Sydney

Sydney is an interesting city. In ways it is very similar to London, or any other big city, with masses of people, endless streets and sprawling suburbs. There are lots of beautiful areas; the Botanic Gardens, Circular Quay, Darling Harbour, The Rocks. And then there are the streets with the same shops and eateries repeated every 500meters. Hungry Jacks, Lorna Jane, Pie Face, JB HiFi, 7/11. There is shopping centre after shopping centre, no less than 8 on the street I lived on - although to be fair it is quite a long street. And with everything built in blocks, with long straight roads crossing long straight roads, it's far too easy to walk in the wrong direction! I have wasted many hours walking the wrong way on the right street!

I spent a long time searching for work in the city, getting stressed looking for somewhere to live and some way to pay for the expensive cost of living in Sydney. I was getting tired and grouchy with living out of my backpack in a noisy hostel where every night was disturbed by some rowdy roommate or other stumbling in at silly oclock. 

I felt trapped.

Until eventually I realised I didn't have to stay. Yes, my friends were staying, but that didn't mean I had to. As much as I liked being with them, this was my trip, and it was up to me to make the most of it. I didn't come to Australia to live in a city and work in an office just like I did back in England. 

It was time to move on. 

So I started making plans as we moved into a suburb of Sydney called Drummoyne. I worked for a wine festival, Vino Paradiso, in The Rocks, a hip area down by the water that is full with cool bars, restaurants and local markets. And I spent my days doing all the tours and trips that were included in my 2 week introduction to Australia package. I visited Hunter Valley and the Blue Mountains. I had a day surfing at Umima beach in Woy Woy. That was a beginner surf day, and because I knew what I was doing, I spent the whole day on the water with my own personal coach. I also went to Tarronga Zoo, and Sydney Aquarium where they have 2 of only 5 dugongs who live in captivity. I'm usually against creatures in cages, especially when they are as big as dugongs, but these 2 have been rescued from the wild and after release attempts it was deemed they would not survive alone. So I indulged in their beauty, and even got a high 5 from Wuru.

The problem was, I fell in love with life in Drummoyne. We lived in Bayside, an old conference centre, that was gradually being converted into accomodation. The rooms still had an office desk and filing cabinets to store our things. The media room had a big tv at the end of the huge board room table. It was a quiet, homely place, and felt a lot like living in halls at uni. I was sharing a room with Cara, David and Marcus from our original 6, and there were a lot of other couples and individuals. People would be working but we would hang out in the kitchen in the evenings, cooking and eating and drinking together.

I started acroyoga with Will, an English guy and intrepid traveller. He learnt the techique in Bali, or Indonesia, or somewhere else in South East Asia, and we built on what he knew with youtube videos and a lot of practice and falling. 

Acroyoga involves 1 person lying on their back and using their hands and feet to manipulate another person into positions in the air. It's an incredible work out and really works your flexibility and core strength. I loved it. And I loved life in our strange little conference centre.

But I had made plans and needed to follow them through. So I caught my bus up to Port Macquerie and met up with my wonderful friend Toya from uni. She is working out here as a doctor in the Emergency Department, and has a beautiful appartment that looks out over the water. We went on a jet boat ride, saw dolphins from the water, climbed a mountain, visited a koala hospital, had many delicious brunches with her friends, and Toya cooked me her famous Thai Soup That she once made me in Plymouth - it was so good!!