Somewhere in the sky
It's no secret that my time in Australia was never something that I had planned for this year. It was an impulsive decision I made nearly five months ago, when I was in the midst of heartbreak. When I was sad and I told one of my friends (Hi Jess) about my plans to come here, she said Australia is the best place and would make me happy. How right she was.
Coming here has been the best decision I've ever made. This country is absolutely beautiful and has reminded me of all the brilliant and wonderful places there are to see, not only in Australia, but in the world, too. After all, life is far too short to be slaving away at a 9-5 job you despise. If there's one thing you take from this, then do what makes you happy and what makes you feel good. Everything else can be figured out along the way. At least, that's the advice I'm giving to myself.
So I've been in Australia now for four weeks. I have completely fallen in love with this country. I honestly never expected to love it as much as I do. It's hard to explain, but it just kind of feels like home. I could definitely see myself living here long term (apologies Mam and Dad!) Since I've been here I've only felt one pang of homesickness, that was on my second night and I put it down to be completely exhausted and having not slept for nearly 48 hours (maybe more). Since then, I've been absolutely fine. Great, wonderful, happy. I also feel like my body is finally acclimatising. My pasty Northern skin did get some pretty intense burns in my second week. I still find it funny when Aussies say that 22 degrees is mild or chilly. Even on their cooler winter days, it's still warmer than summer in Newcastle.
Fairlight Beach
Manly Corso
Free Cone Day @ Ben and Jerry's
I've already had some pretty amazing experiences since I've been here. I've spent a lot of time in Manly, a town close to where I've been living in the Northern Beaches (though I am moving at the end of this week). Manly has a beautiful beach and it's a cute little chilled town with a lovely corso. On my first 'proper' day in Sydney, I spent eight hours just walking around. I saw the iconic Opera House and Harbour Bridge (although for me personally, the Tyne Bridge is equally just as impressive). I walked through Hyde Park, Darling Harbour, The Rocks, Observatory Hill and the Royal Botanic Gardens. It's like everywhere you turn in Sydney there's something to be admired. I've also done the Spit to Manly walk, which is a 10km walk and it's supposed to take around 3 to 4 hours. Parts of the walk are so intense and actually quite hard. I'd consider myself to be relatively fit but even I was struggling at parts.
Opera House
Harbour Bridge
View from Mrs Macquarie's Chair
I've also made some good friends and have a great social life, which is arguably a lot better here than it was at home. I've been on two bar crawls in Sydney. Who can say no to a $20 bar crawl that includes four free drinks? Not me. Especially when alcohol here is so expensive. I've been to Bondi Beach, which is actually quite chilled while being very touristy, the latter being expected though. It was kind of surreal to finally be there having watched Bondi Rescue. I've also been to Palm Beach, my friend Lucy drove us there. We got our pictures with the Alf's Bait Shop sign, purely because my Nana is a massive Home and Away fan and I couldn't not. We then hiked up to Barrenjoey Head Lighthouse where the views were really spectacular.
Spit to Manly
Spit to Manly
Spit to Manly
Spit to Manly
Bondi Beach
Bondi Beach
Bondi Beach
Today is Anzac Day which is a commemorative national holiday that marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during World War One. It's quite a big deal here and I was looking forward to watching the marches and commemorative services that were taking place.
It's my 23rd Birthday on Friday (when did I get so old?!) and I'm heading up to Cairns for the weekend which I am so excited about. I'm staying at a really good hostel and I've got some great tours planned. I'll be heading to Green Island and snorkelling in The Great Barrier Reef, going on a Skyrail in Kuranda Forest and doing a waterfall tour. I'm really looking forward to it, it should be great. Not many people can say they've spent their 23rd Birthday's doing those things.
I have so many other things planned, other wonderful places to see in Sydney, near Sydney and further afield. I cannot wait to see what my second month has to bring, but I hope it's as wonderful as the first month. I'm already considering staying longer than originally planned and that's okay. It's awesome, even.
Palm Beach
Barrenjoey Head Lighthouse
Barrenjoey Head Lighthouse
Love,
Brogan
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