Overview of my time in Australia

Hello, 

To all my lovely followers, people who randomly browse and for all the people I have met along the way, I just wanted to do a brief overview of my time travelling up the East Coast of Australia. 

The first night that I was separate from my bestie and travel buddy Gee was a weird night. It felt like I had lost half of myself but then I met a girl called Xe, from Singapore. She explained that any free time off work or even on the weekends she would try and go somewhere new. Travel. Even in her own country or town. This really inspired me and proved to me that there were other people out there as desperate to learn and experience other cultures even if that meant they had to travel alone. Meeting Xe gave me the confidence to put myself out there in front of other people when I may not have done so before. You guys should check out her blog: koalatravelstheworld.wordpress.com 

From that day on I relished in meeting new people and doing mad, new things with them. Some of the people I met whilst in Australia are genuinely some of the best I have ever met and funnily enough many of them come from my own country or Europe and I never would have met them if I hadn't done this journey. 

Travelling the East coast of Australia is a classic backpacker trip and this means that many of you have the same mindset. You are here in the land of sun, sea, kangaroos and the Opera House and are going to take every opportunity by the horns and take the ride. This means that everyone is so honest with who they are and thus, you can really embrace people for their quirks and individual qualities. I think, in typical gap year style, that I really "found myself" on this journey and not because I didn't know who I was before but maybe because I didn't know how to embrace myself. I used to worry about being too fat or too thin, too smart or too slow, too loud or too quiet but now I don't worry because real friends and good people accept you for who you are no matter what as long as you are happy.

So now my little inspiration, life confirming rant is over. I think I should probably name some of my favourite moments from Australia, although in reality, I wouldn't change a second. 

These are in no particular order: 

1. The "It's a poem!" moment when some crazy girl in the dorm room in Cairns freaked out about Haikus. This is probably on par with the "I shield you" moment in the same room. Involving Laura Lynch, Kim Doyle, Chris Dick, Craig Sibley and some random crazy people. (Don't have a photo of this... I was laughing too much.)

2. Getting my "adventure diver" qualification out on the barrier reef with some of the coolest people I have ever met... Namely Ben Craig, Fred, Mikkel and Andus. 

3. Getting up close and personal with a Koala who was carrying a joey at Australia Zoo - in fact, Australia Zoo in general with Noelle Porter and some Welsh guy. 

4. Visiting the Whitsunday's - it wasn't the trip or even the mind blowing beauty of the islands... It was the people I met. Love you guys. 

5. Partying in Bundeena with my Aussie family, Jake and Josh Smith. Thank you for introducing me to all your lovely friends and pitying me for my hangover when anyone else would have laughed in my face. 

6. Seeing this in Melbourne 

7. Standing on the edge of the world in Cape Byron 

8. Being Mothered by my Aunt Debbie in her beautiful home in North Sydney after so long of being a backpacker - also got to meet Prince Will (score!)

9. Feeling at home in beautiful Noosa 

So there you go, my little overview of my big trip. 

Lots of Love, 

Clementine x

The Last Leg... Melbourne - 20th until the 30th of June

Hello,

So this is my last blog about Australia... finally! Plus, it's pretty short which is nice.

I landed back in Melbourne on the 20th of June and headed straight back to Gee's house to catch up... but she was at work! So instead, I did the supermarket shopping and made some lunch... in an actual kitchen! I then took a bath and wondered around naked for a while, luxuries I had lived without for what seemed like FOREVER. What shocked me most about being back in Melbourne was how unbelievably cold it was... i couldn't even go outside without a jumper and a coat... double layers! It was like being back in England! Horrific. I had this idea that Australia was sunny all year round - how wrong I was!

The ten days I spent back in Melbourne were half with Gee and sadly, half without. I only got a few days with her before she headed up to Sydney for a well deserved holiday and to catch up with some friends. However, whilst with Gee we did what typical teenage girls do... watched films whilst eating popcorn in bed, caught up with our favourite TV shows, went out and partied the night away with all her Melbourne friends and did a lot of giggling like little girls. It was so lovely to be back with my bestie after so much time but unfortunatly I hardly took any photos because I was having such a good time!

Jess and I

Pip, Me, Jess and Gee

Gee leaving me behind... sniff

When Gee had departed for Sydney, I started to prepare for our South East Asia trip by restocking on clothes, underwear etc, sending home gifts and pointless Australia knick-knacks I had picked up along the way and doing essential beauty treatments like putting blue and red stripes in my hair... YOLO. I did this all by getting around on a spare bike at the house... firstly, I can barely ride a bike and secondly, this bike had o gears. I was/am also extremely unfit... cue the sight of a sweaty, bedraggled girl in several layers wobbling around the city looking like a mad woman.

Some pretty neat packing.... so excited for Vietnam!

I will do an over view of Australia but that will come soon when I have more energy and enthusiasm for typing on this decrepid computer... it's driving me nuts!

Lots of Love,

Clementine x

Back to Sydney - 15th to the 20th of June

Hey,

So I popped back to Sydney after Byron Bay as I wanted to say a few goodbyes, tie up some loose ends and catch a flight back down to see Gee in Melbourne before we flew to Vietnam.

My few days in Sydney were seiously relaxing, I spent my time browsing vintage shops and art galleries and feasting on an abundance of tasty, big city food after being a backpacker for so long. I also caught up with a few friends over lunch and took typically touristy walks around the city.

Looking at the City from Kings Cross

The Harbour

On my first night back in Sydney I stayed in the Wake up! hostel near Central Station as it's an easy walk from the Greyhound Bus drop off service and I already knew it quite well. I met two lovely girls that night called Patsy and Natalie and we had a great night dancing away. 

Natalie and Patsy

However, Wake Up is expensive so I moved into Hump Backpackers in Kings Cross on a friends recommendation. Whilst in the lounge/bar at Hump I noticed that amongst all the graffiti, a could spot the name of a fellow backpacker I met along the way... which would be vey endearing if his name was not so hilarious.

"Chris Dick..."

The quick stop was enough time to recuperate as I was off to see my fave girl and travelling buddy Gee in Melbourne! Wooo!

Sorry this is so short, but I really didn't do that much..!

Lots of Love,

Clementine x

Byron Bay and Nimbin - 10th to the 14th of June

Hi,

The next stop on my little east coast journey was to Byron Bay, a beachside town which hosts the easternmost point of mainland Australia - Cape Byron. I stayed at the Arts Factory Lodge hostel which is slightly out of town but definitely worth the walk! It's made up of dorms, teepees and a campsite. Everyone there is pretty chilled, and old school hippy vibes are much at large. The days are filled with free yoga classes, talent shows and gardening duties. Pretty much... it's my sort of place. The town is a short five minute walk and is filled with vintage clothing stores, fortune tellers and indie jewellery shops, as well as the classic Aboriginal art shops and modern clothing stores. The food avaliable in Byron is a health freaks paradise - smoothie stores, bulk food markets and organic cafes, everything is mouth watering and I will admit that I well and truly gorged myself!

Some crazy statue outside The Arts Factory 

I met some really amazing and talented people whilst staying there and although I cannot name everyone, a few who made lasting impressions were: Samson - an aspiring model and blogger, Tom - a diving instructor and enthused photographer, Alice - a nutty student and Clara - also a student but mainly she was the kindest person I have ever met. The saturday night talent shows always bring in not only the travellers but also the locals and some of the singers and writers are the best I have ever heard - it seems strange to think that most of them are anoymous in their field when they have such talent.

Alice

A couple of things stand out from my stay in Byron and one was visiting the infamous light house which stands at the most easterly point of Australia, it is still fully functioning today  but is also a museum - Samson and I took a couple of really cool photos for his blog (which can be found here: http://www.dapperzone.com/ ).

Samson

The second standout moment, or day in this case, was my daytrip to "Nimbin" or more commonly known as "The drug capital of Australia". This strange little village, about an hour north of Byron Bay, focuses on self-sufficiancy and sustainablity but is famous for it's cannabis counter culture. Whilst there I looked around the Nimbin museum which consists of a stange collection of videos explaining the history of Nimbin and the pros and cons of this escapist suburb, and what can essentially be called a load of hippy style junk. I also visited the "Rainbow Cafe" and spent far too many dollars buying bizarre organic products. It was totally alien for me, coming from a country where drugs are hushed up and spoken about in whispers, to visit a town where they are so openly used and sold. The whole experience was a bit baffling.

Overall, I loved my time in Byron Bay. The atmosphere makes the whole experience so relaxing and enjoyable. It seems to be a little pocket of peace along the crazy east-coast backpacker route and should be savoured.

I hope that everyone is well.

Lots of Love,

Clementine x

Surfers Paradise - 6th to the 9th of June

Hello,

My next destination after Brisbane was Surfers Paradise, a popular stop for travellers on the East Coast as it's known for being 'party central'. I had been persuaded to stay at Budds Hostel as this was where one of my besties from back home, Joe, was living. So I made the trek fom the bus stop to Budds, which seemed to take forever, with all my stuff only to arrive and find out they have a pick up service - if you call them in advance (sigh). However, my little ramble had given me the chance to see a little bit of Sufers... and I didn't like it.

To me, on first glance, Surfers seemed like a sort of tacky version of Miami. Neon lights on cars, boy racers and scantily clad girls tottering in their overly-high heels. My opinion of Surfers changed dramatically when I reached Budds - the people that live and work there are welcoming, friendly and hilarious (mostly).

My first trip to the infamous beach blew me away... how could a beach be that big? It seemed to go on forever! So without any proper guidance I had no idea where to begin with putting my towel down and whapping out the sun ceam so I meandered towards one of the designated swimming areas and plonked myself down in the crowd. These were my sort of people... determined to sunbath even if the wind was bitingly cold. I didn't last very long but I felt that I had done my time.

My nights out in Surfers lived up to expectations but only because of Joe's lovely friends who had me cracking up with laughter from the first minute and looked after me until the end (Ellis and Sam). We danced the nights away in bars, clubs and even a hotel party. In the end, I even got asked out on a date... what backpacker would say no to free food? I joke, I didn't just go for the free fish and chips!

All in all, my trip to Surfers was a success and I was genuinely sad to leave. Catching up with Joe reminded me that although I am on the other side of the world meeting amazing new people, my friends back home are the best. Honestly, I miss you all. Plus, it doesn't hurt that he's so easy on the eye!

Lots of Love,

Clementine x

Brisbane and Australia Zoo - 1st to the 5th of June

Hello,

My next stop on my journey was Brisbane or "Brissie", Australia's third largest city. There is so much to do in Brisbane that I could have taken a few extra days there. For a huge city full of amazing art galleries, scrummy cafes and a great music scene, it is still so laid back. The perfect combination, although the subtropical climate helps!

Whilst there I visited The Gallery of Modern Art, City Botanic Gardens, South Bank Parklands and the huge Brisbane beach set to the backdrop of the skyrise city. I also managed to meet up with an old school friend Lloyd having far too many cocktails!

However, by far the best activity I did was to take a bus out to Australia Zoo (or the Steve Irwin Zoo) with my friend Noelle and a lovely Welsh guy I met in my hostel (Base Central). It was really cool to see some of the Crocs that Steve himself used to work with, and I tried AGAIN to get a selfie with a Roo... not a great success. We also went to the big croc show which was really educational and taught the audience about wildlife behaviour, the dangers and how to be enthusiastic about nature - I felt a little smug knowing about Condors after being to Peru. However, by far my favourite parts of visiting the Zoo were seeing the Red Pandas (something I have been enthralled by since I was a child) and getting up close and personal with the Koalas chilling around the Zoo - a couple of which had Joeys in their pouches making it extra special.

This day was a happy day :)

I also managed to meet up with a few school friends who were also travelling, meaning we could have a good natter about travelling stories and advising each other on places to go. All in all, a successful trip!

Short but sweet!

Lots of Love,

Clementine x