The next few months in Australia consisted of: Groovin’ the Moo festival, a few football games at the new Adelaide Oval (amazing stadium), a day trip to Adelaide Hills and surrounding wineries with a mate, gigs including Mat McHugh, Chet Faker and Lorde, hiking through Deep Creek Conservation Park and spending a few nights in Goolwa. I also went to as many of my brother’s football games and my sister’s netball games as I could noticing how much they have both improved!
Another Melbourne trip meant catching up with some great mates and going for a day trip to the Yarra Valley. I do love Melbourne and the great vibe the city has..
This was followed by a weekend trip to Sydney to stay with a friend and go to my first rugby game!! I was lucky enough to have my friend’s aunty there who helped explain the game to me. We then took a portable bbq down to Malabar Beach where a few of us spent an amazing day swimming (it was warm for May!), eating delicious food and playing a number of card games. Such a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon before flying back to work, in Adelaide, first thing Monday morning.
A long weekend meant a lot of exploring for me and as I had planned to leave a few months later, I had to see as much of South Australia as I could. I started off by going with a friend to Second Valley. We camped out in her van and went for a jump off the jetty in the morning before a casual stroll along the coast.
My second adventure for that weekend included a drive to Clare (checking out a few wineries along the way) and finding an area to set up our swags – in the middle of the scrub! We then headed for the Flinders Ranges and set up camp at Mambray Creek. We went for a big afternoon walk to the top of Mt Remarkable for a stunning view over the ranges which took a few hours but was such a stunning walk in the typical Aussie scrub.
Whist we got our fire sorted we watched a lady in the camp near us pick up scorpions (with pliers) and feed them to the kookaburras (who were laughing away in the background) which was pretty cool to watch but we made sure we kept our shoes on!
Nothing beats sleeping in a swag looking up at the stars in the night sky and waking to the sound of kookaburras cackling away..
The third, and final, adventure for that weekend involved me taking my grandparent’s dog (who I was dog sitting) to Kuitpo Forest – amazing and such a magical place to ‘get lost’ in.
My final weekend in Melbourne meant, once again, catching up for friends as well as some family too. I was lucky enough that my family had a holiday house in Rye, on the Mornington Peninsular and was able to make use of it. Rye was stunning and I went for some massive walks exploring the coastal town.
Another weekend in Sydney to catch up with my mate and check out his rugby game. This time some of his family were down and it was great to meet them, amazing people! Such a relaxing weekend in Sydney which is just what I needed..
More hiking adventures through Morialta (where the ‘headstand’ hobbie was started) and a day trip to the Barossa Valley.
Yorkes trip again, which I can just not get enough of. My mate went surfing whilst I explored and had a go at some more headstands. Typical dinner at the Marion Bay Tavern before picking out a spot to set up our swags and get a fire going to warm us up. We went for a few walks along the coast which continues to amaze me.
Sydney again catching up with a few friends and going for an overnight trip to the Blue Mountains. It was beautiful but bloody freezing! I went for some big walks before going back down to Sydney and catching up with a friend who had just arrived back from London. We had a coffee in Manly and lunch in Bondi before I did the Bondi to Coogee walk.! I sure did enjoy making the most of my weekends..
A weekend down in Goolwa (1-hour drive south of Adelaide) was delightful, catching up with some friends and watching a local football game. A nice chilled out weekend away but still close to home. The big pooch, Tex, kept my highly entertained.
One of my last weekends in Australia consisted of a drive down to Kingston with a mate, Alice, to stay with one of her friends, Yas. This was another incredible weekend where we drove to Robe and Beachport doing many headstands and fun yoga postures along the way – we had a great time! To top it off, we went back to Yas’ house to cook dinner and sit by the open fire with a nice bottle (or two) of red wine and yummy desserts – perfect!
Eventually it was my last weekend in Adelaide and I spent it watching my brother’s football and sister’s netball and saying a few last ‘goodbyes’ to my friends and family.
Now it was the start of my new adventures.
