Big up to all, where ever ya may be…As the title points out, I’m in Oz now and have been here for two and a half weeks now. After comin here from NZ just as it was headin into winter (11°C in Christchurch the day I left) to the heat over here was a bit of a pleasant surprise – even if it did take me a few days to get use to it.
So I got to Sydney safe and sound, the beeper in customs didn’t even go off once!! First time for everything. I’d booked into a hostel in King’s Cross, which may as well be Soho, and after leaving a country of 4 million for a city of the same size, it felt like a very very different way of life. Still, first full day there, off to Darling Harbour to check out the Bridge and Opera House (Tourist is as tourist does). I don’t think I’d seen so many people in the one place since the Lions tour in NZ. The whole place was rammed! After much bumping of shoulders, I figured out the best way to move was listen to fast music and play ‘dodge the Japanese tourist’, I got board of that fairly fast though. So a new game came to mind – ‘Get in the Japanese tourists photos’, I think I got to about medium skill level (room for improvement). But I had one more game up my sleeve. For about 10 minutes I started to take photos of nothing – just walking up to a curb or a park bench and take a snap. Then sit and wait……………..The tourists flocked over – there’s going to be hours of slide shows goin on in Japan of curbs and park benches!! Classic!!
Headed back to the hostel after watching the sunset over the Bridge and Opera House and via the Botanic Gardens. The sunset was fantastic and the gardens were full of surprises, loads of amazing plants and birds, it’s easy to take for granted places like that at home. The only thing about over here is when you walk anywhere, ANYWHERE, over here, something can kill you! And I don’t just mean the wildlife (more later). I eventually got back to the hostel after a quick unplanned detour through a few streets that were littered with rubbish and cans – some cans had obviously tried to discard their owners, but the owner had been holding on so long, he must have needed a rest because he was sound asleep…. Maybe these guys were having a competition to see who could hold on the longest, the dozen or so looked like they’d been there for a while – possibly since the Olympics…
The hostel was a good laugh though, really social, not one of those hostels where everyone looks at you like you have 17.58 heads. There was a point where I was sitting outside at the table with 8 other people – 7 of which were from Dublin…Ah! The reason I came traveling, to talk to Dubs! All were sound and had a laugh there. King’s Cross, on the other hand is mad as chips!! I was standing at the bank on the main road and this kid beside me must have had some medical condition. He had no colour in his eyes and must have urgently needed his medication. He didn’t even have time to go home to take it, so in his eagerness, he just pulled out his needle and stuck it in his arm….I politely made my excuses and was on my way. There was another bloke shot on the main street too, some bloke in a strip joint popped a cap in him!!
So goodbye sleepy New Zealand and welcome to the big city!! All of that may sound bad, but I didn’t feel threatened once in Sydney and it is a really nice city. I’ll spend some time there before I leave the country. I think it just seemed a lot at the time because all I wanted to do was get out of the city and see some of the country….and that I did, but only after a few days of Sydney getting its claws into me. I can see how some people just get stuck there; I had 3/4 days of going to reception and checking in for ‘one more day’.
So myself and an English lads rented a car and headed up the east coast, Ozzy John, that I used to live with, was in Brisbane and that is where I was headed…
Right, this blog is long enough, so I’ll be back with another soon….Till then, Ta Da….Neillxx
