Tuesday 31 May 2016

boat trip

It suddenly seems like it's all coming to an end very quickly as the others fly home on Wednesday! After breakfast and showers Martin took us out on his boat. The waters were so quiet and it was so pretty and nice to drive around in the sunshine. Lauren even had a go at driving and we stopped to do some f


ishing but didn't manage to catch anything!

On the way back we stopped off for some wedges for lunch and then went back to the house. In the afternoon we walked into town to get some presents. It's such a cute little town with cafes and little independent shops and it just seems like such a nice place to live. Afterwards we walked back (which takes half an hour ish) and I went for a run before dinner. So sad that we only have 2 nights left:(

Laura x

Monday 30 May 2016

back to woywoy

We woke up early and went back to the cafe we'd visited the day before to get some breakfast before heading to the train station. The trains were hourly as it was Sunday but we managed to time it perfectly, arriving at the station just under 10 minutes before the train was due which was so lucky! We got on and the 2 hour or so journey went very quickly, before changing to a bus replacement service. It seemed to take forever but we soon made it back to woywoy and began the hour long walk back, stopping off for a very necessary McDonald's (obviously).

We got back and it was very nice to be at the house with everyone and we caught up with what we'd been doing before dinner. I went for a quick run along the beach which was nice as it's such a pretty area.
We had a roast and apple crumble💖 which we were all very excited about and it did not disappoint!

We all went to bed feeling seriously full

Laura x

Sunday 29 May 2016

Today we visited the blue mountains. We woke up and went to a very pretentious overpriced café for breakfast (quinoa porridge for £9? Nah) and then caught the train to Katoomba. It took a couple of hours but it was crazy how much colder it was up there. When we were buying our tickets the guy said our clothes wouldn't be warm enough and it was like being back in England! Luckily we quickly took shelter in a cafe before checking into a hostel. It was so much cheaper than in Sydney and we could even afford a private room!


We walked down to the Three Sisters, a rock formation, which took about half an hour. It was like a slightly less impressive grand canyon and cool to see! Then we walked back via Woolworth's where we stocked up on food for dinner and made this when we got back. As usual we had a crazy night (we were asleep by 9) watching tv in our room.




Laura x

sydney

Today we went into Sydney! We got the train (they're so luxurious compared to the ways we've travelled in Asia but still so much cheaper than England) and were in Sydney by lunchtime. Obviously some junk food was required so we had a quick stop at hungry Jacks and then wandered around. It was so surreal to see the Sydney opera house and strangely anticlimactic- possibly why I look so miserable in the photos of us outside haha.



We also saw harbour bridge and it was just nice and sunny to walk around in. We headed to the botanical gardens which were pretty and sat by a big pond, though we were a bit unnerved after seeing some massive eels. Afterwards we went to our hostel and checked in. It was sooo nice for a hostel, reflected in the price ($52 each for a night) but it's so central and clean and nice that it was justified. We stayed there for most of the afternoon then went into the city and took advantage of a pub's happy hour and got some food.

At 9ish we went to see vivid which is a big light show on in Sydney at the moment. The buildings all looked amazing lit up. I didn't have my camera hence the lack of photos but later we went to the hostel roof terrace and just seeing the city at night was really nice.


Laura x

Saturday 28 May 2016

woywoy tour

Today we essentially had a tour of Woywoy! Also I've managed to lose the cable that connects my phone to my camera so photos will be uploaded soon!!

 After breakfast and showers Jeannette took us out to see the area. The weather wasn't great but she showed us a really cute little fishing town where we stopped to see pelicans and then a posh area called Pearl Beach. We met Martin, her husband, who is a builder and could show us one of the houses he'd worked on. It was the most amazing house I've ever seen; it had a lift inside, a pool, was all remote controlled and it was just amazing!

We walked down the beach then went back to the house for lunch (we had cheese on toast which is maybe the best lunch ever). Soon we headed into town to go and get a hot chocolate and wander around the shops before going to the cinema. We saw bad neighbours 2 which was so funny and we were the only people in the cinema which was strange. Martin picked us up and we went back to the house for dinner (we were all very excited at the prospect of tuna pasta and it did not disappoint).

Laura x

Thursday 26 May 2016

palm beach

Despite none of us actually watching it we were all very excited to learn that we were near where they film home and away so after breakfast and a milkshake jennette gave us a lift and we got the ferry across to a little island. We didn't actually see them filming but it was a really pretty place and very nice to walk around in the sunshine and have some lunch. We even did some yoga on the grass which probably scared the locals.

Later we got the ferry back which was an adventure in itself as the waves were massive (Molly screaming was a particular highlight). We walked back and spent the evening chatting, eating dinner and then watching a rom com before Ned. Life is goood but crazy to think that the others fly back in a week!

Laura x







first day in Woywoy

Sorry for the lack of posts! Woywoy is a little town about an hour north of Sydney and it's so pretty! We had a lazy first day, woke up late and made some breakfast, did a load of washing (which felt like such a luxury) and then wandered down to the beach. We got some lunch in a cafe in town and then walked along the sand stopping a couple of times to just sit in the sun.

After a while the others decided to head back to the house but I stayed out for longer because it was such a nice day and walked on my own for a couple of hours. When I got back we all sat in the living room talking until we had dinner together and then went to bed. As always, doing very little is very tiring.

Laura x

Tuesday 24 May 2016

Today we gave the camper back:( emotional. Molly and I woke up desperate for the loo and began the 15 minute trek to the beach to use the public toilets. Felt pretty homeless to be honest. On the way back we met Lauren and all drove down to the beach for some breakfast and to use the wifi. The others had a McDonald's and I got a muesli pot which had strawberries in it. Felt strange to eat fruit. We were going to drive up to the city centre to see the opera house etc but Lauren felt ill so we just went to drop the van back. As we're staying an hour north of Sydney we'll be able to go into the centre over the week anyway which should be good.

We dropped the van back with no problems- they'd said we needed to refill the gas for the stove but the woman in the shop said not to bother which was a nice surprise! It was really easy to sort and then we got an uber to central station in Sydney to catch the train to Lauren's family friends' house. The train took just over an hour and then Jeanette picked us up from the station, gave us a little tour of the area and then took us to their house. The family are so nice and friendly and their house is so nice! They also have loads of pets including 3 dogs which we were all very excited about. We chatted for a couple of hours and discussed some stuff to do while we're here and then had dinner which was so nice. It's so exciting to be in a house and be able to wash our clothes and use the wifi! They're so nice and hospitable yay I'm excited for the rest of the time until the others fly home.

Laura x

bye bye abi

Abi is off to Bali so this morning we dropped her off at the airport. There were really bad road works and the traffic was bad so we were panicking loads that she would miss her flight but thankfully she didn't!

We tried to find somewhere for breakfast with a lot of difficulty. Nowhere was open as it was a Sunday but luckily we found a place selling some pastries like attached to a kebab shop so we went there and it was very nice. Afterwards we drove to Bondi beach and spent a while driving around looking for a parking space, which we fortunately found at the side of a road with no restrictions so we ended up spending the night there.

We wandered towards the beach and stopped off at a clothes market. It was really cool with loads of vintage stuff and handmade clothes. Lauren bought some dungarees and we had some homemade lemonade before going down to the beach. It was so hot and sunny and we sunbathed for a few hours which was really nice and necessary after an early start.





We were soon hungry again so went for lunch at a cafe. I had a trout salad and it was amazing and it was nice to sit in the sunshine. Australia's cafe culture is much better than ours, England up your game.

 Then we headed back to the camper for a few hours. Lauren and I decided to go out so we had a couple of drinks in the camper and then headed to a bar. It was surprisingly busy for a Sunday but the main highlight was a massive bowl of chips I had. We went to a couple more places and met some nice people but everything shut early so we were home (well, back at the side of the road) by 12ish.

Laura x

Sunday 22 May 2016

hungover

We were all very hungover so not a productive day! Lauren, Molly and I got dominos at 11. It's so cheap over here which is really weird but obviously we had to take full advantage of that! We sat in the sun eating it and then headed back to the campsite.

We showered, sat in the sun and then went down to the beach. It was hot enough to sunbathe which was really nice and we even paddled in the sea (bad choice- it was freezing). We stayed there until early evening and then as the sun set we went back to the campsite.




We decided to go out for dinner and so went into the town. There were loads of cool places and we found a nice restaurant. The food was really, really good and then we walked around and looked at the shops and stocked up on food for the following day's drive. We were all pretty tired from the night before so went to bed fairly soon after.

Laura x

Friday 20 May 2016

Byron bay

Byron bay is pretty cool! It's way more lively than the other parts of Australia that we've visited which is nice. After an early start driving to a car park after I was certain we were going to get towed away we went to a cafe for breakfast which was delicious. We used the wifi to find a campsite and headed there, it was pretty expensive ($51 each for 2 nights) but we were excited to be able to shower and it's pretty much on the beach so can't complain too much!

We had a pretty chilled day and just wandered around the town, looking in the shops etc and molly and i had really nice sandwiches. We bought some alcohol and went for a drink at a hotel right by the beach and then drank in the sun before going out. I was tired and went home pretty early but the night life was pretty good for a thursday. I wish we had more time here!

Laura x


Thursday 19 May 2016

to Byron!

We woke up at 7 and were pleasantly surprised to find that we hadn't been murdered. I wrote a hasty thank you note which we popped into the letterbox on our way out, beginning the 14 hour drive to Byron Bay. It made all the days where we'd driven 4 hours or so feel like a luxury, but it was strangely not too awful. We stopped every few hours for snacks and toilet breaks, changed playlists to stop us dying of boredom and luckily a lot of the big Australian roads are nice to drive on- it was pretty weird to see on the sat nav that we were staying on the same road for 40 miles or so.

We arrived at Byron late that evening, probably at 11ish, and tried to find somewhere to camp. We had no luck though as no campsites were open and there were loads of no camping signs and we ended up at the side of a random residential road, certain we were going to be towed away.

Wednesday 18 May 2016

en route north

We decided to drive up to Byron bay which is a lot further than Sydney but should be worth it! We woke up, headed into town and went to the killer whale museum to make up for the lack of actual whales we saw. It was really interesting to learn about the trade of whaling and how it was considered acceptable for so long.

Afterwards we headed to the fish and chip shop for lunch. They did stuff like chilli squid and calamari which was pretty fancy. We ate it overlooking the bay (and fighting off seagulls) before continuing on our way.


We spent the afternoon driving up the coast, stopping for petrol a couple of times. We saw a turn off for a campsite around 5.30 and headed down the ad to find it but with no luck. After a drive around we realised we were lost and pulled up outside a house to ask for directions. The guy who spoke to us said we weren't near any campsites but that we could camp behind their house if we needed to; they own a mushroom farm so have large grounds and public toilets. We were all pretty paranoid we were going to be murdered but with no other option thanked him and set up for the night. After dinner we locked ourselves in and set an alarm for early the next morning before the workers arrived, all pretty sure we wouldn't be waking up (optimistic).

Laura x

Eden

Okay this is the most uneventful bloh post ive ever written lol sorry

We woke up early ish (8 is very early for us) and went to a spinning class at the gym. It was pretty horrific I'm not going to lie. Then we had a snack in the cafe and continued on our way. We headed to a town called Eden on the sea known for whale watching, though sadly we found out they'd emigrated for the winter. We arrived, checked into a campsite and headed down to see some other aquatic creatures (there were meant to be sting ray). We were an hour or so early so had a drink in a pub and then headed to the water but had no luck. Sad times.

After a food shop we went back to the camper, showered and watched a couple of films in the big tv room before bed.

Laura x

Tuesday 17 May 2016

Every time I intend to watch the sunrise I end up turning off my alarm and going back to sleep. This was no exception. Oops. In our defence we'd times it wrongly so would have been up for ages in the dark /cold, so hey, was probably the right choice. 

We finally emerged about 8.30, paid for the campsite, showered, and bought some breakfast from the camp shop. The park was amazing and it would have been nice to look around more and try a couple of the walks but we're on a tight schedule so had a little explore of squeaky beach before setting off. It disappointingly didn't live up to its name; the sand is supposedly so fine that it squeaks when you walk on it, but this just didn't happen. Let down! It was still very pretty though.





Onwards we went, stopping in a little town which looked like it had been abandoned. It was Sunday to be fair but it was impressively dead, though the cafe we went to (of the 2 open) was nice so can't really complain. 

After some lunch we continued to the town we we're staying in. We arrived just after 4.30 and having done very little that day decided to go swimming at the local leisure centre. We only swam for about half an hour but it was nice to do something. Afterwards we headed to McDonald's to use the wifi (and of course consume a meal...) and while there found the listings for the town's cinema. The evening took a very productive turn and we watched the new Marvel film at the cinema which was actually very good, before heading home to the camper to sleep.

Laura x