Down Under

We've been down under for a few weeks now and it's been really good so far. We spent a week and a half in Sydney and it seems like a pretty cool place, even if it is 'just another big city'. There are a lot of spooky similarities to London, like Hyde Park, Oxford Street, Kings Cross and Paddington, and with the abundance of English culture out here it does actually feel, to some extent, as though I have come home!!

We didn't see very much of Sydney because we couldn't be bothered with the whole sightseeing thing anymore, though we made an exception for the Sydney Opera House, and I have to be honest: After all the amazing stuff we've seen in South America, Sydney just isn't that interesting. Also, the backpacking scene where we were staying for most of the time was made up almost entirely of much younger travellers (~18-21 yrs) , so unless you still enjoy drinking warm beer in crappy clubs that churn out the same shit you've heard a thousand times, it's not that great. I would only recommend staying in Kings Cross if you are either a prostitute looking for work or a junkie needing a fix!

So, after a week in hostels in Kings Cross we managed to escape the backpacking scene altogether and spent a couple of days down by Bondi beach staying in a very exclusive luxury boutique hotel! Bondi was really nice, really trendy and our time there was a great escape from the accommodation and location we have become so well accustomed to. The coastline from Bondi down to Coogee is really rugged and beautiful and I'd like to go back to Sydney in a few months and spend some more time there.

At the moment we are staying with some mates, on the Sunshine Coast near Maroochydore. The Sunshine Coast is really nice, the beach is the focus, and it really is how I imagined Australia to be: Very quiet suburban streets with spaced out bungalows, large lawns and of course a beach and a surf club just down the road! Actually, I never realised quite how much beach there is here, it just goes for miles and miles and miles and doesn't seem to ever stop! The beach here is 20km long and joins straight on to another one when you get to the end of it!

At the moment we're just getting some plumbing in place: bank accounts, medical care, tax numbers, mobile phone, etc, and job hunting is now a high priority. 'Real world' life is kicking back in and we're looking for work in Melbourne. Our last bit of tourism for a while will be a mini road trip along the coast, aiming to get down to Melbourne by the end of next week.

Steve x