So I’m now back home in rainy Bolton and if I’m being totally honest, I wish I was still travelling with my backpack in tow soaking up the sun and enjoying the extended daylight hours. After New Zealand where it was winter and dark at 5pm, it was a nice change and consequently, I seemed to have little time to get online and update my blog.

In thirty manic days in USA, I crossed through twenty states to reach my final destination of New York and covered over 3000 miles on the train. There were a number of things that took me by surprise, notably the number of homeless people. I was forever being approached by guys in particular and however naive, guilty I felt when they cornered me into listening to their stories, I’m only a poor backpacker at the end of the day.

I flew into Los Angeles where I got the grumpy customs officer, the one you want to avoid and that’s me quoting one of the assistants who is supposed to help the line go quicker. He said he didn’t understand a word I said which surprised me at the time but was to become a frequent problem during my travels. It’s not like all Americans have the same accent so I’m not quite sure why they had particular problems understanding mine but it did become a bit frustrating sometimes having to repeat myself just to order a tuna sandwich!

Stepping out of the airport, nothing could have prepared me for the craziness that is Los Angeles. On our shuttle bus alone, we were almost involved in a side-on collision, even the Americans in our van gasped at how close we were. It didn’t take long for me to witness my first smash either which occurred later that evening.

My second visit to L.A, just to transfer across town from the Amtrak station to the airport, I managed to circle the airport twice before figuring out which terminal I should get off at. L.A itself wasn’t too bad, my hostel was handily located in Hollywood and I managed to get out to Santa Monica which was a lovely place. I also went to Six Flags Magic Mountain which was great fun, I’m such an adrenaline junkie when it comes to theme parks. I’ve never been upside down so many times in my life before though. Overall, I’d probably say it was my least favourite of all the cities I visited in my month there.

San Diego was my second stop and it was a beautiful place to spend a few days, now they have the perfect climate and Balboa Park is absolutely beautiful. I even managed to walk across the Mexican border to Tijuana but didn’t get my stamp on my passport which was my whole point to be honest. I took a ferry across to Coronado for some stunning views of San Diego. I ate Mexican in the Gaslamp quarter, sampled a little bit of Little Italy, visited Old Town and then I wonder where all my money went.

My next stop was San Francisco and I could have done with longer there too because it’s a lovely city and being located by the bay, not as humid and congested as L.A. It felt much more accessible to me and I was able to walk practically everywhere.  I flew with American airlines and had to remove my footwear as is the norm over here. With my fingerprints too and a photo of me taken without my glasses on arrival, the US government has everything they will ever need. I walked across the Golden Gate Bridge and on to the pretty little village of Sausalito, home to many Art galleries and a nice way to spend an afternoon.

My hostel was in the heart of their Broadway, full of eateries and not far to the wharf or downtown San Francisco. I got to taste their famous Sourdough bread and saw it made into turtles, crabs, teddy bears and even into the shape of alligators I took the BART across to Berkeley and wandered around the famous university there. 

 One of the highlights of my stay had to be my free limo ride which I took advantage of. It might not have been the glitz and glamour of LA but then they are far more common there but it was still pretty exciting and special for me being my first and everything. You can even ride a historic Blackpool tram there.

Then I took the train from San Francisco to Chicago, something I don’t plan to repeat in the near future at all. Fifty-eight hours on the train is too long even for me, it wouldn’t have been too bad but I dozed through the Salt Lake City stop so with our diversion through Wyoming, I wasn’t able to get off the train for twenty hours. Surprisingly we were actually early into Denver, Colorado despite at times the train going terminally slow and having to pick up some ‘piloters’ at a freight yard and  the fifteen minutes or so it took us to reverse into the station. I’d never come across the phrase ‘detraining the train’ before travelling on Amtrak. It just sounds weird to me as did the pronunciation of ‘routing’ over there.

When we finally arrived in Chicago I had never been so happy to get off a train. My hostel was only eight blocks or so and I had the ‘L’ right outside my window. This hostel was one of the best I stayed in my entire trip and definitely the best in the states with an excellent free breakfast, free dinner some nights and free wi-fi if you have a laptop with you.

Chicago was a lovely city with some very impressive architecture and a picturesque location along the banks of Lake Michigan. I did a lot of walking and visited the Institute of Art too. I strolled around Lincoln Park and watched some squirrels fighting which was rather cute. I went to Pilsen and went in a museum dedicated to Mexican Arts and then took the red line to Chinatown. I did spot a couple of real-life doctors too in scrubs! Chicago has a lot of free outdoor entertainment on in the summer which I took advantage of some evenings.

My next stop was Washington D.C where we were over three hours late on arrival after getting held up first in Toledo, Ohio waiting for a connecting bus to arrive and then outside Connellsville freight yard because of freight congestion and freight has priority over passengers in America. There was a lovely quaint station at Elkhart and we crossed the Mississippi river too so it was pretty interesting in parts.

D.C as it’s commonly referred to is a nice city and although I had a little bit of stress since my hostel had cancelled my reservation and I got caught in a storm, I really enjoyed my stay there too. I rarely needed to use public transport and I got to see someone arrested outside the White House. I crossed over the river and visited the Arlington War cemetery in Virginia as well as Theodore Roosevelt Island. I had never had to show my passport  and undergo a security check to eat in a food court before but it was the Ronald Reagan Trade Center. One evening I watched ‘Wait Until Dark’ with Audrey Hepburn at ‘Screen On The Green’ which was quite scary in parts.

Leaving D.C, I took the train direct to Boston and watched some pretty scenery go by as I passed through the states of Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island before arriving in Boston, Massachusetts. Boston was very much a walking city and I walked along the Charles River as far as Harvard, Cambridge a few times during my stay there. The views of Downtown Boston were spectacular from the river.  I climbed to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument, 250 + steps in soaring heat in completing both the Freedom Trial and the Black Heritage trial. The hostel there was fairly expensive at $40 a night.

My last stop was New York City and walking from Penn Station to my hostel off Times Square, I couldn’t believe I was actually in New York City.  I went to see two shows on Broadway: RENT and Legally Blonde. Legally Blonde was a tad disappointing but that wasn’t down to the cast but due to the fact the story didn’t convert well onto stage in my personal opinion. RENT was amazing though and I’m so glad I decided to see that one, thirteen musicals in two years, I’m a little obsessed.

I ate bagels most mornings and my favourite had to be the strawberry cream cheese one from Murray’s on 8th Avenue in Chelsea. It was truly scrumptious. I became addicted to Jamba Juice smoothies too. I took the Staten Island ferry, walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and took the subway to Flushing, Queens. I walked around Central Park and along the Hudson River.

I flew home from JFK and wasn’t overly impressed with security there, I expected it to be really strict but given that I got through with an empty bottle of water in my handbag which I forgot about, it was a bit lax to be honest! The TSA did however pick out my rucksack to be randomly checked, although I think they took one look at everything crammed in plastic bags and decided not to bother. Transferring to my flight to Manchester was a bit of a hassle, the queues are huge because you have to go through security again. I got to go through business class though because I didn’t have long until my gate shut. That felt pretty good.

Coming back to rainy Bolton has been a bit of a comedown for me and even though it’s only been four days I’m struggling to get used to it to be honest. The past four months have been the best of my life since my final two years of university but all good things must come to an end at least for now anyway.

The past two weeks I’ve been travelling around the North Island of New Zealand and started with Wellington, the current capital of the country, I say current because both Russell in the Bay of Islands and Auckland have previously had the privilege. Wellington wasn’t too kind on my finances, as although the museums were free, I couldn’t resist the lures of cafes and found myself eating out a lot. My excuse would be that I’m very much always on the go and a lot of the time I can’t be bothered going back to the hostel to prepare something when I can get Chinese food for $6 or a chicken and avocado (my current favourite) wrap for $4. Anything I prepare never tastes as nice anyway! I was also very good in Dunedin and Te Anau where I never ate out, the occasional hot chocolate I’ll admit to but I figured I might as well experience what the capital can offer me whilst I was there.

My first full day in Wellington, I decided to go on the famous cable car up to the Botanic Gardens for some spectacular views of the harbour and the city. I visited the adjoining museum and watched three interesting short videos on the history of trams in New Zealand, Why I love Wellington and private cable cars in Wellington. The latter was a fascinating insight into the life of some Wellingtonians who need private cable cars in order to access their house. Then I wandered around the Botanic gardens and walked back into town.

After lunch, I decided to walk to the former cathedral of St Paul, which is a lot nicer than the newer and current cathedral in my opinion.  I ended up taking the long-winded route and found myself at the Westpac Stadium. I soon got back on track and got my map out, only for a female jogger to ask me if I needed help. I thought that was lovely and it left me with a positive image of the city. 

After leaving St Paul’s, a lovely Gothic building that dates back to 1866, I walked around and happened to be passing the current government buildings when a guided tour was due to leave. So I spent the best part of an hour being shown round the new and old parliament buildings of New Zealand. The tour guide was very informative and given that I couldn’t even name the Prime Minister of this country before coming here, I’m a lot more knowledgeable now.

I carried on walking and came across a street called Bolton Street. I’m sure people thought I was a little strange taking a photo of a street sign but I couldn’t resist.

]The following day in Wellington, I went to Te Papa, the national museum that was very interesting. That evening, I went to the cinema as it was Tuesday evening, which means dirt-cheap tickets. I went to Rialto, which specialises in foreign language films so I saw The Lives of Others, a German film which I believe won the Oscar this year. I highly recommend it.

My last day in Wellington, I went to the National Maritime Museum, an interesting museum and walked along the quays.  At the hostel I was staying at, there was a guy from Manchester working behind the desk and that got me pondering. He was the first person I’ve met from anywhere near me on my travels, well other than two Bolton Wanderers shirt wearing fans in Cairns on my first day there and a couple from Orrell on the Neighbours tour.

However, all would change when I got to Rotorua, my stop after a very brief stay of one night in Taupo, the highlight of which was walking by the largest lake in New Zealand, coincidently called Lake Taupo and getting to see a decent thunderstorm. Taupo is supposedly the cheapest place in the world to skydive but I was a wimp and as usual being sensible I took into consideration that my insurance didn’t cover me for that type of activity. The weather also prevented me from walking to Huka Falls.

Rotorua is a heavily commercialised place but a nice one in which to spend a couple of days. My hostel there was lovely, although thin wall. It’s relatively new and no bunks. Sometimes I would forget that I wasn’t against a wall and find there was nowhere to rest my head. I was thankful the bus journey from Taupo to Rotorua was only one hour because the bus driver was incredibly annoying.

I got there early afternoon and went exploring the town. I walked down to the Government gardens, which houses the museum. Unfortunately, it started pouring down and with no umbrella on me, I had to pay $11 to go in the museum. It was pretty good value in hindsight but I’m used to free museums now. In the museum there were two videos, the second of which was about Maori soldiers in World War Two. That was so sad.

The museum was actually the town’s former Bath House so I got to find out how it was used for treating sick people and it is supposedly the country’s most photographed building. There was a viewing platform from which I was able to get a good view of Lake Rotorua, Rotorua city and the government gardens as the rain had subsided to a little drizzle.

That evening, I went to the Mitai Maori Village, which cost me $75, but it was worth the money for the food alone. I had a ‘Hangi’ meal, a traditional Maori meal cooked on the ground. I got to see a Waka, an ancient warrior canoe, a traditional cultural performance, which was ended with a performance of the Haka, some very special in front of my own eyes. I saw glow worms too, which made me for not having time to go to the Waitomo Caves.

The next morning, I went zorbing at the Agrodome. I went rolling down a hill zig zag style in a puddle of water so I got absolutely soaked. It was so much fun though, I had of course to buy the photo package as a souvenir. In the afternoon, I walked around Kuwara Park, home to numerous thermal areas. It was pretty cool seeing all this steam rising around you.

I walked back to the hostel where a girl from Bolton had checked into the same room as me. It was so nice to meet someone from home. Someone who totally understands your accent, especially when in Taupo I was actually corrected on my pronunciation of a word. We went to Burgerfuel for dinner, voted New Zealand’s best ‘relatively healthy’ fast food place, freshly prepared in front of you with lettuce that tastes fresh. It’s quite cheap too and very popular with New Zealanders.

The next day I left for Auckland, the country’s biggest city. I arrived and I was unable to check in so I dumped my stuff. I browsed the shops including Borders for my magazine fix, which opens until midnight here.

However, walking down the main shopping street, I saw some young people kicking a guy already on the floor in the head, body screaming at him. I think the guy was homeless and had obviously said something to offend them but still people just watched or walked past (i.e. me) because we were scared to intervene. I mean I missed whatever happened to start the incident and as I turned back, I saw the aggressors walking off but that’s the first time since arriving on my travels, I have seen that type of behaviour.

 I had ice cream at the harbour, as it was sunny. I choose Hokey Pokey and Banana Split. I don’t know how I will readapt to life back home in terms of ice cream flavours, this place even sold brown bread flavoured ice cream.

I left Auckland at 8am the following morning for Paihia in the Bay of Islands. Paihia is a coastal town, which was very tranquil and tiny. Unfortunately, I didn’t bother to check the weather forecast before leaving; well I have no television or radio so that can be a problem.

The afternoon I arrived, it was drizzling on and off so I decided to take a little walk to Waitangi and Treaty House which was nice although I’m still not convinced the building was worth $12 to get in especially when a ten year pass is only $20.

The following days were a nightmare though, a huge storm lashed Paihia with a deluge of rain and gale-force winds, a lodge hostel where you had to leave the building to access the kitchen wasn’t much fun. I was pretty much trapped in my room because the time I did brave it, I got so soaked and my shoes were sodden that I found myself walking around in my flip-flops for the rest of the day. My phone died for a while but the heater dried it out fortunately. I wanted my music so much; remind me why I was so stupid not to bring my iPod. The power kept going off too, definitely the worst storm I can recall witnessing.

I really started to panic through the night when the rain continued, so much so I couldn’t sleep. I managed to change my bus reservation for an earlier bus but since the roads out of Northland were closed. The first one got cancelled and they had no idea when they would reopen. So much for the winterless north. We did however get out and saw fallen trees, landslips and roofs blown off.  We stopped to refuel at one point but couldn’t because the power was off – it’s so weird seeing traffic lights not working. I even got stuck in my very first traffic jam over here about forty minutes from Auckland on a windy road.

Unfortunately I haven’t had time to see much of Auckland, maybe another time.

Tomorrow I leave New Zealand for L.A and that means I’ll have been travelling for three months. It’ll be interesting to see how the flight affects me since I arrive like seven hours before the time I left New Zealand.

]

So I’ve safely arrived in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. It’s been an incredibly manic week and in the past week, I’ve spent the equivalent of one whole day on an Intercity bus and then there was the three hours on the ferry on the Interislander yesterday crossing over from Picton on the South Island to Wellington on the North Island. Needless to say, I slept in this morning despite my cold and I’m glad to be staying put here for a few days although I don’t think Wellington is going to be too kind on my finances nor my figure given that it boasts more cafes (per capita) than New York City. Oh well….

My hostel is centrally located, opposite a supermarket and although it’s probably a good twenty minute walk to the bus station, the bus only costs $1 so I don’t think I’ll bother struggling along with my backpack and the two carrier bags I seem to have acquired since leaving Dunedin. Cadbury’s world and my latest book being to blame.

Today, I strolled aroundthe city in the pouring rain. I’m now officially drenched. I’m not going to complain about the rain so much though because I definitely more suited to rain than the treacherous icy conditions I’ve faced during the course of the week in Te Anau and Dunedin where I managed to slip and bruise my entire foot. Amusing to me in the sense that I had walked for hours that day, up steep roads in the search of a lookout and slipped over a minute from my hostel.

Tomorrow I plan to explore Wellington and am hoping it stays dry so I can go on the cable car.

In my last few days on the South Island, I went to Milford Sound via Te Anau and then visited Dunedin, the second largest city on the South Island and home to not only Cadbury’s world but New Zealand’s first university and only dental school.

T e Anau, home to New Zealand’s second largest lake and the largest lake on the South Island is what I would call a tiny township but in New Zealand terms, it’s relatively large with a population over a thousand and the gateway to many walking tracks and the Milford Sound. Milford Sound is one of the country’s biggest tourist attractions and I’m glad that I didn’t cross it off my list of things to see after my first attempt to get here resulted in the bus getting turned back.

Although named a sound, it’s actually a fiord and I was very fortunate in that I had a clear, sunny day because Milford is very much associated with rain. The journey there in parts was breath-takin. We stopped off at Mirror Lakes where you can see the snow-capped mountains in the reflection of the water. When we arrived at the ferry terminal, I went on the scenic cruise and it was amazing. The views were just spectacular and I even got to see a brown fur seal.

It was a long day and the next morning, I had fears that my bus was going to get cancelled again becuase it was -5 outside and black ice was everywhere. The bus was so cold that I had to wear my hat and gloves although I probably didn’t have adequate layers on being the tough northerner that I am and the fact I’m only here for another two weeks so it seems fairly pointless to buy winter specific clothing when there’s no room in my bag either.

I went from Te Anau to Dunedin and we arrived on time but the road conditions improved significantly once we connected with the bus from Invercargill at Gore. My hostel in Dunedin was very nice, a former hospital and then hotel. The television room in which I watched Grey’s Anatomy was actually a former morgue and there were three ghosts too supposedly although I didn’t run into them.

Dunedin was a nice city to spend a few nights although a tad quiet for a student town. I met up with a really nice English girl I’d met at Franz Josef and we spent a fair bit of time together. I did all the cultural thing, visiting the harbour, taking an obligatory photo of Dunedin railway station (the third most photographed sight in New Zealand.) Then I went to the Botanic gardens, ate my lunch there and then walked up the world’s steepest street – Baldwin Street. I took a photo from the top but I wouldn’t like to live up there personally.

The next day, I went to Cadbury’s World for $16. I got some free chocolate including a free Curly Wurly which isn’t actually sold in New Zealand. I also bought loads because it was cheap, with 24 different flavours of Dairy Milk the decision was hard. I also bought the world’s largest crunchie, almost the size of my foot.

I also went seeing Paris, je t’aime at the cinema as is becoming my Tueday ritual. It’s funny how some ilms get released at the same time over here but others don’t, Starter for Ten was just released over here and I saw that back in November last year at home.

My final day in Dunedin was a short one, I got the afternoon bus back to Christchurch whilst I had the choice. Normally it was 7am or no bus at all on the South Island. The highlight of my brief stay in Christchurch would be that in my dorm room was at there was a girl with the exact same top in the same colour from Fat Face and some Just Jeans trousers I also own. How coincidental. I was out of the hostel the next morning at 6.25am to get my bus to Picton where we had a brief stop in Kaikoura which would have been on my list of destinations to visit had I more time..

So I’m still in Queenstown, going to try and leave for Te Anau and Milford Sound again tomorrow morning. People say that Milford Sound is a sight not to be missed whilst in New Zealand and I figured if I didn’t try again, I would always regret it so hopefully luck will be on my side this time. The weather has been a lot nicer in Queenstown and warmer, the temperature actually reached double figures which is fantastic. However, given that Queenstown has been cut off with the airport and all roads closed I won’t get my hopes up until I’m actually on my Milford Sound cruise.

I find it quite amusing that I got snowed in but at least now I’ve seen proper snow and quite a bit of it. In hindsight, I’m glad that I was stranded here because I know of backpackers who got stuck in Cromwell and well, as far as I’m aware there isn’t much to do.

Tomorrow, I have to be at Queenstown bus station for 6.45am which promises to be fun. All the buses leave quite early here, I have one at 8am the following day where I have to make a connection in Gore for a bus to Dunedin, given that it’s the only bus of the day I hope the connection will wait for me should my first bus be late and then another at 7am on Saturday so I can make my ferry connection at Picton. What makes it worse is that you have to check in fifteen minutes early and quite often wait in the cold for a bus.

Today, I walked up to where the Gondola goes from but it was closed due to high winds as was the Luge. So I’ve kind of just been milling about, planning my itinerary for the next week. Yesterday, I went watching Ocean’s 13 because I kept meaning to see it but it’s only on twice a day at the local cinema here. I also had a Fergburger, which is something of an institution here. It was so good.

The thing I miss most about travelling would be my own bed, I’m a mixed dorm for my last two nights here and well not only did all the guys wake me up because they came in absolutely hammered, two of them snore and it’s not a snore you can sleep through. I actually decided to move into the lounge area with my duvet, only to get woken up and told I couldn’t sleep there which annoyed me a little because I wasn’t doing any harm. I was so tired and I get grumpy when I’m tired, especially after five hours sleep the previous night when I went out to the pub because the fireworks were cancelled and then got up at 6am for my bus which turned back. It’s quite frustrating though listening to snoring of that magnitude.

My next update will probably be from Dunedin hopefully, home to the University of Otago, the world’s steepest street, Cadbury’s World, Taieri Gorge Railway and Celtic for Edinburgh.

Last Thursday, I flew into Christchurch, New Zealand or Aotearoa as the Maoris know it and my first impressions were how cold it is compared to Australia. I’ve had to invest in gloves since I got here and I’ve been wearing my hat in Queenstown where I’m presently visiting.

The city of Christchurch, the largest on the South Island felt very English in many respects with punting down the River Avon and nice historic looking and modern architecture. My first full day there, it was really sunny so I spent it walking around the city! I walked along the river, around the Botanic gardens, went to New world supermarket and had an apple crumble muffin which was good but not the best crumble I’ve tasted…

The next day I had to switch hostels because I wasn’t willing to take a chance and wait around until morning to see if my current hostel had a cancellation to see if I could extend my stay. After dropping off my backpack which is definitely a lot heavier since leaving Melbourne or just not packed as well, I went to the Cathedral which is very pretty but had scaffolding around it. It’s not often you see a cathedral without some type of restoration taking place.

I did a little browsing round the shops because due to checking out I wasn’t able to take a day trip to a little French settlement I wanted to visit. I went to a place called Dumpling and had a divine lemon chicken and fried rice for two pounds. There seemed to be queues which was a rarity in Christchurch, it was a Saturday afternoon and the clothing shops were deserted, in some I was the only person.

The next day, I had to be up really early for my 7am pick up for my shuttle bus to the railway station for my Tranzsecnic journey from Christchurch to Greymouth. The scenery was amazing and there was an open observation deck where you could take photos whilst you whizzed along. The train was going to fast for me to get good shots though and the deck was quite exposed, all that fresh air woke me up though. The train passed through the Canterbury plains, the Waimakariri River and the Southern Alps before reaching Greymouth on the West Coast.

At Greymouth, I had forty minutes to kill before taking my bus to the Franz Josef glacier. I decided not to stary in fear of hetting lost and missing my bus. There’s quite often only one Intercity bus a day on the South Island and having only a month to explore the whole of this country, I didn’t want that to happen. The bus driver on that journey was a little annoying but only because I was sat near the front of the bus. I pitied the poor German guy who got cornered on the front seat next to him the entire journey. I’ve since travelled with two different drivers from Franz Josef to Queenstown and they restored my faith!

When I got to Franz Josef, I chilled out my first night in preparation for my trip to the Franz Josef glacier which I was dreading because I got roped into doing the full day glacier trip rather than the half day trip as I got told that one was only for children and older people and that I’d easily be able to do the full day trip. I should have trusted my own judgment of my capabilities though because I’ve been suffering ever since! My thighs are killing and I’ve got so many bruises. I spent six hours on the glacier and approximately two hours walking across rocky terrain, complete with streams and a mini rainforest getting to the glacier.

The views were amazing but I was really struggling on the ice, so much so me and a guy from Taiwan got singled out and moved to the front of our group when we were coming down which was a tad embarrassing. The guide kept saying big confident steps but it’s easy for him to say because he’s experienced and well, I’ve never been on proper ice before. He did say I greatly improved once I got to the front of the group and we caught up to the group in front so we couldn’t have been that slow. The main thing is that I accomplished it and no one can ever take that away from me.

My crampons came off twice during the trip which probably didn’t help to build my confidence. I learnt one important thing from that trip, never try to become someone you’re not just to fit in more with the rest of the crowd, I’m too much of a wimp to do a lot of the things on offer in New Zealand. I’m going to stick to things I really want to do like jet-boating which I did today!

It’s strange that coming out here, I wasn’t at all apprehensive about undertaking this trip, but the fear of being a first timer and making a fool of myself whilst white-water rafting scares the life out of me. It’s down to confidence I guess.

Jet boating today was lots of fun, perhaps not the best thing for all my bruises but I was feeling a lot better than yesterday where I could hardly move. I was in the front row which wasn’t full so every time we turned, me and the girl next to me bumped into each other. We got to see locations used in the Lord Of The Rings films and I purchased the photos too for $15. It lasted an hour but given that the temperature hasn’t risen before three degrees all day, it was pretty chilly on the river.

I’m going on the Gondola tomorrow and hanging about for the first night of the Winter festival because there are fireworks and I love fireworks before moving on to Te Anau to go to Milford Sound from there..

So the time has come for me to say goodbye to Australia and I’m definitely going to miss this country, especially Melbourne. Tomorrow morning I leave for New Zealand and have to get to Southern Cross Station for around 5am. Time in Christchurch where I’m flying to is two hours ahead of Melbourne time so I’ll be eleven hours ahead of home.

Before I run down what I’ve done in my last week in Australia. I’ve compiled a list of the things I will miss most about Australia.

1) Their attitude to life – this is why I want to come back! Even in Melbourne, a big city it doesn’t feel at all chaotic. The people are so friendly and the young people, well I want to bring them all back home.

2) Fresh produce and the markets – whereas in Bolton, there’s an ever-growing tendency to rely on supermarkets, here I go to the bakery, the grocers etc

3) the climate – the clear blue skies, the beaches and the sea actually being blue, so clear that you can see the reflection of the buildings in the water. You just want to be outdoors here.

4) Gelato – well it all tastes so divine.

5) How every town seems to have accessible cycle paths /walking tracks. I love the fact that at night, you can easily go for a walk along the river and feel completely safe because there’s always lots of other people doing the same thing.

6) Melbourne – my favourite city and the place where I’ve spent the most time. It’s totally my kind of city, full of culture, shops and trams.

7) Super Tuesdays at the cinema, cheap tickets all day Tuesday and here in Melbourne, some cinemas do it on Monday so you have a choice. $7 to watch a film is such a bargain.

Clothing sizes, it’s a lot easier to buy trousers here, jeans don’t skip a size, they’re available in 6,7,8,9,10 etc!

9)Discovering what a Capsicum was, well it wasn’t until five weeks into my trip that I realised that it’s what we call a pepper. I always ignored sandwiches with it in until that day. (Yes, I’m no cook.)

I’m so glad I came here, I don’t regret travelling alone for a second.

So I’ve been incredibly busy this past week in Melbourne.

Last Thursday, I went on a guided tour of the Great Ocean Road, one of the world’s most spectacular coastal drives. It was fantastic and we had nice weather for most of the trip which was very fortunate.

The Great Ocean Road starts in yet another place called Torquay, home to Bell’s Beach – a town famous for surfing and home to big surfing brands such as Ripcurl. We stopped off in many places along the route, Anglesea, Lorne, Kennett Beach where I saw wild koalas and crimson rosellas landed on my head! At one stage, I had one on my head and one on my shoulder and I wasn’t even feeding them for that very reason. Koalas have a cosy life, sleeping for twenty hours a day and eating the rest of the time.

We grabbed lunch in Apollo Bay and then went on atwenty minute walk through a rainforest. Our last stop was the Port Campbell National Park to see the Twelve Apostles although suppposedly only eight remain now due to erosion. We visited Loch Ard Gorge named after the wreck of the Lord Ard in which only two people survived. It was an amazing day and I got to see a wild kangaroo on the way back, we almost ran it over which give me a bit of a fright.

The following day, I went to the South Melbourne market with my roommate from Urban Central which in my personal opinion is better than the famous Queen Victoria Market. I bought turkish bread and some fresh yoghurt with passionfruit and strawberries in it. That afternoon, I went on the Neighbours tour which was so cheesy. The Neighbours night which takes place every Monday in St Kilda was so much better. I got to see Libby’s band and ‘Waiting Room’ with ‘Dr Karl’ perform and I got my photo taken with thme and Dylan.

On Saturday, I went to Phillip Island to see the little Fairy Penguins and see their parade in which they return to their burrows. I wanted to bring one home, they were so adorable and so tiny, the size of a baby rabbit. We were given a free cuddly toy version – I’m hoping customs realise that’s what I meant on my package I sent home today! We got to feed some tame kangaroos, check out some surfers and go wine tasting too.

On Monday afternoon before my Neighbours evening. I went to see my second AFL game – a local derby between Melbourne and Collingwood. The Magpies lost and the Demons won. There was a crowd of just over 70,000 so not a sell-out but a really good atmosphere.

Yesterday I went to St Kilda again and then saw Shrek 3 at the cinema which was a huge disappointment to the previous two films.

Now I must go and finish off my packing.

So I’ve fallen way behind in updating this blog, I don’t think I’m going to catch up before I leave Australia behind for New Zealand next week because I’m pretty busy. My next three days consist of Great Ocean Road tomorrow, Neighbours tour on Friday and then Phillip Island for my Penguin Parade amongst other things on Saturday. Then I’m going to the AFL game Melbourne vs Collingwood on Bank Holiday Monday to commemorate the Queen’s birthday. I really wanted to see the Melbourne Cricket ground packed to capacity. My first Aussie Rules game there Collingwood vs Fremantle at night was amazing and the stadium was only half full. Opposing fans sit together and the banter is unbelievable. It’s an affordable activity too for the family, my tickets to that game cost eight pounds, the bank holiday one is slightly more expensive but nothing compared to ’soccer’ back home.

Melbourne truly is a cosmopolitan city and I’d love to live here. It is also home to the amazing Missy Higginstoo but I couldn’t find anyone willing to give up a ticket for her home gig I went along to the Italian festival on Sunday and there’s even  a part of the city named ‘Little Italy’. There is amazing gelato too, far too many places for me to try. I keep spotting new places I want to try almost every hour. Trampoline has amazing flavours though. I know we don’t have the climate for ice cream at home but honestly it’s of a far higher standard here. Everything is though, even baked potatoes are! Spud bar all the way…

 The hostel I’m staying at here provides free breakfast of toast and cereal which is a nice added bonus. It’s a pretty nice place and well located for the trams. Trams are everywhere here.  The St Kilda film festival is taking place this week but I’m not sure if I’ll get time to go, I made the most of cheap Mondays and Tuesdays at the cinema and saw Zodiac and an Australian film Noise which I really recommend, it’s a good job I don’t believe everything that happens in films, otherwise I would never get on a train leaving Flinders Street station again.

 I’ve also been up the Rialto Towerand watched the sunset over Melbourne which was special. I’ve been to St Kilda and walked along the pier and discovered some funky shopping areas in Prahran and Fitzroy. I’ve walked around the Botanic gardens, Albert Park, along the Yarra River, the Docklands and visited the War memorial so certainly been making the most of my time here.

Now I’m off for an evening stroll because Melbourne is beautiful at night.

Tomorrow I’m leaving Sydney behind after eleven days here for the nation’s capital Canberra, supposedly ‘boring’ according to a lot of backpackers but full of cultural stuff that I’m sure I will find interesting.

Today was Sorry Day in Australia. I didn’t realise until I noticed a huge gathering of people and almost walked into a dog such was my intrigue. He helpfully explained to me the purpose of ‘Sorry Day’. I went down to Circular Quay and listened to people speak for a while before heading to the Rocks and the weekend markets that take place there. I spent a while browsing the markets before helping myself to some chocolate covered strawberries which were delicious. Then I watched a shop called ‘Sticky’ make sushi candy, a very interesting process but I resisted the lures of candy after my indulgence earlier on. At the markets, I bought ‘Everyone Worth Knowing’ by Lauren Weisberger, the author of ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ cheaply for the bus ride tomorrow.

Tonight I ate in the Wake Up bar for the first time since getting here, a yummy chicken quesadilla. That is two nights in a row I’ve eaten wraps after yesterday’s discovery that food courts often sell off extra cheaply food before closing.

I’m sad to be leaving Sydney behind, although it is more expensive than all other places I’ve visited in Australia but very reasonable compared to back home.

 

 

 

Yes I’m now in Sydney, got here at 5.45am, 30 minutes early! Not bad considering we left Coffs 30 minutes late. I was amazed at the amount of traffic on the roads and people jogging at that time! I decided to wait around Central station before heading to my hostel at 7am to see if I could drop off my luggage. They very nicely allowed me to check in but I couldn’t hang around because there were people still sleeping and obviously the cleaners had yet to come in and clean the room.

 Anyway I leave you with my 25 second clip of the fireworks I got to see in Brisbane.

I’m backdating my entries for Byron and Coffs Harbour since I never had time to update my blog whilst I was there. Coffs wasn’t full of internet cafes either so I only got on once at the hostel to book my bus ticket for Sydney and my accomodation for my first few nights.

 So on my final day in Byron, I did take a little walk up to the Cape Byron Lighthouse even though it had rained non-stop till midday and I was concerned about the ground and getting lost alone. However,  it was really nice but a tad windy especially on the walk down to what is the most easterly point on the Australian mainland. It was really hard work coming back up the steps fighting the wind.

I then went for a nice stroll along the beach before grabbing some shopping for tea from Woolworths, Woolworths may struggle back home but they are everywhere over here and Big W has totally taken off too.

 The next day, I left Byron for the town of Coffs Harbour, a relatively short bus trip of four hours. When I arrived in Coffs, the hostel was waiting to pick me up which is always appreciated. The less walking I have to do with my rucksack on my back the better!

 The YHA in Coffs had recently relocated closer to the beach and I was glad that I didn’t have to put down a $10 key deposit and $5 deposit for the use of a few kitchen utensils which was the case in Byron.

 My first afternoon in Coffs was a  bit of a wasted one, it was drizzling so I decided to go to the Big Banana attraction the following day. I walked there from the YHA and am pretty sure to this day that I took the long-winded route because it invloved a steep hill and there wasn’t any pavement for ages. I think it was an attraction intened for car only  because I had to cross the Pacific Highway which isn’t for the faint-hearted. There was fortunately one island in the middle.

There is a nationwide search on to locate “the big things” of Australia. The critieria being that they must be larger than the real thing and articifical. The Big Banana celebrated its fortieth birthday in 2004.  Now I understood why there was a huge mango on the outskirts of Bowen.

Anyway by the time I got to the Big Banana, it had started to drizzle so I wandered around the free attractions for a bit including a banana themed gift shop. It was crazy, all these banana related goods.

 I left the Big Banana behind, crossing the highway again and headed in the direction of Coffs town centre when I came across a huge shopping plaza. I browsed the shops for a while until the rain stopped and thinking I would be safe, I decided to head home. Unfortunately it started to hammer it down and I got drenched. I must buy an umbrella one of these days.

Two things that have been puzzling me the last few days are:

 1)Why do we call ‘crisps’ crisps?  only because they are known as chips over here too.

 2) Australia says freeway, highway instead of motorway, main road but why?  They also say ‘three blacks north’. I would have thought they would have used British English rather than American English so I’m a little intrigued.

Yesterday, my final day in Coffs was beautiful one so much so I got sunburnt on my nose. I checked out the local beaches and the Solitary Islands Marine Park before getting my night bus to Sydney at 9pm.