Ultimate Oz: Here We Go

I give myself a lie in today, I don’t have to be active until 11:30am for the start of this tour so I can have a rather lazy morning. Letting myself roll out of bed, shower and get ready at the pace of an injured snail. I always wake up tired after a day of doing nothing; will never understand it but it always seems to be the case. Anyway once I am finally fully awake and ready I head to reception to meet my new group and go through the welcome talk and sign all the necessary waivers before we can get going. My group leader is Jake, he’s got a good vibe about him and the group seems pretty cool, I have to admit it is my first tour being the oldest one of the group. Pretty sure the average age is twenty so I am feeling a little old but it’s not the end of the world, I can probably out party most of ’em anyway, so nothing to worry about! After the admin is out the way it is time to head out on a walking tour of Sydney. The tour isn’t just my group, there is about three groups in total, but I quite like it as one of the groups is the group I will be joining for the rest of my tour up the east coast of Australia. This first week I am part of a tour that also specialises in helping those here on a work holiday visa with stuff like bank accounts, tax codes etc. After that I join a more holiday-based tour up the coast to see more of the country and hopefully have a good time for five weeks.

The new group

Anyway we head off and it is a good opportunity to get to know some people although I will admit I wasn’t the most focused throughout it, partly because I had already covered most of the route on my own over the last couple days and partly because I am still without my hearing aid and struggle to hear in group setting with it, let alone without it. My favourite part unsurprisingly is when we head to a restaurant for lunch at the end of the tour. It is nothing fancy just a pizza and a pint but it is a chance to get to know my table better, I sit with Charlie, Matt, Thyme and Kerry who are on the longer tour I will be joining and Alex who is on my current week tour. After the food we have some free time and some of us go to a bar on the waterfront next to the opera house. I end up sharing a nice drink with Thyme and Kerry while we enjoy watching the two dogs that are patrolling up and down the seats with their harness proudly declaring them members of the Seagull Patrol – a collection of well trained dogs whose job it is to keep seagulls and other birds away from the customers enjoying their drinks and food on the harbour front. After the drinks we head back to the hostel and I head to my room for a nap. I am telling you that day of doing nothing yesterday has really taken it out of me. Once up for my nap I have a shower and get dressed in some of the new clothes I bought earlier, ready for the group’s first night out. Next to our hostel positioned under Roy’s cafe is Side Bar, a backpackers bar utilised by the hostel and Ultimate Travel. Tonight they are serving us free pizza and we can join in on a game of musical bingo. If I am honest the pizza isn’t the best but, hey, it’s free so I won’t complain. Then its musical bingo, not my favourite of games considering I only recognise half the songs, but my helpful friend Shazam comes in pretty handy for that. I don’t win anything unfortunately but Charlie manages to win about three different prizes, all of which come in the form of a free drink. I don’t last too long and end up having a fairly early night. Lizzy, who is in my group and also my room, is a little the worse for wear and ends up accidentally on purpose falling out of her top bunk after we tell her to be careful multiple times. Eventually I just close my eyes and drift off to sleep.

Jellyfish invasion
(click on the top right hand icon)

The next day I have another lie in, really am taking advantage of these late starts. Once up I make my way to the Ultimate office down the road from the hostel where we have a welcome talk and my first introduction into the working world of Oz. Luckily for me I won’t have to complete farm work but it is still helpful to learn about job applications, tax codes and other bits and bobs as well as some health and safety about rip currents and other dangers of Oz. The chat runs long and we have to rush the end to get back to reception in time for our next adventure. We are heading to Darling harbour to get on a catamaran boat for a quick tour of the harbour, a dip in the water and my first Ozzie BBQ. The best part is we have been able to bring our own booze, just no red wine, it stains the boat if spilt apparently. The boat takes us under Sydney Bridge and passed the Opera House to a bay where we can swim. The water is lovely and some of us attempt back flips off the back of the boat. At one point the water around the boat fills with jelly fish and everyone rushes out of the water. Once we are told they don’t sting I am straight back in jumping bang smack in the middle of a school of jelly fish. It is a weird jelly, but solidish feeling, when they touch you. After a nice swim it is time for the BBQ, a beautiful combination of potato salad, coleslaw, salad, sausages, meatballs, bread and sauces. After we’re all full of food and a few beers the boat sets back off to the harbour. Having then walked back to the hostel I have a fairly chilled evening that consists of laundry, relaxing in my room and another early night. Got an early start tomorrow, the local bank branch is opening early especially for us to go set up our bank cards so a good night’s sleep is in order!

Pre-drinks

We're off

Our Catamaran

A quick dip

A beer on the boat

A Replica of Captain Cook's HMS Endeavour