2012 in the Land Down Under

They say that the older you get, the faster time passes before you. Well, it’s 2012, the year that I turned the wrong side of 25, and my God has this year flown!
It started off without much of a bang. The months leading up to the festive season were so hectic that I didn’t plan anything for New Years Eve, so I just spent it fairly low key with a few friends watching the fireworks at Coogee beach.

January’s always a good month in Sydney. People are still on holiday so work is quiet; everyone’s still in celebration-mode, and just 3 weeks after the festivities of Christmas and New Years Eve, we celebrate Australia day. This year it fell on a Thursday, and a group of us girls got together and spent the day on ‘the Island’, a floating island way out in Sydney Harbour, only accessible by water taxi, with views across the city. It was quite a swanky way to spend the day, and as you can imagine with any event that I go to, I enjoy any excuse to have the G&Ts flowing!

In February, in a moment of madness, I had signed my life away and agreed to throw myself 14,000 feet out of an aeroplane! My friend Pam, her boyfriend, and myself, drove down to Wollongong, about an hour south of Sydney. Thankfully, in the weeks leading up to the skydive, Pam was panicking so much that she did enough for the two of us. So thanks to her worry and stress, I was surprisingly calm when we arrived! I had a cool dude instructor called Kip who introduced himself to me, then proceeded to harness me up and prepare me for what was to come. We were really lucky, because after a run of miserable weather, it was a beautiful, clear, sunny day. We got in the tiny little plane with about 8 other ‘jumpers’ and their instructors. During that plane ride, the instructor strapped the two of us together, whilst telling me the heights we were reaching. By about 7,000 feet, as I watched the ground get further and further away, I couldn’t believe that we were only half way there.

I’d already asked if I could go first out of the three of us, so once we got to 14,000 feet I was gearing myself up to be pushed out of that door. I watched the people before me get sucked out, and then waited as Kip got us into position. Before I knew it, without a second to have one of those ‘what the hell am I doing' moments, with a massive whoosh, I was out the door and freefalling for however many hundreds or thousands of feet. Those seconds of just falling through the sky feel like forever, and it is such a rush of adrenaline that I can’t even tell you what was going through my head at the time! After a short while, or forever, I forget which, the parachute is released and Kip puts me in a more comfortable position so that I’m sitting, as we’re gliding through the air with the most beautiful scenery beneath me. While we’re gliding, it’s really calm, and I was just enjoying the views around me for the few minutes that it lasted.

Once all of us have landed, there was the typical ‘again, again’ chant (mostly from Pam) and we were all absolutely buzzing. So much so, that there was no better time to find the nearest bar, and enjoy the moment on this beautiful day over a glass of wine!
A few weeks later, in March, it was the time I’d been waiting for, for ages; Mummy and Daddy Lennon were coming to Sydney! I was so excited, after having spent nearly 2 and a half years in this country, for my mum and dad to see how I live and why I love it here so much. They arrived at about 7.30am, so I took the day off work to greet them at the airport. I was there bright and early, waiting, and waiting. The flight landed, and there was still no sign of them. After quite a bit of time passed, I double checked the screen, and of course there was a gate change and I was waiting at the wrong one. So there goes any chance of an emotional reunion! The folks were sitting there waiting patiently for me to come and find them.
Back at my house in the inner west suburb of Newtown, I gave them barely any time to get sorted, before dragging them out on this beautiful Sydney morning to fit in as much as possible before the dreaded jetlag kicked in. The first stop was Darling Harbour for coffee. I know that Darling Harbour is a massive tourist trap, but it’s definitely a well-earned tourist trap. On a good day it looks so stunning, with all the boats in the harbour and the city sparkling in the sunshine behind it.

From there, we walked in the early-morning heat (much to my mother’s annoyance) down to Circular Quay. We all know you can’t go your first day in Sydney without seeing the symbolic icons, the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. So of course, before it was even midday, we got ourselves comfortable in the awesome Opera Bar, taking in the sights and sipping on an ice cold ale. We were in holiday mode after all! By mid-afternoon they were well and truly fading in front of me, so we headed back to my place for a quiet evening with a few beers and a pizza, then an early night.

Before my mum and dad arrived, being the über-organised person that I am, I had mapped out their entire itinerary onto an Excel spread sheet, so that not a moment was wasted! On day two, refreshed and ready to go, we went down to the Rocks where we wandered round the markets, then found ourselves in a lovely beer garden where we had a Guinness to celebrate St Patrick’s day. (As I go on, you’ll see where I get my very sociable drinking habits from!

During their stay in Sydney we crammed in as much as possible, with plenty of dinners out and drinks in nice bars, including cocktails on the 37^th floor of the Shangri-La Hotel. We also went up to Sydney’s closest wine region, the Hunter Valley, where I’d never been before despite having lived in Sydney for 18 months by now. Needless to say, a day of tasting wines and eating smelly blue cheese was a day well spent.

We squeezed in a two day trip down to Melbourne, so I could show my mum and dad the city where I spent most of my time as a backpacker. Despite considering myself a Sydney-sider now, I will always have a soft spot for this awesome city. I love the street art, the outdoors cafe culture, the laneways, and the general atmosphere that Melbourne has.

We went down to Phillip Island for the day where we fed kangaroos, saw Koalas sleeping in trees like mini Buddhas; my mum getting just as excited as I always do when I see these furry little creatures. Then the highlight of our trip occurred later that evening when we went down to the seafront, and along with about 100 other people, sat as still as possible, in howling wind and pouring rain, waiting for thousands of fairy penguins to emerge from the ocean. It’s unbelievable to see these gorgeous tiny animals waddling along the beach to their burrows. If you’ve never done it I’d highly recommend it, just perhaps with better weather and without an overload of Japanese tourists! (Always impossible to avoid)!

When we got back to Sydney, I packed the folks off to Cairns so that I could get a few days in at work. Whilst they were there they were experiencing one of Australia’s treasures; spending a day out on a boat and snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef.

After 2 and a half weeks packed full of sightseeing and spending quality time together, it was time to say goodbye, and I was dreading it! I’ve never felt ‘separation anxiety’ before until 4 o’clock that morning when I waved my parents off, knowing it could be as long as 18 months ‘til I saw them again.

To cheer me up, my mate Zoe had suggested we go on a road trip for the upcoming Easter weekend, so off we went to Port Macquarie, a 5 or 6 hour drive north of Sydney, so that I could get over the ‘orphan’ feeling and just relax somewhere outside of the city.

In May, three friends and I went for a long weekend to Queensland, first stop, Hamilton Island, an absolutely stunning tropical island off the coast of Queensland. It looks like something from the setting of the TV show ‘Lost’ – palm trees, crystal clear sea and stunning beaches. We had a night in the lovely Reef View hotel, where every hotel room has view of, you guessed it, the reef. We only spent a day and a night on the island, which is probably more than enough for four girls who would really prefer not to be surrounded by couples and families. In order to keep ourselves entertained we hired a golf buggy and drove round exploring this little island, which took all of about 30 minutes, and then plonked ourselves in a bar sipping on cocktails and watching the sun set. What better way to spend your time in these surroundings.

After our night on Hamilton Island, we caught the boat across to the mainland, to backpacker central, Airlie Beach. Airlie Beach is an absolute dive. We stayed in a hostel which was quite cool, although a far cry from the hotel we were in the night before. There is a man-made lagoon in Airlie, which is nice to lie by, but you wouldn’t go in there unless you wanted to catch some sort of STD. You only have to walk past it at 2am to see what goes on in there when drunken backpackers who’ve had a few too many, pair up, and think they’re invisible! Need I say more!?

The purpose of our stay here is because it is the gateway to the beautiful Whitsunday Islands, a cluster of 74 islands out in the reef off the Queensland shore. I’d been there before as a backpacker, but this time round we’d paid a bit extra to have a day out on a catamaran, cruising the Whitsundays, soaking up the rays and enjoying the beautiful sights.

Once the boat nears Whitehaven beach, you’re approaching one of the top ten beaches of the world. The sand is finer and whiter than any you’ve seen before, and the sea is the bluest blue. It’s breathtaking.

After about an hour on Whitehaven, we were back on the boat and setting off to go snorkelling in the reef, which none of the girls had done before. I must admit, and I think I've said this before, I'm usually quite disappointed by the Great Barrier Reef, and this time unfortunately was no different. I think it's been ruined by the volumes of tourists that come and go everyday, who are gradually spoiling this natural wonder.

Back in Airlie Beach, we had one night out on the town (keeping our distance from the lagoon) before we had to be back to Sydney and back to work, our holiday in the sun seeming a distant memory.

The next 6 months are normal, or not particularly eventful. I was assigned to a project at work which was stressful and which took over everything for a short time. There was the odd weekend away, and there were nights out, festivals, parties, events, days at the beach and just general life in Sydney. I also moved house, to an Eastern suburb called Elizabeth Bay, where I live with my friends Emma and James, an English couple I met when I was a backpacker in Sydney.
So this brings me to where I am now; 11.47 on a Thursday night, writing my blog and not tucked up in bed as I should be.
I have dusted off my backpack and it's sitting on the floor in front of me, clothes bursting out and general chaos is surrounding me in my living room. Tomorrow at 5am my alarm will wake me, and I'll be preparing for my next adventure, my first one since I put my backpack away and got settled in Sydney.

Updates to follow...