Friday, January 16, 2004
Okay
so ive been a bit shit
Im going to gloss over sydney cos frankly it was a big old party and it may take several weeks to piece it all together
Im going to continue with leaving Sydney on my trip to Melbourne
James and his mate John had sorted out hiring a car and John was set to drive through the Snowy Mountains so i decided to tag along - we set off about 11am on Wednesday the 7th of Jan, our first destination Canberra
Canberra is odd - driving into the city its hard to believe you are not in some big park apart from the few buildings dotted about
Parliament house looks like a big toy and is equally bizarre - we drove around it before finding a hostel to stay at.
The place we found was excellent - like a hotel really with a pool, Jacuzzi, Steam room and a pretty decent pub downstairs - doesnt really help when the town is as deserted as Canberra but we were able to have a good night - went down for a few beers after a swim and some other people John and James knew from the Globe hostel in Sydney turned up - so there was a group of us
We proceeded to get quite pissed until a shit band came on and then we decided to adjourn to an irish pub up the road - it was a bit of a walk and there was no one about apart from a bizarre sculpture of two sheep which i wont go into
Got up late and had the indignity of a ten buck late fee for checking out at 12 rather than 10 - bastards
Next day we wandered around the park opposite parliament house before setting off to Jindabayne in the Snowy Mountains
It was a cool drive through the hills and Jindabayne is a bit of a resort town out of season We were all knackered so watched a video and went to bed
The next morning we had a look at the big lake by Jindabayne and then headed off towards Threadbo which is a proper ski village in the snowys national park
We were going to take a cable car and then walk up to a lookout quite high up the mountain but after paying to enter the park and then spending $3 on a bottle of water the $23 they wanted for the return cable car was taking the piss so we just took a trail part way up to get an idea of the place
We wanted to get some way towards Melbourne because the car had to be returned the following day so after stopping in Corryong for a snack we checked out the info place and decided on a small town called Mansfield where there was a nice hostel
We were given a load of discount vouchers and wanted to check out the Mansfield Hotel for a real spit and sawdust pub - unfortunatley we got in there and the place was incredibly nice and snazzy - from neon around the pool table to a massive beer garden complete with outside bar and fountains and an excellent food menu
We grabbed some food and had a few beers - pints, which you dont get in Sydney, although everyone seemed suprised that we werent drinking the more common, half pint ish sized pots (pointless measure if you ask me)
Anyway we met Alicia an Aussie girl staying in our hostel who was checking the place out because she was going to university in a few months up on Mt Buller which is up the road from Mansfield - she took us across the road to the sort of local dive we were looking for
So we got pissed with a load of locals talking about the perils of cattle getting in the way of tractors and underage girls playing pool
Next day we set off and took a scenic route through extremely twisty mountain roads (at times gravel tracks) and eventually arrived in Melbourne, knackered.
We got a hostel in the centre - stayed 2 nights at a massive grotty hostel called All Nations which didnt impress us at all
In fact Melbourne didnt impress me the first night - we were all overtired - wandered the streets (this was saturday night but it seemed dead) walked to Chinatown and had a really shit Chinese meal and then went to bed early.
We were all in a pretty foul mood after that and thought we needed to get out of the centre - St Kilda is the most famous "backpacker" area of Melbourne and it is a hive of bars and cafes by the beach so we decided to spend the day checking out the hostels.
The tram took us down there and after wandering around we got a slightly better idea what Melbourne had to offer
We walked around 4 or 5 hostels - meeting all the Globe lot again in the Oslo Hotel along with another Dutch guy called Jaap
Then we randomly bumped into Lisa on the street and decided to go for a drink (Lisa was someone else we knew from Sydney, er, I really need to fill in the gaps but it could take me all night so just use your imaginations and we'll go from there)
We all got pretty battered but had to get back to our hostel so left about midnight to catch a tram
We had decided on the hostel we were going to stay at - the St Kilda Inn backpackers because they have a very cheap weekly rate and its right above a pub - most of the others are staying down the road in the more lively Coffee Palace which is a bit of a madhouse but is excellent to visit
Our place has a cool roof terrace though and although John was determined to get a job we ended up sitting up there all afternoon getting drunk
Enough for now
ill be back
so ive been a bit shit
Im going to gloss over sydney cos frankly it was a big old party and it may take several weeks to piece it all together
Im going to continue with leaving Sydney on my trip to Melbourne
James and his mate John had sorted out hiring a car and John was set to drive through the Snowy Mountains so i decided to tag along - we set off about 11am on Wednesday the 7th of Jan, our first destination Canberra
Canberra is odd - driving into the city its hard to believe you are not in some big park apart from the few buildings dotted about
Parliament house looks like a big toy and is equally bizarre - we drove around it before finding a hostel to stay at.
The place we found was excellent - like a hotel really with a pool, Jacuzzi, Steam room and a pretty decent pub downstairs - doesnt really help when the town is as deserted as Canberra but we were able to have a good night - went down for a few beers after a swim and some other people John and James knew from the Globe hostel in Sydney turned up - so there was a group of us
We proceeded to get quite pissed until a shit band came on and then we decided to adjourn to an irish pub up the road - it was a bit of a walk and there was no one about apart from a bizarre sculpture of two sheep which i wont go into
Got up late and had the indignity of a ten buck late fee for checking out at 12 rather than 10 - bastards
Next day we wandered around the park opposite parliament house before setting off to Jindabayne in the Snowy Mountains
It was a cool drive through the hills and Jindabayne is a bit of a resort town out of season We were all knackered so watched a video and went to bed
The next morning we had a look at the big lake by Jindabayne and then headed off towards Threadbo which is a proper ski village in the snowys national park
We were going to take a cable car and then walk up to a lookout quite high up the mountain but after paying to enter the park and then spending $3 on a bottle of water the $23 they wanted for the return cable car was taking the piss so we just took a trail part way up to get an idea of the place
We wanted to get some way towards Melbourne because the car had to be returned the following day so after stopping in Corryong for a snack we checked out the info place and decided on a small town called Mansfield where there was a nice hostel
We were given a load of discount vouchers and wanted to check out the Mansfield Hotel for a real spit and sawdust pub - unfortunatley we got in there and the place was incredibly nice and snazzy - from neon around the pool table to a massive beer garden complete with outside bar and fountains and an excellent food menu
We grabbed some food and had a few beers - pints, which you dont get in Sydney, although everyone seemed suprised that we werent drinking the more common, half pint ish sized pots (pointless measure if you ask me)
Anyway we met Alicia an Aussie girl staying in our hostel who was checking the place out because she was going to university in a few months up on Mt Buller which is up the road from Mansfield - she took us across the road to the sort of local dive we were looking for
So we got pissed with a load of locals talking about the perils of cattle getting in the way of tractors and underage girls playing pool
Next day we set off and took a scenic route through extremely twisty mountain roads (at times gravel tracks) and eventually arrived in Melbourne, knackered.
We got a hostel in the centre - stayed 2 nights at a massive grotty hostel called All Nations which didnt impress us at all
In fact Melbourne didnt impress me the first night - we were all overtired - wandered the streets (this was saturday night but it seemed dead) walked to Chinatown and had a really shit Chinese meal and then went to bed early.
We were all in a pretty foul mood after that and thought we needed to get out of the centre - St Kilda is the most famous "backpacker" area of Melbourne and it is a hive of bars and cafes by the beach so we decided to spend the day checking out the hostels.
The tram took us down there and after wandering around we got a slightly better idea what Melbourne had to offer
We walked around 4 or 5 hostels - meeting all the Globe lot again in the Oslo Hotel along with another Dutch guy called Jaap
Then we randomly bumped into Lisa on the street and decided to go for a drink (Lisa was someone else we knew from Sydney, er, I really need to fill in the gaps but it could take me all night so just use your imaginations and we'll go from there)
We all got pretty battered but had to get back to our hostel so left about midnight to catch a tram
We had decided on the hostel we were going to stay at - the St Kilda Inn backpackers because they have a very cheap weekly rate and its right above a pub - most of the others are staying down the road in the more lively Coffee Palace which is a bit of a madhouse but is excellent to visit
Our place has a cool roof terrace though and although John was determined to get a job we ended up sitting up there all afternoon getting drunk
Enough for now
ill be back
