Friday 27 March 2015

Surf Camp



My second week took me 2 hours south of the city to Surf Camp set in Gerringong (23rd - 27th March) with a small group of people I had met in my first week where we met up with 40 others who had also signed up for the week ahead all with different nationalities, travelling backgrounds and stories. We stayed in Surf shack style accommodation and had two two hour lessons of surfing a day. I had never imagined how much harder it would be to learn how to surf than i had initially first thought. Just trying to stay on the board whilst trying to catch the perfect wave and balance at the same time was near enough impossible for me. I think I had underestimated how much physical strength you need to have in order to even stay on the board without even standing up. 
Regardless of the fact I have little hope in me actually ever being able to surf properly the experience was something I will only ever get to do once and more than likely only whilst i'm here in Oz. 

Sunset over Seven Mile Beach


Our last night at surf camp


On the last night the 50 of us all went down to Seven Mile beach to watch the sunset. One of the best i've ever seen and the perfect end to a fun filled week living by the perfect beach. 

Surf babes

My First Week In Sydney


After the longest journey of my life I arrived in Sydney on the 15th of March, tired, anxious, and excited to start my year long trip in Australia. 

After a good nights sleep I was ready to start my first week with my Ultimate Oz group with the first day being a city walk past the Opera House, through the Botanical Gardens, Hyde Park and then lunch at Circular Quay. My first expectations of Sydney reminded me of New York crossed between London with an English feel. I was so far away from home but in some ways it felt like home already.
Later that evening we all met up and headed to Side Bar under Wake Up hostel for free food(a must for travellers on a budget).
After initially being quite anxious and unsure about coming to Sydney on my own after the first day of meeting the others on my group I realised I had nothing to worry about. I was taken aback by how much people talk to each other in hostels and how friendly everyone is. I initially went from worrying about being on my own to realising I was in the same boat as everyone else. 

Day two we all went out on a Catamaran boat trip around the harbour where we stopped on a private beach for a bbq and the chance to brave jumping off the boat into the water. I even got to drive the boat all the way back into harbour! 
Our next port of call was basecamp, a two and a half hours drive away from SYD to Port Stevens for two nights stay in a tent under the stars practically in the middle of no where(Golden Orb spiders EVERYWHERE!. 
Whilst we were here we partied on the beach late at night, went sand boarding, a Bush walk through Tomaree National Park, BBQ, Dolphin Cruise finished off with what claims to be the best Fish and Chips in the whole of Oz. Sorry England but it definitely was! For me Basecamp was the best part of the whole week and where we all started to bond and build friendship groups. 
Basecamp beach party
Dolphin Cruise - Port Stevens

On the Friday after two days at Basecamp we headed back to Sydney to finish off our Ultimate Oz week with a coastal walk from Coogee to Bondi. My first week had been packed full with different experiences and things I would never have imagined I'd have ever seen. My absolute highlight was the Dolphin cruise having never seen them before, to find our boat surrounded by them in the wild was quite something and made me realise how lucky I was to be living in Oz. I initially thought the week would go quickly but if anything it went slowly and was a perfect mixture of different activities and ways to get to know everyone in our travel group. 

Next stop Surf Camp!




Sunday 1 March 2015

The Countdown Begins


G'day!
I now have only two weeks left until my little trip across the pond to Sydney, Australia begins.
My main aim and the purpose of this blog is for me to document my year long adventure about my travels, the things I do, the people I meet and just about anything and everything that happen along the way. 
My first port of call is Sydney where i'll meet up with the small group of others who are also on the same working visa trip as me where we'll spend the first week getting to know each other and settling into Sydney life. 
For me this is something i've wanted to do for a long time and having never lived away from home although scary, I can't wait to get on that plane!
Who knows what will happen?