Sara's Bucket List Part 2
This second part is quite chunky as it stretches from August and all the way to December. In that time I have not only moved from Melbourne to Sydney but also travelled overseas and interstate. I have visited multiple places and a couple of concerts as well as eaten a lot of good food.
In this part I also mention two things I actually have/had on my real bucket list - swimming with dolphins (say what?!) and seeing the amazing Sydney New Year's fireworks live.
August
I have somehow convinced my flatmate to one hour journey involving bus, train and a km of walking just to get one of those amazing milkshakes at Sugarbuns Bakery Cafe
(Shout out to Niina ;))
Since I was living in Victoria I of course had to visit the famous Great Ocean Road (I'm going to write a separate post about that)
Reaching Williamstown (One of Melbourne's suburbs) can sometimes instead of 25 mins take up to 2 hrs because public transport schedule can best be described as "It's a surprise!!"
September
September was my last month in Melbourne so of course I tried to squeeze in as many things as possible.
That included visiting Philip Island - the home of the Australian Little Penguin (there's going to be a separate post about that as well)
Grampians National Park (separate post)
I had a matcha soy chicken burger and When Khalesi Wears Lycra smoothie at the Australia's first Matcha cafe - Matcha Mylkbar in St Kilda
Found myself on the set of Family Feud
Visited a secret bar which is accessed by pulling on a specific book on a bookshelf at State Of Grace
I have then jetted off to the beautiful Bali
And I'm gonna write more about it in a separate blog post where I'm also going to show you more about my experience of swimming with dolphins
October
The next stop on the trip was Darwin where I visited Darwin Crocodile Park
Followed by Alice Springs & visit to the world famous Urulu
After almost two weeks of visiting different cultures and locations, I have finally arrived to the city that will be my home for the remaining of my stay in Australia - Sydney
One of the first things I've done upon my arrival to Sydney?
I went to see international pop stars and Sydney Locals - 5 Seconds Of Summer at their last gig of the tour that started back in February in Japan. Like me - they've been on the road for a while :D I've actually still been living in London and seen them at The O2 at the beginning of their tour.
I have finally managed to tick another artist from my Gig Wish List - Ellie Goulding! <3
(So Close!!)
Side note: Every January I write down on a piece of paper all the artists I want to see live that year. I've been doing this for the past 3 years in a row and so far I've managed to complete both - 2015 and 2016 one. 2017 already has one tick off as well :)
November
Whilst Melbourne has the best coffee shop/dining culture in Australia - Sydney is without doubt famous for it's many beaches.
There is a popular coastal walk The Bondi To Coogee Walk starting/ending at
Bondi
(Famous Icebergs Pool)
Or Coogee
I'm going to write another post about this walk and tell you about my favourite spots alongside it.
If you want to escape the craziness of Manly beach - Curl Curl Beach is just a short bus ride away
Even further north you can find Palm Beach - not because there are many palms there but because if you look on the map (or from the bird's perspective) - it has a shape of the palm
December
A good three hours train ride (tip: travel long distances in Sydney area on Sundays as maximum day spend on public transport is capped at $2.5) away from Sydney it's a place called Morisset Park. It is an intriguing place - in the middle of nowhere and with only a Psychiatric Hospital looking like one of those creepy places in scary movies. However, it is definitely worth visiting as the grounds around the hospital are a home to numerous Kangaroos. Perfect place to get a selfie with an Australian native ;)
The best way to reach the grounds from the train station is to take a shuttle van that is running every ten minutes or so. If I remember correctly it costs around $3 each way.
Another tip: bring some fruits and vegetables to feed the roos. I would advise you to bring bananas as they do seem to like the taste of them the most. Apples are not a bad shout either. They are not particularly fussed about carrots though so I would avoid those if you want them to stick around once they've had a bite or two from your hand :D There is Woolworths a short walk away from the train station so no need to bring food all the way there from home. I would advise maybe bringing a knife to cut the food into smaller pieces though.
It's not every day that you hold an Olympic Gold Medal
(Mack Horton, swimming, 400m freestyle)
Of course I could not pass on Christmas day on the beach - In particular Bronte Beach which is also my favourite Sydney Beach
I've seen Example for the 9th time (what can I say - I really do like my musicians:D) on Boxing Day at The Ivy (now also known as Pacha Sydney)
Visited The Hunger Games: The Exhibition
The Hunter, The Bride, The Mockingjay
And of course spent the last day of 2016 in anticipation of the midnight fireworks
And it was totally worth it :)
I mean - look at this view!
2016 has been an amazing year for me. In December 2015 I didn't even know if I will be able to get the visa and here I am one year later with so many new experiences and memories it is sometimes hard to believe that all of this happened in only 9 months.
I have met so many amazing new people and visited so many amazing new places that 2017 has some serious work to do if it wants to keep up with 2016. Judging by the plans already in place for 2017 - I definitely don't have to worry about 2017 being boring. :)