2011 in the Land Down Under

As I sit here on this sunny Sunday afternoon in Sydney, I realise that almost 2 years has passed since I last updated my blog. Shame on me, I know.

So I thought the best thing I could do without boring you with my life story, is to just tell you about some of the highlights since I’ve been settled in Sydney. Firstly, my 6 week contract at my job with Medibank Health Solutions went on and on, and I’m now a permanent member of staff, about to reach 2 years with the company. The plan initially was to stay with them for the duration of my contract, before travelling to parts of Australia that I hadn’t visited the first time round. That all changed when they offered to sponsor me, which meant I would be put on a 4 year Business visa, an opportunity that I couldn’t decline. So here I am, making the most of having only 4 weeks of annual leave a year – to those who know me, that’s a huge struggle! I’ve also committed to a job for the first time in my working life. I can’t complain though as I’ve been able to develop in my career and also stay in this country that I love so much.

I celebrated my second Christmas, backpacker style, by going to a Dance & House music festival on Bondi Beach, with every other European ‘orphan’ in Sydney at the time. The sun was shining and, as always, the drinks were flowing. Celebrations over the next few days continued into New Years Eve, with another festival and another excuse to drink in the Sydney sunshine.

Come January, things started to settle and I was back at work and looking for somewhere to live. Still being relatively new to Sydney, I was open to suggestions of where I should move to. There are so many cool suburbs around Sydney, all with something different to offer. I ended up registering with a house-share website, which put me in touch with 2 girls, living in an awesome house in Newtown, with a room to rent. I’d never been to Newtown before, so off I went to view the house, meet the girls, and see what this inner west suburb has to offer. For those of you who are familiar with London, it’s kind of like Shoreditch, with all its funky bars and cheap and cheerful eateries. I walked up the high street and couldn’t believe the number of restaurants – Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese, Italian, Greek, Mongolian, Mexican – you name it, Newtown has it. And it’s cheap! There are pubs on every corner with some quirk like a rooftop bar or huge beer garden. It was safe to say that I already knew I’d like living here. I got to the house, which I fell in love with straight away. It had a huge open plan living and kitchen area, and an outside deck, which is a rarity when you live in the city. The girls, a kiwi and an ozzy, were really nice, and so I took the room and moved in a week later. At last, I could come home to a peaceful house and my own space after far too long in a hostel. I was finally starting to feel like things were coming together.

As you all know about me by now, I live for my holidays, and any opportunity I get to go away, I’ll take. Easter fell on the same weekend as the Ozzy public holiday Anzac day, which meant we had 5 days off. I couldn’t possibly waste a long weekend like this, so my friend Lou and I hired a car and drove 10 hours north to Byron Bay, the popular hippy beach town. Being that it was a public holiday, accommodation sold out months in advance, but thankfully Lou’s work had an office nearby, that was a converted house. So the guys who worked there put up some camp beds in one of the empty rooms, and there we stayed, free of charge!

I’d been to Byron a few times before, on my travels, and absolutely loved it. All you do is lay on the beach and sample the local cuisine. Now that I was there as a responsible working resident rather than as a backpacker as I was previously, we were able to go to the nice bars and drink cocktails, and the better restaurants, rather than the crappy, cheaper places I would’ve gone to before. It was great, the perfect way to spend the long weekend.

Back in Sydney it was just the usual. Working hard during the week, and socialising lots at the weekend, whether that was at the beach, the local pub, or trying new places. Living in the city there is always something going on. There’s a bar opening here and new restaurants to try there. You really don’t have an excuse to stay at home on a Saturday night. I was loving life in Sydney.

By June, ready for another holiday (it’d been two whole months since the last one) I was invited to visit a friend, Conor, in Wellington, New Zealand. I’d met Conor back when I was a ‘long-termer’ at the hostel in Melbourne. He was Irish, and had moved to New Zealand as, ‘the next best thing’ after exhausting all his visa options in Australia. So, with a long weekend approaching (thanks to another public holiday) I booked my flights and off I went, to a country I’d never been to before but had always wanted to visit.

Aside from the pouring rain for the first day or so, I loved Wellington. It’s really small, probably too small for me to want to live there, but it had a lovely feel about it. It reminded me a bit of Adelaide, with one main street where all the bars and restaurants were close together.

On a day when the sun was shining, we walked round to the harbour where there are fantastic views of the mountains in the distance. It’s a really stunning city, and one I’d like to visit again in the summertime.
Coincidentally, of all the hotels I could’ve booked in Wellington, I chose the one which was located right next door to the NZ office of Medibank Health Solutions, so I’d promised our HR Manager that I would pop in for a cup of tea while I was there.
After a weekend which flew by (mainly due to alcohol consumption and not a lot of sightseeing, except for a quick visit to the museum) I said my goodbyes to Conor and his mates, checked out of my hotel, and popped into the office, as promised. When I got there, the HR Manager, Letitia, who I was visiting, told me frantically, “I’ve been on the phone to David (my manager in Sydney) I’ve told him you’ll be working here, and I’ve spoken to IT and got them to set you up on our system, so that you can log on tomorrow. Now go and enjoy the rest of the day.” Whilst she’s saying all this, I’m standing there, suitcase in hand, completely baffled. I was popping in en route to the airport, to fly back to Sydney. What I didn’t know, because of course I was on holiday and hadn’t been watching the news, was that a volcano had erupted all the way over in Chile, and as a result, there was a huge ash cloud over the Tasman Sea, stopping any planes from flying between NZ and Australia. Upon hearing this, I thought, “it’ll be OK; I’ll just head to the airport and wait”. I didn’t realise at the time that there were thousands of other tourists doing just that, and that they’d be stranded for days and days.

So, on instruction from Letitia, I went back next door and checked back into the hotel, thinking “this is cool; I’m here for another night. Insurance will cover the additional costs etc”. Obviously I didn’t realise at the time that insurance doesn’t cover natural disasters.

So anyway, the next day, I checked out of my hotel, and went to work, suitcase packed, expecting to fly later that day. Letitia kindly took me back to her house at lunchtime to wash all my clothes, because of course I was only supposed to be in Wellington for the weekend and had run out of clean underwear!
I started working, thinking myself lucky that I was able to do this and didn’t have to eat into my annual leave, and stayed on hold with Qantas, waiting for any updates. After ages on the phone, I found out that all flights were STILL cancelled, and so after work, I went next door and checked back into the hotel. This continued for days. Every morning I checked out, expecting to fly again, and every day I was told there were further delays. After I think the 4^th day, I’d spent about an additional $600 on hotels, so I went to stay with Conor and his mates.
All this time I was absolutely loving this situation! I got to know all the guys in our Wellington office, I got to spend more time with my friends, AND I actually did a bit of sightseeing on my lunchbreaks. One clear day Letitia took me up the cable car (Wellington residents living in the mountains all have cable cars to access their homes – it’s awesome)! I stood at the top overlooking the entire city and the mountains beyond, it was stunning. And something else to tick off my list whilst I was there, as I hadn’t seen much else aside from the inside of bars and pubs!
By now, I’d had 2 weekends in Wellington, and was really enjoying the change of scenery. Every day when I called Qantas, I hoped I’d be told there were still no planes flying. On the tenth day, I did my usual morning routine of packing my suitcase and taking it with me to the office. As usual, I sat on hold to the airline for about 30 minutes, only today, I was flying. I was surprised that I actually felt gutted!! I was having such a good time on this extended holiday. Wellington’s so small that it’s just so much calmer than Sydney. The people are lovely, and as an added bonus it’s much cheaper than Sydney.

So today, off I went back home, to find that my housemates had taken full advantage of my unexpected absence and raided my wardrobe and eaten all my food! I was so disappointed to learn the next day that the volcano had erupted again and that all flights were cancelled – I wanted to stay there that little bit longer. But anyway, I can’t complain; thanks to this natural disaster my long weekend turned into a 10 day working holiday!!

A couple of months later, and of course, feeling the need for another holiday, but somewhere hot this time, Lou and I flew up to Cairns, northern Queensland, for a mini-break. We stayed in the awesome hostel that is Gilligan’s, the backpacker ‘resort’. Gilligan’s is well known to all backpackers travelling the east coast. It’s got a great bar, a lagoon-type pool and it’s huge; just a non-stop party hostel! Lou and I, at the grand old age of 25, were probably 2 of the older people staying at the hostel, but we enjoyed it nonetheless!

This holiday, much like with Byron Bay a few months earlier, was purely for relaxation during the day and partying during the night. Cairns has a man-made lagoon on the seafront, where we spent our days sunning ourselves in the 30 degree Queensland sun. Sydney was in the peak of winter at this point, so we relished the opportunity to sit in the sunshine. On the last day, after a huge bender which saw us in the Reef casino til the early hours of the morning, we’d booked to go on a boat trip, where I’d finally learn to dive. Lou was an experience diver, but I’d never done it, despite having travelled to so many countries that offer diving lessons.

Somehow, we dragged ourselves out of bed after very little sleep, and made it to the marina to catch our boat. The trip was brilliant – it took us right out to the reef where the water was crystal clear. It was a bit overcast (don’t ever let this fool you into a false sense of non-burn security – we paid the price for making this mistake). We were getting ready to do our dive and filling in the necessary paperwork. You know, the usual ‘we take no responsibility should you lose a limb to shark attack’ etc, when we came across the question which asked when we were next due to fly. Well, our flight was at about 7pm that evening. Unbeknownst to me, but what Lou should have known being a certified diver, and what the lady who sold us this trip should have told us, was that you cannot fly within 24 hours of diving. It’s got something to with the pressure of being a certain level below the water, and then being at a certain height in the air (I forget the specifics) but anyway – it can be fatal. I was so annoyed!! For the first time after so many opportunities to learn, I was willing and ready to get that oxygen tank on my back and plunge myself into shark infested waters, and I couldn’t!!! Just my luck! So now, here we were, out at sea, hungover, and not able to do what we came here for. We had a bit of a snorkel around, saw the usual fish that I’ve seen a hundred times before whenever I’ve snorkelled in the reef, then headed back, unsatisfied and burnt!

Still, as always with any holiday like this, it wasn’t ruined and we had a great time chilling out and escaping the hustle and bustle of Sydney for a weekend.

You will not be surprised when I tell you that about 3 weeks after I got back from Cairns, I was off again for yet another long weekend. This time, myself and my friends Danielle, Graham and Lewis, flew to Auckland for the Rugby World Cup. Of course, I couldn’t care less about the rugby. For me, it was all about the atmosphere, the chance to see another NZ city, and of course, I admit, the boozing. Also, my friend Conor from Wellington was flying up to join in the festivities.

Now, it will come as no surprise to any of you, that the four days I was there were spent mainly in the pubs, aside from my one effort to do something touristy, when we went up the 'Sky Tower', overlooking the entire city. I’d never been to Auckland before, and I still feel as though I haven’t really been, because ashamedly, it’s all a drunken blur. But that’s what you’re supposed to do on these occasions aren’t you?? Go to a rugby game, or alternatively sit in the pub and watch the rugby. Well as I have no interest in the sport itself, it freed up my time a bit more. So this was time well spent at the bar, while the boys were glued to the TV screens. As much as I say I had a great time, because we were all there together, I regret that I didn’t do and see more. But that’s fine; it just gives me an excuse to go back!

A month later, when I’d just about recovered, I had to go to Melbourne for work. This was a nicely timed business trip, because it fell over the first weekend of the well known races. My friends out in the ‘burbs where I used to live, invited me to go with them to the Caulfield cup. So I went to work for a few days, then on the weekend, got dressed up and into the limo, and off to the races for the day, with all the guys from Frankston. I’m not much of a gambler – in fact I don’t even know how to place a bet – but any excuse to get into a frock and go out for drinks with the boys (and their girlfriends) and I’m there!

We’re in October now and nearly at the end of 2011. By now I’ve been away from home another year, and I’m well overdue a visit. So I tie this in with my Granddad’s 90^th birthday. So, on a rainy 13 degree day in Sydney’s ‘Summer’, I flew back to London, for it to be 11 degrees and sunny in Winter. Don’t be fooled into thinking that the weather in Australia is sunny all year round, because that, it ain’t. In fact most of that summer was a washout.

Anyway, I went home. I landed at the crack of dawn, at something like 5.30am. My sister was due to pick me up, but she was nowhere to be seen. I was quite relieved in a way because I was anticpating a tearful reunion. A while went by and there was still no sign of her. At this point, unprepared, I had no English money and no phone. So I sat, and waited. I suddenly became jealous of all these people coming through the gates and having these big welcomes from their friends and families, like that opening scene on Love Actually. I waited. My sister’s useless! She eventually came to get me god knows how long later. It felt like forever. But anyway who cares, I was home!!! And how much I love it. It was the end of November so of course there were Christmas decorations everywhere. And doesn’t it feel like Christmas! Being the overgrown child that I am at this time of year I just got overwhelmed with excitement. Christmas in hotter climates just doesn’t do it for me!

My mum and dad came to get me from my sister’s house, and it felt so nice to be back with them again. Once I got home, I whipped out my schedule. I was only home for 12 days, so I’d had to literally book people into slots of day time and evenings so that I could fit everyone in. I also wanted to make the most of my time at home with my family.

The 12 days were hectic. We had a great celebration with my Granddad, who was chuffed that I’d flown all the way round the world to celebrate with him. I figured that as he’d only turn 90 once, and there will always be other Christmases, it was well worth coming home for his birthday rather than Christmas itself.

Also while I was at home I wanted to spend time in London, which still remains one of my favourite cities in the world, especially at Christmas time! So my friends and I were up in the city, seeing the lights, wearing our Santa hats or reindeer antlers, and enjoying the festivities. You just can’t beat London at this time of year, especially with things like the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park to keep you entertained. For those who haven't been - you need to pay a visit, if anything, just for the ice skating and the mulled wine (obviously not at the same time)!
At the end of my holiday, I felt that it really wasn’t long enough. As much as I looked forward to coming back to the sunshine in Sydney (only to be disappointed because the weather was still crap) I felt like I needed longer. Even if only to spend it with the folks and my much loved cat! At the airport with my mum and dad, we had a few wines, perhaps too many, had the usual teary farewell which I always dread (mum – take note of this – you make me feel guilty) and I headed back to the land down under, with an extra suitcase loaded with new clothes. I landed at 7am, and in the true style of someone who won’t waste even a day of annual leave, I went home, showered, and went straight to work, after nearly 30 hours of travelling. It probably wasn’t my most productive of days, but it was a day of leave saved!

In Sydney, the weather was hit and miss, so I can’t say that summer was in full swing, but it was definitely getting close to Christmas. Everyone was starting to relax a bit more and look forward to the upcoming break, and work was quietening down with everyone going on their holidays. It’s a good time of year in Australia, and such a contrast from the cold, wintery London that I was in just weeks before.

Just 2 weeks after coming back from England, some other ‘orphan’ friends and myself went up to the Sunshine Coast for Christmas. I’d already spent two Christmases in Sydney, so I welcomed the chance to do something different. There were 7 of us altogether who rented a beautiful house just a few minutes’ walk from the beach. We all arrived at different times or days depending on our work, so once we were all there we did a huge shop to see us through. It was unbelievable how much food and alcohol could be consumed in such a short time. We really went to town, and on Christmas day had a huge feast, starting with my all time favourite breakfast of eggs with smoked salmon and plenty of bucks fizz to wash it down. We did the typical Ozzy tradition of BBQ’d everything for our main meal. It was great! After we ate, we strolled down to the beach, which of course was packed, but thankfully not nearly as busy as the beaches in Sydney. One thing I’ll never tire of in this country will be Christmas on the beach with my mates.
So that brings us to the end of 2011. What a year! Holidays galore. So we don’t have Europe on our doorstep here, but you can still make the most of long weekends and see as much of the country as you can in short breaks here and there. For someone like me, that’s enough to keep me going, for now!