My Stage is the World

Girls will be girls

by mystageistheworld

International rescue

After waking up to a semi-naked man sleeping on the floor outside of his tent, we showered and got ready to leave (helpfully watching the guys put our tent away). But not before the semi-naked man came over to say goodbye… Now dressed as Bananaman (seriously).

Anyway, with Miss H once again behind the wheel we set off back to Lorne to find some blankets. Even the Op Shop had nothing so we drove on to Kennet River to try and spot some koalas. Fifteen minutes later and I was back behind the wheel, driving up a very steep hill. We parked up and got out – success! The trees were full of koala bears, although we couldn’t figure out if they were cute or not…

Back up the hill to turn around when the older couple in front of us slowed right down… Our poor little car didn’t like this and suddenly stopped. Sighing, I restarted the car, but it just gave a little ‘phut’ and wouldn’t start. I thought it might have overheated as the bendy Ocean Road required a lot of gear changing (or not in Miss H’s case), but I’d not been driving like a loon. We left it 20 minutes and tried it again. Nothing. We checked the water and the oil. All fine.

With no other option, we called Roadside Assistance who phoned the RAC for us. He told us he’d been out to Kennet River twice already but he’d have to go back for the tow truck(!)

So we waited. We ate chocolate, put on some make-up (in case that swayed the cost of the problem) and considered calling it quits and going back to Melbourne. I tried the car again – nothing.

As expected, the RAC man rocked up, watched me try the car unsuccessfully, got in and wiggled the gear stick. Then, with the clutch down he started the car. Le sigh.

Embarrassed, I drove up the hill and turned around. At the bottom I tried the car again and it was fine. Typical. The man grinned at us, said he couldn’t explain it and drove off. No charge. Girl power!

Onward and upward

After a very necessary ice-cream we set off to make up for lost time and rocked up at Apollo Bay for a walk. This is another beautiful area of Victoria – a wide bay with a perfect beach, village shops and cafés. Plus a harbour and sand dunes. We bought a couple of sleeping bags and continued on our way.

After a short walk around an area of rainforest (free, as opposed to the expensive Otway National Park) we stopped briefly at Gibson’s Steps – named after the man who carved them into the cliff as he struggled for survival.

We then wandered around the 12 Apostles Visitor Centre (after belting out some McFly). These ‘twelve’ rock formations used to be known as the Sow and Piglets but the name was changed, despite there being maybe six or seven ‘apostles’. These are on all of the Ocean Road postcards and they are very beautiful.

As the day had been quite stressful we got to our next campsite – Port Campbell Recreation Reserve, which was remote to say the least – quite early and pitched our tent ALL BY OURSELVES!

After swapping some website/SEO tips with the site manager (all the camping fees are ploughed back into the reserve, but they had no website), we wandered into town for a well-deserved dinner.

Australasia

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Nature – it’s all over me

by mystageistheworld

Climb every mountain

After a fairly cold night, we got ready to explore the area around Cumberland River. But before we set off one of the ladies came over to see if we wanted to climb the sides of the valley with her son Jeffrey. He wanted to go, but not by himself – a fair point in this treacherous country. It seemed like a good idea, so we made some sandwiches and went to get some water.

Stepping through an area marked “Do not enter: revegetation area” we began to clamber up an almost vertical, unmarked track, keeping a close eye on the ground as we did so (apparently he’d seen a few King Browns the week before). We had to use our hands for the first few metres, grabbing hold of trees and roots to stop ourselves from sliding back down the hill.

Trees whacked us, bushes scratched our arms and legs and the journey was hot and tiring. The path kept disappearing so we kept skirting around fallen branches to try to find our way. We were glad we had our ‘guide’ with us as we would never have found our way without him! After a while we started to walk down, but then the track veered sharply right and once again was almost vertical.

However, after almost half an hour of climbing we pushed our way out of the bushes and into the sunlight.

We were very high up and the view was amazing. The campsite lay before us with tiny tents and caravans tiny below and the sea stretched away to the south. To the north were endless trees, covering the hillside beneath the bright blue sky. It was also very windy!

After catching our breath we descended, a much quicker journey – and not just because we ended up sliding part of the way down the hill (I was the only one who remained standing), getting covered in earth (and more scratches) in the process.

Water, water everywhere

Feeling slightly hot and bothered, we sat by our tent and ate our lunch in the sun, listening to our Woolloomoolloo playlist (Field Day bands). We then set off through the wood at the back of the campsite towards Jebb’s Pool. This was a short walk, but involved crossing the river twice – once on stepping stones and once along a fallen tree, but the water hole was beautiful.

A shallow natural pool from the river with waterfalls (used by the kids as slides) cascading down into the main pool. From there it flowed through the campsite, into the other water hope and under the Great Ocean Road to the sea.

Jeffrey had told us earlier that a few years ago he’d been swimming in the main camp watering hole when a kangaroo had fallen in from the hill we’d climbed earlier. We vowed to go and look around at dusk to try and spot some.

But after a quick paddle in Jebb’s Pool we set off to the beach that was used only by the campsite. The river flowed under the road surrounded by bushes, yet when it became the sea there was nothing but sand.

After crossing the road we followed the path to the beach when suddenly Miss H swore and stepped briskly sideways – Tiger Snake alert!

Kum ba yah

Luckily the beach was almost deserted, but it was getting cold so we stayed a while and paddled before heading back for dinner, noting our new neighbours with interest. Two Australian guys who were already a few beers down.

Of course once we started cooking they invited us to sit with them and use their chairs (as we had nothing) and offered us beer… And chicken on a stick. And sausage sandwiches. We were so good at this camping lark!

Once again we fire sat while they went off to get more beers, making the most of their chairs and speakers. When they got back some friends joined them and the guitars came out. Then of course people flocked over to join in – there was even sheet music.

It felt kind of stereotypical to be sitting around a fire on a campsite, singing songs and toasting marshmallows, but it was pretty awesome. Apparently Shane had been chased by a kangaroo the previous year after “catching it drinking at the water hole”. He swore that the kangaroo had jumped over five bins as it chased after him…

As the two guys had been coming to the site for years and years we weren’t told to quieten down until almost midnight. The rest of the campers dispersed and we declined the guys’ offer of ‘going to the beach’ with them. I did borrow Shane’s fleece lined hoodie though as it was freezing in that tent, despite many, many layers of clothing.

Australasia Sunshine and Light

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I like driving in my car

by mystageistheworld

Fill my little car right up

Up bright and early (although I still missed breakfast), we walked back to South Central Station, via a Hungry Jacks for a frozen raspberry Fanta ($1), and after topping up our Myki cards, boarded the train for Kensington.

With Google Maps as our guide and a LOT of luggage between us, we confidently strode off down the road, realising after 15 minutes that once again we were going the wrong way. Typical. Turning around, we eventually rocked up at Wicked Campers to pick up our little yellow Holden Spark, complete with roof tent.

Sitting behind the wheel for the first time in just over two years was a little daunting, but I took it all in my stride and set off… Realising five minutes later that “there’s not much petrol, you’ll need to fill up soon” meant “the tank is empty”. After ten minutes of quite stressful driving, we managed to fill the car up and set the SatNav for the Great Ocean Road!

On the road

Thankfully Australians drive on the left (something they remind you of constantly), so once we got onto the highway, I was absolutely fine driving, although struggling not to speed (it’s too easy). In just over an hour, we were approaching Torquay Visitor’s Centre, so I parked (perfectly) and we got our bearings.

List of campsites, leaflets and a week’s worth of food in tow, it was Miss H’s turn to drive… For 20km, until I made her swap back to me. It’s just a small issue, but she couldn’t change gear and we were at the top of the hill on a very busy road (speed limit 100 kmh), with lots of cars behind us – slightly terrifying.

Back behind the wheel, I had to be aware of the sudden ‘viewpoint on your left’ signs or we’d have missed them. We almost missed the Memorial Arch, but I managed to swing the car into the car park at the last minute. Perfectly legally… Ahem.

Our cameras were constantly in use as we stopped off at as many (interesting) points as we could. In fact, we’d only just passed Lorne when we realised it was almost 6pm and we needed to find a campsite. This we did after another less than legitimate right turn off the highway.

The campsite wasn’t the cheapest, but it was possibly the most beautiful. Just beyond the sea, the Cumberland River ran into the campsite to form a water hole that was framed by huge hills either side. The showers used rainwater and there were trees and bushes everywhere, plus woods and a private beach. It was peaceful and friendly and full of Australians.

Everybody loves Raymond

We parked up and set about putting up the tent: “You just take the cover off, pull the ladder out and boom. Mattress etc is in there. Have fun.” wasn’t quite accurate…

After ten minutes of giggling and struggling, watched by amused Aussies, about twelve of them came over to help us. The men scratched their heads and pulled bits and pieces, whilst the women who also came over offered helpful advice. The children just looked stunned. I helpfully took photos.

Eventually though, he was up! But there was no bedding and no tent pegs. We did have several poles though that were completely useless. Back to the office I went to beg some bedding and some kind man lent us two tent pegs so – finally – we were all set up.

We were the talk of the campsite! Everyone was coming over, taking photos and asking questions – they all loved it! Most people had been coming to this campsite each year for decades and now brought their own families. They made the area sound so lovely that we decided to stay a second night to explore.

Feeling more outdoorsy now, we got out our stove, ready for our packet pasta (with tinned chicken and veg) and it was all going well (once a nice man turned it on for us), until it ran out of gas. Apparently “you’ve got loads of gas” means “you’ve got no gas”. Luckily the nice couple next door overheard our cursing and gave us a gas canister, also inviting us to fire sit for them while they looked around.

Obviously fire sitting led to a nice evening with them, drinking (their) beer and roasting (our) marshmallows. We even found a use for the redundant tent poles – toasting forks!

Australasia The Glad Game

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Moving on to Melbourne

by mystageistheworld

Not so smooth sailing

The rest of our time in Sydney passed in a blur – I took the ferry to Manly, sat on the beach and bought a bikini. As Miss H’s time was drawing to a close, we spent Friday night with her friends from her last hostel, lapping up the free drinks and making lots of new friends wherever we went, ending up in O’Malleys.

Saturday was much the same – a late brunch, followed by sunbathing and packing up. We then drank some Kopparberg, ate a $10 steak, drank some Binends and went out with some of the gang from New Year’s Eve – nothing too hardcore. Just lots of dancing in O’Malleys (standard).

Of course, certain circumstances meant that we didn’t have time to sleep before our flight, so exhausted and a little worse for wear we caught a taxi to Sydney Airport. Upon arrival, Miss H realises that she’s left her phone somewhere. I ring it – yup, it’s in the taxi. The driver refuses to come back to the airport, even though she offers to pay the fare, as he wouldn’t make it in time.

Then he rings back to say his friend is on her way to the airport and has the phone. We manage to collect the phone (only a $10 charge), get through security and onto our flight with time to spare.

Once we get to Avalon, it’s an hour on the coach to South Central Station and a good 25 minute walk to our hostel. But, we make it and are able to check in. After showers (where I embarrassed our roommate who walked in to find me wearing just a towel, muttered hello and promptly exited), we set out to explore.

Mooching in Melbourne

Just a short walk from our hostel, we stumbled across a new restaurant called Pepper Lunch, which served traditional Japanese food. By this time we were starving, so we tucked into huge plates of sizzling rice, chicken and cheese.

Following the Lonely Planet guide to Melbourne, we walked around the city, past a lot of theatres (I could live here), beautiful old (for Australia) buildings and colourful graffiti. We also wandered through some alleyways full of shops and cafés and even saw Woodlock (a band Sarah told us to see if we could) perform in the street.

Then, of course, it rained. So, aware of the fact that we had to drive in the morning, we headed back to the hostel and chilled out in the living room, before a ridiculously early night, interrupted by the delightful voices of two Spanish girls who were enjoying their own personal karaoke session.

Even once they were politely told “you have beautiful voices, but shut the hell up” they continued to sing, shout and giggle with their window open so that everyone could hear them.

Hardly the peaceful night we had envisioned, having had just three hours’ sleep in almost three days.

Ah well – c’est le vie.

Australasia

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Moonlight becomes you

by mystageistheworld

Park life

After a well-deserved sleep and an exciting trip to the mall to buy Miss H a new rucksack, we put together yet another epic picnic for our evening’s entertainment, recommended to me by the two Welsh girls I’d met on the walking tour. We had olives, sundries tomatoes and feta stuffed peppers, plus some pumpkin and Harissa hummus, crisps and a baguette. And of course some maltesers and popcorn.

After meeting Sarah we walked to Oxford Street and hopped on the bus to the Millennium Park. Or at least we thought we did. The very helpful bus driver told us we needed to get off after two stops, but a friendly passenger said actually four would be better so we could ‘just’ walk down the road towards the park.

So, off we got and headed into the park – the very, very large park. Google Maps suggested it would take us 40 minutes to walk to the Ampitheatre, but we shrugged that off and headed across the park, ignoring the hundreds of bats circling overheard. Past a few lakes, under some trees full of very angry birds for about 20 minutes, we cursed the lack of signposts, especially when we realised that we were going the wrong way (of course!

We changed direction, back under the shrieking birds and onto the right path (marked by a statue of Charles Dickens). Suddenly we were surrounded by tiny parrots who started to follow us (or the bags of food) and got quite aggressive as we tried to run away!

Luckily we suddenly heard cheering and saw our destination. Inside we went, past some lovely ladies handing out free fake Baileys and set up camp on the grass in front of the screen, ready for the Moonlight Cinema.

The time of my life

Now I don’t go to the cinema very often, but I have to admit some of the trailers looked pretty good, especially The Book Thief with Geoffrey Rush – all of us decided to download the Kindle book later.

Shortly after the trailers, the film began and everyone was singing along to Be My Baby. The atmosphere was fantastic – mostly girls, but a few couples and some larger groups.

The first time Patrick Swayze appeared, a huge cheer went up from the crowd. This happened almost every time he appeared on screen, as well as during some classic moments: “I carried a watermelon”, “Nobody puts Baby in the corner” and of course when they did the lift. There were also high pitched screams whenever and Swayze had no shirt on. I have to agree – it’s not a bad sight.

As the film ended everyone clapped and cheered. Voices hoarse from singing and shouting we walked five minutes to the bus stop. A stop that of course we could’ve got off at from the bus we were on earlier…

Australasia

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Field Day

by mystageistheworld

Start as you mean to continue

After an extremely sober start to the year, we resolved to have a few bevvies at the New Year’s Day music festival – Field Day. Dressed in our best festival attire, we strolled down to the Botanical Gardens caked in sun cream ready for the gates to open at midday. Naturally we were pretty early so hung outside in the heat with a few people who’d clearly come straight from the previous night’s celebrations!

We decided against alcohol smuggling as we knew we could buy it inside and it was definitely a cider kind of day – bright sunshine and music! Once we’d passed security we had a quick scout around The Domain and got our bearings.

Most of the bands we wanted to see were on the two main stages and people were already dancing to Indian Summer on the huge dance floor in front of the main stage. We joined them for a quick boogie and then headed to the cider tent, which was currently deserted.

It wasn’t cheap – $9 a can – but each can you took for recycling got you $1 back. So, cider in hand we headed off to see Elizabeth Rose, a young girl in a very sparkly leotard. Her music wasn’t bad so we joined the small dancing crowd and made up some lyrics to her pretty catchy songs. We briefly chatted to some guys (who turned out to be Indian Summer) but mostly just enjoyed the set.

Cheap as chips

With a short gap until Crystal Fighters we headed to the recycling tent to return our cans. This is where we discovered that you could take back several cans at a time and still get $1 for each.

Now we’re not skanky, nor are we massive green girls, BUT this scheme equated to free/cheap cider, so each time we finished a can we’d go and recycle it, picking up any discarded cans en route. Only on the way – we weren’t fighting over them or fishing them out of bins like some people were.

Basically, each cider we bought cost us $4, which made it much more reasonable. We even splashed out on a chicken and capsicum pizza to keep us going.

Sing for absolution

Back at The Island stage, we discovered that we really liked Crystal Fighters – long-haired hippies wearing a lot of crystals – (At Home was our favourite) so stayed for their whole set (bar another quick recycling/cider run) and then watched London Grammar who were also pretty cool.

We then switched to the main stage (again via recycling/cider) to see Flux Pavilion. It was much more crowded here and us short people struggled to see. After voicing my frustration to a topless man behind me, he suddenly hoisted me onto his shoulders, giving me the perfect view. He was about 6″3 but didn’t seem to be holding me very tight so I had to grip him pretty hard to stop myself plunging head first into the crowd.

Eventually I was safely back on my own two feet, just in time for us to run back around to see The Wombats, who are extremely popular in Australia. The crowd was dense and we were quite close to the front, so we gave up on recycling and just enjoyed the band.

They were pretty awesome live and everyone was singing along. We got chatting to some English guys in the crowd, so once the festival finished about 11pm, we headed to O’Malleys with them for some more cider. New Year’s Day definitely made up for New Year’s Eve where drinking was concerned!

Australasia Sunshine and Light

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New Year’s Eve

by mystageistheworld

View of the Bridge

After another day of being a tourist and walking miles (including all of the Botanical Gardens and climbing thousands of steps to check out the Sydney Harbour Bridge Pylon), it was suddenly New Year’s Eve. Now apparently this is a big deal in Sydney so we wanted to make sure we did it properly. A few people were paying $395 to sit on a boat and get drunk; others were going to a club. So what did Miss H and I do?

Up bright and early, we got the train down to Martin’s Place and walked to the Observatory Gardens. The gates opened at midday so (as it was 10.30) we joined the few other people in the queue. Obviously we made friends with some German guys and an Australian family so were chatting away, taking it in turns to stroll around, get water/ice-cream etc. It was a no alcohol zone, so our bags were cleverly concealing a box of ‘goon’ wrapped in a blanket amongst our picnic.

Bags checked and wine undiscovered, we smugly set off for the best spot – just behind the white line (which nobody was allowed to cross as it was above a very steep slope). From here we had the perfect view of the bridge. We just had 9 hours to wait until the kids’ fireworks and then another 3 until the real ones.

The gardens gradually filled up while we sunbathed, read our books and played Go Fish! About 4pm we decided it was time for some ‘lemonade’ which we mixed with Sprite. It’s pretty nasty stuff, but it grows on you – you just have to be prepared for the goon hangover, that can set in any time after you start drinking.

One of the German guys brought us fresh blueberry muffins and we played a game of Epic Snap with the group behind us. They were drinking ‘Ribena’ and we mixed our picnics together, guarding our sacred space from the many tourists trying to sit in front of the white line, or even next to us. Rude.

Karma Chameleon

Sadly, one bunch of tourists were particularly annoyed that we wouldn’t let them sit with us, so informed the security guards that we were drinking alcohol. This was most displeasing, especially as we were pretty sure that they had guessed, but were turning a blind eye because we weren’t causing trouble. Now, they marched over and demanded we surrender our alcohol. We lied, we cried and we apologised, but we had to hand it over.

Minutes later, the security man came and apologised, promising to return it after the fireworks. Our new friends stopped drinking out of solidarity/fear and the Australian dad gave us his vineyard card, promising us a bottle of wine if we visited. Meanwhile, I made friends with a five-year-old American girl who gave me a glow stick and lent me her brother’s laser gun so we could shoot all the tourists who tried to sit near us. Great fun.

At 6pm we saw some astounding aerial acrobats – the plane flew past us and did a loop. The Red Arrows need have no fear! However, their second show was pretty spectacular, although it did sort of look like the planes were on fire and crash landing!

However, the children’s fireworks at 9pm were pretty epic and the crowd whooped and cheered; my new friend kept whirling her glow sticks around, even though it wasn’t quite dark enough. Then we waited.

However, after the first wave of fireworks, order broke down. People sat in front of the white line, despite our arguments and security’s persuasive powers. The wine stealer fought our corner bravely, explaining that ‘those guys have been here for ten hours, so it’s not really fair that you’re sitting in front of them.’

Most of them grudgingly moved back, but a few persisted, including a balding Swiss man who actually sat on Tom’s lap until he moved up to make room. Then he waved off our protests with ‘no comprende’ even though he clearly did and we also told him in no uncertain French terms to bugger off. In the end we amused ourselves using his head as a tripod and using him as the subject of our ‘three words each’ story, beginning: Once upon a mantelpiece, lived a fat French man who liked to eat sweaty cheese…

The Dutch couple on the other hand were another matter. We explained exactly why they couldn’t sit in front of us and we were told “in my country, we call your sort of people w*****s”. Our retort? “Well we call your sort of people c***s!” Little J and the security man argued with the Romanian family but they just ignored us completely.

After all this excitement and eventual resignation, a lot of us napped, sharing our rugs around as we waited for the ultimate firework spectacular.

The Final Countdown

At 23.45 we woke up Little J and prepared ourselves. We had no idea exactly what time it was, because different people started counting down at different times. But, the fireworks knew and off they went.

They were the most spectacular fireworks we’d ever seen. Lasting more than 15 minutes, there was everything. Purples, oranges, blues and reds, plus white and gold, shimmering and sparkling in the Sydney skyline. There were fireworks from the barges in front of the bridge and two behind, plus the Opera House and the bridge itself.

Breathtaking fireworks that kept on amazing and delighting adults and children alike, ending with a blazing fountain of gold underneath the bridge, making it look as though it was on fire. Photographs couldn’t come close to portraying their true beauty.

Walking back with our new Facebook friends, the streets were wild – Christmas jumpers, steamers, cheering and shouting. Yes, the eight of us were sober, but it had been a fabulous New Year’s Eve.

Australasia Sunshine and Light

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Gangsters’ Paradise

by mystageistheworld

After a couple of days lazing on Bondi Beach (beautiful, but windy) and nights hanging out with the crazy backpackers from the various hostels, it seemed like time for an adventure.

So, bright and early on Sunday I stood by the fountain waiting for a bus that would take me up into the Blue Mountains.

Enter Rodney – our crazy Australian tour guide for the day. Once he’d picked us all up we had to provide him with our gangsta name: I was Mikki C and sat next to Bigg Tiff D. Rules of the day – whenever he said ‘Hey Gansters’ we had to reply with ‘Yo!’ Pretty straightforward really.

The bus ride was about an hour so most of us napped as Triple J played in the background – Rodney kept us informed when “what he thought was Australian Hip Hop’ came on as ‘that’s what us gangsters like”.

We stopped briefly at Dave’s House to pick up our packed lunches and then suddenly we were in the “boring, touristy part of the Blue Mountains”.

The Australian Grand Canyon

Of course, we didn’t go there – we went off the beaten track where there were very few people. We climbed over broken trees, jumped over ditches and crawled through a cave. Then, ducking under a ‘Danger: Keep Out’ sign we arrived at our first viewpoint.

It was breathtaking. New Zealand is often thought to be more beautiful than Australia, but this could have been Middle Earth. A deep ravine of trees and rocks as far as the eye could see, all enveloped in a blue haze. So much greenery less than an hour from Sydney was unexpected, but appreciated.

Waterfalls here and there dotted the landscape as we looked done into the gorge. Beautiful.

Interesting fact learned here: Quemajosca is a Brazilian insult, meaning ‘donut burner’

But we had to leave to go elsewhere, after a toilet stop where a gas mask was necessary to avoid retching. Many of us girls waited for the next stop which was far more sanitary and required no additional breathing apparatus.

Fierce creatures

More fabulous scenery awaited us – plus the anticipation of lunch – so we braved the path that was “full of snakes, spiders and God knows what” to get to the middle of the canyon where we stood on dodgy scaffolding snapping away. Some of us (myself included) risked the vertical ladder down for a better view of the other side. Stunning.

Clambering back up, Hannah and I joked about which was worse, spiders or snakes, stepping over a couple of lizards, but thankfully nothing else as we did so… Until we reached the hut where we were having lunch where a massive spider lurked on the ceiling above our buffet.

Tentatively glancing up as we ate our lunch we asked what it was. “Oh that’s a Huntsman – they’re nice spiders aren’t you Huntsie?”

Personally, I think he was dead (or biding his time) as he didn’t bother us as we stuffed our ravenous selves with food.

A walk to remember

The next lookout was buzzing with a couple of tourists who all looked terrified when they hears “Hey Gangsters” followed by a resounding “YO” from about 18 youngsters.

Rodney then informed us that we’d do the next walk on our own, but we’d be fine because [sic] “Jesus protects me – I am not for catching” which apparently a famous Australian gangster had claimed.

Pacified, we set off up the hill towards the waterfall we had seen in the distance. Several hundred steps up and then down we were greeted with a spray of water, which wasn’t rain but the waterfall, blown towards us in the wind.

Slightly soaked we took our scenic photos and carried on up the rocks onto a woodland path. Hannah and I sped off and were soon far ahead of the others, who only caught up with us because we took so many pictures and posed in the middle of the river.

Waiting for us at the top was Rodney and we set off to a top tourist spot because no tour of the Blue Mountains was complete without it.

Myths and legends

It was packed. Rodney gave us twenty minutes so we tried some ice-cream flavours… Until the man got annoyed, saying to Bigg Tiff “let me serve this lady and then I’ll sort out all of your problems” so we chose quickly and went to look at The Three Sisters.

So, legend had it that three great warriors fell in love with three sisters of an Aboriginal tribe, but their father – the tribe’s witch doctor’ refused. A battle ensued so he turned his daughters to stone to protect them. Sadly, he was killed during the battle and his daughters remain forever as stone.

Rodney told us it was rubbish as white man cared not for the aboriginal legends until they could use them to fob tourists off. With this in mind we walked up, looked at the three mounds of rock, snapped a photo and went to see the giant Christmas koala bear instead.

We all agreed that if the rocks had waterfalls they could be the three weeping sisters which was a much more convincing story.

Our final stop was Kings Tableland – a flattish piece of rock with a sheer drop into a gorge. It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen and we all sat there dangling our legs over the edge and taking silly photos.

Homeward bound we exchanged numbers and made plans to meet up in Melbourne (where we were all headed).

Back to the Cross and time for Thai food and jugs of Cucumber Collins (gin!) with the girls.

Australasia Sunshine and Light

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Strolling and singing in Sydney

by mystageistheworld

A walk in the sun

While Miss H headed off to Manly to pick up some clothes from a friend’s house, I ventured (well, ambled) into town to join the free walking tour. Despite my appalling sense of direction it took just 20 minutes to find the Town Hall where about 100 people stood clustered around a few guys in bright green T-shirts.

I found myself next to two Welsh girls so tagged along with them. They’d come over for Christmas and New Year, although one of the girls was staying longer to do some exploring. The other (like me) had a job back at home and had so far resisted the temptation to quit and join the thousands of other Britons working and partying.

I still hadn’t met many actual Australians as everyone seemed to be British, but thankfully our tour guide was a Sydneysider and he led us around the city he loves for almost three hours. By the statue of Queen Victoria outside the Queen Victoria Building (QVB) we saw (and heard) the talking dog statue – in memory of her favourite dog Islay – voiced by controversial DJ John Laws, who also does the bark that follows Islay’s ‘thank you’ if money is thrown into the ‘wishing well’.

Inside the QVB is a decorative castle clock designed by Neil Glasser and representing Balmoral. Each hour it displays six scenes of British royalty, including the beheading of Charles I, accompanied by Jeremiah Clark’s trumpet voluntary.

As well as unusual facts about Sydney architecture, we’re also given tips on cheap activities – so instead of paying to climb the Westfield Tower ($40), we’re told to just go to the bar which not only has a super view, but also rotates and the minimum spend is only $20 – bargain!

After seeing almost everything Syndey has to offer (including a lot of Christmas trees) we ended up by the iconic harbour bridge, across the harbour from the Opera House where I was heading that night.

Not New Year’s Eve

Naturally, for a night at the opera (house) one has to make some sort of effort. So we ditched the shorts and flip flops in favour of dresses and shoes. We drank pink Moscato in the Opera Bar by the harbour and then pre-ordered sparkling Semillon for the interval.

The Opera House had arranged a New Year’s Eve programme for the last week of the year with opera, music and theatre. We were off to see ‘Not New Year’s Eve’ – an evening of classical music, jazz and songs from musicals, performed by the Australian Philharmonic Orchestra with special guests.

The Opera House is actually much smaller on the inside, but the acoustics are excellent and we had a good view. However, one couple informed our neighbours that they were in their seats… But it turned out that their tickets were actually for the next day – oops.

Much cheering, clapping and singing along later we felt thoroughly satisfied with our opera house experience and continued in the cultural spirit by heading out for drinks.

Australasia Sunshine and Light

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To infinity and beyond – flight to Sydney

by mystageistheworld

The calm after the storm

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a… Random woman? Wearing pyjamas I crept downstairs after hearing voices, only to find a strange lady sitting in the dining room.

Yep – the power had been off for almost 12 hours so my dad had gone down to the town for a wander and come back with some free baps (the local bakery just gave up and offered them out) and an elderly lady.

Now, my dad isn’t one for chatting to strangers, but Barbie (oh yes) had been waiting for a non-existent bus in the cold and my dad had invited her back for a cup of tea. After sharing her life story (one son, no husband), she took some candles and my dad drove her to the community centre and then home.

Meanwhile with no phone signal or wifi I was forced to ‘call on my friend’ by turning up at his house unannounced, where I was met with a candlelit house. Of course the Christmas lights weren’t working which was sad, but the town and houses all looked far more festive without electricity.

But before I could enjoy this old-fashioned Christmas I had to deal with more pressing matters – packing without electricity and hoping that my plane was flying…

Off to a land down under

I made it onto the plane with few hitches (oh apart from a slight problem with my visa… The hyphen in my surname had been missed off, so I didn’t exist) and found myself sitting next to a rather attractive young PhD student (life’s ambition: to take his hand built pizza oven around Australia). There were also a few Christmas jumpers, although none to rival my penguin.

Several films later (What Maisie Knew is a fantastic film – watch it), we arrived in Dubai where we were greeted with cries of ‘Happy Christmas’ which is very bizarre when you have no idea what time it is, let alone aware of the day (GMT 03:15).

A quick freshen up and time for a smoothie. Of course we then heard the final call for our plane so had to run… Only to be told that this was the wrong flight – we were trying to board the cancelled flight from December 23rd, so ended up having to run for ours after all! Back to our seats for ‘Christmas dinner’ aka roast chicken and a coffee brownie, plus a festive chocolate. Woo. Then lots of heavily disturbed sleep, The Great Gatsby (credit to Baz Luhrman for making a full book a pretty good film) and a lot of Big Bang Theory.

And then we landed. It was raining.

Sadly, I got separated from handsome student at the carousel with only a flutter of a smile and a wave. But if I’m ever in Newcastle…

Struggling with suitcase, rucksack, bag and satchel I navigated the trains to Kings Cross and walked to the hostel, only to be told I couldn’t check in for another 4 hours. Luckily she took pity on me and let me into the room (dodgy carpet stains included) where I napped for a couple of hours until Miss H rocked up from New Zealand.

Ride a cock horse

No time for slacking – it was off to the races via a very welcome lemon chicken sandwich. The sun had finally come out to play and Royal Randwick racecourse welcomed us with open arms – free entry for international passport holders. Mingling with the Australian equivalent of Essex girls and the hardcore gamblers, we scrutinised the listings for the worthwhile horses, betting the large sum of $1-4 each time.

Some of my winners included:

Street Savvy

I’m impulsive

Elusive Diva

Can’t think why those horses stuck out for me… They made me a profit anyway. Nothing like betting ‘each way’ when your horse wins and you get a nice little return… Why anyone would ever bet ‘to win’ is beyond me!

Off to the supermarket, dinner and bed… With tan lines already visible. Excellent.

Australasia Sunshine and Light

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My Stage is the World

Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practise to deceive

Girls will be girls

Nature – it’s all over me

I like driving in my car

Moving on to Melbourne

Moonlight becomes you

Field Day

New Year’s Eve

Gangsters’ Paradise

Strolling and singing in Sydney

To infinity and beyond – flight to Sydney

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