Solo Travels Pt 1

So moving out of B&G turned into quite a challenge… Finishing my last exam on Friday afternoon at 5:30, a huge group of international students headed towards an Italian restaurant for one final meal together straight after. It was a nice occasion, especially since it could be the last time some of us saw each other as most students not from the UK are returning to their home countries after this semester. The food was good, and we said our farewells to each other.

After there, we headed back to the Halls for us all to finalise our packing before moving out on Saturday. It took me until nearly 5 in the morning to have it almost finished, and after a brief rest, I was back up at 9 to finish packing the essentials, and turn in my keys. My room looked so bare! I put my bags into storage (kindly provided by the other Sheffield student, who is staying in Canberra over the holidays to work), and took my travelling bags to the YHA just a short walk from the university. Unbeknownst to me, I could have just stayed in Halls until my journey to Melbourne on Monday as my fellow travellers were, but the YHA was comfortable enough, and I was still able to call back in to B&G to use the kitchens. Wonderfully, as everyone was moving out, there was a lot of free food up for grabs to use in our meals.

Emily, Denise and I spent the final weekend doing a touch of sightseeing around Canberra, including taking a picnic down to the shoreline of Lake Burley Griffin to enjoy listening to the Carillon, and soak up some of the 32°c heat. Not even the ominous looking swans could spoil our day!

Monday morning though involved an early start, getting the 7:15am bus from Canberra (the advantage of being at the hostel meant it was only a 5 minute walk away, rather than 30 minutes from the university!), which was pleasingly empty, so we were able to spread out. We stopped at another town midway along to pick up a few more passengers, where we were treated to one of those rare bus radio messages asking “whoever has just taken their shoes off, can you put them back on as the smell is getting into the air-conditioning” that makes everyone laugh. Fortunately, I wasn’t the culprit. We switched to a train for the final couple of hours of the journey, and arrived in Melbourne mid-afternoon in baking heat. A long slog to the hostel to ditch our bags convinced me that I need to buy a bag with wheels (my hold-all was killing me!)

I don’t have too many photos of the city yet, but as I will be visiting there again, I’ll be sure to take some more. We walked every way you could in Melbourne, mostly in the wrong direction, but we did manage to make it up the Eureka Skydeck – the highest viewing platform in the Southern Hemisphere, which also has a small area where you can stand outside on the 88th floor to experience just how breezy it is. We watched the sun set over Melbourne from this perfect vantage point, and I was also able to spy my upcoming sporting venues – Albert Park, home of the Australia Grand Prix, the Etihad Stadium, home of Melbourne Victory, and AAMI Park, home of Melbourne Heart (on the right in the following picture).

On the left in this shot is the Melbourne Oval.

I managed to show off a few more of my photography skills on the first night, finding the technique of balancing my camera on something much more effective than trying to hold my camera perfectly still from a couple of seconds. From there though, we were tired out, and headed back to the hostel.

We attacked Tuesday and Wednesday with great enthusiasm, visiting the Disney exhibition in the Melbourne Art Gallery (which was wonderful, but sadly didn’t allow cameras), strolling through the various streets and shops of Melbourne, and taking the city tour bus round to see the sights. We spent a day picnicking in the Botanic Gardens, and a night in the Victoria Night Market, where I enjoyed delicious fish and chips, ice cream, and live music throughout. I have no photos of this though, as I was too overcome by the desire to eat the great food, and stay out of the occasional rain shower to take out my camera.

Amongst the culinary delights I sampled were Chinatown Chinese food, Greek style kangaroo steaks at Tsolidis with fresh salad, and perfectly cooked fish and chips from a fresh stall at the Night Market.

Thursday was an incredibly early start, getting to the train station by 6:40am, which Emily & Denise kindly accompanied me to. Despite my protests that it was too far, cold and wet for them to be expected to come along, they wouldn’t have it, and we said our farewells on the platform. Then, it was the Outlander for 11 hours, passing over a timeline on my way to Adelaide (I’m now GMT+10 ½) ready for the first game of my Australian Stadium Tour – Adelaide v Gold Coast on 26 November.

This is where we must leave it for now. I’m writing this post in my Adelaide hostel, and hopefully I can get down to the library tomorrow to utilise some free internet to post this blog.

And finally, here is proof of my continued inability to use my camera timer properly by Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra, although all three of us are in this photo…