Day 1
Wake up! Hostel has done a bit of redecorating
since I was here last in July, and of course it’s all decorated with Australian
flags at the moment for Australia Day tomorrow. There is a bar downstairs in
the hostel, very handy, and if you go down tomorrow night before 10pm dressed
in an Australian flag you get the first drink free. Sounds fun, but I’m not
buying an Australian flag just for one drink, or just for one day for that
matter.
Today is boring, the weather isn’t very nice, and
I saw all the touristy things last time I was here so I’m just being lazy with
a book in the dorm. I could go in the kind of common room that they have here,
but because the hostel is so big, I think it’s 7 floors with dorms, it’s never
really quiet enough to relax with a book unless you’re in your dorm.
The Wi-Fi here is $4 per hour, but I have a
voucher for 3 hours pay for 2, so unless I spend it all today because I’m so
bored I should be able to make that last my whole stay. At last I’ve got some
books since I bought 4 new ones in Newcastle.
I went to Bread Top for lunch. If you live in a
country where they have it you should definitely get some food there! It’s
yummy! Just looking at all the baked goods makes my mouth water! It’s the first
time I’ve actually bought something from there as I’ve always thought it’s
really expensive, but it’s actually a cheaper than most bakeries, the one I
went to was anyway.
There are two Swedish girls staying in my dorm, so
I got to speak Norwegian again. It’s really strange, I’ve hardly spoken any
Norwegian in over 6 months except for a couple of phone calls with my parents
and sister. I prefer speaking English to be honest, which I guess is part of
the reason for why I’m drawn to English-speaking countries.
Something I didn’t notice last time I was here:
speakers in the room. They don’t play music, but random announcements. Which
isn’t too bad in itself as it’s not often, only heard it twice today (it’s
nearly 8pm), and they’re talking about their offers in the bar and free tours
(around the city and beach walk). But it’s so LOUD!! I nearly jump out of my
skin when I hear it! I’m sure if one comes on as I’m getting out of bed (top
bunk again, but at least this one has bars) I’ll fall down and break something.
Day 2 – Australia Day!!
This morning I walked to the Harbour because I’d
heard there was going to be a boat race at 11am. I just have to say, the Opera
House looks a lot better in the sunshine!
Then there was a police chase and rescue
demonstration by boat. I think we had to stand there for a little over 2 hours
before the lights and fireworks show finally started. It was worth it thought,
it was really good! Much better than when I was here in July.
Any Australians reading this; how did you
celebrate Australia Day this year?
Day 3 – Blue Mountains
Myself and a group of 15, 13 Brits and 2
Canadians, went on a Blue Mountains tour today. As we were driving there I was
hoping the weather would clear up for us. It didn’t.
It rained the whole time we were there. Luckily we
made a small breakfast stop before we even started the tour and we got to buy
some rain-ponchos. I’m also glad I remembered to put my trainers on as I would
not have been able to walk in my flip-flops, the guide did make sure everybody
had suitable shoes before we left though, so that was good.
The first mountain stop we made was at Wentworth
Falls. That was a really long walk. Loads of nice scenery, but because of the
weather there was a grey wall instead of a view. We walked for a long time and
the last bit before we turned around and headed back to the bus was down some
really steep stone steps, carver out of the mountain. We got some pictures of
the waterfall there, which was very pretty, and then we had to go back up the
really steep stairs. I was fine, I was right behind the guide, which I liked
because I meant I wasn’t stuck behind someone really slow.
Pizza oven? |
After lunch we went to our next stop at Scenic World
by Katoomba Falls. Miss Whinge opted out of that walk along with two others, and
they stayed in the restaurant and souvenir shop, while the rest of us walked. This
walk was only a short one, maybe an hour, and it was all downhill. We could
have seen the Three Sisters on this walk, but because of the weather we didn’t.
To get back up again we took this really cool train which went backwards and at
a 52degree angle. It was really cool, but because I was sitting in the middle I
wasn’t able to get any good pictures.
Just some small puddles... |
Since I didn't get one of the "real" Three Sisters... |
I would love to take this tour again when the
weather is nicer, unfortunately it’s impossible to predict the weather, and
even the forecast can be wrong, weather changes very quickly. It was a nice
walk even though it was very wet; I just wish I had seen more of the
scenery. My pink and white trainers were black by the time we finished. People
tried to avoid the puddles, whereas I just walked straight through them because
I knew my shoes would get soaked anyway and I couldn't be bothered spending half
an hour trying to figure out how to get around every single puddle without getting
my shoes wet.
When I got back to the hostel I had a nice hot
shower (aaaahhhh…), I washed my shoes, they probably won’t be dry for a week,
and I wrote some post cards, and this post.
I will probably feel the walk tomorrow. My feet
were very tired and cold by the time we finished; they were on the verge of
shaking because they were so tired! But if you’re ever in the Blue Mountains
area you should definitely check it out, it’s really pretty, even when the
weather is bad, just remember proper walking shoes and a raincoat.
Oh, and I did manage to make my Wi-Fi time last
all 3 days.
Next stop: Canberra. Any suggestions as to what I
should check out while I’m there?
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