When I first came back from studying abroad in Australia for 6 months, one of my best friends tagged me in this meme:
I don't want to be that person who starts every sentence with "so on my gap yah..." (goes into a really long pretentious story about how they really found themselves travelling solo through South East Asia). That being said, after coming back from Australia, most of my conversations with friends did start with 'So during study abroad...' and I would go on and on about how much fun I had over on that side of the world. That's not to say I was offended by this meme, I think it's absolutely hilarious and I love llamas. Any ways, I'm starting this travel blog fully aware that I still have a lot to learn about the world. I am by no means a travel expert! Let's be honest, most of my posts will probably be about how wrong things go (lol). I just really hope I can inspire/help/entertain others through writing about my experiences and sharing my love for travel with you all.
Well, you've probably guessed it, I'm now going to talk about my top 10 memories from studying abroad in Australia. Don't worry, I'll try my best not to sound 'all cultured n' shit', but I can't make any promises. Although it's been 2 years since I returned to the UK, my time over on that side of the world was definitely the highlight of my time at university. These memories are a compilation of unforgettable experiences, incredible people and hilarious (some not so hilarious) things that happened during our adventures.
1. Finding a huge poisonous spider in our flat that literally could have killed us.
A lot of people say they could never live in Australia because of the amount of creatures that could seriously harm or kill you. I sort of brushed this off, as long as you're careful and just stay calm you'll be fine, right? True, but staying calm and being careful was the last thing on our minds when we moved a suitcase and saw this:
An all girls flat who had only been in the country a few weeks finding this beast, you can imagine. We all screamed and ran away to stand on our beds. Now, before moving to Aus we had done a little research about the kinds of spiders we would maybe (hopefully not) come across. It turns out that if they don't have many different colours and are just plain brown then they're usually Huntsman spiders. These guys don't actually harm humans and are a very common house spider (although they can grow to 5 times the size of the house spiders we find in the UK and most definitely look like they could eat you). As you can see from the picture, the one who graced us with his/her presence was NOT plain brown.
I, being the bravest out of the bunch, went to have a closer look and tried to think of a game plan to get it out. Since it was sort of curled up and not moving, I figured it must have been dead (phew). With my flatmates watching apprehensively, I did the common thing you do... I got a glass and covered the spider then slid a piece of paper underneath. As soon as I did this, the spider sprawled out its legs from underneath its body as if it had just woken up from a nap. The spider was not dead. We all shrieked again and I almost dropped the glass and paper. "What do I do?!" I exclaimed, half laughing and half crying. "We need to put it out front in the street because if we put it on the balcony it could get back in!!" shrieked my roommate Shivani. "Okay okay okay" I said, flustered, and gestured for Shivani to open the doors for me.
We opened the front door and two hench Aussie builders were standing outside having a smoke. They looked at me with blank expressions. I stood there in my tracksuit and slippers and blushed. "Ummm Hi, sorry eh we just found this in our flat" I said, looking down at the glass. They had a look at the spider and smirked. It definitely wasn't a huge spider in their eyes. Let's be honest, we must have looked pretty pathetic. "Ah yeh, that's a decent one you got there" one of the builders replied in his heavy Aussie accent. "Just put it down on the ground here". I gently released our new friend to the ground, feeling relieved we could now let the spider roam free outside of our flat. Before I even stood up, the builders foot came crashing down and his boot slid along the ground. I gasped and watched the spiders body smush into the pavement. The girls and I started to laugh nervously.
"There we go!" said the builder and they both started laughing. "Yeh probably best to just kill those ones" they explained to us. We thanked them for their assistance and went back into our flat. "Oh my God" groaned my flatmate Heather, "that was like watching an assisted suicide!" Shocked and relieved, we started laughing. We had survived.
2. Getting caught in a rip at Tamarama beach.
During the very first induction talk we attended at the University of Sydney, we were made aware of the dangers of the ocean. I'm not talking about what's in the ocean like sharks, jellyfish, sea urchins or stingrays (although you most definitely have to be careful to avoid these guys too), I'm talking about the sheer power of the ocean. The power of a rip tide. During the induction talk, the speaker told us the story of a young student who was lost to the ocean. This happened years back. He was a young man studying abroad, who was not aware of the riptides. I can't remember the details, but I think this student went swimming one day on his own and never returned. We were shocked. My friends and I all agreed that we would be extra careful when swimming and always stick together.
I don't think anyone will truly understand the seriousness of ocean safety or the true power of the ocean until they've been in a dangerous situation themselves whilst out there. I certainly didn't. You tell yourself you'll be fine because you're a strong swimmer and the fit Aussie lifeguards on the beach have your back, right? Yes, but when I suddenly realised I was really far out and couldn't swim back into shore, I immediately started to question my ability and a slight sense of panic began to set in. I imagined myself on an episode of Bondi Rescue, the dumb British girl who had to be rescued in front of the whole beach. How could I live with the embarrassment?! We did decide to go into the water on quite a choppy day, but I only intended to stay in the shallow area and not go over my head. I lifted my feet off the bottom for a few seconds then before I knew it I was caught in the rip. There were lifeguards on the beach and I knew they could see me, so I told myself to stay calm. The lifeguard was telling me over the intercom to swim into shore, but I literally couldn't. The rip was pushing me back. As I'm not a pro surfer and didn't know that you're actually supposed to let the rip bring you out then swim into shore on the outside, I found myself in a bit of a situation. For a split second I thought that was it. Thankfully, this panic didn't last long and a nearby body boarder instructed me to grab onto his board. He pulled me in so that I could touch the bottom again. Out of breath and flooded with relief, I clambered onto the sand. My friends who were on the beach hadn't realised what had happened because from the beach, it probably didn't look like I was that far out. When they asked me if I was alright, I didn't make a big deal out of it and said I was fine. But ever since that experience I've never looked at the ocean quite the same. On a brighter note, Tamarama beach is absolutely beautiful and I went back many times, but I now swim with extra caution and never go out on rough days unless I've got a board with me and someone who's experienced!
3. Going to a 'Darty' in Melbourne.
Right, let's move onto some slightly happier memories that don't involve poisonous spiders or nearly drowning. Melbourne! I've heard some people say that Melbourne is like Sydney's 'younger cooler brother'. This made me laugh and I definitely got a sense of this after spending a few days there. It's very cool. Every corner you turn there's another cute café serving the most amazing coffee and all day brunches. Melbourne has a very impressive brunching culture and we took full advantage of this. Even though my bank account took a big hit (didn't say it was cheap), those brunches were to die for. Bustling with beautiful buildings, artsy communities and stunning roof top bars, you'll never run out of things to do in Melbourne's CBD (although you probably will run out of money if you're a broke student like I was!). When we went, it turned out to be one of the hottest weekends in Melbourne ever. I'm talking 38 degrees. We were roasting. The best part of the weekend was going to this open-air bar with graffiti covered walls called Section 8 for a 'darty' (day party). We basically just drank goon all day and danced on tables with a bunch of really cool artsy people. I can't wait to go back!
4. Incredible adventures in New Zealand and Fiji.
Since we were already so far on the other side of the world, we thought it would be silly not to go that bit further to New Zealand. In April, during our spring break, we did an amazing 10 day road trip around the South Island. Without a doubt, New Zealand is one of the most beautiful countries I have ever been to. Stunning green landscapes, crystal clear lakes and water coloured skies surround you and it feels like you're on the set of Lord of the Rings! Some highlights of this trip included bungee jumping in Queenstown, boating around Milford Sound (and seeing Dolphins), exploring beautiful lakes such as lake Tapeko and lake Winaka and having a random group of Kiwi students sing me Happy Birthday as we drank wine in their grungy student apartment in Dunedin. It was definitely a memorable 20th Birthday. We also left our car battery on all night by accident so nearly got stranded. But thankfully, we were in Queenstown near the centre so we borrowed a jump lead from a mechanic shop. Could have been a whole lot worse if we were stuck in the middle of no where! Our trip to New Zealand was fabulous and I would definitely go back in a second.
I was also lucky enough to make it to Fiji in July after I finished my classes. I didn't know too much about Fiji before I went, but I did know that the most beautiful parts are the smaller islands away from the mainland. We flew into Nadi and spent two nights, then immediately booked a week of island hopping. Guided by Awesome Adventures Fiji, we visited a bunch of the Yasawa Islands where we were always greeted with open arms by the beautiful Fijian people. Talk about absolute paradise!
5. The Australian McDonalds.
I admit this probably seems like a weird one, but I can honestly say McDonald's was a really big part of my Australian experience. I don't know what it is, but the Australian McDonalds, which they call 'Macas' (how amazing), is SO MUCH BETTER than the McDonalds we have here in the UK (I know I might be alone in this opinion, but thought I'd share it any ways). On one occasion, after a big night out, my friend and I ordered a family size meal between the two of us and literally ate it all within 20 minutes. It was heavenly, but have to admit I found it hard to walk afterwards.
6. Surf Camp.
Becoming sick at surfing has always been a goal of mine, but right now it's still a fantasy. I'm pretty awful. Don't get me wrong, I can stand up, but I definitely don't make it look easy or elegant. I learnt to surf for the first time in Devon when I was about 14, then went to a week long surf camp in Fuerteventura (one of the Canary Islands) when I was 17. After that week, I have to admit, I got pretty good. The problem was that our holiday had to come to end at some point and after that, I didn't touch a surf board for another 2 years. When I heard about surf camp, I immediately convinced all my friends to sign up in the hopes that my inner surfer would have the opportunity to shine. We had the most wonderful time, but let me tell you, surfing is horrendously difficult. I was really out of shape after eating so much McDonalds (no regrets) and had pretty much forgotten everything I learnt before. I spent the majority of my time posing for pictures doing the 'shakka' sign trying to look cool when really I was just swallowing gallons of sea water whilst battling average sized waves. Let's just say I didn't really fulfil my dream of becoming a pro surfer chick (will it ever happen?). Nevertheless, we had a wonderful 4 days of surf, sun, food, and lots and lots of alcohol (the hangovers probably didn't work in my favour...)
7. Crocodile Adventures at Cape Tribulation.
I was incredibly lucky to win a boat pass to see the Great Barrier Reef, so we planned a trip up to Cairns. We also visited Cape Tribulation, a beautiful coastal area within Daintree national park, where we got to go on a crocodile boat trip. We floated along a murky canal, looking out for crocodiles on the bank. At one point, the tour leader backed the boat up so that we were really close to one of them. The crocodile then moved its head suddenly, as if it had spotted us for his next feast. Everyone screamed and jumped back from the edge of the boat.
The tour leader laughed and said, 'ah yeh, we don't want anyone getting eaten again!'. Shocked, my friend Eamon asked 'how long ago has it been since the last person got eaten?', expecting to hear it had been about 7 or 8 years ago. 'Ah, just about 2 months ago mate!' replied the tour leader, carefully scanning the murky water for any hidden reptilian bodies. For the rest of the trip, I was very careful not to walk less than 10m away from the waters edge. Then again, what difference would 1 more metre make to the crocodile?! Any ways, none of actually got eaten and we ended up having a fabulous time, so yeah, Cairns was epic!
8. Australia's equivalent to pigeons: The Ibis.
Ah, the Ibis. Every day, there would be hundreds of these guys roaming our campus and the city. When we saw them for the first time, our faces dropped and we immediately asked our American property manager who was giving us a tour what on earth they were. She replied in her heavy American accent, 'oh, they're trash birds...' I had a closer look, 'So, like the Australian version of a pigeon!' I exclaimed. Despite their not so glamorous appearance, these birds were a big part of my university experience in Sydney and I happen to think they are much less annoying than pigeons. Honestly, I kind of miss them!
9. The Blue Mountains.
The Blue Mountains were absolutely splendid. We hiked along the trail, saw Katoomba falls and and even saw a magnificent rainbow. There's not much else to say about this one, it was just a pure display of mother nature in all her glory. Even though the Blue Mountains are a few hours out of Sydney by train, it cost us almost nothing to get there. We went on a Sunday, which means you can travel just about anywhere for as little as 2 dollars! That's another great thing about Sydney, although it is quite pricy, travel costs are pretty reasonable compared to London.
10. Watson's Bay
Watson's Bay soon became my favourite place to escape to. It's a little bay just outside of the city with a fantastic view of Sydney's skyline. During a really hot afternoon of classes, we were sitting on the grass basking in the sun complaining about how we just wanted to skip class and go to the beach. Then I thought, hang on, we only have to pass our classes, surely we can afford to miss a few here and there. Then, sure enough, we skipped class, hopped on a bus and discovered Watson's Bay. Best decision ever!
Well, I think that concludes my top 10 memories from study abroad. There are, of course, many more but I hope you enjoyed my selection. Feel free to leave questions / comments in the section below, would love to hear from you! Again, if you made it this far, you're really great. I know I said my future posts wouldn't be that long, whoops. But really, I'll work on cutting down.
Big love,
Belle x
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