The mystery of Spot X

I have now officially started the tour I booked which if I haven't already told you is about thirty days traveling up the east coast of Australia stopping at pretty much every place you can think of on route.

My first destination was a bit of a strange one. It was called Spot X and I had never heard of it before. It took ten and a half hours to get here and before I arrived I did the normal Googling reviews etc and found out it was in fact a surf camp - wonderful. Even though I had enjoyed my lesson the other day (mostly due to the amazing sights of Mr Butler) I wasn't quite sure two days at a surf camp was really for me. Also the reviews from people were really mixed from some saying it was the best time of their lives to some saying they turned up and pretty much left straight away due to how horrible the place was. I figured as it was now booked and paid for and I was to make up my own mind.

I am glad I chose not to cancel. Whilst I can understand why some peoples reviews were a little negative I honestly do not see why you would leave after a couple of hours.

The place itself was basic but very funky. We stayed in this tin room which I know sounds horrible but were actually pretty cool. They reminded me a bit of my parents old caravan. They also had tepees you could stay in which looked quite cool but I am not sure how comfy they would really be. The area was lovely and it was right next to the sea. The only downside was it was raining when we arrived and proceeded to do so for most of the next day as well. However just when we thought it couldn't get any wetter out came that wonderful Australian sun I have heard so much about and a day later I am still sat in the chill out zone in shorts and a vest top enjoying every ray.

During the days my time was obviously taken up with surf lessons and the nights were a mixture of drinking cheap cider and making new friends whilst eating the most amazing dinners (amazing because they were so big).

The surf lessons were fun but I really think after this couple of days I am ready to hang up my surf board for a while. Quite frankly I am terrible and have possibly got even worse than the other day. That didn't however put a downer on the time here. The staff were friendly and tried to do everything they could for you, especially when it was raining.

I am going to be sad to leave the place but unlike some people here I do not want to get stuck in a rut and spend months lazing around and doing very little (some people literally have been here that long). Right better run, need to catch the bus to my next destination! :o)

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PS - I have now amended my settings so you guys can comment if you want (a few of you have asked to)

Sydney, surfing and celebrity spotting

My adventure has now brought me to the lovely Sydney.

I only have a short amount of time here as I arrived Monday morning and I leave tomorrow morning but I still managed to pack in the activities.

Firstly starting with The Opera House and Habour Bridge. I did these on the first day I arrived even though my body was telling me to go to bed after traveling for twelve hours on the night bus, I refused to give in and off I set. From where I am staying it was very easy to find and took about twenty five minutes to walk there. I have to say the Opera House was not what I expected. I really thought it would be a lot bigger. Not that it failed to impress. Around the area was pretty quiet so I had a lot of opportunities to get some good pictures. The bridge was well, a bridge. It was nice but really it was just a bridge and there is not a lot I can write about that.

Whilst I was out there was a huge thunder storm and I got caught nicely in the rain. I swear literally everywhere I go it rains. Anyway it reminded me of England which was nice. Actually saying that Sydney is very similar to London. They even have a Hyde Park and Oxford Street.

Yesterday I went to see the Blue Mountains. I had never heard of them before but it was recommended to me so off I went on another bus to see what they had to offer. The first thing I will say is mountains they are not. More like really large hills and this comes from someone who has spent many years attempting and failing miserably trying to ski down some. Anyway saying that the one thing I cannot fault is the views. I got some amazing pictures and it was so peaceful up there. Would I recommended it? Yes, however don't expect to be trekking up Everest.

Today was the day I did something I genuinely did not think I would ever do - surfing. For my birthday my brother and sister in law bought me a gift voucher to have a lesson on Bondi beach so I thought why the heck not, when in Rome and all that. Was I any good? Well all I can say is sorry Mum and Dad I won't be heading to star as an extra in Hawaii 5-0 anytime soon. I did however really enjoy it and did manage to stand up a couple of times (I feel that was more due to luck than skill though).

Anyway now to the most exciting part of my day. Ladies are you ready for this? Whilst I was on my way to my lesson who else would be on the beach having a lesson with the same surf school as me? Only Mr "PS I love you" himself, yes that's right Gerard Bulter! Ahhhh! Unfortunately I couldn't get any pictures as there is not much room in a wetsuit to carry a camera however we did share a moment when he placed his board down and I quickly claimed it as mine to use. Had I not wanted to waste the great birthday pressie I think we would have run away together and lived happily ever after unfortunately it was not meant to be.

Anyway time to head off for a shower as unlike some girls I do not rock the sea salt hair wet look!

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Goodbye Melbourne (for now)

My time in Melbourne has now come to an end and I am ready to move on to pastures new

I have been asked how I feel about Melbourne and honestly I think it will now be my "safe place". Somewhere that is familiar and when I come back to sort of feels like home. I had the same thing with Bangkok when I traveled Asia.

So after moving back into Jo and Marks (happier now Mark) on Friday they kindly took me to an AFL game. For anyone who does not know what that is I will attempt to explain. It is basically an Australian version of football, rugby, basketball and probably a few other sports I have forgotten to mention. I am not too sure of the rules but it something like put the ball in between the  sets of posts and score points. Honestly watch it on youtube and you will see what I mean.

Even though I couldn't really get my head around the rules the atmosphere was great and so was the pie and chips Jo encouraged me to buy. It was really nice to spend the evening with old and new friends.

Saturday was a trip to the shop to replace even more things I had left in hotels/hostels (I think I forgot to mention I left my phone charger in Dubai) well this time it was my iPod and headphones. I am hoping this is the last of my forgetfulness but it is only the end of week two and I have a lot more weeks to go.

Sunday was an epic day - my first Australian BBQ and yes people we did put shrimp on it (however they are really just called prawns but that doesn't quite have the same ring to it) and then I had to leave :o(

I was sad to be leaving Jo and all the new people I had met however if I had just stayed there this would have been one very rubbish traveling adventure.

So after twelve and a half hours overnight on a bus from Melbourne to Sydney with a mini stop in Canberra the capital (interesting fact time: Canberra is the capital due to both Melbourne and Sydney wanting the honour. So to stop them fighting they put the capital in the middle of the two) I am now sat on a couch in my new hostel enjoying a cup of tea (so British) and some free breakfast.

Right time to head off for a shower as I feel the way people are starring at me I may smell a little after not washing all night  - yuck

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The Great Ocean Road

One thing I have realised whilst doing my traveling adventure is I hate to sit and do nothing. I get so bored easily and it drives me up the wall. Yesterday I went on a trip where I had to get up early, travel on a bus for hours to see sights and get back late. All I can say is I damn well loved it. Whilst having some drinks at night is also fun I can do this back home and I came out here to see the sights therefore the sights I shall see. Also I have found when I have nothing to do I am getting a bit homesick which seeing as it had not even been two weeks yet is ridiculous.

So saying all that I have booked myself on a 32 day organised trip up the East Coast. It was such a good deal and stops everywhere I want to go. As I now have a shorter time to do everything it means my days are going to be filled with activities and a lot less sitting around painting my finger nails. As much as I would love to say I am a free go with the flow kind of person, anyone who really knows me knows this is not true and I am as organised as they come. Hence why a structured trip is much better for me. Plus there is nothing stopping me going back somewhere if I really love it.

I will keep you updated more with the tour when it happens!

Back to yesterdays adventure. As per the title I went to see the Great Ocean Road and it was lovely. Firstly we drove along it to get to the 12 Apostles, then we stopped in Loch Ard Gorge (a beach where some a shipwreck happened) followed by a walk in the rainforest. However the best part of the whole day was seeing a real life Koala - sooo cute.
As the day was so long I pretty much came home and crashed out on my bed.

Today I was supposed to be going to Melbourne Zoo but Jo managed to get a couple of days work so instead I headed into the city with one of my roommates. I even managed to negotiate the tram system on my own which I was pretty impressed with. Then this afternoon I made the most of the 28 degree weather and headed to the beach to do some sunbathing. I am not bothered about not getting to the zoo as I can go there when Mum and Dad get out here (not that they know I am making plans for them).

Tomorrow I am checking out of my hostel and heading back to Jo's for a couple of days. Whilst I am excited to spend some time with Jo again I am a bit sad to leave my roommates. The three of us have been together since I first arrived and I am going to miss our late night chats about what we have been up to during the day.

I have realised there is a huge difference between Oz traveling and Asia traveling. In Asia firstly people do not travel and work where as in Oz this is a big thing for everything. Then secondly in Asia there is pretty much a set route backpackers take when traveling so you always run into the same people however in Oz there are so many different paths to take that finding people who are going the same places as you at the same time is pretty hard to come by.

Yesterday I met two girls on my trip. One of them flew to Cairns this morning and the other is heading to New Zealand Saturday, both on their own. Very different destinations.

Anyway as the sun is still up I am off to do some more sunbathing, followed by a real backpacker dinner of beans on toast :o)

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My first hostel experience

For anyone who knows me finding out that last night was my first hostel experience may come as a surprise. Seeing as I have already travelled around SE Asia you may have thought I might have stopped in one or two on the way however it was not so. The hotels where so cheap in Asia that there was no need to ever put myself up in anything else.

I have to say about the whole trip this was the one part I was least looking forward to. You really do never know what to expect when you walk in. On the recommendation from my friend Lindsey I booked into Habitat HQ Hostel in St Kilda. However the one piece of advice I didn't follow was to book a mixed room. She said that all girl rooms were a bit unsociable and not as easy to make friends where as you find girls in the mixed rooms were a little more outgoing. Looking back now I wish I had taken her advice. Not saying there is anything wrong with my new roomies but we are all sort of keeping ourselves to ourselves which isn't good for travelling.

Sleeping was fine except for a small amount of snoring from one of the lovely ladies on the bottom bunk and at some stupid hour this morning one of the girls who had arrived really late decided to have her alarm go off and she hot footed it out of there. Other than that the room was clean, the bathroom we had was nice enough and there wasn't a fight to use it which seeing as there was now 5 of us that was a bit of a surprise.

You will see a picture of one of my roommates at the bottom, some of you may recognise her :o) there is also a nice quote on the wall which apparently she said but I also thought was quite fitting.

Right back to my adventures. Obviously I have now left the comforts of Jo. We spent the weekend catching up, drinking wine and she was even kind enough to download the Veronica Mars film for us all to watch which was excellent (Jo downloading it and the film).

Other than the above my weekend was spent mostly around sorting out a bank and planning my next trips. I have decided tomorrow to book myself to go and see the Great Ocean Road and then on Thursday I am meeting back up with Jo to go to Melbourne Zoo. After that? Who knows!

Right back to trying to make friends in my hostel, wish me luck!

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Welcome to Melbourne

Well guys I am here. After nearly a year of planning I am finally in Australia about to start the adventure.

Getting here wasn't as plain sailing as I would have liked it to be though. After saying a teary goodbye to my sister at the airport I headed off to check in thinking I would have a couple of hours to relax and read a book. Oh how wrong I was. I arrived at the check in desk to firstly be told they couldn't find my flight time which obviously sent me into a mild panic to then actually be told the reason they couldn't find it was because it had actually been delay five hours. Yes people you read that correctly five long hours. At first I thought the guy was joking, I mean how could it be delayed so long but nope there was no punch line. So off I trotted to go and see how I could entertain myself for what actually would be seven hours (being the good person I am I was ready to check in two hours before my flight).

I finally made it onto my flight and unfortunately I wasn't as lucky this time as I was on the first one and had to actually share my row with two other people (the cheek of it). I managed to get a bit of sleep and actually with the delay it worked out a little bit for me as it meant I was actually travelling at a more sensible time.

I am not really sure what I expected when I arrived at Melbourne airport but honestly I kept thinking I could be walking back into Heathrow. When going through passport control, as I was here on a working visa, I really thought there would have been some questions maybe a light shone into the eyes whilst being interrogate but nope I quite literally walked straight through without anyone giving me a second glance. Then came the fun part of collecting my luggage. You know how it is when you are either really lucky and it is already going round ready for you to pick up or  when you are stood there and stood there convinced it had gone missing and mentally trying to work out how much longer you can last in the clothes you are wearing. Thankfully after what felt like a couple of hours round it came looking all proud of itself.

Off I went with bag in tow to meet my lovely friend Jo who was kind enough to pick me up from the airport and let me stay with her for a couple of nights. Even though I was going to somewhere that spoke the same language it is still nice to see a friendly face when you are walking out of the terminal.

Before I get too carried away and end up writing an mini novel I am going to end this post but I will say that what I have seen of Australia so far I have loved and really hope that feeling carries on :o)

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The Dubai review

Dubai was never top of my list of places to visit however as part of my world domination I thought it was a great place to stop for a few days whilst on route to Australia.

I have heard mixed reviews from people with regards to Dubai. Some who absolutely love it and return time and time again. Then there are the others who visit once, enjoy it however decide once really is enough.

I would have to agree with the latter. Whilst Dubai is a very hot relaxing country we actually found ourselves with too much time on our hands and therefore getting a little bored. There are things to do like see the fountains and go on a safari however no matter where we looked and how much research we did we could not find much else other than shopping and eating. You know it is going to be limited when you ask for advice in your hotel and you are told that the third favourite thing to do is visit The Cheesecake factory.

Dubai is very much a shopping place and whilst you can get a good deal on some gold this wasn't exactly what I was after as the last thing I wanted to do was spend my money on an item I would be worried about losing.

The one thing I cannot fault is the people. They really are some of the nicest I have met and genuinely would do anything to help you. We were always made to feel very welcomed and safe wherever we went.

Something we did do was go to the Taste of Dubai. We had gone to one in Dublin and really enjoyed it. This did not let us down. We were concerned however that we may not make it when the taxi driver taking us was not sure where we were going and ended up passing me his mobile so I could speak to his brother and get directions.

All in all for Vicky and myself the holiday was just what we needed. Time to relax by the pool, drink cocktails and eat nice food!

Below is a few pictures I took of the hotel and the Taste of Dubai, now I better go as I need to get some sleep before my long flight to Australia tomorrow. See all you guys on the other side :o)

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First stop - Dubai

So the first leg of my long journey to Australia has begun!

As a treat to myself I decided to book a stopover in Dubai with my Sister for three nights (well who doesn't need a holiday before their long holiday) and not to try and make you all jealous but I am currently laying by the pool in 30 degree heat writing this.

So the adventure up until now has been pretty drama free but quite sad too as I had to say goodbye to my Mum, Dad and Brother at the airport. My Mum and Dad will be coming out to join me for a holiday in September time so it isn't too bad but still a little emotional and my brother I more than likely will not see for the whole two years I am away.

When we parted ways I had to actually head off on my own as my clever Sister and myself when booking our separate flights didn't actually think to check that we were going from the same Terminal at Heathrow - we weren't! So whilst she was off at T5 I wondered off through check in on my lonesome and started my two hour wait in departures. Wow airports are boring and being left with my own thoughts was not necessarily a good thing. A lot of the time was spent thinking "Oh my God what am I doing and should I just run out of the airport and back into the arms of my parents". As I am now currently in Dubai you can probably guess I stayed put and got on the flight.

Now to my flight. I only have one word for it - Amazing!! I have never flown with Emirates before but they really are luxury and to completely top off the good food, great entertainment choice and free drinks I also had a row of three seats all to myself - result!

Once fed I stretched out, laid down and had a nice little sleep. It was annoying as there were so many good films I wanted to watch but knew if I didn't get any sleep I would be no use to anyone when I got to Dubai. When I landed I made my way to meet my Sister at her terminal (oh yes we didn't fly into the same ones either) which wasn't as tricky to navigate as I thought it would be and we headed to our hotel in a taxi.

Here are the first couple of pictures of my adventure - yep they are of the plane. What can I say, I really was impressed :o)

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