A new month, a new destination – off to Australia for the second time on my trip. The very convenient Auckland Airport Express bus got me to the international departure terminal for my flight with Air New Zealand to Sydney. While waiting in the airport I managed to catch the live results for the Canada-USA men’s hockey final in the Olympics, which finished minutes before my plane boarded. I felt much better getting on the plane knowing we can still kick ass at hockey on the world stage. Canada for gold! Flying into Sydney for the second time was less exciting, especially since the weather was terrible, rain and wind awaiting me on the ground. I caught the airport train to central station from where I walked only a couple 
blocks to YHA Railroad Square, in the very heart of the city. Sydney is of course, a big city, the city most often mistaken for being the capital of Australia. By the numbers however, it is only slightly bigger than Melbourne, a couple hundred thousand which isn’t much when comparing cities of over 4 million people. Somehow, however, Sydney manages to feel much bigger and far less relaxed. First impressions are of a city that’s too busy to care about anything other than being busy. Gazes are averted downwards, steps are taken in a short shuffle, and mere grunts are accepted as yes or no. I wouldn’t say I didn’t like Sydney from the start, but I certainly wasn’t impressed. As is often the case, the weather was playing a part as I was soaked walking a mere two blocks to the hostel, but beyond the weather, Sydney just didn’t impress. I fought the rain to get groceries, and did absolutely nothing the rest of the day, taking time to read, blog, and let home know I was still in the fight.
blocks to YHA Railroad Square, in the very heart of the city. Sydney is of course, a big city, the city most often mistaken for being the capital of Australia. By the numbers however, it is only slightly bigger than Melbourne, a couple hundred thousand which isn’t much when comparing cities of over 4 million people. Somehow, however, Sydney manages to feel much bigger and far less relaxed. First impressions are of a city that’s too busy to care about anything other than being busy. Gazes are averted downwards, steps are taken in a short shuffle, and mere grunts are accepted as yes or no. I wouldn’t say I didn’t like Sydney from the start, but I certainly wasn’t impressed. As is often the case, the weather was playing a part as I was soaked walking a mere two blocks to the hostel, but beyond the weather, Sydney just didn’t impress. I fought the rain to get groceries, and did absolutely nothing the rest of the day, taking time to read, blog, and let home know I was still in the fight.Continuing the same theme, the weather on the 2nd was terrible and so I spent the day indoors. I did a tiny bit of blogging, and managed to plough all the way through a novel I picked up at the book exchange, cover to cover – pretty much my only accomplishment of the day. Dinner was of course, the same every night I was staying in Sydney, a pasta sauce I made tons of with pasta, this time with mince lamb. After purchasing my groceries however, I discovered that this was one of the few hostels where it might have been the same price to eat their food. Every night there was a dinner special, always $6 including a beer. Dinner was different every night with specials such as BBQ night, pizza night, etc. The social aspect would have been beneficial as well, but the groceries were purchased, and the sauce made.
Finally, on the 3rd of March, the weather broke and Sydney showed off its sunny side. I made myself sandwiches before leaving the hostel for a day of city exploring. Walking all the way down George St, I was impressed with the number of skyscrapers reaching upwards, eventually petering off 
as I drew near the historic district. Like a good tourist, I took my photos of the Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House, before taking a long barefoot walk through the botanical gardens. Now these are impressive. The sheer size is enough to wow, but the variety of plants, the organisation, and the information available within the gardens for free is spectacular. Sydney’s Botanical Gardens is also home to a massive bat population, hanging in the trees and pooping on tourists below who retreat quickly out of fear of either guano bombing or the bats themselves. From the gardens I headed to the Sydney Tower, quite similar to the towers in every other major city in the world. For $19.50 I viewed a motion simulator video on all the things to do in Australia, and took the elevator to the top of the tower. From the highest point in the city, the whole city is spread out for viewing, except that is, for the world famous Opera House of which only a corner is visible. Oops!
as I drew near the historic district. Like a good tourist, I took my photos of the Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House, before taking a long barefoot walk through the botanical gardens. Now these are impressive. The sheer size is enough to wow, but the variety of plants, the organisation, and the information available within the gardens for free is spectacular. Sydney’s Botanical Gardens is also home to a massive bat population, hanging in the trees and pooping on tourists below who retreat quickly out of fear of either guano bombing or the bats themselves. From the gardens I headed to the Sydney Tower, quite similar to the towers in every other major city in the world. For $19.50 I viewed a motion simulator video on all the things to do in Australia, and took the elevator to the top of the tower. From the highest point in the city, the whole city is spread out for viewing, except that is, for the world famous Opera House of which only a corner is visible. Oops!I had planned to visit Bondai Beach on the 4th with a new acquaintance, but the morning weather rebelled, dark clouds hanging in the sky threatening rain. We decided it was wiser to stick around the hostel and take a miss on the apparently overrated beach. We wandered through many of the same places I saw the day before, getting a bit more detail than I had earlier, and seeing a few sights I had missed. Frankly, I was already bored with Sydney. This isn’t just my own opinion, I hear from 
nearly every backpacker I talk to that they prefer Melbourne over Sydney – I have to agree. Unlike Auckland with its low priced activities and easy getaways, everything in Sydney is expensive. Performances at the Opera House are out of the question, none priced below $50AUD; museums tend to carry an admission fee; with the exception of Bondai Beach, trips out of the city tend to be multiday or require a guide, and are thus expensive. No matter what you end up doing, you should be prepared to spend money. Consideration also must be given to Australia’s higher dollar in relation to New Zealand, where $1AUD = ~ $0.95CAD at the time of publication. I had considered a trip to the Blue Mountains, just outside of the city, but a day trip needs to be guided or done by rental car, and a multiday trip was out of the question for me as my Sydney accommodation was already booked. I was stuck in the city, whether I liked it or not.
nearly every backpacker I talk to that they prefer Melbourne over Sydney – I have to agree. Unlike Auckland with its low priced activities and easy getaways, everything in Sydney is expensive. Performances at the Opera House are out of the question, none priced below $50AUD; museums tend to carry an admission fee; with the exception of Bondai Beach, trips out of the city tend to be multiday or require a guide, and are thus expensive. No matter what you end up doing, you should be prepared to spend money. Consideration also must be given to Australia’s higher dollar in relation to New Zealand, where $1AUD = ~ $0.95CAD at the time of publication. I had considered a trip to the Blue Mountains, just outside of the city, but a day trip needs to be guided or done by rental car, and a multiday trip was out of the question for me as my Sydney accommodation was already booked. I was stuck in the city, whether I liked it or not.As if Sydney knew I wasn’t enjoying the city, I was treated to some more bad weather to dampen my spirits on the 5th. I made the best of the day and found a cafe where the internet was free, and spent the afternoon there. After getting in touch with people and updating the blog, I set off for a nearby travel booking office for some serious itinerary work. I was going to see the east coast of Australia by the OzExperience bus, booked since before my trip began. A hop on hop off bus service, you can get off wherever the bus stops and resume your journey any number of days later. 
I had already booked my trip sectors while in New Zealand after researching locations worth stopping in. I made my way to Backpacker World Travel where I gave them my bus itinerary and asked them to help me book accommodation the whole way up. This is a different type of travel than I am used to, where my transportation is all planned in advance and my accommodation is not only booked, but paid for in advance as well. At the nearby OzExperience office I had firmed up my itinerary already, and booked a cruise on the Whitsundays, so my itinerary was rock solid, a decision which would later cause me worry, but which I would never seriously regret. Amanda from BWT showed me all the options for accommodation all the way up the coast, and booked my selections for me. We also booked a diving cruise out of Cairns and a couple of smaller tours along the way. All in all, a very expensive day, but in the end, I had guaranteed accommodation and spots on cruises all the way up the coast. At this point I crashed through the rest of my budget, and started on credit. Getting closer to the end of my trip, it started to become apparent I would run out of money, but I have decided to come away from this trip with no regrets, so I will not forfeit having a good time in order to stay out of debt. I am going back to work with the military in the summer, so as long as my spending remains conservative, I will have less debt than just one paycheque. I won’t regret short-lived debt as much as I would regret missing out on such things as Fraser Island, or the Whitsunday Islands.
I had already booked my trip sectors while in New Zealand after researching locations worth stopping in. I made my way to Backpacker World Travel where I gave them my bus itinerary and asked them to help me book accommodation the whole way up. This is a different type of travel than I am used to, where my transportation is all planned in advance and my accommodation is not only booked, but paid for in advance as well. At the nearby OzExperience office I had firmed up my itinerary already, and booked a cruise on the Whitsundays, so my itinerary was rock solid, a decision which would later cause me worry, but which I would never seriously regret. Amanda from BWT showed me all the options for accommodation all the way up the coast, and booked my selections for me. We also booked a diving cruise out of Cairns and a couple of smaller tours along the way. All in all, a very expensive day, but in the end, I had guaranteed accommodation and spots on cruises all the way up the coast. At this point I crashed through the rest of my budget, and started on credit. Getting closer to the end of my trip, it started to become apparent I would run out of money, but I have decided to come away from this trip with no regrets, so I will not forfeit having a good time in order to stay out of debt. I am going back to work with the military in the summer, so as long as my spending remains conservative, I will have less debt than just one paycheque. I won’t regret short-lived debt as much as I would regret missing out on such things as Fraser Island, or the Whitsunday Islands. I had a very early morning the next day, catching the OzExperience bus (henceforth known solely as the OzBus) at a very early 6am. This meant a 5am wakeup in order to finish packing, check out, and get to the pickup location. Unfortunately, I had not gotten out of bed until noon on the 5th and trying to get to sleep at 10pm just was not working as the 
simultaneous excitement and apprehension of the next day conspired with the surplus of sleep to make Z’s impossible. I was unable to even get a yawn until 1am, at which point I decided sleeping would be dangerous as there would be little chance of me getting up on time after only four hours of sleep. I have made this mistake in the past (Canterbury and Antwerp), and wouldn’t make it this time. Instead, I stayed up through the night, getting some blogging done and watching some shows I have on my computer. When 5am finally came, I finished packing, made some sandwiches for the road, checked out, and went to the OzExperience office. My journey up the coast was about to get started.
simultaneous excitement and apprehension of the next day conspired with the surplus of sleep to make Z’s impossible. I was unable to even get a yawn until 1am, at which point I decided sleeping would be dangerous as there would be little chance of me getting up on time after only four hours of sleep. I have made this mistake in the past (Canterbury and Antwerp), and wouldn’t make it this time. Instead, I stayed up through the night, getting some blogging done and watching some shows I have on my computer. When 5am finally came, I finished packing, made some sandwiches for the road, checked out, and went to the OzExperience office. My journey up the coast was about to get started.
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