August already?

August started with a weekend trip to Townsville to see my pal Rebecca again. It was great to see her again and amazing to see how much her daughter Eleni had changed in just a few months. On the Friday we ate Kangaroo burgers (you can just buy them from the supermarket!).

On Saturday afternoon, we headed to Magnetic Island again and hung out at the beach. Being true to our nationalities, I swam in what I considered to be a warmish sea (in the stinger nets of course) while Rebecca, a true north Queenslander (where the temp doesn't dip below 16c), watched in a thick jumper. We then had a few margaritas, before heading home for many bedtime stories with Eleni. To mix it up, and because we find this type of thing funny, Rebecca was calling out Harry Potter characters for me to impersonate while reading. Not sure if Eleni appriciated The Hungry Caterpillar read by Voldermort, but we were having a great time...

Sunday was a stroll along the strand, looking at the sand sculptures and hanging out at the sea pool lagoon.

It was still very much world cup season in Australia. Naturally I had planned my life around the England games, as we were definitely getting into the final, right? 

The following Saturday was an absolute corker. I played football in the morning, then headed to the pub for 7 hours of watching football. First up was Australia vs France, climaxing in the longest penalty shoot out in world cup history (both women's and men's). I was watching with my football friends, who were mainly south American (more on that later) but very much supporting Australia. The atmosphere was electric, and, without seeming condecending, I was warmed to see a pub full of Aussies experience their country in a world cup penalty shoot out for the first time. Next up was England vs Columbia, where I was very outnumbered! After all the adrenalin of the last game, this one was practically a sedative, with England sailing through. Finally, it was the opening game of the Premier League, so myself and my mate Shali (also a Gooner!) went upstairs to join the official Arsenal supporters club of Australia to watch Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest. And yes, there were more than 2 of us (I'd say 100 people or so). It was about 1am by the time it wrapped up and I was well and truly footballed out.

Later that week, it was England vs Australia for the semi final! Myself and the head of Arsenal Australia, Tony, had made a pact to get a little corner of the pub and make it the England bit, in a non threatening way. I was a bit worried about there being some aminosity, but Aussies are so chilled out, it was ok, even when England won.

The following morning, I walked into the office at work and my manager Veronica asked me where I was watching the final, and if I could get myself to Sydney for Sunday, then there was a ticket for me! So 48hours later I found myself on my way to a world cup final! It was also great as I was able to squeeze in a brunch with my pal Hannah on the Sat and Abbie on the Sunday. 

My ticket holder (boss's partner's friend's friend) had had some app trouble, and the tickets were app only, so it was a nervy wait to see if we could sort it out before the game at the stadium. Thankfully it worked and there I was, watching England, in person, at a world cup final. What an absolute dream come true. I was behind the  England goal in the first half, about 20 rows back and under a huge screen. The stadium was odd as it wasn't raked particularly steeply, and at my end, there was only about 40 rows. As it was mainly used for athletics, you were about 20m from the pitch, even on the front row. So the view wasn't amazing for football (not that I am complaining at all!!). In the crowd, I'd say it was about 30% English, 20% Spanish and 50 % Australians, so the atmosphere wasn't as crazy as you might imagine and far less singing Sweet Caroline than you'd imagine. It was a shame England lost, but Spain were the better team on the day. The second half was so stop start too, including a streaker on the pitch, and it stopped any momentum we might have had.

Once the game had finished, most the Aussies/neutrals left before the trophy had been lifted, which I found crazy. I made my way down to the pitch side barriers and screamed like a teenage fan girl when England did their lap of honour, I swear Lucy Bronze looked at me. What she might have thought of this strange 31 year old squealing and jumping up and down, even though we had lost. I hung around for ages afterwards, hoping they might come out and sign some autographs and got talking to some actual teenagers who were Australian and had all sat down and picked teams to support once they knew the wwc was coming to Australia. They'd started playing too as a result and I could've cried. It's so cool what hosting a competition can do to a country.

The next morning, I was on a flight back to Melbourne and at my desk by 10am.

August also bought with it a work trip to Bendigo, which I was quite excited about as I hadn't seen much of rural Victoria. As with any work trip, you don't really have time to see much of a place. It actually reminded me of a quiter version of Lancaster town centre... It also meant I got to get behind the wheel again in Aus, with the wise words of wisdom that if a Kangaroo was to jump out in front of me, I just needed to "cop it" and not swerve. This is not something covered in my UK driving test, so was glad to have a plan. Luckily, no roos were hurt under my watch.

Sand sculptures in Townsville 

With Rebecca in Townsville 

With Marissa from football and some of our team pre England vs Columbia!

AT THE WORLD CUP FINAL!!!

England receiving their medals

Guess where this is?

Me and my colleague Rose with our Matilda's shirts!

Oh my, it's July!

I entered July mid air on the way back to the UK. It felt weird to be finally coming home after so long away, but I was so excited! 

I'm going to tell a boring story about my flight, so feel free to skip to the end.

When I booked, it was really hard to guess which flight was best- what time of day vs price, vs stop over etc. The flight I had chosen  had a 7 hour stop over on Bangkok, which, after booking, I had started to regret. I thought I had time to go out and explore, but upon the advice of literally everyone I spoke to, it wasn't enough time. Plan B was to get a nearby hotel room for the time. But that still felt risky with shuttle buses and security. In the end, and after much research, I booked a lounge (Oman air) through sleepinginairports and was the best £20 I'd ever spent. They had a couple of recliner sofa's with curtains round them that I managed to bagsy (arriving at 5am helped too!), complete with fresh blankets and pillows. Plus a shower with all the amenities, and cruically, aircon. I liked it so much, I paid another £40 to stay for another 3 hours. Second best investment. I washed and then had a delightful 3hours sleep, followed by all the free buffet food and drinks, and generally feeling like a boujee Queen. I'm sure this is probably standard fare for some travellers, but I'm clearly just a simple girl, guv. Anyway, after 5 hours, I was spat back out back where I belonged. Good job too because (nerd fact), Bangkok Airport is the largest airport with only one terminal building, meaning you have to walk for literally miles. Particularly if you go to the wrong gate originally like I did. 

Anyway, I stepped onto my second flight, ready and refreshed. My aim was to stay awake the whole time, but they insisted in shutting all of the blinds (even though it was daytime!). That and the film selection is rubbish and I was bored rigid. I probably wouldn't fly with Thai again. Unless it was an absolute bargain. One thing I hadn't considered is stopping twice on my journey home. There was a family also heading to London on my first flight, but stopping off twice after Bangkok, but only arriving 90mins later. I suspect their flights were much cheaper and you get the bonus of breaking up a 13 hour flight, so I'd deffo consider it in the future. Anyway, enough plane talk.

It was great to be back in the warm UK. I was able to see lot's of family and friends. I had a packed schedule, but it was worth it. I couldn't see everyone I wanted to, but that was always going to be the catch coming home for such a short period. My cousin Emma and her partner Simon's wedding was so much fun in the beautiful Lake District. And I'll have memories  I'll treasure from that weekend.

I arrived back to Melbourne feeling energised and ready for another stint.

I'd used an app (timeshifter) to reduce the effects of jetlag- it told me when to sleep in the lead up to and after flying. I would definitely recommend it and will be using that, or at least one of many websites I discovered, for advice on the future. I still felt quite tired for a week or so afterwards (probs because I didn't stick to it 100%) , but it's nice to have a plan regardless!

I hit the ground running and straight back to work the following morning after landing. Work is going well- my team are lovely and I get to spend most my time editing, designing and motion graphics-ing.

My team have also been great at coming to the pub with me to watch England games. It's the women's world cup here in Australia (and NZ) and I couldn't be more excited. It's also crucially on at the right time of day too. Annoyingly, England won't play in Melbourne. I considered going to Sydney for a game, but that would mean flights plus hostel, and I don't really know anyone from England who would be up for going too. Much better to enjoy it in the pub with pals. 

I did however, go to see Germany vs Morocco in Melbourne, which was so good! Tickets were $20, Germany absolutely thumped Morocco, and we were practically pitch side. I even got on the screen just before the Indigenous blessing.

 Speaking of getting on the screen, this month marked my first ever AFL game. Melbourne is "footy" mad and everyone is absolutely obssessed. The majority of the AFL teams are here in Melbourne, so there is nearly always a game on the weekend. I decided to go for Melbourne Demons earlier on in the season, as that's who some of Lochie's family (my cousin Sarah's partner) supports, so it seemed as good a choice as any. That and my nearest team, Collingwood, play in black and white stripes, and I'll be having none of that.

Melbourne were playing Brisbane, in a top four tussle. A win for Melbourne would mean overtaking Brisbane for third place. Not that it really means anything because at the end of the season, the top 8 teams go into a knock out style competition and whoever wins that, wins the league. In Victoria, where I live (both physically and metaphorically speaking) everyone gets a day off for the grand final.

Anyway, back to the game. The pitch is huge, there are a million refs and there are 4x 30min quarters. The crowd don't really sing songs, apart from the clubs offiical one for which the lyrics appear on the screen karaoke style. Demons is partially to the tune of Auld Lang Syne- "for the team in the red and the blue". 

In one of the breaks, they had a dance cam, and I was bemused to see it pointing at me a couple of times, so I danced politely. What I didn't realise was that it was to win $1k, otherwise I would've absolutely gone for it!

The last 5mins was very exciting, Demons were clawing their way back from a loss abd somehow managed to win the game with 20 seconds to go.

I'll definitely go again if I get the chance!

Another cool thing that happened in July was that my football "team" held a tournament to celebrate the start of the world cup. There were 35 players from all over the world! The competition was very tight, and my team won 3-0 (VC with 3 out 3 assists), then lost our next two matches 1-0, only conceding in the remaining moments. Classic tournament "heartbreak".

I then took to conjoling everyone I know to go to the pub with me for games!

Airport bliss

Weddingness

Go Demons!

The other international football tournament happening in Melbourne!

At Germany Vs Morrocco!

Go England!!

June ka-boom!

 

June marked the end of my current run performing Maestro shows with impro Melbourne, which means I had some time for some adventures!

Australians get a public holiday for the King’s Birthday in June (why don’t Brits get this?), so I fully took advantage of  headed off to warmer climates in Queensland for the long weekend. Originally, myself and Kate (who has been on the road since Sara arrived in April) hatched cunning plan to meet in Brisbane for dinner on the Friday before she left Australia for SE Asia. But in the end, our flights didn't quite line up, so a solo adventure for us both.

It’s funny, back in the UK I would totally be a bit cba to hop on a plane for a couple of hours for just a weekend, but clearly I’ve adjusted to an Australian way of thinking, that distances I used to think were mammoth are small. Anyway, I arrived to a gloriously warm Brisbane and stayed in the nicest inner city hostel I’ve stayed at in Australia (well done YHA Brisbane). One thing I have started to notice is how mixed ages are at hostels- frequently I meet cool, kick ass women in their 50’s and 60’s, just living their best lives. The future is hopeful. I decided to go and check out Brisbane’s supposedly buzzing Southbank in the evening. Although it was busy, I definitely would not describe it as buzzing. I've seen more action in Enfield on a Friday night!

The next morning a had a lazy start, then had about 4 hours to kill before my coach to Noosa heads beach. I’ve been to Brisbane before and remember it being pleasant, but a bit boring, and I wanted to see if this was still the case (spoilers, it was). I hopped on an e-scooter and wizzed around the city for a bit. I could write an entire essay on the pitfalls of e-scooters, but they are handy (and fun!) on a day like that. And at least they come with helmets here. The weather was mid twenties and the sun was out, so I spent some time at the street beach- a free public man made beach with huge lagoon swimming pools, by the side of the river. I thought at first there was something wrong with the pool as hardly anyone was using it, but quickly realised it was too cold for Queenslanders, but not for me as a Brit.

I then headed off to Noosa, about 2hrs away by coach. Noosa is a slightly bougie holiday destination and fairly popular among backpackers. Last time I was in Aus, I had to skip it out due to time, so was determined to make it. I stayed at the YHA, which was an old timber building a couple of mins from the beach and surrounded by rainforest. It was also formally called Hillcrest- the same name as my grandparents house. The next day, free pancakes for breakfast (my favourite!) before heading to the beach. Naturally the moment I finished head to toe factor 50 suncream,  the sun went in. Still, I enjoyed a swim, even in mid winter, the sea is 23c. In the afternoon, I went for a surf lesson. They gave us wetsuits, which I found kind of funny, but wasn’t complaining. Somehow, I get progressively worse with each surfing lesson (this must be about number 10), like the Benjamin Button of learning things, but it’s fun to splash about and drink sea water for 90mins. The rain poured and poured, very unusual for Noosa. The hostel was hosting a cultural evening though where a nearby First Nations Elder and some family members came to talk to us and show us some traditional dances. One particularly poignant moment was when he asked to describe what we could see all around us, then explained that even if we can't see them, our ancestors our always with us, much like stars above us*. 

The following day started off with free yoga (best hostel ever amiright?) then I went for a hike with a couple of people I had met in the hostel-TJ (Dutch) and Emma (French). It was still raining, but we ploughed on along the coast of the National Park. It was only my intention to do a quick there and back, but we decided tp gp back through the jungle/forest and I’m glad we did as there was some great nature and seeing the rain evaporate as steam off the trees was pretty cool. Naturally, I suncreamed upon on our return to the hostel to have a whole 5mins on the beach until the clouds came back.

Speaking of nature, I came face to face with my first big boy (or girl) spider in the bathroom. I would’ve been oblivious until someone pointed it out on the ceiling. It was about the size of my hand and definitely didn’t appreciate my screeching. I think it was a huntsman, so harmless, but terrifying. Me and my bathroom mate (also called Victoria haha) decided to call her Tiffany. I could spy her every time I went in and almost got used to her.

The following weekend, I booked a day trip to the Grampians, a national park named after the one in Scotland. It’s about a 3hour drive from Melbourne, so better to do over a weekend, but difficult to coordinate with anyone, so I bit the bullet and just paid for a tour. The views were great, but as often is the case with these things not enough time to really enjoy them. It was raining too. I did get to meet some wild kangaroos up close though.

I spent most of the rest of June being a bit ill, over doing it I think. We did have a one year birthday party at work which consisted of a ‘sausage sizzle’ aka a bbq but less fancy- literally sausages and sliced bread. End of June marks the end of the financial year in Aus, where a lot of the videos I've been editing were due. I also was keen to get them done because… I was heading back to the UK for a brief 12days for my cousin Emma’s wedding. Some may think that is a bit mad, but it’s actually one of the easiest decisions I’ve made all year and will be a nice refresh before the last bit of my year.  I would’ve done the same for my cousin Ben’s wedding in Feb, but the timing and finances just weren’t right.

 

I’m actually writing this on my second flight of the trip home and I so bored. Hats off to people who do this on the regular because I am so bored right now. How long is left? 5hours I hope, or less. Let me check….

Erghhh 5hours 40mins.

It’s also why this is so long. So sorry for novel, this is also my entertainment as the films are rubbish.

Onwards to July!

*I'm paraphrasing here, hopefully I've done the story justice!

Brisbane

Street beach, Brisbane 

Noosa beach

The Darling (harbour) buds of May

No, I didn't go to Sydney in May as the very niche (but hilarious) pun would suggest. I didn't even leave Melbourne, but, although it's not Spring here, those metaphorical seeds planted are a growing. Despite beginnings smeared in manure at times, the flowers have arrived. Ok, ok, enough of the weird horticultural metaphors, I'm sure you get it.

One of the reasons I haven't gone adventuring is because I am now officially in grown up land with a full time job.

But, also, I was invited to be part of an improv show that was running for a month or so on a Saturday night. Wahoo, back to my roots of making people's Saturday night a giggly one. For anyone interested, the format is called "Maestro" improvisers wear bibs with numbers which correspond to numbered pingpong balls. They are then called up and asked to do a short scene, often with complicated constraints e.g. two people on a train who must keep swapping characters. The audience then gives it a score out of 5. Players are slowly eliminated until a maestro crowned. It's not really about who wins, but about creating a good show overall. So naturally, I wanted to win. And gave the big boys (literally) a run for their money with near consistent top 5 finishes. But it's not about winning. I swear. 

I also had an opportunity to perform at the improv theatre's open stage night. I'm developing a comedy show about women's football (or soccer as it's called here) which was fun. My new housemate Hannah is an actor too so she helped me out. 

In relation to these shows, please do read my last blog post!

Plus it's 'term time' again at the theatre so I am doing a course once a week again and learning heaps.

I've also found a casual women's football meet up on a Saturday morning. Mainly south Americans and a few Europeans, tunes are blasted out of a huge speaker and I feel like I am playing fifa street. They are all absolutely lovely too. It's nice to be doing more exercise too, the lure of the nice quick train is hard to resist against the busy cycle lane along a noisy road as a commute.

Activities other than footie and comedy have mainly included chilling out and going to the pub after shows. A few people have visted Melbourne as well- Sara was back from hers and Kate's east coast trip, so we went out for margaritas, mexican food and to watch some shorts at the Melbourne International Animation Festival (!). One of my Bristol mates Hannah was in town so we brunched and charity shopped it up. And my pal Issy was back after her farm work, so we kareoke'd the night away along with her friend Fabian. Who was turning 19, but, like many German's I've met, inexplicably cool and grown up!

Just as May was drawing to a close, something random happened- there was an earthquake in Melbourne. I had just fallen asleep on Sunday evening, when I woke up to an almighty crash noise like thunder and the room was shaking. At first I thought maybe a car had driven into the house, and confused, I put my lamp on. I didn't have my glasses on but the whole room was moving. Then it stopped. My housemate Daniel was up too- "Did you just feel that? Did I just imagine that? It was almost like an... but no way" "yup, I think we just had an earthquake" Daniel replied. I then went back to my room and  scrabbled around for my glasses for about a million years, before heading to the lounge to google it and wait for an aftershock that never came. Our other housemate was out at work (uber eats bike delivery) but hadn't felt a thing. Turns out we were close to the epicentre and it was 3.8 on the richter scale. Melbourne doesn't often get earthquakes and it was the city's strongest in over 120 years*. Obviously this pales in comparison with other parts of the world. But I thought it might be interesting to write about anyway. It's funny, I was low key worried about earthquakes in New Zealand, but I don't think it ever crossed my mind it might happen in Australia. There's probably a life lesson in there somewhere...

June is promising more gigs and more football. Lovely stuff.

*being the good journo I am, I've fact checked this so I'm not misleading anyone. 

This was the largest to occur nearest the city centre in terms of distance- 3.8 and an epicentre within 40km of the city centre. In 2021 there was a 5.9 that was 130km away. I'm not sure what this means in real terms. Anyway, the fault line was only discovered this year interestingly.

Margaritas and Mexican food with Sara

Two people who have just had an excellent brunch

Football Queens 👌

Maestro poster!

End of one of the shows!

Please donate!

Hello!

 This is not quite a regular entry, but wanted to mention this in it's own post.

 I've been doing lots of improv shows in Melbourne recently (wahoo!). I'm sure some of you reading might've come if this was happening in London/Bristol/where ever you are.

In leiu of buying a ticket this weekend, please could you consider making a donation to the Katie Lees Foundation? 

It supports young women making theatre in Australia. 

 

As you may know from previous posts,

Katie was a very good friend of mine and a kick ass comedy performer, who I first met when we toured Italy together in 2015. Sadly she died in August 2021 and the foundation was set up in her name.

I definitely wouldn't be the person or performer who I am today without her, so it would mean a lot if you could donate to support the foundation's work.

 Thank you very much!

https://katieleesfoundation.com.au/home 

Ch-ch-changes- Melbourne month 4

April has been a month of changes, a new job, new mates and saying bye to some. It really does feel like a new chapter.

The month started with the eagerly anticipated Formula 1 in Melbourne. I had decided back in feb that this was potentially a once in a lifetime opportunity to go to a race in my own backyard. A lot of the day tickets had sold out, and lots of my mates were going, so I went for a weekend pass. I was pretty tired (#nightshiftlife), but it was like being at a festival. On the Sunday, myself and my friends Jack and Kuno (both of whom I met on Port Macquarie over Christmas) managed to find a good spot by turn 12. Though I'm not a superfan with the F1, it's something I've grown up with like a Sunday soundtrack, so was surreal being there irl.

April also marked the start of Melbourne International Comedy Festival, wahoo! It was so exciting to be living in a city where an Edinburgh style arts festival was taking place. My nightshifts restricted me slightly, with a bedtime of 8pm, but I was determined to see as much as I could. Over the course of the month I went to see an improvised Dr Who, Shakespeare and Cabaret (not all at once!) and one of my improv teachers’ solo show.

Easter weekend was spent mainly working, but I caught up with a uni friend Catrin, my pal Issy came to stay and we discovered fairytale/magical themed cocktail bar. I had a drink called Polyjuice potion that came with candyfloss made to look like human hair (or could be renamed hair of the dog as I was a bit hungover?). 

The following weekend, was a rare, visitor-less beast, filled with sleeping, watching comedy shows and going to some art galleries with my mate Jimmy. There’s some pretty cool ones in Melbourne, including ACMI which as a whole floor dedicated to animation, film and editing, wahoo! 

Myself and Kate were also doing touristy bits and bobs on our days off, ticking off stuff before she left Melbourne to go travelling with Sara, one of our pals from home. We managed to do a boat ride, a Botanical Gardens walk and a trip to the Casino!

 Next weekend was awesome one too- Sara, arrived. Friday eve was speant checking out the street art and a rooftop bar. The weather was back to being hot on Sat and we spent the morning hanging out at St. Kilda skate park (Sara skated, I filmed. A much safer combo than sticking me on anything with wheels) and the afternoon at Luna Park. Finally, I had cornered someone to ride on the Scenic Railway with, wahoo! Luna Park is a tiny theme park by the beach that reminds me of the rides near Morcombe, and there is so much fun to be had. The Scenic Railway itself was a joyful experience, made even better by the fact that it’s breaks are controlled manually by an actual human who is actually standing up aboard the train, with no actual harness, in what might be one of the world’s greatest jobs. It's also the world's second oldest continously operating roller coaster in the world. also went on the ghost train, another ride built at least 70 years ago. I was bracing myself for something jumpy/scary the whole way round, but apparently, I’m much less of a scaredy cat than those 1930’s chicks. In the evening we went to Chinatown for dumplings and then to see KitKat Prov, an improvised cabaret by my pals at Impro Melbourne. Then out to a Karaoke bar afterwards- my song choice was I Want to Break Free by Queen. It was a right laugh, and I was FINALLY able to enjoy myself on a night out because…

In amongst the chaos of April, I had received a call offering me a new job (it was actually one I had interviewed for months ago, but that’s a long story I won’t bore you with). I was sad to be leaving my current job, but excited to have a new challenge. And also be back to working regular hours. My highlight of my old job was probably helping set up a live segment where our Sydney reporter was on a fairground ride having just eaten fairy fries (chips with melted gummy bears on them).

My new job* meant that I got bank holidays off, so was able to spend ANZAC day on the beach in Brighton, one that I had been meaning to go to for months.  The new job came at just the right moment, I was considering moving cities/towns and doubting whether Melbourne was the right place for me.

That’s the other thing about Melbourne, the weather, the weather, the weather. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but the unpredictability here is more extreme than a summers day in Scotland. With this comes good and bad- sunbathing on the beach one day, followed by coats the next. A Melbournian (is that a word?) told me recently to pay no attention to the season, you are just as likely to have a day that’s 30c in winter as you are 12c in summer. In many ways this is a pretty good metaphor for my time so far in Melbourne- unpredictable, with sunshine always following the rain (pass the sick bucket!).

April finished with a BBQ and silly drinking games with my new mates. Good stuff.

*if anyone is interested, my new job is a video producer for a State Government Agency.

F1 Track!

All in a night's work (despite appearences, the reporter enjoyed it!)

More art!

Supplies from the UK!

Just your friendly neighbourhood Possum

Brighton beach

Melbourne month three

March started off with an Ed Sheeran at the MCG which was pretty special. It was the biggest concert in Australian history!

The following day me and Rich headed off on our big adventure. We had opted to do the 'Great Ocean Road' a road trip along the Victoria coast line, famous for it's spectacular views and rock formations. Despite my tiredness, we had an amazing couple of days stopping off at various beaches and towns, walking through rainforests and looking at lots and lots of rocks. If anyone is interested in itinerary, here it is:

Friday

•Melbourne- car pick up

•Bell's beach- nice beach

•Torquay- a nice seaside town and a lunch stop where we had Bahn mi, my fave

•Anglesea-  another nice seaside town

•Split point- aka the Lighthouse from 'Round The Twist'*

•GOR sign- with a bit about the history of the road, mainly built by ex-soldier

•Lorne- Erskine falls and Teddy's lookout

•Apollo bay- a seaside town and our overnight

Saturday 

•Apollo Bay- breakfast

•Great Otway National park- Maits rainforest walk, which was beautiful!

•Cape Otway Lightstation- A museum and decommissioned light house tour. On the drive in, you drive through a valley of dead trees.

•Gibson steps- a beach with the first glimpses of the 12 apostles and a good lunch spot.

•12 apostles- spectacular rock formations poking out of the sea

•Loch Ard Gorge- more rocks

The Grotto- even more rocks

•London Bridge- rocks that look like a bridge

•Port Campbell- no rocks here but a nice seaside town

Sunday 

•Port Campbell beach

•Back to Melbourne on motorway

We had good weather the whole weekend and had some great food too. I was still figuring out my shift sleeping pattern/catching up on sleep, so was in bed by 9pm both evenings. My highlight was probably the Round the Twist lighthouse (haha!) and the rainforest walk. There was also thousands of butterflies everywhere, which made the former Countryfile/Farming Today worker in me was very excited! Three nights might've made for less of a rush, but we ticked off everything on the list.

More nightshifts the following week while Rich went off to the Goldcoast. 

On Friday we went to our friend Meli's leaving BBQ at Albert Park (whereas they do the F1). What's nice about Australia and NZ is that they have communal BBQ's everywhere in parks etc that are free to use and great for a party. The following day, we hired a car (through uber car share this time, aren't we tech savvy!) and headed to Phillip Island. Not before a quick stop off to Pin Oak court aka Ramsey Street. Myself and Kate were incredibly excited, Rich pretended not to be, but I knew his was secretly.

Philip Island is about 100km southwest of the city. We stopped off for lunch/swim/icecream in one of the beach side towns before heading to the far end of the island, the real reason for us going there. Every day at sunset, thousands of little penguins come ashore to their burrows. It's pretty much guaranteed, so a huge conservation site and tourist attraction has been built around it, with hundreds of people sitting on tiered seating on the beach. Our tickets said 7pm, so we thought we would arrive for 6pm and get a good spot. When we arrived, we discovered it was doors at 7pm, penguins at gone 8pm. This is important info as we had originally planned at eating after. By the time the penguins did appear, we were cold (having been sat for 90mins), super hungry and, in my night shifted state, very tired. It definitely was spectacular, but the penguins mainly avoided the audience that night. Afterwards, you can walk around the reserve and see them up close and in their burrows etc. which was amazing, but the hanger was ruining the moment a bit.

The following day me and Rich chilled out and I got back on the early bed bandwagon.

The week played out much as the previous one- nightshifts while Rich went to Sydney.

We mainly chilled out in Melbourne on Friday, just visiting the Botanical gardens and going for pizza on westgarth highstreet. It was still warm enough to eat outside too.

Rich flew home on the Saturday. 

On Sunday morning, I cycled along the nicest bike path to a nearby park to play football for the first time since leaving the UK. Joe and his friend Alex had found a friendly kick around group through the app meet up. They had several games going on, so I played some 7 a side before joining the boys on the 11s pitch. This game was more like 15 a side, so much more like a rugby scrum. I'm quite used to playing with just men, but do have to sound it out to see if it's being played in a safe and friendly manner and players aren't going to charge at me full pelt. (Side note on that, with my mixed team in Bristol, I had only been taken out once in 4 years). This didn't feel very safe, Joe and Alex didn't find it much fun either. I think I'll stick to the 7s which was lovely.

The following week, my improv classes had their last sessions. I'll be sad not to have improv, but glad to be able to control my sleep a bit more. Me and Kate had a day out on the Wednesday- getting a boat along the river and out to Williamstown.

On Saturday I flew back to Sydney. Two of my best friends, Scott and Ros, were over there for the weekend wrapping up their honeymoon in the southern hemisphere. Scott and Ros in my comedy group, and I miss them loads. We usually rehearse/hang out at least a couple of times a week when at home in Bristol, so it's been weird not being with them all.  

I grabbed dinner with my friend Peter on Sat eve (he's moved over from Auckland!), some delicious dumplings and headed to my hostel for an early night. I had forgotten that other humans don't like to be in bed by 9pm in a Saturday, but just about persuaded my roomates at 10pm to turn the light out. Which was obviously a popular decision. Not. I cursed myself for not just sucking it up and getting a hotel room and was greatful that at least this wasn't every night. I then had a terrible night's sleep due to someone using a cpat machine in my room. And I thought I had seen it all in hostels!

The next day, I went and met my friend Katie's best friend Grace for a cuppa. It was so nice to finally meet her and to chat about Katie. Afterwards, I checked out the theatre where they performed a lot at. Speaking of which, the charity made in Katie's honour has recently been made official. The Katie Lees Foundation supports young women in the creation of new theatre work. Any donations would be most welcome.

Fed up and sleep deprived, I decided I didn't care what the cost was to move to a hotel that night, so I managed to book a last minute 'capsule room' at a nearby space themed capsule hotel. It was only $10 more than my current hostel, which allowed me to check out early with a refund, wahoo. A capsule hotel is essentially a hostel, but you get a little pod to sleep in and can shut out the outside world. Bliss. Plus, it's cheaper than a hotel room. Result.

Anyway, I skipped off to meet Scros at Bondi. We were joined by Chantal, a friend of Ros' from home, who had also flown in from Melbourne. We had a great day swimming in the sea, walking some of the coastal walk followed by dinner and drinks at the Opera house bar and cocktails nearby. And lots of laughing.

I was so excited to test out my space capsule when I got back. Naturally, I didn't know that they auto locked on closure, leading to a frantic minute pressing buttons then banging on the door until my Korean room mate calmly told me to press the big button to unlock. Lol. Although outside noise was largely blocked out, every pod had loud fans, so it sounded like being on an actual spaceship with a constant, annoying hum of other people's fans. Mine did nothing to make it colder. So much for silence and darkness. It was still an improvement on sleeping next to darth vadar*, even if it was like being aboard the Death Star. I would definitely go back again, but if I really did want to sleep, a private room would be better.

On Sunday morning, I met with Mia, my Korean friend for a coffee. It was so nice to catch up and hear what she's been up to in Sydney.

Then I met the gang by the Rocks for lunch. The rocks is an area near harbour bridge that has old ish stuff and history things from when Sydney was being built. We then did the harbour bridge museum which included going up one of the towers. At the top, we bumped into someone we knew from Bristol! After a mooch around the Botanical gardens, it was time to go our separate ways- W

we all agreed that we had had a lovely honeymoon.

Myself and Chantal were booked sequencial jetstar flights back to Melbourne. They leave several times an hour from Sydney and it's now the busiest flying route in the world as there is no sensible train option (current train takes 12 hours!).

*a bizarre Australian children's TV programme that was randomly shown in the UK and therefore etched into the memory of most millennials

Ed Sheeran at the MCG 

Great Ocean roading 

Iconic

Lunch spot 

London Bridge 

Ramsey Street!

A few people from one of my improv classes

Melbourne by boat 

Space pod!

Before I locked myself inside

Reunited