn’t want to leave, but it was getting late in the day now and Kathryn had done a lot of driving (Thanks Kathryn!) so we started the journey back.

After a quick shower and change at home we headed back out and met up with Lynelle for a couple of Bundy’s at a local bar. Afterwards she took us up a local mountain to a look out over Brisbane all lit up at night. London really needs to get a look out like that! I imagine that it would be another good place to watch the sun set, or rise for that matter. But also a superb view of Brisbane lit up at night and high enough that you can see for miles.

Friday morning we went down to the local shops and I found proper Marmite (Awesome! Had previously bought a poor Australian equivalent of Marmite and it tasted like… well not pleasant!) Friday evening I ventured out alone, and I have to say was pretty proud of myself for doing so!!! I started out from my place and I knew where I wanted to get…but had very little idea of how to get there! Thanks to years of working out the London transport system and help from a couple of friendly Aussies a bus and a train later I found myself in Brisbane City. Its very different from any other city I have seen before, I can’t really put my finger on why it feel’s different from London and New York. It has a fair number of sky scrapers, but I don’t know whether its just because there is only a few (in comparison to New York and London) in a small area or what it is that makes it feel different but it does definitely have a different feel. Not in a bad way. Just different. I’ll keep you updated if I figure out why!

I met up with my newest Aussie friend Carly and was introduced to her friends Gen and co. They gave me a quick tour around the Valley which is equivalent to London’s soho and then we heard to Brisbane’s Oktoberfest!!! There was something very surreal about being in Australia surrounded by people wearing Lederhosen and all of the staff having German accents! I can’t say I’m usually a fan of beer but beer has got to be done at Oktoberfest so I had to learn to love it for one evening. I met lots of new people and enjoyed getting to know them all… despite varying levels of intoxication! There was much dancing on tables and a live band who were pretty good. SUCH a random experience but an awesome one. Kathryn finished work late and as I managed to acquire a free spare ticket she came down for a little while before we headed home.

Today is Saturday and I’m getting up in a bit to head over to steal Kathryn’s internet to put this online. Tonight I’m going back out in the valley and tomorrow planning to hit the beach again (I’m addicted!) Hopefully I will start work next week and I’m going up the coast to a beach party next weekend which I’m very excited about.

I’ll update you all again as soon as I can. I haven’t organised internet where I’m staying yet so just as soon as I do I will be back in touch with you all more often. In the mean time email me and I will reply as and when I can and most of you have got my Australian mobile number now. I hope all is well back home, I miss you all heaps, and I hope I have convinced you all of how amazing Australia is and I’ve only seen a weeks worth of sights! It truly is an amazing place, so, as the Aussie’s would say… where the bloody hell are ya!!??

Love to you all xXxXxXxXxXx