The city is small, you can walk around it in no time at all. And also it's so expensive. The guys were paying a fortune for a crappy hostel, and pub meals were about $30 dollars each, so lunch was a sausage roll sitting on a park bench!
After our gourmet meal, we got on a train to the nearest beach, Cosstletoe. The sun was shining and the beach was beautiful, but after a few hours there i had to leave to make my way back to the airport for my flight on to Melbourne. That was the most i've seen of Perth, and unless i hear anything spectacular in the next year, that's probably all i'll see!
Before leaving Kuala Lumpur i had got in touch with all of my Ozzy mates from Melbourne, and one of them, Beau, from a suburb called Frankston and who i'd met in Thailand 2 years earlier, offered to pick me up in the early hours of a Monday morning, and also offered me a place to stay for as long as i needed....result!
Beau was late picking me up, and so i waited at the side of the road in the middle of the night with my backpack, and a bag of over 1000 cigarettes which i'd not knowingly smuggled into Australia! (The limit is 250 - ooops)!
The next day, in the near 40 degree heat, i went to Long Island beach, where i fell asleep and burnt my eyelids! Despite nearly 4 months in Asia, i wasn't used to the sun being so strong. In Oz you can't buy sun tan lotion below a factor 30, and now i know why!
Beau gets sent home from work if the heat exceeds 35 degrees, so he came and met me at the beach, then showed me the sights of Frankston (not a great deal, but i now know the best places for a night out)! Then in true Ozzy style we went to the supermarket for beers and meat for the BBQ he was having for me later, inviting all his friends to welcome the 'Pommy chick'to Oz!
The week that i stayed at Beaus was pretty much the same - me at the beach or by the pool in the day when everyone was at work, then in the evening all his mates would be round for drinks in the unbelievable bar that he'd had built in his back garden. It was great being surrounded by a new group of people, and they all wanted to hear stories about my travels which of course i was happy share!
On the Saturday, a big group of us got the train to Richmond, in the city, to watch the Australian Open. I also invited along a few of the guys who we were travelling with in Asia. By the end of the day there were probably over 30 of us.It was a great day out; Melbourne was in the middle of a heatwave so the sun was beaming and the beers were flowing! We only ended up watching one game, afterall, no one goes to watch the tennis (that's what i think and i'm sticking to it), and i can't even remember the names of the players! I'm not really a tennis fan, and so we ended up spending the majority of the day in the Heineken tent, along with most other p
eople who were there!
eople who were there!After a long day, we'd all drunk enough and spent enough, so we headed back to Frankston. As usual, we stopped at the 'bottle shop' (off licence) for another night in at Beau's bar.
I couldn't have arrived in Oz at a better time. First was the Australian Open, then 2 days later was Australia day, an Ozzy bank holiday where they spend the day, traditionally, knocking back beers and having a BBQ.
Every year Beau has a house party on Australia day. His garden was decorated ready for about 150 people to turn up at 10am ready to celebrate and drink the day away! Most people don't last long after dark, an
d by about 10.30pm there were only a few of us left, even Beau and his girlfriend had gone to bed! I'd had plenty of practice in Asia, so I was one of the last ones standing!
d by about 10.30pm there were only a few of us left, even Beau and his girlfriend had gone to bed! I'd had plenty of practice in Asia, so I was one of the last ones standing!Another great day in Melbourne, but i'd still barely seen the city itself! And after a 'recovery day' the following day we were leaving for Sydney.
I will go back at some stage, maybe to settle and find work and an apartment, so that at least i can see why everyone loves it there. But my days were spent catching up with old friends and enjoying the festivities, so i couldn't have had a better start to Australia.
On our last day, 3 of my mates from our group in Asia hired a car and picked me up from Beau's at 6 am to make our way to Sydney where our road trip began!
