Australia 2012

Put names on list within the hostel to do farm work, at this point don't no where, what or when or even any guarantee going to get picked. applied for office and retail jobs everywhere saw was advertising around Brisbane.

A recruitment company got in touch with me for some tests which included maths, logic, customer service role play and comphensive tests & a telephone interview - and that was all for a temp call centre job!! they even took references off my old employer before looking at my test results and accepting me for the position. all I can say is a lot more in depth then England!

whilst waiting for the results from the tests, got offered a job in stanthorpe to do apple picking. got told to leave Brisbane tomorrow by crisp coach for 3 and 1/2 hours and $60.

when got to the hostel it was a very pleasant surprise. cabin idea rooms with 6 people in each dorm. people at farm were nicest travellers met so far, very friendly. the kitchen was massive and gave the opportunity to cook from home and that bought costs down considerably. the farm was 5-10 min drive away which Doug, the manager of hostel, had mini bus for all workers.

once got to the farm I started to be disappointed. there was no orgainsation, not enough tractors, not enough ladders etc etc. but still went for it, worked hard as could and first week came out with $211 and rent is $200 so left me with $11 to myself. talk about crap wage! the way they pay is not by hour but by bin, the bins you can easily get 4 people sat in them. each bin pays $30 and after tax you receive around $25. best day got 2 bins.

the weather turned wet towards the end of second week and this meant that couldn't go to work as the apples we were picking were grannys and they bruise easy as it is but in the rain there isn't much chance of not bruising them. also changed farms 3 times within 3 weeks and also did a morning of pear picking too.

however stanthorpe was beautiful, surrounded by hills and trees. nice village with a supermarket, creek and couple of pubs. met few Germans there which started to teach me German! and became good mates with. if can want to meet up with them again going up to cairns.

one day went to work and the rain came so had to pack up. on way to top of the farm Claire crashed a tractor. it was pretty smashed up. new at this point it was time to move on.

new plan is to head to Melbourne to find a job, as rumour has it most jobs there. also money extremely low now so Melbourne is a sensible choice as our flight leaves from there. next few weeks desperately need a job in Melbourne otherwise no option but to fly home.

Well so far Melbourne my favorite city then Brisbane then Sydney.

Weather been better here then in Sydney but still a lot of rain! Cant believe Australia gets so much rain!!!!

Went to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary on boat, and saw some of the areas which were hit by the storms this time last year which made Brisbane River burst its banks and destroy a lot of nearby areas. Once got to sanctuary got the most amazing opportunity which was to CUDDLE A KOALA!!! they are proper heavy though but it was really cool. Also learnt that they have 2 thumbs on each hand! weird

Anyway now money is getting pretty low and it is time to quickly start finding a job other wise I will be home telling you about my adventures instead of writing a blog! So either see you in few weeks or watch out for my next blog!

Got to Sydney however the train was delayed which made the journey very long and boring. decided to stay in a hostel over looking bondi beach.

investigated the near by area with a coastal walk around bondi. the view was nice however the weather turned from overcast to thunderstorms. went on this walk again but walked further as weather was better and once away from the tourist area on bondi the beach and view was amazing.

went into cbd of Sydney where the famous opera house and harbour bridge are. these were nice but again the weather was not on my side!

went to manly beach on ferry from circular quay. the beach was lovely and water was very blue. very touristy area though. the weather in manly was nice but on way back to Sydney the rain came down again.

only a short visit here as off to Brisbane to explore the east coast further.

went to eureka sky deck which is the tallest building in Melbourne or something, but gave beautiful views that just took my breathe away! got ticket to go threw the day & then go back at sun set & night. really cool to see it at different times of day.

have investigated the western docklands area where the Australian football stadium is situated, and a little shopping centre.

went for a picnic at the botanical gardens within minutes walk of the cbd area. massive area and very beautiful, apparently there should be a park or Greenland within 10 minutes of anywhere in cbd area. can you see England using that much thought?

went swimming in st kilda sea baths, this is a swimming pool that uses treated sea water, apparently its good for you? was weird experience though

travelled by a boat on yarra river for around an hour to get to williamstown which is an oldy worldy kind of place full of history. on the boat there, the captain talked threw the different parts of the city going past. including going under 3 bridges that were built long time ago, which were really low, so had to duck under the boat roof height not to bang head on the bottom of bridge. bridges could are listed and therefore can't be changed. apparently one of the many bridges that go over the yarra river was named after a guy who had a lot of convictions on the road, and the bridge was a main road/bridge linking south and north Melbourne! also there is swimming pool in north Melbourne that was named after a guy who drowned! this must be Australian humour

went to the moomba festival which was held on and either side of yarra river. this festival was free of charge and was massive! had rides, every type of food you could think of being sold, carnival activities etc. but the best part was the big dawg slalom and water skiing & the bird man competition which is where men dress up in bird costumes & something to help them fly ie wings and jump of a platform for charity. well funny.

went to Albert park grand prix race track, where had the opportunity to walk round/on the track and take photos. crazy experience considering days later famous people would be racing on that very spot.

also went to Philip island this trip started by going to a wildlife park where I got to feed a kangaroo and wallaby out of my hand went to a beautiful picture perfect beach with lovely blue water. followed by nobbies seal rocks, cowes (main city of island) for dinner and then watched the little penguins (also known as fairy penguins) come out of the sea waves and up on to the beach to their homes. they make a noise which I can only compare to snoring and they were very loud. I'm not sure how many there were that evening but the day before over 1000. they came out of water in little groups and stopped and waited for the group to catch up every now and then. they only grow to max of 33cm tall and weigh between 1-2kg. because of the design of the walkways the penguins were in touching distance amazing!
now sat on a countryline train, which is 11-12 hours long to get to Sydney from Melbourne! to start new adventures in new city

Been in melbourne coming up to 3 weeks now and the weather has changed from thunder storms to heat wave of close to 40 degrees. Apparently this is normal for Melbourne and is known for 4 weathers in one day. That why a lot of English people like it here.

Getting use to the way of life out here, ie jumping on and off trams with out much thought. At beginning it felt weird.

Been up the eureka sky deck 88, was the most amazing thing so far in this trip. Basically a very tall building that u get lift to top to. You can see a lot of Melbourne up there and it is just beautiful.
Went for a day & night package which meant I had the chance to see the view in day time, sun set and night time

Also been to Melbourne zoo, that was really big, took hours to walk around. Got to see monkeys, elephants, kangaroos and much more.

Settled down in hostel called coffee palace and feel more at home now found a nice room and friendly room mates.

Also went to Melbourne gaol, an old prison that was used up till 1994. Got to look round the cells and understand about the way people were treated and what punishments could be given for what crimes back in the day. Also accessed me to go to warden house where you get arrested and locked in one of the cells, lights out. Also got made to answer some of questions criminals would get asked ie open fingers and put hands in air ( so cant be hiding anything) and eye colour, tattoos, piercing etc so they could not recgnoise you. Was cool but scary - don't think I'm cut out for bad girls prison!!

Met up with couple of Australians who showed us some cool bars. One was a roof terrace facing the parliament building. Was a very nice view and kinda posh in there. Also section 8 which is a bar made out of an old shipping container place behind some office blocks which would of been used for waste land otherwise.