Of Trains, Chocolate, and Knitting - Adelaide

The easiest and quickest way to get from Melbourne to Adelaide is to fly. Simple. But we didn't. When I was looking up my travel options before I left on my grand adventure, I discovered a website dedicated to the greatest trains Australia has to offer. And I had a bit of a Sheldon  moment (Big Bang Theory reference). The Overland takes 10 hours to reach Adelaide from Melbourne, with a couple stops along the way. You sit in large comfy reclining seats with quite a bit of leg room (at least compared to British trains) and completely relax. For the first 6 hours I was quite happy to just sit and look out the window, trying to catch a glimpse of kangaroos (there were none) and other wildlife (saw a couple foxes...) and chat with my Dad. The last 4 hours... well... I told my Dad he better provide some entertainment. So he handed me his new Tablet gizmo and I played Solitaire for a very long time. A very very long time. But still, it was more relaxing than driving, at least for my Dad who would have done the driving, and I wasn't quite ready to step back on a plane and prepare another unnecessary eulogy for myself. We passed towns in the middle of nowhere (in Australia they are seriously literally in the middle of nowhere), massive farming stations, and fields and fields and more fields. I hadn't seen fields for a long time to it was quite nice actually.

Once in Adelaide, our taxi driver completely freaked us out by telling us we'd picked a hotel in the most dangerous part of Adelaide where shootings and fights were not uncommon. Fabulous. Once we'd checked into our hotel, we asked the receptionist if he'd been telling the truth and she giggled nervously, then said "Erm, when you come out of the hotel, just turn right and you'll be fine.... just don't turn left. Especially at night." So I don't know what was on half our street, because we never turned left. (We stayed at the Hotel Grand Chancellor on Hindley Street, by the way. Very nice hotel, and we got a free room upgrade. There really weren't any incidents while we were there either. Adelaide is not quite a crime ridden as they made it seem... but we still didn't turn left).

That night, I was incredibly sea sick. I was very confused by this, because I hadn't been anywhere near the sea, and I never ever get sea sick - but mostly because I hadn't been near the sea. I felt the rocking sensations after the Great Barrier Reef trip but other than that I was fine pretty much. Apparently 10 hours of being on a train, which rocks more than the more modern trains in the country, gave me the same rocking sensations as my snorkeling trip except this time I felt really quite awful. We went to an Italian restaurant for dinner on Rundle Street (not the most exciting street for restaurants just as a heads up), and I chose the plainest thing I could find on the menu and ate very very slowly, which is unheard of for me. On the way back to the hotel we passed through Rundle Mall, which is Adelaide's main shopping area, a bit like Westfields in Sydney in terms of it being an outdoor Mall, except it was, well, a little run down, shall we say, and nowhere near as glamorous. Dad was rather suspicious of all of it and kept looking at me like "why the hell did you choose to come here," but I was optimistic and thought perhaps it would all look better in the daylight hours.

The next morning Rundle Mall was better, but admittedly still quite the "Stevenage" of Australia, which if you've ever been Stevenage, you'll know what I mean. If you haven't, well, let's just say Rundle Mall is not Sydney's Westfields, or Melbourne's Bourke Street Mall, or Brisbane's Queen Street Mall. If you haven't been to any of those, well, I can't help you. After a quick nip around the shops, which I can never resist, and Dad had to do his fatherly duty of just sitting outside and waiting for me, we got on a tram to Glenelg.

If you happen to be in Adelaide and you get the same slightly disappointed impression that we did, go to Glenelg. It is right on the coast and a really lovely area, kind of like a smaller version of Manly. It has a nice stretch of beach (although it was too cold for Dad to persuade me to go anywhere near it) and has a very nice main street and square by the beach with the usual restaurants and shops. Really cute, and worth a visit. Dad started to think that maybe Adelaide wasn't a lost cause after all, which was nice of him. Also, 'Glenelg' is a palindrome. Oh yeah, I paid attention in my English classes.

After lunch we took the tram and a bus to North Adelaide. I'd seen on the map there seemed to be a noticeable and visible separation of Adelaide into North and South (or North and Main) and I was curious to see what the smaller Northern part looked like. Turns out North Adelaide is really quite nice too. Far more residential but very relaxed and small townish even, and we had an ice cream in an absolutely beautiful cafe/restaurant called Blanc Bistro on O'Connell Street, and then a walk up and down to see what the area was like. Adelaide city, and the Northern part, are not very touristy places. They function very much as a place where you live and work. But it was nice to see what it might be like if you lived there.

The next day we started the day the best way one can, with a free tour round a chocolate factory. Haighs chocolate factory, to be exact. Haighs is a chocolate brand only sold in Australia, so if you live abroad and haven't heard of them (like me) then that's why. Haighs has a distinctive taste, as does Cadbury and Hersheys, except Cadbury is wonderful and just a step off from Milka and Galaxy, and Hersheys is just awful. Haighs is more up there with Cadbury, although I'm still partial to a Dairy Milk bar. We were told how chocolate is made, saw the factory workers in action roasting the cocoa beans and decorating the chocolates, and had tastings like the Cadbury tour in Birmingham. Anything to do with chocolate is fun for me. They give you a 10% off coupon as well! They knew how to sucker me in.

We then took a bus to Port Adelaide (the long way round, who knew?). Shouldn't have bothered. Not really sure what it's for. Apparently there are dolphins, although, despite Dad's impressive dolphin calls, we didn't see any. And some of the town in knitted. But other than that... there's nothing there. So we had a brief look round then escaped back onto the bus.

The useful thing about Dads is that they hire cars. Which is what mine did for the next day, so we could see Adelaide a bit further afield. I'd read a few things online that said the villages in the Adelaide Hills were really quite nice, and Dad wanted to see a koala. We stopped for breakfast in Stirling which is definitely a lovely little village with quite an American feel to it. And then we went to Warrawong Sanctuary to find a koala. We didn't find one. We did make a friend in a weird little bird thing I named Alfred who walked along beside us on the path for a good 10 minutes, and I stroked a number of kangaroos and wallabies. We walked round the entire sanctuary, which is not laid out like Lone Pine or a zoo, it really is just an open space where you have to find the animals on your own. But no koalas. They have apparently developed extensive camouflage.

We then drove to Hahndorf, an incredibly German town (clue is in the name) that was quite touristy in some respects. It was a lovely town with a German restaurant where I ate German sausage and sauerkraut (got to be done, love sauerkraut) and then we went down the road for a pretzel doughnut. It was interesting to find a sweet shop that excitedly boasted "Now selling British sweets" to find all our usuals in there at high prices. I didn't realise, I could have made a fortune! When I came back to the UK our local sweet shop said "Just In: Australian sweets."

Mt. Lofty is right next to Koalaville, or Cleland Wildlife Park to use its proper name, so nipped up there to look at the view down to Adelaide. 'S'alright. If you can catch a glimpse through the trees there are some very pretty valleys. But there are a lot of trees. A lot. So we moved on to the Wildlife Park. Lone Pine is the best place by far for Koalas, but Cleland is the best place by far for bandicoots. There were millions (might be an exaggeration but it was pretty close) and I'd never seen one before. They are like cute looking rats. Yeah, that doesn't sound very cute, but they were cute. And very interested in humans, probably from a food perspective (as in we feed them, not that they nibble us).

Joy of joys, I spotted a wild koala on the way back to our hotel! So they really do exist out there, I'd been beginning to wonder if Australia had actually just always imported their animals and not told anyone. Well, I also saw a wild wallaby in Brisbane. It's good to know that not all of Australia's famous animals have had to be herded into wildlife parks and sanctuaries to keep them alive.

So my overall view of Adelaide is that it is a very strange place. Looking back at the trip I could have skipped it really, but I didn't know that at the time, and I'd probably suggest that for anyone else planning a trip, except not only did I want to see as many cities as possible, I also wanted to get The Ghan train to Alice Springs, which leaves from Adelaide. Still, I'm pleased I saw it if only so that I could rule it out as a potential place to live when I manage to emigrate.... eventually.

Of Culture, Family Outings, and All That Glitters - Melbourne

Hey there, it's been a while. How have you been?

Yeah I know, blog fail. But let me tell you, when you're travelling, internet is surprisingly hard to come by. But I'm determined to complete my travel diary. And then I can end the narration of my Aussie adventures by beginning my American adventures, which start in August! Might have to change the name of the blog though...

Some of the Great Barrier Reef from the plane window

The plane ride to Melbourne was my best yet. Not as much turbulence as the previous ones, which is a factor which, as I get older, more frequently brings on morbid thoughts of imminent death and silent run throughs of my goodbye speech. If you ever do get on a plane from Cairns travelling south, make sure you get a seat on the left side of the plane for fabulous views of the Great Barrier Reef. I had thought that the Reef was one big joined up line, but it turns out it's a series of roundish smaller reefs. Who knew? Maybe everyone.

After touch down in Melbourne it's a 10 minute bus ride into the city itself. I met an old friend at Flinders Station, and took the tram to Toorak where she lives. I love meeting up with people who actually live in these places, so that I can catch a glimpse of what it would be like to live there. My friend Danielle cycles into work, which I would not do as there are too many inclines for me, been there done that almost had a heart attack. Her apartment is great, unlike anywhere I've lived which is either a bit run down or has lots of borrowed furniture, so it always feels temporary. We went to a restaurant on the corner of Cliff Street and Chapel Street for dinner and ate our pizzas off a space invaders arcade game which doubled as a table, fantastic!

Now, you're vacationing in Melbourne, where do you stay? The Travelodge on Southbank is where we stayed, and it is fantastic for accessing the city. It is directly next the the Eureka Building, the tallest building in Melbourne (great landmark for finding the place) and you have the Southgate Precinct right on your doorstep for really nice restaurants (I mean really nice, and pricey, but then they are right next to the river overlooking the city skyline. The Darling Harbour of Melbourne really). Oh yeah, I said "we" stayed there. That's because my dad flew in to join my on my Aussie adventure at this point! A lot of people have said to me "you're holidaying with your dad? I could never do that with my dad." Well, my dad is awesome, and we like the same things when it comes to holidays, and he didn't want to stay in any hostels which suited me fine since my Cairns experience so it was hotels all the way from there on (well, one exception, but we'll get to that).

On my third day and his first, we took the free circle tram to the opposite side of the city, where we decided to jump off at the Melbourne Gaol (which I always pronounce 'goal', can't help it) which is pretty interesting, seeing as we easily spent 2 hours there, reading about some of the convicts and why they'd been there, and learning about Ned Kelly who I'd heard of but knew very little about. The top 2 floors (there are 3, it's quite big! And not all of it is still standing) had some rooms dedicated to art.... which was sometimes nice, and sometimes a bit weird.


Something you might not think to do but you should is go to the Public Library and make your way up to the exhibition landings (they are landings really, not rooms). The view from there into the library itself is fantastic, very NY I think, and the exhibitions themselves were definitely interesting with some original pieces like drawings and letters and books. We then hopped onto the tram again and did an entire circle of the city. The free circle tram tells you what is interesting at each of its stops, so if you like something, you can just get off and explore. Pretty snazzy, London needs a few of them!








The next day we went on a tour of the State Parliament building. I know, suddenly my trip has gone very cultural instead of lazing by a pool and just eating all the time. The tour was really good, it occurs whenever Parliament isn't sitting so it's good to check beforehand. Parliament had been there the previous day, and so we managed to fit it into our last day. The talk was great, and our guide was very knowledgeable, answering every question we aimed at him (sounds a bit aggressive that, but we were nice, promise). It is a very grand place, although not on the scale of the Houses of Parliament in London, but maybe that's more akin to Canberra Parliament houses? Not sure as I didn't make it there. I even got to sit in the speakers chair.

Back in the city, we wandered around the streets, through the Arcade which has some fantastic cafes and restaurants, down the graffiti alley which dad actually liked after he was convinced that we weren't going to get caught up in a load of drug deals. And then we took a tram to St Kilda. If I were you, mystery vacationer stranger, I wouldn't really be bothered with St Kilda unless you wanted to go to Luna Park or desperately needed a beach. Especially in winter, it's nothing special, it was only that Dad had the opportunity of coming to work in Melbourne a few years ago and as he and mum had flown over to check it out, he was keen to show me around the suburbs they'd seen and get my approval for having turned Melbourne down. It's always hard to turn down a dream, but yes, Melbourne doesn't seem to have the suburbs of Brisbane or Sydney so in terms of where to live, I wouldn't completely rule it out, but it wouldn't convince me to come over without having another good look round first. I still remember watching the tv program Wanted Down Under and the only episode I actually saw where the entire family didn't like the place was the one where they went to Melbourne. I loved the city, because I liked cities, but I couldn't afford to live directly in it, so it loses the appeal. But St Kilda does have some lovely bakeries, and I do love my pastry, so....

I digress, after lunch in St Kilda we took a tram and a train to find the stretch of beach huts which are always on postcards. And they are quite confusing to find if you don't know where they are as there are no signs, so here's a clue. Once out of the train station, walk to the right along the coastline, and eventually you'll see them. In the distance. And then you have to get over there, which is a bit of a walk. Probably a nice walk if it was nice and sunny and warm, but Melbourne was cold and windy and rained on and off the whole time we were there so I just used the zoom of my camera to make it look like we were right beside them.

Once back in the city, we finally headed to Federation Square which I'd been aiming to do but never got round to doing. It would definitely be a place I'd like to sit around with my friends in the spring or summer, and the buildings are definitely interesting. Still, anything outside is quite difficult to truly enjoy when it's cold. I definitely travelled at the wrong time for Melbourne. That's not to say my overall impression of the place was a negative one. I definitely do like Melbourne, it has an interesting history and the cultural things are worth a visit. The coffee is fantastic, according to my dad as I don't like coffee, and the views from the Eureka Skydeck of the city were fantastic. We went at night when the whole city glittered, and it was stunning. Perhaps a city worth another visit, when it's a bit warmer.

Taken with my dad's camera, not a stock image :)

TTFN!

Next up: Adelaide

Of Bad Nights, Trains, and Fish - Cairns

My first night in Cairns was, well, interesting.

No, actually it was just plain awful. It was a little too hot when I went to bed for my liking and then at 4am I was completely freezing and the hostel only provided a sheet so I was wrapped in that like a caterpillar. The girl sleeping in the bunk underneath me kept wriggling throughout the night so I would jolt awake every time, and the "curtains" only covered half the window so basically let in all the light from the streetlights and neon signs outside. I don't know how many times I woke up, or how much sleep I got. Maybe 3 hours?

Anyway, in the morning I had a wander round Cairns to see what it as all about. Cairns is a strange place. Fantastic for backpackers travelling in groups, quite a lot of shopping in outside stores and inside malls, plenty of restaurants on the Esplanade, which is the road that runs along the "beach". I say "beach" because there is a tiny patch of sand that you can sunbathe on and the rest is grass and boardwalk. It is very pretty though, and usually there's an outside pool area but it was under construction when I was there.

I found Cairns quite strange. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I found it quite commercial and a bit tacky in areas, and I wouldn't go on a family holiday there, but it is the perfect place to travel with a group of friends where you just want to relax, shop, sunbathe, swim, and party.

After having a snoop round the main area I found a free internet cafe and started looking up hotels. Yes, for $15 a night what was I expecting? The problem is I'm a light sleeper, and everything keeps my awake. I found a hotel further out that wasn't completely out of my price range and booked it for the last few days of my stay. After that I felt much better and went a sunbathed on the beach/grass listening to my audiobook (if you travel alone, it is the best way to pass time and keep yourself occupied).

I booked a couple tours while I was there. One was the Karunda Railway and Cableway, which some people said was worth it, and some people said it wasn't. I have now experienced it, and can tell you all that it is worth it. A coach picks you up from your hotel (delapidated hostel) and drives you to Freshwater Station, which is a cute little station with a small museum and an old carriage by the cafe. The train itself has seats to one side where all the views are, and there was some commentary on the way up which did prove interesting, although I'd heard a lot of it already from the coach driver. The history is apparently not very long, or very elaborate.

So the train takes ages to get to the top, about an hour, and goes quite slowly, but it is nice, and when you reach the top it is easy to walk to Karunda village. There are lots of shops and market stalls, which sell some quite unique souvenirs that I hadn't seen before (I have spent 4 months looking in souvenir shops in many different cities, so this was a pleasant surprise). Aboriginal art, local art, jewellery, opals, kangaroo skins, aussie hats, ornaments, accessories, etc etc. There was also a koala place to hold a koala, but I'd already done that, and the butterfly enclosure just plain freaked me out so I decided not to go in there, but they are nice ideas, and there are also a lot of restaurants and cafes.

On the way down, I used the Cablecars, and met Deena and Colin, an elderly retired couple from a town near Brisbane who were on holiday, and we had a great chat on the trip back down, which is supposed to take about an hour apparently but really only takes half that. As we almost reached the bottom of the mountain Colin provided us with some interesting commentary on the water skiers in a lake to the side of the cable car station which consisted of "Woooaahh, he's going for it, he's going for it, aw he chickened out! The bogun. I really thought he was going for it that time. Oh that guy made the jump! I give him a 6."

 The other tour I booked was a snorkel cruise, which is a massive thing for me because I hate the ocean. Seriously, the whole idea of the ocean freaks me out, but I was so close to the Great Barrier Reef I just knew people would ask me if I saw it, so I gathered all my courage and went out to sea. It was a lovely sunny warm day which was great, and the staff on the Ocean Freedom (the boat we were on) were great and encouraging. I sat in on the talk about diving and ruled that out straight away, and then donned my uber attractive wetsuit, flippers, flotation jacket, and snorkel, and made my way into the water. Flippers are seriously hard to keep in the water when you are wearing a flotation jacket. It was fine propelling myself forward, but to get myself upright required a bit of a twist, kick, flip dance move that I'm sure the fish weren't impressed with.

I did see some amazing fish, of which I do have photos but they are in an old school camera which uses film (I know! Such ancient technology!) so I can't share them with you, but I did see a puffer fish, parrot fish, angel fish, and I found nemo.

When I got off the boat, I think the adrenaline of the day, plus packing my stuff and hauling it to my new hotel kept everything at bay, but when I sat down for dinner, spending 9 hours on a boat definitely caught up with me and it felt like I was still out at sea. I don't get seasick, but that feeling afterwards always knocks me for 6. Still, I was so happy to be in my wonderful new hotel room I couldn't let it keep me down. Seriously, I am not a hostel kind of girl. Hotels all the way. So for the next 3 days I just swam and sunbathed, and only ventured into town to have dinner. It was the most wonderfully relaxing time ever, and such a relief after the hostel.

Next blog post: Melbourne!

TTFN!

Of Walks, Reunions and the Next Adventure - Brisbane

It's been a while! But my access to internet has been severely limited since leaving the wonderful Souyave residence. Right now I am sitting in a cafe in Adelaide having a hot chocolate and waiting for the Grand Prix to start. I figured I would take this time to update you guys on what I've been up to. Which is a LOT. The rest of Brisbane, all of Cairns, and all of Melbourne. I'll do it in stages so you don't end up reading a novel instead of a blog post.

So, the day after the koala sanctuary I met up with my friend Ross who lives in Brisbane now, and told him to show me the Brisbane that tourists don't see. So we went for a walk round the city. For hours. And hours. After about 4 hours I asked if he had any particular destination in mind and he said he never actually came to Brisbane city (being a geologist and always "on site" wherever that may be) so he didn't know anything about the place either. But it was still a nice way to spend an afternoon, and I was already very grateful to him as he got me through the difficult first few weeks of Sydney when I had no one to talk to.

A new day, a new blast from the past. I met up with my friends from Hong Kong, Tanya and Clara. It was quite surreal, and they were nothing like I'd imagined them to be. Then again the last time I'd really hung out with them we were 6, so they weren't going to be exactly the same as my memories. They did actually show me some different areas of Brisbane, such as the casino, which we just walked through without gambling because we're good girls and would NEVER do that kind of irresponsible thing...... and then convinced ourselves to go for a drink in a bar. I say convinced, because at 9pm we acknowledged how old we are now, nothing like our 6 year old selves who stayed up all night partying, and wanted to go back to Tanya's to go to bed. I know, it's lame, but we did manage to take ourselves to a bar for a drink, and then went back to look at old photo albums where we all wore the same dresses from the only shop that sold western clothing and had many many parties with elaborate cakes our mums made.

I'm on the far left, then Clara, then Tanya. The good ol' days where our parents would also dress siblings in the same outfit. Bet you can guess who is Tanya's sister in the photo!... I had so much hair!

Tanya, myself and Clara nowadays

Rather than take the bus or train into the city, you should definitely take the Citycat at least once. It was a nice trip in, despite the Change Nazi from whom I bought my ticket and who was furious that I as a young person (she actually said "you young people," apparently I'm representative of my entire generation) come on board with our flashy paper notes and take all her change... erm.... isn't that what your change is for? Okay, I amend my recommendation: Rather than take the bus or train into the city, you should definitely take the Citycat at least once, but remember to carry exact change, even though it doesn't tell you how much it is until you are actually on board and can ask. So just guess.

We went into town to check out the markets, and Southbank market rates up there with Sydney's Rocks Market for me. I loved it! Such great things to buy, really interesting and different, and I loved all the jewellery there. There was so much I wanted to buy but mostly they were things that wouldn't fit in my carry on baggage, so when I eventually live in Brisbane (which could happen... sure... please let me in!) I know where to come and get all my things to decorate my house.

Brisbane was one giant reunion really, because the next day I went to visit out family friends the McQueen's. The two boys are the 2 blond boys in the photo above and are now rugby players living in Hong Kong. I am so jealous! Well, I'm no rugby player but I'd love to live in HK. Plus they have a cat in Brisbane called Charlie who likes me. Who really likes me. Cats don't like me. So I love Charlie. And I love the McQeen house and its inhabitants. It was so nice to see everybody again on this trip.

Anyway, then I went into a whole booking an American embassy appointment palava at 1am trying to call America, and Melbourne in the morning. Basically I was trying to sort out getting my student visa here in Australia instead of England as England was being a royal pain in the backside and had become ridiculous over the demands of the Olympics on the US embassy's time (which should surely have no effect whatsoever except if the employees have been fobbed off with tickets to the games). Anyway, it took over a week to sort out, but it is finally sorted and the UK have come through (which is always nice). But it was a very stressful last morning in Brisbane which ended with some tears, but then I got ahold of myself and swore at the visa system and felt a lot better. After that I said goodbye to the house and to the wonderful Linda and went to the airport. Good thing to note is that Virgin Australia, despite being a budget-ish airline, actually have TVs on the plane! That was a nice surprise.

And then I was arriving in Cairns, waiting in the dark for a bus I thought would never come, and then arriving after hours at my hostel where I was sharing a room with 7 girls at $15 a night, which was absolutely a bad idea and not worth trying to save money over. But more on that next time.

TTFN!

Of Views, Cities, Koalas, and Kangaroos (finally!) - Brisbane

I live in a mansion on a hill (temporarily). And the view is as follows:

I KNOW RIGHT???

I wish I'd taken a picture of the hostel I was in previously, you know, as a comparison. That would have been interesting. Anyway, this is not a hostel, it is in fact the house of a family friend who I am staying with while I'm in Brisbane. I am certainly trying to make use of all the Aussie connections on my travels. It's been really great seeing people again who I haven't seen in years!

I was supposed to leave the Gold Coast on Tuesday, but I had had enough of the rain. It was going to rain until I left, so I figured I would try and beat the rain to Brisbane and hope that it was sunnier there. The coach only takes 1.5 hours and I was picked up by my parents' friend who took me to her fantastic house. Immediately my soul lifted. Seriously, I had a great view and someone to talk to, and that really makes all the difference. And it wasn't raining.

The next day we went to Mount Coot-tha which had great views of the city. If you are every visiting Brisbane then it's definitely worth a look, and it's free!



After that we went to Indooroopilly (I just say Indro) shopping centre for lunch and a look around. Put me in any mall with a food court and I'm happy. And then went back to the house for dinner and watched a really huge moon rise up from behind the mountains in the distance.

The next day we went into the city itself. I'd made a map with lots of interesting buildings on it (yes, I'm actually quite a fan of building architecture, and I always aim to see the main buildings in cities). Brisbane is definitely a nice city. It's not as big as Sydney but seems a great city to live and work in. From a tourist point of view, again, if you're not interested in art galleries and museums then it's just a matter of wandering round looking at the buildings, eating and shopping. But that's the same with all cities, and I do quite like to spend my time that way.



This building had a bite taken out of it. Bet the architect was annoyed.

Beautiful rainbows in St John's Cathedral.



If you go into any of the churches or cathedrals like St John's or St. Stephens, there is always someone there who is happy to give you a leaflet and talk about the history of the building. Factoid: St John's Cathedral began construction in 1906 and was completed in 2009. An almost never ending project, it seems.

I'd like to work in the one on the right, and live in the one in the middle.

Finally, finally people, I have cuddled a koala. And fed a kangaroo. Lone Pine Sanctuary in Brisbane is an absolute must. They have exotic birds, platypus area, wombats (I wrote wombles first, I'd love a womble sanctuary!), snakes, koalas, lizards, kangaroos etc etc. I have so many pictures of koalas. And kangaroos. I will only post a couple here, promise. I finally really feel like I'm in Australia. I got my cuddle, had a staring contest with the most deadliest land snake in the world and had a conversation with a cockatoo. I can deal with this kind of nature all right.

Probably not the same koala....



Say hello to my little friend.

We used to be the same height

I am very popular with kangaroos.

I love how they sleep. Hilarious. Jee Eun could do this!

After I had my fill of koalas (next birthday present please?) we went and had a look around South bank, which is across the Brisbane River from the city. On a sunny hot day it would be excellent because they have created a man made beach with a pool as the 'sea'. It's also where the Wheel of Brisbane is, which is a London Eye on a much smaller scale. These things have to be done though, and thankfully it's a lot cheaper than the London Eye, only $15. It takes 10 minutes which is just a nice amount of time, compared to the Eye which takes FOREVER ZZzzzzzzzzz. Southbank has a row of cafes for the peckish, and praise the lord a Max Brenner! I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, I probably have, but just in case, Max Brenner is a chocolate cafe, and sells the most amazing desserts. So of course we had to have one.

Stay tuned for my continuing adventures in Brisbane!
Although there are no more koalas :-(

TTFN!

Of Spectacular Shows, Theme Parks, and Everyday I'm Shuff-el-ing - Gold Coast

The Australian Outback Spectacular was, in a word, spectacular. I got a free stockman's hat (already a plus, I love freebies) and the meal was fantastic. Nothing beats a nice piece of Australian steak and mash potatoes. The pre-show is basically you, sitting in a room full of strangers, with a bar, and several horses. This would be excellent for anyone except a lone traveller. As long as I kept moving it didn't feel strange, but the second I stopped I ended up standing next to people who looked at me strangely. Seriously, what's so wrong with being on my own? I'm not eavesdropping on your conversation! Well, maybe I am. Anyway, in the actual show I sat next to an older Aussie couple named Julie and Paul. Paul was actually hilarious, because as the night went on, the wine flowed, and he got more and more drunk. The Aussie accent with a slur is even more difficult to understand than an Aussie on the phone.

I love you Phar Lap!

 The show itself was fantastic. Lots of horse tricks, quad bike tricks, songs, stories of Australian history and the story of Phar Lap (a bloody amazing horse by all accounts with a sadly tragic end, look him up), and then they pitted the two "stations" against each other. Basically it was one side of the arena against the other, with half wearing yellow bands on their hats and half wearing red bands (I had red). I can't spell or pronounce our station name, but it began with a W and was something like Wagarra... and we won! Of course we did. I was on the team.

I was over on the distant side of this photo, with red hat bands. Boo Yellows!

When I got home I had new roommates. A couple with the guy from Newcastle (hilarious accent) and the girl from Yorkshire (also hilarious accent). She introduced herself as "Emeh" so, as I am so used to getting to know people with strange sounding names now, I said "nice to meet you Emeh" and then realised she'd said "Amy" with a Yorkshire accent.... basically I had just mocked her accent to her face. Maybe that's why she didn't say much to me after that, but the boyfriend was willing to chat some, although I can't remember his name.

Today I went to Movie World, a theme park in the Gold Coast. It's, well, muehee. Say it out loud and elongate the vowels and it turns into a sort of reluctant sigh. It wasn't bad or anything, but I've been spoiled by the Disneylands of the world and so it just seemed small with not enough rides and not enough restaurants. And some of it was closed, like the fairground games, either because of this weather (which was appalling) or because of the fact it was off season. And I paid $80 for it. $80!!!! Waaaaay overpriced for what it is. And then I had lunch for $14. And then a slushie for $5. And then a chocolate and marshmallow stick covered in chocolate for $4. Very expensive, but it had started raining again so it was get wet or eat and I chose the latter (when don't I?). There were 4 rollercoasters that were genuinely good though, so I did have fun. And one of those was the Scooby-Doo ride, which I was not expecting. And the stunt car show was AWESOME!

So amazing and really funny

Couple incidents though made me laugh and made up for everything.  The first was overhearing a family where the son asked his parents how they met [insert name here] and they said "America, hun." And then the son asked "Where did you meet?" and the mum said "Pub." That's it. Just "pub." Gotta love these Aussies. Also, twice I was waiting for rides where people had to get up and leave the seats for the ride because they were too... um... big... i.e. fat. I have been to quite a few theme parks, and not even in America did I see people actually get asked to leave because the harness wouldn't fit over them. Must be so embarrassing! And then at the "parade" (it had NOTHING on Hong Kong Disneyland) Bugs, Tweety, and several other characters danced to LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem. "Everyday I'm shuff-el-ing." Actually awesome

I have cut my trip to the Gold Coast short, people. I was supposed to leave on Tuesday but I am instead leaving tomorrow as the weather is not going to improve and I can't bear to be trapped inside my hostel again. Plus what's the point in being at the beach when you can't, you know, go to the beach. But hey, I will be back to the city, and you guys know how much I love cities. So till next time...

TTFN!

Of Rain (again) and Travelling Alone in the Gold Coast

Okay people, this is Eleana reporting to you from Surfers Paradise in the Gold Coast. I am currently surrounded by people in an internet cafe and trying not to feel too self-conscious about how the people next to me can just glance out the corner of their eyes and see past the flimsy dividers and read as I type. But anyway.

What is the Gold Coast like? Well, if you asked me on the day I arrived I would have been saying things like "this is just like Pensacola, Florida, where I went on Spring Break," "I love the stretch of beach, it looks fab," "So many restaurants, can't wait to eat!"

It is now my second full day here and now I'm like "Will this rain never STOOOOOOOOP!!!!! ARGHHHHH!!"

Yeah.

Actually the rain has stopped, but apparently only for a couple of hours, and tomorrow it might rain, and the next day it will rain, and the next day it will rain, and the next day I leave so.... oh.

Despite this I am actually having a nice time. I am sleeping a LOT which is nice because I had an average of 7 hours back in Sydney which is so not enough for me. And at the backpackers place I am staying at (Gold Coast International Backpackers for anyone who wants to know) I have a room for 4 all to myself mwahahaha. I didn't chase them out or anything, it's just off season right now. Not sure why. Such lovely weather. Oh wait.

The Gold Coast would be a great place for a Spring Break (that is if you Americans can afford the flight... if you can and you're a pretty male then call me!) because there is so much party stuff going on, and fairground rides, and the beach, and shopping, and theme parks, and Condom Kingdom. Yeah, they are totally prepared for Spring Breakers.

But I am not on Spring Break and also travelling alone, which presents its own problems. As a mild introvert travelling alone, while I would love to have a chat with somebody, I will not be the first to approach them, and if they come and talk to me, my first reaction will be to put them off. Crazy personality. And the number of times I've had to say "Just me" is unreal. If I go to a restaurant, they will say "For two?" and I reply, "Nope, just me." If I book a tour, they say "for two people?" And I reply, "Nope, just me." Nobody seems to expect that I could be on my own. People naturally travel in pairs or groups, it seems. And I do seem to be the only lone person staying at my hostel.

Anyway, tonight I will be going for a steak dinner and a show at the Australian Outback Spectacular (poster above) which I am very much looking forward to, and tomorrow I am off to Movie World theme park which also looks amazing. Plus I'm on my own so I can go through the single rider lines and get on the rides faster. Haha! There are bonuses.

Well, I have 6 minutes left of my dollar of internet. Man, I miss my computer and wi-fi! Definitely experiencing those withdrawal symptoms I talked about. All I ask now is for you, dear reader, to do a Sun Dance for me so that I can get some Vitamin D please.

TTFN!