Arriving in Oz

I wake up on my plane and look out the window to see land; I have made it to the magical land of Oz. It is pretty early and I have only managed to get a couple hours of sleep but I am so excited to be here! I have to admit my excitement dwindles a little when, as we land, everyone seems to ignore the flight attendants who are stressfully trying to get everyone to remain seated for descent. Then, like most planes, everyone rushes to push through to get off asap. That aside very excited and getting through immigration was pretty damn easy. Once through I get a little cash out and then head to the meet up point for my shuttle. As it is only 6am this is the first shuttle of the day and I appear to be the only passenger here. I introduce myself to the driver and he asks for my name; after a few minutes he tells me I am not listed but that is a problem for the office and he’s sure I will turn up on the system so I should get in and we will head off. He seems nice enough and we have a little chat. That is until we get to about a block away from the hostel and I get my first taste of Ozzie racism, as he explains he can trace his lineage back six generations, to a 13 year old boy who was shipped from Luton to Australia for breaking curfew. He says he hears that these days that Luton, like Sydney, has gone to shit because of all the Asians that have been let in and are taking over the place. I respond by just confirming that London and Luton are indeed multicultural and leave it at that. Once I am at the hostel I do my pre-check in and store my bags behind the office before treating myself to a nice breakfast sandwich and cuppa in the adjoining café.

I message Sam, my brother’s cousin, who lives and works in Sydney to let him know I have arrived. We have plans to meet up later so I can pick his brains and he can show me around. I can’t properly check in and he doesn’t get off work until 2pm so I have some hours to kill so he suggests I go for a wander. I head off towards the waterfront meandering through the streets of Sydney. It is a lovely city, reminiscent to me of Manchester where I had been living for the last year and half before my adventure. There is plenty of greenery and a beautiful mix of old colonial architecture and modern glass skyscrapers and, of course, the water.

Sydney Harbour

As I wander I come across a barbers and decided to get myself a trim which is the most expensive haircut I have had in the last six months. Anyway after the trim I make my way to the waterfront wander the wharfs and finally come to the the Sydney Bridge and the World Famous Opera house. It is quite a sight but I do have to say I always thought the Opera House would be a more bright white but it seems to have a somewhat beige tinge to it; but still a pretty cool sight, it really cements the fact that I am here in Oz. After making my way back to the hostel it is time for check in, a quick shower and change. Sam has finished work and heading my way. The rest of my afternoon and evening is spent catching up with Sam and then picking his brains about life in Oz, obviously over a pint or two and a few games of pool (he is annoyingly good!). It is a really nice time and Sam and I both note our first time hanging out not at family gathering. Still, having barely slept on my flight and Sam having work tomorrow we deicide to have an early night and plan to meet up again with a few of Sam’s work mates for a proper night out tomorrow.

Clubbing with Sam
(click on the top right hand icon)

I wake up the next day feeling refreshed! I have slept eleven, that’s right eleven hours straight, it was magical. Probably would of been longer but annoyingly I have to check out this morning to check back in later this afternoon under the name of Ultimate Travel, the company whose tour I am on next. After checking out and once again storing my bags I head into town for a wander and a little shopping. One of the main tips Sam has given me is use sun cream no matter what and so that is first thing on my list this morning. I head to the nearest Woolworths (Wollies) and get myself some and a few other bits. Now it is time to explore. Having done the harbour and waterfront yesterday, I take a different route today. My first stop is the Sydney Tower Eye, a massively tall building which has a viewing deck that looks over the whole city. I decide not to go up as I have more exploring I want to get done. Next I head to the Art Gallery of NSW, a free art gallery with a mixture of classic and even aborigine artworks. It is a great gallery with many amazing pieces and I lose myself wandering the exhibits for nearly two hours. It is reminiscent of the times I spent travelling with Alex in America where we were suckers for a free exhibition or two. What is also good about this gallery, other than the architecture and exhibits, is that it is right on the doorstep of the Royal Botanical Gardens, my next stop. I wander the gardens up to Mrs Macquarie Point, the end point of the garden that sticks out into the harbour and then work my way back along the other side of the gardens enjoying the range of colourful flowers and plants as well as the occasional spider or two.

Sydney Town Hall

King Street Wharf, Darling Harbour looking towards the Crown Sydney building, Sydney's tallest

The famous Sydney Opera House

Catching up with Sam

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Sydney Tower Eye

The Offerings of War, along with the Offerings of Peace, at the entrance to the Art Gallery of New South Wales

Maman, the bronze, steel and marble arachnid by artist Louise Bourgeois

Classical elegance of the Art Gallery of New South Wales

Kunkardi by James White

The Release of St. Peter by Bernardo Strozzi

Royal Botanical Gardens

The Wishing Tree

Orchard Butterfly (Papilio aegeus)

Royal Botanical Gardens

Working my way down the opposite side of the garden leads me right to my next stop the NSW State Library. Originally my plan was just to walk past this magnificent building taking in the old colonial architecture and maybe just pop my head in if it was open to the public. To my surprise, as I wander up to the library, there are a few different banners advertising various exhibits that are on display. So I decide to head on in and I am very pleasantly surprised. Once in, one is greeted by a marvellous entrance befitting of the outside architecture that leads to the main library room, a sight straight out of the movies: an old school library with shelf after shelf of books in a massive room with rows and rows of desks with students and others, heads buried in books. The exhibits don’t disappoint, from a Shakespeare exhibition, a collection of portraits of famous or infamous colonialists and settlers from modern Australia’s founding, to my personal favourite, ‘SHOT’, an exhibit of 400 photographs by over 200 photographers showing the development of photography and Australia over the last three centuries. Cannot recommend the NSW state Library in Sydney highly enough for anyone interested in history, architecture, books, or if you just want to feel like you’ve walked onto a movie set.

Public Library of New South Wales

Public Library of NSW bronze entrance doors embossed with heads of explorers

SHOT exhibition at NSW State Library

Wonderful bumping into Katie

With all my exploring done I head back to the hostel to check back in, popping into a few shops along the way. When I get to my new room I get a shock as I bump into Katie, one of the Guernsey Gals, who had been on my tour in Japan. It is a pleasant surprise and we have a good chinwag, catching up on what we have both been doing for the last couple of months. Unfortunately it is one of her last days here but nonetheless a very nice chance encounter. After checking in and freshening up, it is time to meet up with Sam and his friends for a night that starts with pool games and some boozy mini golf and ends with me sneaking into my room as quiet as possible at around 6am after having a FaceTime with my parents, who are only just entering into their Saturday night. It was a great night and I am very thankful to Sam and his friends for taking me out and showing me around town. However, the next day, the day before my tour starts, I’m so tired, and a little hungover, I spend it in bed. In no mood to socialise or even move, I spend the day watching Netflix, on my phone, barely moving apart from going to the toilet and shower and collecting food I had delivered to the hostel. Even having done nothing all day I head to bed tired but excited to start my tour tomorrow.