Fourth and Fifth Month in Adelaide

I’ve just got back from my first bit of travelling in Aus, and i’m still having a great time.

My 4th blog from November is well overdue, but it was a very chilled, whilst uneventful, month. I spent the first half of the month finishing my exams, and spent the second half earning some money for travelling, training with the Adelaide Harriers, and chilling with my mates.

December, however, was a lot more exciting. After saving up enough money from work, me and my brother hired a campervan and set off for the Great Ocean Road. Before reaching the GOR, we visited the Grampians, where we stopped for a short hike to get what was a great view over the mountains. We then spent the next few days driving along the GOR; there were several designated, and non-designated, view-points along the road, and all of the sights were incredible. Our favourite sight was “London Bridge”, and we weren’t just being patriotic!

When we arrived in Melbourne, we went for a tour around the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground); as cricket fans we were very keen to see the world famous cricket ground, and with the 3rd test between Australia and India only a couple of days away, the stadium was absolutely buzzing. In addition, both teams were having net sessions during the afternoon, so fans from both teams had surrounded the nets desperate to get an autograph or picture, which added to the already lively atmosphere.

Christmas Day, as planned from the moment I left the UK, was spent on the beach. Again we had great weather, so we made the most of it by having a BBQ on the beach. On Boxing Day (my 21st birthday) we went to the famous Boxing Day test at the MCG between Australia and India. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the stadium was packed. We were lucky enough to see an action packed first day of the test, which only added to the already immense atmosphere. In the evening we went to the Melbourne Sky Deck, which gave us a fantastic view over Melbourne from a birds-eye-view at night. We went back to the cricket the next day, and again loved every minute of it, and the day after we set off for Sydney. We probably didn’t see that much of Melbourne at all, but we weren’t that fussed. The campervan was too much of a laugh to be spending too much time roaming around the city!

Sydney was fantastic; with NYE only a couple of days away, the city was buzzing. After dropping the campervan off, we went to the Big Bash t20 (more cricket) in the evening at the SCG, which again was supported by a great crowd. On our way back we got our first glimpse of Circular Quay, home to Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, which looked incredible at night. The next day we toured around the city, and in the afternoon had a look around the Sydney Opera House, which was definitely worth the visit. Before arriving we’d heard mixed reviews about Sydney, but we loved the city. It was obviously a lot bigger than Adelaide and a lot busier, but there was so much going on/to do.

For NYE, we got up at 5:30am to get to Circular Quay. Having come all this way, seeing the fireworks at Circular Quay was an absolute must, but with an 8000 capacity around the Opera House we had to get there early to get a good spot. The gates for Circular Quay opened at 7:30am, and full capacity was reached by 1pm! The early start was well worth it though, as we had a spot right at the very front. We built our fortress to fend off the copious amount of “firework enthusiasts” trying to wangle their way to the front, but with our “borrowed” duvets from the hostel and our new Columbian friends, we held on to our spot throughout the day. Needless to say, the fireworks were incredible. Entertainment started from 6pm (so a very long wait from the time we got there), and it was an evening I won’t forget for a long time.

After NY we went to Canberra, with the thought that we should see the capital city. Our 4 day trip, however, quickly turned into a very short stay; we arrived in the afternoon and left the next morning! It was a nice city, but it was absolutely deserted. The War Memorial was incredible and definitely made our trip worthwhile, but other than that there was nothing to see in Canberra.

We went back to Sydney and made the most of Harry’s remaining time in Aus. We spent one day at Bondi Beach, which, needless to say, was really good, and on our last day we did the Harbour Bridge Climb, which was definitely one of the highlights of our trip. After poor weather all day, the sun finally came out in the evening and we got a fantastic view over Sydney, which nicely rounded off our travelling experience.

We had a great few weeks travelling, and it was sad to see Harry head back to the UK. We made a DVD of our trip, so if anyone is interested to see more photos and the videos that we took, feel free to ask – the DVD gives a far more detailed insight of our trip!