Up and down the East Coast....the Oz experience begins

With the smell of noodle soop and 30p beers well and truly behind me I've settled into the Australian life. Slightly less on culture and perhaps more on beaches, beers and the surf, the Aussie's certainly know how to relax.

Touching down in Sydney a couple of weeks ago I naively stepped off the plane in flip flops, shorts and a t-shirt and was met with the last dregs of an Australian winter. Despite it still being relatively warm (17oC which is positively scorching back home) compared to the heat of Asia I felt the chill.

Anyway, feeling quite tired I did fairly little the first day with the next few days spent exploring the stunning sights of the Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Royal Botanical gardens which at sunset gave me this view.

My impressions of Sydney were mixed. Brimming with people and lots of places to accomodate the Aussie desire to drink make for a potentially good time. However, like a lot of cities and like I found when I first moved to London, it can feel a little lonely at times and if you don't know the hidden gems of a city you end up going to the tourist traps which can leave you feeling slightly short changed.

Which is why I think I enjoyed Melbourne so much after I took the short flight from Sydney. I met up with an old friend who showed me the sights and sounds of this truly cosmopolitan city. I took in an AFL game (the sport unique to Melbourne which is a mix between football and rugby) at the famous MCG along with 80,000 other supporters, had some really beuatiful food in the St Kilda area and whilst I tried, didn't quite manage to get through the 250 or so beers at a bar where the barmem are more like chefs such is there knowledge of beers (they actually wear aprons as well).

So from there I went back to Sydney for an extra night and took the overnight bus to Byron Bay which in my opinion is a jewell in the Australian's East Coast crown. Lucious beaches mixed with an extremely relaxed attitude paved the way for a relaxing few days...though it did rain on my last day which was annoying.

Leaving there for where I am now, the ridiculously named "Surfers Paradise" and the contrast couldn't be greater. The lonely planet describes it as like Paris Hilton "Trashy, in your face and a lot of fun!". It feels like a mini Miami (not that I've been...just from what I've seen on the TV) such is the abundance of palm trees, roller skaters and surfers.

I only plan to stay a couple of days before moving slowly further north. I've got lots of things planned including a sky dive, a bungee jump (which I'm shitting myself about) and a couple of dives in the Great Barrier Reaf.

So while Australia thus far isn't offering the same experience as Asia did (I'd have to go to Western Australia I think for some variation) I'm just going with the flow and seeing where the wind takes me. Hopefully the next blog will be a bit more interesting as I plan to visit some stunning places such as Frazer Island and the Whitsunday Islands.

Until then....