BULA! Welcome to Fiji day 36 and 37

Bula! Welcome to Fiji guys I arived last night so I really didn't do anything to write about other than sleep, I stayed at smugglers cove and got a welcome back by awsome adventures that I booked with sta travel for £55 that included airport pick up free SIM card, 1 night in a dorm room and brekfast and transfer to the dock where you catch the ferrys to the islands. 

but for today I had booked 2 nights on the beachcomber resort on one of the South sea islands I had to pay for a return ferry separate and this was $205 Fiji dollers that's around £66 so £33 each way and it took around 45 mins to get to the island and was buy awsome adventures, the hotel I booked on agoda.com and cost me around £30 for 2 nights in a dorm style then I had to pay $160fiji for the food so brakfast, lunch and dinner buffet style and drinks you have to pay for separate but they have lots of happy hours so it's not too badly priced and the food so far had been good and the dorms look nice all girls so far it's worth the money for a resort on it's own island with no one else but the hotel guests and staff. I had a nice relaxing morning sunning it up on the beach after having to get up early for the coach to get the ferry, but around 3 it started raining and has now dropped chilly so I've booked in for a braid only $5fiji and having cocktails with 2 girls I've met till dinner time at 7pm. At 2pm we went to feed some turtles thinking they were in the sea but they were not they were in a tank but it was free and we did it anyway lol tonight I think the plan is to get a shower and get in my pjs and just chill as I don't think there is much to do and I'm not into a dance commotion so I may just have a few more drinks and see what happens. 

Day 6 in Sydney | day 35 | my last day in Sydney :(

So as it says it's my last day hear in Sydney I'm really sad I loved it so much it's just my kind of city and it's made me love Australia and want to come back and see more of it! The people are so nice and friendy and even the accent has grown on me. 

So I had a nice chilled day I met my friend in the morning at 10am to walk in to the city to the harbour to catch the ferry to manly bay and we picked the perfect day for this it was so nice and hot and it was the long weekend so everyone was out and had such a good atmosphere with live music and things going off, the ferry was 28mins and cost us for a return $17 and the boat comes every hour, by the time we had got our ticket the boat was due in 10 so we just sat drinking our very exspensive coffees we naught just before as we both was shattered and needed them, we sat on the top dec on the ferry and got to see some really amazing sights of the bays and harbours some really good photo opportunitys. When we got there we went straight to the other side of the beach it's one long road down you can't miss it no turns or anything takes around 5mins to walk and it's a real good beach when we went it was quite choppy so there were lots of surfers out so I had a good checking out sheesh I just love people watching and this beach was perfect, it was very busy but there was still lots of space to sun bathe and go paddle in the freezing yet refreshing waters and apart from this that's pretty much all we did all day was soak up the sun. 

There is lots of places that do fish and chips and it seemed to be on every menu so I took the chance to try some seen as manly is quite know for good fish and chips or so I've heard from people we went to one just round the corner from the Ben and jerrys ice cream shop around 2 doors down it was cheap and one of the best fish and chips I have ever had and I'm from the uk where we are known for it especially at the coast but I tell you I don't think I'll ever find one as good as that! It cost me $12 for it plus a drink I got that was another $4 so not bad really to say how much I enjoyed it I would recomend anyone try some when your there it's the best and a lot cheaper than on the front restaurants where it was pricing from $18 plus depending on the fish you wanted. We got the 5:20 ferry back and walked back up to the hostel.

 I decided to have an early night I did some laundry as I had run out of underwere and needed a lot of clothes cleaning and freshening up so I thaught I'd put a load on have a shower and chill I realised the washers are much bigger than I expected and could have done loads more but I know for future, when I went back to the room waiting for my things to dry I met a knew room mate and got chatting and decided to go on the hunt for some pizza this was a hard task but ended up finding a really yummy and we thaught cheap place at darling harbour Siron or something it was called on the left side of the harbour. When I got back the lads in the room already said they were off out and was planning to make as much noise as possible I honestly thaught they were just joking with me but nope one guy was in and decided to turn the light on to re pack then 2 more came back and was chatting away to me and the girl for about half an hour then they turned the lights back off thank god! Then the rest came back later on and woke me up the other girl had gone out to a friends so I was on my own they fetched a tree in to annoy one of the boys and I think that's why they were so load as they were shouting his name etc wanting to wind him up I think, it worked he poured a full bottle of water over one and then the other guy took his mattress and oh my go so much noise and hassle and then one of the guys decided to start talking to me as he noticed I was awake only hoping they would get the point! Then he gave me a wet hat no idea lol and then decided he would climb up to my bunk and sleep with me (not in that way tut tut ) he started getting comfy under the quilts and lot would not move just kept chatting insisting he was sleeping with me tonight I think not! One of the other guy finaly got him out for me but he was still shouting my name for me to go in his no way thank you!!! Sush a wired, funny and horrible nights I've had so far it was all funny it was just a laugh but I was so tired and had to be up to check out not a happy bunny. 

Day 5 in Sydney | day 34 | wildlife park |

Today we decided to have a much more chilled day and have a bit more of a lay in but with the boys in my room been really loud in the night It didn't feel too much like a lay in. We decided to meet at my hostel as it was closer to darling harbour but the person I was meeting got lost and it was a lot later than arranged but we took the less than 5 min walk from my hostel to darling harbour and went to the wildlife park all I wanted to do was hold a kuala but nope you could only get your picture by standing next to the tree it was in for an extra $20 so I decided against it, we did the wildlife place a lot quicker than the aquarium as it didn't seem as good or as interesting I defiantly would not pay $40 to go and I was a bit disappointed that I had paid $28 for this so I personaly would not recomend it I think I would pay extra and go to taronga zoo it seems much bigger and more open. where everything was behind glass and you couldn't even feed anything and I personaly didn't think there was that much there. After this we went for something to eat at the cheapest place we could find at darling harbour and headed to the gilotto I've cream shop and I was greasy and had 3 flavours not just 2 but I do recomend the forarro chocolate flavour it was yummy! 

We also checked out paddys market if your buying gifts I would buy them all there it's much cheaper lots of offers on much better than the gift shops where I got my things from the market is open from 9am till 5pm. The last thing we did this day was just check out china town and sit and have a few drinks just off the Main Street of china town where the beers were only $5 this is cheap apparently but I just had water lol. we headed back to get a shower and chill a bit before going back to darling harbour to see the free fire work show that starts at 8:30pm every Saturday at darling harbour and I must say for a free show it was pretty spectacular! I really wanted an early night as I think the busy days and late nights were catching up with me and we decided to be up earlier the next day. 

Day 4 in Sydney | day 33 | blue mountains |

Today we headed out to the blue mountains 2 hours out of Sydney by train and this costs $17 return (so cheap I can't believe compared to all the other trains that are much shorter distance) and they come every hour ad 18mins past from central station it has a lot of stops and I think this is what makes it such a long journey but it is worth it for such a cheap ride once we got there we didn't do the hop on bus or anything as it was a waste of time and money as you just got straight out of the station walk down the hill on the Main Street once you get to the bottom there are signs everywhere telling you what direction to go to get to what bit of the mountains all together to get to any part of the areas it's about an half an hour walk all down hill on the way but all up hill on way back. We went to see the 3 sisters first as there is a good view point and walks to do from that area to the other side or to the bridge at the 3 sisters after looking in this area we took right on to a shorter path that took us on a much quiter walk with less people and you got to see this view that you can see in the picture^^^ this was only a short 10min walk the other walks you can do are much longer but this took you to the other side where you can get the gonadal ride to the senic world with all the ride things to get you to the mountain and bottoms and also right near the falls and the cascade. The down fall to this rout was the huge hill we had to get up to, to get back to a smaller but longer hill to get back to the main town. We went to a little caffe up the hill there is tons to pick from and we got a kangaroo burger to try and I did not like it at all not very nice in my opinion, not quite a burger more a small stake on a bun :/ the trains going back are ever hour also at 15mins past and again takes 2 hours so we didn't get back till 6pm and I had to move hostel as my days had ran out so I had 3 more nights booked at base hostel about 10 to 15 mins away from wake up! Just down George street and when you get to town hall station it's right behind it on Kent street so not far even with my back pack :) I don't think it's as good as wake up in my opinion but people hear say they think it's better I don't I think it's a lot more run down and old doesn't feel as knew or clean or as organised and I didn't feel the staff were as helpful but it is cheaper and they have good offers for things and free walks like wake up and have a club attached but it's not the hostels. In all I would give the hostel maybe a 3 out of 5 where as wake up I would give a 5 out of 5 but I think I'll do a separate post about the hostels what I think and what they had to offer etc. 

Day 3 in Sydney | day 32 | bridge climb! |

Today was one of the most breathtaking days ever as much as I get to see amazing views everyday whilst I am traveling today I got a truly amazing one just by the fact that I had climbed one of the most famous bridges in the world and got see the whole of Sydney harbour from the top of the bridge I can't  tell you how much I recomend you do this if you come to Sydney, I know it's a little pricy but if it's your first time and you don't know if you will ever come back then I really would book it and treat yourself how many people back home can say they have done that or anything like it ? Not that many and there is only one Sydney harbour bridge in the world to climb to the very top. 

Before I climbed it I obviously stopped and took pictures of the harbour and the opera house as this was my first view of the most famous harbour in the world but I did only have time to stop and take some pictures before I headed to my climb, with the deal I got (booked through sta travel) I climbed the top one, got a free picture and cap and certificate to prove I've done it plus a free entry ticket to the look out point on the bridge this is normally $16, I've forgot the price I paid but i think I posted about it with all the info and prices on a previous blog post about what I had planed for Sydney, but I think it was around £150 I picked to do the climb instead of a ske dive because let's be honest you can do a sky dive anywhere in the world you can't climb the harbour bridge anywhere! I had around 2 hours actually on the bridge and 1 hour getting ready and sorted knowing what to do etc and our climb leader was great full of all different information about the bridge and the harbour she really knew her stuff she also took lots of good photos and more than one in each spot so I had loads to pic from to buy at the end as well as my free group picture and we got an 8sec vide free also. I decided to buy 2 pictures as I had to have proof of doing this the pictures were $15 each quite pricy but they have you as you can't take any cameras up the bridge, but they do have everything you need if you have forgot anything they have it to lend right down to sun cream and hair ties! They also have drinking fountains up the bridge so if your thirsty this is brill plus you really do need it after climbing some of the steps! 

I'm scared of hights but after getting over the ladder part and off the metal mesh flooring once your actually up the bridge it's not scary as you can't see down and you can tell your very safe you just get amazing views all around. But as I said there is a ladder bit to get up to the frame work of the bridge, I would guess around 40 steps 4 sets of ladder steps there not too bad but my issue was you can see down to the cars below you and if you slip your falling down them lol but not to put anyone off they take around 4mins of your 2 hour so you can defiantly get over it! 

Later on we took the ferry from the harbour to darling harbour to go to the aquarium the return ferry ticket was $12 and the normal price for the aquarium is $40 but I got mine for $28 from wake up hostel but as I found out later base hostel offer this and the wildlife for $25 each even cheaper but both work out cheaper than the student prices! I really liked the aquarium but I'm glad I didn't pay full price I think I would have been disappointed for $40 they had lots of fish and other sea creatures to see not just your normal fish and had 2 shark tunnels it took us a good 1 & 1/2 to 2 hours to go round it after really looking and taking pictures so it is really worth the cheaper price and it's open till late. After this we got the ferry back to the quay circle (main harbour) and got the 555 free bus back up to central station where our hostel is also the last stop for the bus and on the night we picked was the only night in the week the free bus runs later till 6pm when we got back we had a drink and some food and had a bit more of an early night as it was quite hectic all day doing things non stop walking. 

Day 2 in Sydney | day 31 | beach walk

Ok so today was my first proper day in Sydney even though the day before I did have a full day today I was refreshed and ready to look around so with the wake up hostel I was with they offer free tours and one of them was on a Wednesday and it was a beach tour from coogy beach to bondi beach around a 2 hour walk all together it started at 11am and only cost for the bus fair return ticket was $6 we picked a ver windy and cold day to do this but it was still a nice day and got to see some really lovely beaches my fave had to be bondi just because it really did look like what you see in pictures. We spent an hour looking around bondi and I think I would have enjoyed it much better if I wasn't in shorts and a vest top freezing to death with the sea breez as well as the cold day it was but it was nice and picturesque had lots of cafés and shops around too. On the way to bondi beach we walked along a lot of things but one thing that's took put the most was the grave yard with the best view in town right on the hill side with a perfect view of the sea from the cliff tops just amazing I would love to be buried there! I've forgot the bus number to let you know but I'm sure there is a few that head that way. 

On the night it was free wine and cheese night so some girls and I that I had met on the beach walk decided to head and check that out as it was on the first floor so it was only a lift ride away so easy when you have a bar and everything in your hostel the wine was goon this is cheap box wine that's what they call that hear this term was new to me but I quickly learnt to call it this but i didn't find it too bad I quite liked it but then again I like cheap wine back home lol I had as many as I could drink whilst it was free and they weren't stingy with it too so I got pretty merry and I guess the cheese was good too lol after it got to 10pm we had to take the party to the bar area where they were still giving out free drinks so I got another two and had a really good night my very first night partying away in a different country I met another girl and one of the girls I had met on the beach walk went to bed as it was her first day so she was shattered I don't know how she stayed up so long lol but me and this other girl stayed up dancing till 1am and then I finally went to bed as the sleep thing was catching up with me too still slightly jet lagged. And that was my second day pretty much I met some knew people to plan things with made friends and had a good party on free goon loved it!!! 

Day 30 one month down and arriving in Sydney!

So my first day in Sydney started really early as I landed at Sydney airport at about 6:30am and it was all ready really busy and full, there were mile long ques to scan your passport to through the border (all computerised not one human checking or giving me my stamp in my passport :( not happy) all through there were long ques it was a lot quicker than if a person was doing it, you simply put your electronic only passports in the scanner answer 3 questions yes or no and you get you ticket to go to the scanners and this is simple again you stand on the markings like normal scanner things in airports it takes your picture and you scan your card thing and your done and into the baggage collection point. After the ques our bags were all ready going round and mine was there then you went to go out through imagination (nothing to declare) and this was horrible the queuing systems they had in place were not enugh for the amount of people all trying to get out people pushing in and ramming into you with trolleys people going in the wrong lanes and because the ques went back so far got away with it because they couldn't send them back but I was lucky after standing around trying to find what que I had to be in around 5 mins and imagination officer came to me looked at my card and sent me out through a separate door no hassle no ques straight out! I then wen to look for the train station in the airport to take me to central station as my hostel was 2 mins away across the road so there was no need to pay for a $30 taxi when I could get a $16.40 train that took less than 10mins to go to other stations after central station this costs $17. 

The hostel I'm staying at is wake up! Sydney this is the first hostel I have ever stayed in and I loved it so nice and clean not what I expected everyone was helpful and friendly and I would love to stay hear again if I ever came back I'll do a better review in a separate blog post about my first time hosteling. 

As I got to the hostel for just after 7:30am my room/bed wasn't ready as check out is at 10am then they have to clean it and get it ready so check in isn't till after 12 so they let me have a key to the kitchen and tv area and I slept in the tv room till 2pm I was so tired as I had not been able to sleep on the flight at all. Once I had checked in I put my stuff in the room and locker and took a nice long shower to refresh me and get me ready to do something, so I checked out some maps and decided to have a walk to a park not too far and then to darling harbour as they are only around 10-15mins away from the hostel walking. I went to the caffe at the hostel very nice and posh I had some spaghetti bolognise and a coffe to keep me up a bit this was so good and a decent portion very filling and did the trick and only cost me $16 all together. 

It was such a nice and warm afternoon and it was nice to just have a slow walk around checking prices for things like the aquarium - $40 for adults $33 for students and the wild life park - same as the aquarium ( you can get multi buy entrance tickets and save money if your not a student) at darling harbour have a look at the parks and the Chinese friendship gardens - $6 entrance for adults. 

After my walk around I decided to look for the Sydney tower as it was getting dark and it's not too far from this area (I think everything from the hostel is in good walking distance) this was $26 for an adult and no student tickets with the entrance to the tower you also got a short 4D movie about Sydney before going up to see the views and you can stay as long as you want, you can do the sky walk but this is $60 and the revolving restaraunt is a buffet style and looked reasonable prices from what I saw. 

After around an hour at the tower I decided to head back to the hostel thinking it was later than I thaught, this was easy to get back you just walked in a straight line all the way down on pit street. If this fails just look for the clock tower at centeral station this is right across from it (if your staying at wake up!) when I realised it was only 6:30pm I decided to have 2 wines at the caffe bar outside as it was still quite warm an wait till a bit later so that I would sleep through till a normal time in the morning as I had a nap earlier.