Travel Blog: Australia

12/9/13 - Alice Springs, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park

So today is my birthday!! And to celebrate, I flew to Alice Springs to explore the outback. Rik decided he didn't want to go, but I've been fascinated by Uluru since childhood.  As our departure date from Aus hurdled towards us, I decided I wasn't leaving until I went to the Northern Territory.
So I planned a Girl's Roadtrip of course!! And it was an amazing adventure.

We booked our Uluru 3 day camping tour with Mulgas, and I can't recommend them enough.  Our guide was fun but also very knowledgeable of the area.  As with all these tours, there is a lot of driving involved but they try everything to keep you entertained; from trivia quizzes to drawing on the windows.  And trust me, the early get-ups are always worth it!
Not long after we set off, we pulled up to our first activity - camel riding!

Then I picked up this sexy necessity:

Then it was off to the famous monolith, Uluru.  It is a place that is really hard to describe - you just have to go and experience it yourself, to understand why people believe it to be spiritual.  It is so calm and still.  We spent lots of time here, walking around the base, watching the sunset, camping in the national park and then watching the sunrise over the rock.

The camping was surprisingly one of the most exciting parts of the tour.  Camping in the outback means no tents - just swags! The main benefit of this is the ability to stare at the Outback night sky.  I remember distinctly one night, (after a few glasses of goon and moonshine by the campfire) I fell asleep rather quickly without appreciating the stars.  Then, during the night I woke up, and literally couldn't stop myself saying "WOW" out loud.  It is everything you imagine it to be and more.  Really trying not to sound cheesy, but it made me excited to be alive.

 Our swags around the fire

getting tucked up for bed!

The food was also amazing - barbecues with sooooo much local meat. I like my meat! I tried camel, kangaroo and buffalo and loved it.  Chomping on a real kangaroo tail though...not so much! 

 After Uluru, the next day we drove to Kings Canyon, which I didn't know much about.  After a three hour hike, I'd fell in love.

The whole tour was an eye opener. Born and bred a city girl, I'd never seen anything as vast as the Australian Outback.  I'm not sure I could live there, (far too many flies) but I definitely could have spent a bit more time in that amazing place. 

I've figured out that I really like going to places that make me feel completely insignificant.  Especially when it's forces of nature, like Uluru and Kings Canyon, that cause the effect.

Travel Blog: I got lazy

I admit I have been very slack with keeping the blog up to date recently.  But I have a very good excuse.  As the last few weeks of my travel adventure approached, I decided I was going to live the experience, immerse myself into it 24/7, rather than make time to get behind a laptop and write about it.  My travel schedule was so hectic, and I didn't want to be that person checking every single bar, restaurant or hostel for wifi.  I didn't feel the need to share with the world where I was, or what exciting new experiences I came across.  They were my last, precious moments and I was going to savour them.

And I did.

That doesn't mean my blog will be unfinished, I will happily record everything when I am home, in approximately 8 hours.  Maybe I'm still on "Fiji Time," but I just don't see the rush! The words and memories are in my head, they are going nowhere, so they don't need to be written in the very moment and exact location as to where the events happened.

So just in case anyone is on the edge of their seat (I highly doubt it) don't worry - the stories are coming.

Travel Blog: Australia

06/09/13

As of today, the working part of my working holiday visa is over. And it feels so sweet! I've done quite a few jobs round the country, in some I've been incredibly lucky and others not so much. But I've learned a lot from it. Like in my telesales job, I realised Aussies don't live up to their laid back reputation - especially when you cold call them. I would call incredible places like Rainbow Road, in Sunshine, and I can assure you the residents were NOT full of sunny happy rays. But, as my Dad said that crappy job was not a waste of time, it was 'character building'. That was one way to look at it I suppose!

On the other hand I have been extremely lucky in other jobs. Using my background in hospitality I could do work I find easy for double the wages I get back home. I also worked in a wine bar in Melbourne, where almost every day I got to taste a variety of local Australian wines. For free! I did want to do a vineyard tour when I first arrived, but there was no point after working there. I also learnt a lot about wine and cheese, so I am returning home a lot more cultured! I also learnt the art of making coffee- an extremely difficult process for any beginner, especially one who doesn't drink it. And in the coffee capital, Melbourne, the pressure was on! I found it so bemusing that people would come into a wine bar purely for coffee, but they often did. It was hard at first but when I got the hang of it I really enjoyed being a barista.( Ok I probably shouldn't go as far as to call myself a barista, I couldn't make pretty patterns in the top but I never had a coffee sent back and that's good enough for me). Of course there were stressful moments, there always are in hospitality, but hopefully I should never have to do it again. I've met lots of amazing people and the ups and downs were worth it to fund my travels.

And now that's all there is left to do...travel. ♥

Travel Blog: Australia

1st - 3rd September - Driving the Great Ocean Road

There were 5 of us in the campervan, "Berry" - me, Rik, Jodie, Lauren and Carl.  We knew the van was called Berry because the previous renters had left us a message on the roof.  By the end of our short trip, we loved Berry and Berry loved us.  The places she took us were phenomenal, and even though she'd probably seen them a million zillion times she had a good time too.  Apart from when we left her lights on and we had to get a stranger to come and jump start her...(Bad decisions...good stories).

The main part of the trip I want to share is where we camped on our first night. We drove the long drive to the Twelve Apostles - wrongly named. as I don't know how many rocks are in the formation but it's definitely not twelve!  Stunning views, but unfortunately along with them were fifty coach loads of tourists.  It was a surprisingly sunny day, so the holidaymakers were out in force, making it rather overcrowded and hard to get the shots you wanted.  After this we made our way back to the Great Ocean Road.  It turns inland for a while, into the forest behing Apollo Bay which is where we found our campsite.  On a quiet road along the way, a car parked by the side of the road flagged us down.  Automatically we presumed they had broken down or needed our help in some way, but when they started pointing high into a tree and getting their cameras out, my heart jumped and I knew it - THEY HAD SPOTTED A KOALA.
Sure enough, high in the branches was one lone koala, doing what they do best, chilling in a tree. I was so happy, I had finally found the wild koala I had been hunting for for the past ten months.  As we carried on driving, we soon began to spot them in almost every tree that laced both sides of the road.  The campsite where we were staying, Bimbi Park, was in the heart of this forest - and to mine and Jodie's delight, the koalas were all over the campsite aswell.  We slept metres from real, live, wild koalas!  It was amazing to see them in their natural habitat, and encounter the loud crazy noises the males make.  We even saw one incredibly close, when he adventured down to the ground to swap trees.  This was a dream come true and definitely one of my highlights of the whole year.

The following day we headed to the next town along, Lorne. We spent the day relaxing on the beach, having a pub lunch in a beer garden and camped a minute's walk from the sea. We discussed running away with Berry and just living life on the road as we really didn't want to give her back. We'd seen so much wildlife, including cockatoos and kookaburras and possums, but unfortunately the only kangaroos we seen were roadkill.  In the morning we drove to Erskine Falls, a beautiful 38m waterfall deep in the forest, before dropping Berry off with a tear in our eye. We returned to Melbourne to our beds and our jobs, but luckily for me I only have 2 shifts left! Then I am off adventuring again, this time to the outback - and I'm definitely not driving there!

Travel Blog: The beginning of the end...

17/07/13

Today we booked our flight home.  Mixed emotions really, but I'm just sad that our journey, our adventures, are nearly at an end.  It was so exciting to embark on our travels with a one way flight, not knowing when or if we would ever return.  We still have a little while left, but the countdown in my head is definitely on loudspeaker.  I'm determined to make the most of the rest of our time here.

Travel Blog: Australia

23rd June 2013 - Road trip to Phillip Island

Today we drove to a small island south of Melbourne.  Despite being Winter here in the Southern hemisphere, it was a beautiful sunny day and we experienced lovely picturesque views.  All the beaches we stopped at were surprisingly full of surfers, braving the cold waters on a cloudless day.  But it was not the sun, or the beaches we came here to see. There is one big attraction that brings hundreds of visitors to Phillip Island each day - and we have to wait until the sun goes down.

At dusk every single day, hundreds of little penguins come ashore to rest and breed. [*Side note: that is the actual name of the  type of penguin, 'little penguin.' I was told recently that they used to be called fairy penguins, but their name was changed in case it offended homosexuals....how they could be offended by a tiny penguin I don't know.]  The famous 'penguin parade' is an amazing sight, as the creatures suddenly appear from the sea and start the journey across the beach.  The large groups of human spectators are elevated on wooden platforms, so the penguins can waddle underneath and beside us.  They are the smallest species of penguin, but I wasn't prepared for just how small they were.  When they first appeared on the edge of the ocean, and I pointed them out excitedly to a friend, he literally couldn't see them!  They were no bigger than a normal small bird, like a crow or a blackbird - sooooo cute.  And they make the strangest noises, as they waddle up the hill trying to find their burrows.  It was an incredible sight, even sitting on the beach and watching the sunset, then a full moon reign over the sea was money well spent; then watching the parade of penguins descend upon us was pretty magical.  Some of them were literally within touching distance.  Unfortunately (and annoyingly) photographs were prohibited, but Rik managed to get a sneaky few with no flash before getting told off. 
Here is one:

Review: The Australian Ballet

Vanguard - The Australian Ballet, 17/6/13

Vanguard is a timeline of "ballet game changers," showcasing works by three internationally celebrated choreographers.

George Balanchine's Four Temperaments displays the most impressive ballet technique, without a tutu in sight.  Choreographed in 1946, it can't be described as anything but ballet; but minor changes in movement such as the odd bent supporting leg and pedestrian arm sequences, plus the lack of storytelling led the way for ballet choreographers to move away from content and meaning.  The uniformed costuming also made a statement, as the principals wore the same plain leotard and tights as the ensemble, enhancing the lines in the movement.

In Bella Figura, the dancers have ditched their pointe shoes and tights, and some have lost the rest of their clothes as well. Abstract and beautiful, with interesting and original stage production, it is hard to believe this piece is almost twenty years old. I pre empted that Kylian's piece would be my favourite of the triple bill, and undoubtedly it was.  The clever lighting design, and theatrical elements such as the dancers interacting with the set, created a magical atmosphere which the sharp yet graceful choreography intensified.  Kylian's work is always inspiring, and leaves you wishing the performance never ended.

Wayne McGregor's Dyad 1929 is the most recent work in the timeline.  Choreographed in 2009, it is completely removed and defiant from ballet's rooted emotion.  There is so much happening on the stage, with the crazy lighting and set design creating a bright feast for the eyes.  The ears are not forgotten, as the random sounds of Reich's Double Sextet compliment the unusual and striking movement.  The piece builds to a loud crescendo, finishing with the dancers fiercely executing McGregor's hallucinatory style.