• Sunday, monday

    2023年6月5日, オーストラリア ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Sunday brought a little surprise. It turns out the hostel had had a thief last night. A woman came in and stole a few peoples foods.

    We looked back through the cameras CCTV footage and it shows a woman arriving in a car, hoping our and grabbing the bags. While she is doing that a guy is driving the car around the road so they are ready to drive off straight away. It was crazy. The worst part was she took Berbers' food, and Berber walked past her when she left. She had her food in her hand as Berber walked past. So strange!

    After work I did some more crocheting. I began the sleeve again because I didnt like how tight the other one was. Its super annoying because I had nearly done the other one but sometimes that happens.

    We had some ice cream in the evening, while doing the puzzle. The puzzle is taking forever because it had so many trees in it, not an easy thing to do.

    Monday was standard. I did a bit of batch cooking with some pasta and sauces. I found some meatless 'meatballs' which were amazing and made a very tasty pasta.

    I spent some time reading in the reading room. This room is my new favourite part of the hostel. Quite, calm and has fishes.

    We watched some movies in the afternoon and evening. Berber, Zuri and I got domines again because why not and enjoyed our monday off.
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  • Day off

    2023年6月7日, オーストラリア ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    Today was my day off.

    I woke up for morning yoga again but this time I had company. Lucy and Orla joined me for the sunrise yoga. Orla has a car but the back half is set up for sleeping in so I was lying on her bed as she drove, super safe.

    Yoga was nice and the sunrise was great. Ellie and Sammy joined us once we were done and had a coffee as the sunrose. Once it was warmer, Lucy, Orla and I went for a swim. It was so much warmer than I was expecting and a lot of fun. Something different in the morning.

    I had breakfast back at the hostel before heading out again. I met with my book club at the cafe by the Koala Hospital. The cafe is adorable and I was thankful that everyone hated the book so it didnt matter that I did not like it at all. Our group is made of people of all ages and we a read different things which I love. Our next book is a courtroom drama. I have never read one before so thats exciting.

    I walked to the library with Amy from the book club and picked up a few more books to read. Then walked into town for my Audiology appointment. I have been hearing ringing recently so wanted to check it out. Good news, it's not tinnitus. Bad news, I have the hearing of a 50+ year old. My hearing is nowhere near where it should be someone my age. Thankfully it is not caused by flying so it is possible I was just born with bad hearing. But apparently I need to book another appointment for 6 or so months from now. Then they can compare the results to see if my hearing got worse or if it's just my normal. So that's fun.

    I fid a bit of reading before going out to walk while the sunset. I went inland this time. I usually go to the coast because the sun sets behind the city which as very pretty but I wanted to go somewhere else today.

    Settlement spreads out along the river bend and is super pretty. The walk is partly in the trees and part along the small inlets. To stop flooding, the area has split the river up and feeds it though the house. The sunset was very pretty here too.
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  • Busy friday

    2023年6月9日, オーストラリア ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    Berber took a few photos of the room today. Shes leaving soon so she got a few shots and I love them. It makes the room look so much bigger than it is!

    Work today was a pain. We have a big group that had booked the entire hostel this weekend so we had to make sure every room was done and ready. This bit was fine, we do that usually. But they then sent us down to the 'white house', which is being renovated to help. After doing a bunch of lifting and carrying of things that were both sticky and had nails sticking out of them, I got asked to cut a hole. They neglected to mention that they dont have any of the correct equipment. So I was using a rising 50c saw to cut the hole in a cabinet that was fixed in place. Not fun. It took forever and my hand hurt so much after.

    Finally we finished about 3.5hrs rather than the usually 2. I didnt do much for the next few hours because I knew work was going to be busy tonight. The restaurant is right at the edge of the 'Art walk'. It is a big festival the city held this weekend of all local artists in all formats. The edge of it sag against our restaurant and the quantity of people walking last was crazy.

    It was like trying to cross a busy road trhing to fight through the flow of people while trying to serve those on the tables outside. It reminded me of Light up Hassocks, the amount of people and vibe of the place.

    As predicted work was chaotic and I did not like it. But the free food and pretty lights as I left made me happy.
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  • Love a saturday

    2023年6月10日, オーストラリア ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    Today was a busy day.

    I did work as usual but it was only 30 minutes because of the big group. So decided to go into town with Berber. We got pancakes for lunch before going into a few shops. The clothes were fine, not quite for me though. They seemed very expensive for what they were and honestly not good quality.

    We both had go work this evening so went back to the hostel and got ready. Work was busy but not as intense as yesterday thankfully.

    I finished early at 8,30 because I had a ticket to see Luke Kidgell. He is the comedian I saw in Cairns for my birthday so I enjoyed seeing him again.
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  • 6hr hike

    2023年6月11日, オーストラリア ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Berber and I had only a 30min shift again today thanks to the big group staying all weekend. So we decided to make the most of the day and do the coastal walk again. Today we did the way there and back.

    It took around 5.5hrs all in all. We did a little stop for a sandwich part way. We did a few photo shoots along the way and arrived back at Town beach around 4,15.

    Berber decided to go back to the hostel but I stayed. I bought an icecream to watch the sunset. I got chocolate coconut, it was back, I loved it.

    Back in the hostel we played some drinking games and chatted all evening. They decided not to go out and just sat around our house together.
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  • Morning swim

    2023年6月12日, オーストラリア ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    I woke up a little after dawn to go for a morning swim today. The water was warmer than it was outside so loved that. Until I had to get out again.

    I got a coffee and took a leisurely walk back to the hostel via the coastline. There is something truly beautiful about this city in the early morning.

    Back in the hostel I had a quick breakfast before starting work at 9,30. A half hour early than usual because we were doing 3.5hrs today to make up for the shorter shifts over the weekend. The group checked out this morning so we had to clean the entire hostel to get it clean again. 64 people, 40 of which were kids, it was messy.

    After work I was exhausted from waking so early and doing so much at work so I just relaxed for the rest of the evening. Didnt do much else of note.
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  • The most beautiful sunset

    2023年6月13日, オーストラリア ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Today had literally nothing of note until the evening. As I was walking to work the sky was insane.

    Like look at that sunset. Stunning.

  • Day off again

    2023年6月14日, オーストラリア ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    We did sunrise yoga again today. Lucy drove Ellie, Sammy and I down. The yoga was ok but I was not feeling it this morning. We had our coffee after and then went for a swim. The water was warm again and I loved it.

    We then went to studio3 for breakfast. I got a toastie, it was perfect but far too big again.

    Back at the hostel, I took a spot in the sun and began to read my book club book. It is not good, I dont like it.

    The sun however was great. Had a cup of tea and napped. Really am living my best life.

    I had work later on and enjoyed how clam it was. There greek restaurant is just so chill. Nothing too strenuous.
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  • Saturday style

    2023年6月17日, オーストラリア ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    I was feeling good today. Work was done and the sun was shining perfectly again so I decided to go down to the beach. Took myself on a little date.

    I found this dress in the hostel and I loved it. I never wear anything like this but I just decided to try it today. I bought myself an icecream down at the waterfront. I got the oat milk choclate, loving the inclusivity. There was one that what blue, I tried it and didnt like it though which was sad. It was coconut and pea flower, not that great.

    I stayed down by the water for a few hours, listened to my podcast and wrote some of the findpenguins.

    Back home I relaxed in the sun before getting changed to go out. My friend from book club invited me to a 'Friends' trivia night. We had a lovely dinner and ended up coming 5th all in all. There were lots of groups so we were proud of that, though it was mostly Amy's doing.

    We have agreed to meet again soon for either dinner or another trivia night.
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  • Beach days in this era

    2023年7月6日〜30日, オーストラリア ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    During the 3/4 weeks Alyssa was here we went to the beach far more than before. Alyssa was only here in Port for a little less than a month before she went back home. As a result she wanted to do something every day. Port is not known for its endless things to do, which led to is being at the beach a good 2 or 3 times a week.

    We ended up spending many hours down on the sand. Sometimes watching Seb surf, listening to music or playing volleyball. We got surprisingly good at volleyball between our little group.

    Seb was an extrovert with ADHD and Alyssa was also an extrovert. Between the two of them they managed to drag us out of the hostel almost every day.

    Despite the fact it is winter here, the weather is nearly always sunny and warm which makes for some great beach days.

    My favourite will have been our first. Seb wasn't there that day because we met him in the evening. But it was one of the first days Alyssa and Paulo were here in Port and so it was our first trip to the beach. Axel and Nathan came too, something that was pretty rare for them. We spent hours down on the beach, talking and getting to know each other. This is hardly my first time doing this with new people but there was something in our conversation that made it clear the next month was going to be good. All travellers have something in common so it is easy to make friends, but sometimes you meet a group that you connect with on a level deeper than just shared travel. That was this group.

    We went to Little Shack when the sun began to set and met Seb there. From then on wards every day was busy. I have loved every group I have had here in Port, and everyone aswell. But this era was my favourite. Beach days, and movie nights. I'm going to miss them when they are gone.
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  • 300 days

    2023年7月21日, オーストラリア ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Somehow, this day went from a great start to an unexpected disaster.

    I began with a very nice morning. I woke late, it was my day off from the hostel, and I decided to take myself for breakfast. I had 'French toast' but it was a little more than that. It came with a load of fresh fruit, bacon and yogurt. I took an excellent photo of it but alas, I no long have it.

    Back at the hostel, we made a plan to go kayaking. Seven of us decided to go, and Axel offered to drive us down to the hiring station. After a bit of logistics, we made it down there and hired three kayaks. Louisa and Alyssa had one, Paulo and Seb in another and myself, Alex and Nathan in a third.

    We started off well. The water was clean, clear and shallow. We did some races and hopped into the water where it was most shallow. Unfortunately, it was after this point we became unstuck.

    We were kayaking around an island down the river and back up again. The bottom of the island is open to the sea and thus has a lot of waves. At first we were having a great time. The waves were small and quite fun when they were rocking the boat. But they were persistent and slowly began to cause more problems for us. In the end Nathan got out and half dragged us to shore on the island. Without him we definitely would have capsised. The boys, did in fact, capsise. And the girls had to turn around. It was a little before the waves began that Alyssa lost her phone. They went back to try and find it but there was no chance.

    We took a break on the island for a bit to relax. It got very cold as we were all soaking wet and scared from the waves.

    Getting back in the boats was harder than we had expected. The area at the bottom of the island that we were resting on was surrounded by very expensive boats. We had to navigate our way through them while fighting the waves. Tha mfully we made it and set off back up the river to the baot place.

    It was somewhere along here that the waves began again. One of them knocked my phone out of Alex's care and into the river. It was almost funny watching it sail over our heads and into the water behind us. It sank quickly.

    Nathan offered to jump out but at this point it was a lot deeper than before. He might have managed to find it but getting back into the boat would have probably been impossible. So we kept going.

    Back on shore we were all a little shocked. One capsise and 2 lost phones. Not a great afternoon!

    Back in the hostel, we all changed out of our wet clothes and Alyssa and I tried to solve out problems. Alyssa managed to get an old iPhone from Facebook marketplace that she used to reconnect to her laptop. She works online so a lack of phone is far from ideal for her.

    Me on the other hand, I didn't mind so much. My phone was very old and I wanted to buy a new one anyways. But I would have liked to do it in a little better way, under my own choices. Thankfully most of my stuff was backed up to the cloud and my email so I was able to get a lot back. Overall I only lost some of my contacts and my photos. But I have contacts on other social media sites, so that isn't an issue. And thanks to the hours of work I have put into writing these blogs, I have all of my photos here. Friends have duplicates of photos so it really isn't much of an issue in the end.

    I like my new phone. Its better than my last and is a lot cheaper than I was expecting. The photos seem to be nicer and it's definitely faster than my old one. Alex went with me to the tech shop. She knows samsungs really well and so was able to find one that gave me what I wanted within my budget. It is fascinating how little I know about these things!
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  • Well, that happened

    2023年7月24日, オーストラリア ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    So in the last few weeks a lot has happened. Everyone who was here before is now gone. People have come and gone again in that time. We went through the entirety of 'winter' and am now back into summer. And I lost my phone and every photo on it.

    So, there are parts of the last six weeks I want to document on this and we shall just take this gap as me being me.
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  • Sunset at lighthouse

    2023年7月25日, オーストラリア ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    My most recent sunset at lighthouse and one of the last from the 'French era'. Nathan and Axel were here when I arrived and this was the final evenings we spent together before they left to go back to France. 2.5 months spent together in the hostel. It is amazing how fast time flies by.

    The clouds were gathering for a big down pour which made the sunset evening better. We are east facing at lighthouse so the sun sets behind us. But it is the after colours that make it so beautiful.

    Despite the chill we were there for ages just watching the whales in the distance and enjoying the colours of the sky.

    On the way home we stopped off at a fish and chip shop. We had heard good things but nome of us had been yet. It was worth the trip. A nice chill end to an evening and there time in Port.
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  • Group sunrise

    2023年7月30日, オーストラリア ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Today is Seb and Alyssa's final days in Port. The fact they are leaving on the same day is very depressing. But we made the most of their last day.

    We all dragged ourselves out of bed at 6am and made the walk down to the beach for sunrise. I was fine, this isn't my first time, but the others were not so pleased! That being said the sunrise was beautiful.

    We sat down on the beakwall, not somewhere I have sat before and it was beautiful. To our left was the sea and river, on the right surfers and the beach, directly ahead was the sun cresting the horizon.

    After watching its slow assent we walked to 4, for a coffee and I bought an almond croissant aswell. We got back at around 8am. The others went back to bed but I decided to enjoy my morning and sat in the early sunshine.

    After our required 2 hours of work, we all left the hostel again. We walked into town so the others could grab another coffee, I chose not too, and headed back to the beach. This was the second time in 2 days we had been down on the beach together but as it was there last day it felt fitting.

    It did rain on us a little here and there but it wasn't enough to stop us. I became somehow better and worse simultaneously at volleyball. After a few card games (another thing we did a lot in this era), and a bit of sheltering from the rain we went to Little Shack again. It was were we had all met Seb 3 weeks ago and felt fitting for the final evening.
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  • Dolphins in the bay

    2023年7月30日, オーストラリア ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    As we sat in Little Shack having a drink with sunset some dolphins appeared in the bay. This is something incredibly magical about the dolphins here. It just feels so unique and fantastical.

    After the sun set, I walked back alone. On my way there were a couple dolphins playing in the water so close to shore you could almost touch them. It was perfect timing on my part.

    Back in the hostel I did some laundry while I waited for the others to get back. Seb was leaving at midnight and Alyssa at 4am, so we had planned to eat then watch movies till it was time. We first watched Friends with Benefits, then a Zombie movie I can not remember the name of. By the time they were done it was 10,30. Alex and Paulo had already decided to go to bed so it was just Alyssa, Seb, Louisa and I left. Seb and I played a final game of Pool, he won, unsurprisingly. Then Ellie locked up and we did a few games of cards while we waited. We stopped a little earlier than intended so that Seb could leave being the ShitHead.

    We said our goodbyes, promises to meet again soon in England and waved him off. Alyssa headed to bed to get a could hours sleep before she had to wake up again for her plane. And I went to bed aswell, and tried not to feel like I was loosing my best friends again.

    Two days later it was Louisa's turn to leave. She left on the 3am bus and refused to do any part or big goodbye. I went into her room when I got back from work and we said our goodbyes then. I left her to finish packing as I'd promised not to be emotional. Louisa has been in Port with me longer than Berber was. Which is an insane concept as it felt like Berber was here forever. But she wasn't. She left and Louisa replaced her a couple days later. And now Lousia is gone too.

    The hostel is quiet, too quiet now. The extroverts are gone, the bits are gone and the French are gone. There is only a 5 of us left and it is amazing how empty the hostel feels. There were never many volunteers but the long termers made it busier, there were always 4 extra, making our group twice the size. But not anymore.
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  • Whales

    2023年7月31日, オーストラリア ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Over the last 3 months in Port it has been wahle season. We have made numerous trips down to the lighthouse to watch them pass during sunset. Unfortunately I lost all of my photos of these evenings. But Amelia sent me some of the photos she has taken of the whales. She has a professional camera so was able to take some incredible photos.

    My favourite time we went down to the lighthouse was at the end of June. We went down on a rather windy and freezing evening but it was worth it. It was one of Zuri's final evenings in Port and there were whales everywhere. Just as we were trying to decide if we should leave, we spotted a whale very close to shore. They are usually a few hundred meters out from shore due to the numerous boats. This one has chosen to come between the boats and the coastline.

    The whales swim beneath the waves but pop up every 5-10 minutes to spurt water out. Because it was so close we were able to watch this one for almost 30 minutes. It popped up when it was almost directly below us. Pure luck on our part leading to an incredible moment.

    We spent many evenings at light House but that was definitely the best.
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  • Highlights #1

    2023年8月5日, オーストラリア ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    A few highlights from August.

    I woke up one morning with a massive puppy in the hostel. It is fascinating how much my mood can boost just by seeing a massive doggo. He was adorable, I was very happy.

    A couple of days later, I decided to fall over. I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I ended up busting part of my knee up. I scratched the bottom half open and badly bruised it. I would not recommend it. Thankfuly, it healed nicely but took about 2 weeks before I stopped limping.

    We finally finished a puzzle that we'd been doing for weeks. The colourful part was easy but the blue was near impossible. It was all one shade and high dull to do.

    I spent the first two weeks of August doing the close. My friend Ellie, who usually does it, was on holiday in Europe for 2 weeks, and they asked me to cover her. I can not say it was really fun. The actual closing of the hostel was easy, but having the emergency phone was not. The hostel is usually very quiet, but I got unlucky. I guy called at 3 am asking to check into his room, which he never booked. A day later, a guy was wandering around the hostel on something and destroyed a bunch of plants at midnight. Needless to say I was very pleased to give the emergency phone back to Ellie when she returned.

    As everyone left at the end of July, August was very quiet, and I have spent a few mornings taking myself on solo dates. On highlight was the pancake place. The service here is a little lacking, but the pancakes make up for it. I got the raspberry and white choc stacks and read my book. The pancakes were amazing, and this book is truly incredible. The book is my book club book for this month, and it is one of the most beautifully written stories I have ever read. I highly recommend and will be buying my own copy.

    Due to having more free time to myself, I've taken on reading more again. I have also taken a liking to Matcha iced lattes, and the sun here is the best part. I have spent many afternoons by the beach with a match coffee and a book.

    Alex and I spent the together just before she left. We read on the beach for a bit before going to lunch. We went to a Thai cafe that does Asian and western fusion food. I got a salad, and Alex got a curry. It was ok but far too sweet for me.

    Alex likes to draw, and she created us all these drawings of our star signs and something like us. This was the one she made me.

    On one of the last days Alex was here, we went down the beach and spent almost all day in the sun. Around mid day, a strange looking cloud appeared. By late afternoon, a massive block of smoke was spread across the horizon. A wild fire had started from the forest a few miles north of the port and had spread. The wind was pushing the smoke eastwards and creating a block in the sky. Despite the strange view, we had a lovely day.
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  • Parties

    2023年8月16日, オーストラリア ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    A couple days after Louisa arrived, I dragged her down the road to a trivia night with her and Amy. We did truly dreadfully in the quiz, last place. It isn't surprising as we were definitely the youngest group and all of the facts were on Aussie things. Something neither Louisa or I could help with. Amy did the best she could but she couldn't carry us all the way through.

    A couple weeks later it was Lucy's birthday on the 5th. I had my book club in the morning, then we got ready to go out in the evening. A group of us went down to Stick Bar for a few drinks. We had some cocktails and enjoyed the warm evening out.

    Back at the hostel, we had a little feast with loads of finger foods and prosecco before bringing out loads of paints and tiny canvasses. We had printed out some pictures of famous paintings and attempted to recreate them. None of us have any artistic skill but we tried nonetheless.

    One evening in July, Seb dragged us all to Settlers. It is the cheapest bar in town and looks like it, but he had made friends with the staff and they gave us all free drinks. The staff have a game with customers that changes every week. This week it was pegs. We had a hundred odd tint pegs dotted throughout the staff and customers and the aim was to get a peg on someone without them noticing. The entire bar was in on it in the end. Some people were very easy to peg and ended up having loads on them.

    At the end of the night we played a couple games of pool ( something that would end up being a staple part of our groups evenings). Before heading back home via free shuttle and grabbing pizza at 1am.
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  • Highlights #2

    2023年8月20日, オーストラリア ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    Another load of highlights from the second half of the month.

    I have gotten ice cream quite a few times these last months, and today was an unexpected choice and not great but fine. Fig and whiskey. It's not great, but not bad either.

    The day before Alex left, we made burgers together at the hostel. There is a bbq at the hostel, and we used that to cook the homemade burgers. Tip tier.

    Alex and I also did the coastal walk again together. We took the bus after work to the lighthouse and walked back towards town. It took a couple of hours. We walked mostly in silence, but that was nice. Quiet to reflect as we went but not alone. I got an ice cream at the start because there was a van and life is better with ice cream.

    Alex and I got fish and chips for dinner one night. The place is very popular, and they do a deal for 2 for $10, can't go wrong with that.

    Alex and I watched the sunset together on her last evening. A very beautiful sunset as well.

    With it being so warm here, I have been enjoying the sunset while reading. Yellowface was ok. Far more political than I was expecting. Lots of discussion over racism and morality, which was a little disappointing. I was expecting a murder mystery style book, so I wasn't thrilled, but I can see why it is critically acclaimed.

    Got another toasty from Studio 3. You really can not beat their toasties. They are just perfect.
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  • Crotchet projects

    2023年8月23日, オーストラリア ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    I have made a lot of crotchet things the last few weeks.

    I am not in love with the green hat. It is a little too bright for me, so I made a more neutral one in beige. This one I prefer a lot more.

    I made a cute green top. This one took so many days of work, but I think it was worth it. Very cute, I am very happy about it.

    The slippers I made for Alex as a gift for when she left. They were a pain to make and made my brain hurt, but I was very pleased with how they turned out.

    I made a bandana. I had some leftover white wool from my other projects and decided to randomly make it. I saw a photo and decided I wanted it.

    My final project is another top. I had to make a pattern for a pentagon, which took so many tries, but I finally got it right. The top is slowly coming together.
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  • My final coastal walk

    2023年8月30日, オーストラリア ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    With only two weeks left to go, I did my final coastal walk. For the first time, I did it alone and it was very cathartic.

    It took around 5 hrs. I started at 9,15am and was back at 2,30. I spent around 30 minutes at lighthouse having a snack and resting.

    The animals were out today and scared the life out of me on multiple occasions. A massive lizard thing crawled out in front of me when I was not paying attention. I ended up seeing 4 of them on my walk, each time I was unnerved. They are massive and like to just stare at you from the bushes.

    Just after I set off on my way back from the lighthouse I nearly stepped on a tiny snake. Would not recommend, the heart attack it gave me nearly killed me. I did not enjoy that. I don't know what kind it is and I did not stick around of long enough to look closer at it.

    It was boiling out, probably 25° with no cloud cover and I was melting by the time I got home.
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  • Highlights #3

    2023年9月10日, オーストラリア ⋅ 🌙 10 °C

    Another highlights post, its getting a little repetitive now!

    My time in Port has consisted not in a small part by work. Papa Feta is my first stint working in a small restaurant and it was Greek. Initially a bit of a learning curve but overall one of my favourite places to have worked. The boss was honestly one of the loveliest people and the team there is great. Did I want to kill him at least once a week, yes. But he is the sort of person that it is impossible to stay mad at. At the end of every shift I got a Souvlaki rolled into a Gyros style dinner. Top tier, and even after 3 months of eating it at least 3 times a week, still amazing.

    Another key feature of my time was my trips to the Pancake place. This place had dreadfully slow waiting service but the food was peak. I tried both savoury and sweet pancakes in my visits and all were highly recommendable.

    My monthly book clubs were am odd addition to my time but some of the best mornings. Our group was small and I was by far the youngest but it was still a great time. Of the 4 books we read, I only liked one but the act of doing the book club was still great. We had our meetings next to the Koala hospital so I also got regular visits to these cuties.

    When I left Port, Sarah gave me a little present. This key chain is the cutest. I currently have it in my bag and will be putting it on my keys when I return. A little momento from my time living at Aussi Pozzie. I shall miss Sarah greatly.

    On my final evening in Port I went for dinner at Papa Frta and tried all the food I have been serving for months. The food was incredible and I got to say one final goodbye to everyone there.

    And to finish my time in Port, I did the one thing that seemed to make sense. I woke at 5am and went to watch the sunrise. A fitting end to my favourite place.

    Port Macquarie will forever hold a place in my heart and though it shall probably take me years, I know I shall return one day.
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  • Byron bay

    2023年9月10日〜11日, オーストラリア ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Ok, so Byron Bay is exactly as you expect. Whatever it is that you think of, you are correct.

    The entire small town is full of boutique shops, aesthetic cafes and blond hair beach waved people in flip-flops. Everyone is doing meditation and yoga, and wearing hippie clothes and peace signs. It is the stereotype that surrounds it. Intensly so.

    Axel, Nathan and I arrived around 5pm after a 4.5hr drive. I was expecting it to take long so was pleased it did not. We checked in and then grabbed some groceries. I cooked pasta, again. And then headed to be early. I watched the sunrise this morning and so had been up since 5 and it was already 7pm. I was knackered.

    The next morning I woke and had a lazy morning before heading out into the slight drizzle. I wandered through the town, stopping at the info centre as always, before heading to the beach.

    The beach is beautiful with little lush green hills framing the bay. I decided to walk right and found myself at the start of the lighthouse walk. The walk was beautiful and easy, which I was glad by as I was in jeans and a jumper.

    The walk took us to the most easterly point on the Australian mainland. From that view point we could see maybe 10 whales splashing about in the waves. They were jumping up out of the water and slapping back down creating massive waves. It is fascinating how its now difficult to see whales in Port, but there are hundreds in the waters around here. I took a few photos and tried my hand at the Gen Z photo method. I am still convinced that though I was born Port millennium, I there is no way I am Gen Z!

    Unfortunately in the afternoon the rain returned so I went back to the hostel and didn't do a lot for the rest of the evening.

    Overall, if you don't like surfing there really is not a lot to do in Byron. I like the city but it is not for me. I am a river and forest kind of girl, not a beach and sundress girl. I am glad I visited and I like the vibe but it is not for me.
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  • Ballina

    2023年9月12日, オーストラリア ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    On Tuesday, I decided to walk north of the city as I had gone south on Monday. North of the city led me along a path beside a marshland. Full of eucalyptus trees and looking very flooded. I got to the outskirts of town before turning around and heading back along the beach to the city centre.

    For lunch I returned to the hostel with the intention of cooking. But I met Alex and Nathan and they were heading out to Ballina for lunch. I tagged along and we drove about 30 minutes to the city. Once there we found a very busy bakery and got wraps for lunch. I got a snitzel wrap toasted and headed to the beach to eat. Ballina is a cute little town on the coast. It looks like a nice place to visit but boring to live.

    We headed back to Byron for the sunset and watched it from the beach. A bird spent the entire time trying to steal our crisps and Axels beer.

    Back in the hostel I cooked and got by bag ready for the bus tomorrow to Brisbane.
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