Sydney Explorer

I'm off to Cairns this weekend to visit friends who have just moved there, and I can't wait! I know the city reasonably  well, as I did my 3-months farm work an hour away and it's a great little place for a holiday!  Known as the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and famed for its backpacker vibes, this small city in northern Queensland has it all, and then some! With an average yearly temperature of 28 degrees you’ll rarely be disappointed by the weather (unless a cyclone hits, which is a very real possibility) and with the reef, rain-forest and amazing beaches on your doorstep you’ll spend most of your time outdoors. There’s literally SO much room for activities!  Not only is Cairns the perfect place to explore some of Australia’s most amazing natural wonders, it’s also got a buzzing nightlife and social scene – making it the perfect destination for a getaway!

I've now been living down under for almost 9 months, which is pretty mental! Time has literally flown by and I feel like I've done so much, but also nothing at all! I've lived in Queensland, completed my farm work, moved to Sydney and got a job I love. But I don't feel like I've seen any of Australia. 4 years ago I travelled the East Coast, and did some of the main sights along the way, but there's still so much to see and do in this amazing country! I've decided to put together a list of things I want to see a do before I leave Australia!

Life in Sydney is great, don't get me wrong. The weather is great (this is a big thing for anyone from England). Even in winter the sun always shines and you can walk around in a t-shirt most days. You've got countless beaches on your doorstep and loads of places to explore outside of the city. But nothing compares to home and there are some things that I really miss about London.

Last week marked my 6 month anniversary in Australia. 6 months. How did that happen? Time seems to have flown by, but living in London also feels like a lifetime ago, and I really do miss it. After 5 long, long months of hostel living, myself and 2 friends FINALLY moved into a flat in the wonderful Newtown. Never again will I take my own personal space for granted. And never again do I want to live in a room with 9 other people. Never.

Time to dish the dirt on the actual farming. There are only a few types of farms around Innisfail; papaya, rambutan and (by far the most common) banana. I was lucky and ended up on a banana farm with my 2 friends, so that automatically made life slightly easier. However, rumour has it that banana farming is one of the toughest things you can do. The first 3-4 weeks were by far the hardest and the thought of quitting crossed my mind more than once. 

First things first, apologies for the complete radio silence over the past 5 months – shocking, I know! I’d like to make my excuses and claim I’ve been stuck on a banana farm in the middle of nowhere, with no form of communication with the outside world. But that would be a lie. Apart from the banana farm part, that is all true. From February to May I was living and working in far north Queensland to complete my second year visa regional work. It was an experience, that's for sure. 

On January 12th 2017 I'm taking the plunge and moving to Australia! It's something I've always wanted to do, ever since travelling there in 2013, and now it's actually happening. Despite my leaving date quickly approaching it still hasn't quite sunk in that I'm moving to the other side of the world. Gulp.

Australia is the surfing Mecca of the world. It always has been and it will definitely stay that way. The surfing culture goes deep in the cultural heritage of Aussies and surfing is much more than just a sport or a pastime here. Having that in mind, as well as the fact that Australia is an island continent – it is easy to figure out that there are some unbelievably awesome surfing spots here. Here are those spots that are usually considered the best in Australia.

Hello Wonderful People! Some people let their friends decide about their travel itinerary, others – their tour agents, third leave the decision to their heads, while I like to let my tummy lead the way. And this time it has chosen well – Sydney. This city is a true foodie paradise and it can offer a variety of experiences for the taste buds, while at the same time not neglecting the aesthetics of a dish. Sydney is home to many world class chefs, innovative dining venues, and delicious street food, so it is no wonder why I (and my tummy) am so fascinated by it. So, if you want to have a culinary adventure in Sydney, here are my suggestions.

Hello Wonderful People!   As a self-confessed travel addict suffering from a sever case of wanderlust, I love nothing more than exploring new places, meeting different people and seeing new things. Therefore, once I’ve visited somewhere once I like to tick it off my list and head onto the next destination. As there are so many new places to discover in the world, I don’t want to waste my time going over old ground. Despite this, there have been several places I’ve visited where I’ve completely fallen in love and would like nothing more than to go back and do a bit more exploring. I’m completely torn between jetting off somewhere new, or going back to an old favourite, it’s a tough decision. If I were to choose the latter, these are definitely the 5 places I’d love to revisit.    

Hello Wonderful People! I love being a vegetarian; I've been one all my life and would never dream of changing my eating habits. However, being veggie can be a royal pain in the a hole when travelling. There are some countries that are really good for veggies and there are others that look at you with disgust when you ask if there’s a veggie option. You’d be surprised at the amount of people who have no idea what the word vegetarian means and who offer you chicken as an alternative. The last time I checked, chicken was definitely meat. So here is a list of the best and the worst countries that  I've  been to as a veggie.

Hello Wonderful People! Here are a few of my photographs from my time travelling the East Coast of Aus! Starting in Melbourne and seeing Great Ocean Road, I headed to Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Byron Bay, Brisbane, Noosa and Agnes Water/ 1770.  So have a gander at my miss-matched pictures and fell free to be extremely jealous!  

Hello Wonderful People! When you think of Australia, The Great Barrier Reef is going to be up there, swimming around in your little head as something completely synonymous with that big country down under! So, obviously it was one of the things I was dying to see while in Aus and it truly was stunning.

Hello Wonderful People!  After Sydney, Byron Bay has to be the best place on the East Coast! Its reputation as a laid back hippie town is spot on, as it has the most chilled out vibe I’ve experienced since Asia! I stayed in Byron for 3 days and managed to fit quite a lot in, and if we weren't so pushed for time I could have happily stayed there for much longer! 

Hello Wonderful People!     Now, I don't want to state the obvious, but oh my gaawwwd Australia is an expensive place to live! Pretty much everyone I met in Asia had the same comment to make about Aus, and that was how expensive it was. When I told people I was going to Australia and asked what it was like to backpack there, the first thing everyone would say is 'I hope you've got a lotta dollar' or 'haha you are going to have a shocker, it's so expensive'. These cracking observations didn't actually answer my question (I just wanted to know what to do there, not the average price of everything, thanks no thanks), but they did prepare me for the money sapping month I was about to undertake. While my Aussie adventure was amazing, it was slightly hindered by my lack of funds. I couldn't do absolutely everything I wanted, as I just couldn't afford it. So here are a few tips that helped my save the pennies to enable me to afford to do at leas...

Hello Wonderful People!   I’d heard amazing things about Bondi Beach, it was apparently stunning and one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. What a disappointment it turned out to be. I did visit on a very grey rainy day, but despite the weather I still couldn't understand how this beach was so famous for its beauty? Yes, it was an nice large beach, but I don't think it exactly deserves its legendary status. Maybe I’d hyped it up too much in my head, but I’ve seen so many beautiful beaches in South East Asia, this one didn't even come close. Sorry Aus, you lose points on this.

Hello Wonderful People!   After spending my first week in Australia in Melbourne and loving the vibe of the city, I didn’t think Sydney could live up to my expectations. My first impression of the city wasn’t that amazing, I still loved Melbourne and nothing was going to change that. This opinion soon changed as I slowly began to fall in love with this wonderful city.

Hello wonderful people!   Before going to Australia I was pretty ignorant to the majority of things to see and do there. I just thought I'd pop to the Opera House, have a quick dip in the Great Barrier Reef and annoy a few kangaroos and that would be it. While I obviously did those three stereotypical things, I also discovered a huge array of other touristy things to do, that I had no idea existed. So when I got to Melbourne and saw around one billion adverts for Great Ocean Road, I thought it was probably worth checking out, even though I had no clue what it was. All I can say is, the trip did not disappoint!  

Hello wonderful people! After South East Asia the next stop on my magical mystery travelling tour was Australia. My expectations of Aus weren't the best to be honest. After the crazy culture shock that SE Asia gave me I didn't think any other country could compare to those that I'd just visited. To tell the truth I wasn't even that excited to visit Aus, as I thought it would just be your bog standard westernised country with not much to offer other than good weather. How wrong I was. While I loved the SE Asian countries for their diversity and contrast to England, I completely fell in love with Australia for reasons unknown. Even though my expectations weren't that high to start off with, they were completely blown out of the water as I spent more time in this amazing country.