I arrived in Sydney this past Wednesday morning and I absolutely LOVE it. The transition was a bit stressful at first, as I walked into my new apartment in 85 degree heat with nothing (and I mean nothing - no toilet paper, no hangers, no sheets), but after a few - or 5 - trips to Target and Aldi’s I pulled my life together. I am living in an apartment downtown with 7 other women, all but one has moved in. There are four of us from the US, three from the Netherlands, and one from China. They are all super sweet and we are settling into our new home nicely. My first weekend was a whirlwind of adventures. I went on an “Orientation Escape” tour through the Hunter Valley and Port Stephens.
On Saturday morning the coach bus stopped the Australian Wildlife Park where we saw some good stereotypical Australian wildlife. I saw a Comodo dragon, a giant crocodile, and emus, and I got to feed a kangaroo and pet a sleepy koala named Lulu. In the afternoon we drove through the Hunter Valley wine country and stopped for tastings at McGuigan Wines, Kevin Sobel’s Wines and Potter’s Brewery. I can honestly say by the end everything was starting to taste the same and I had to skip a few drinks for glasses of water, but it was a great time. We eventually made it to our hostel in Port Stephens. Port Stephens is a quaint little beach town about three hours north of Sydney. We took a quick stop at our accommodation for pizza and took off for night swim at One Mile Beach. It was dark (aka I couldn’t see what kind of crazy wildlife was in the water) and I was exhausted, so I didn’t swim but my new-found friends and I walked along the beach under stars. It was absolutely beautiful.
On Sunday we went sandboarding on the Anna Bay sand dunes. We took 4x4 shuttle-esque vehicles out into giant white sand (Hawaiian beaches actually buy their sand) dunes.
Sand boarding was definitely new experience. The views on top of the dunes were 10/10 but the hike up was exhausting, and the ride down was a perfect invitation for sand to go right up my shorts, but it was great new adventure. Later that afternoon we went on a dolphin watching cruise off Nelson Bay. The tri-level boat stocked with a restaurant, two bars, and plenty of viewing decks was unreal. We saw plenty dolphins and enjoyed the views. I have never been in the ocean where mountains came up out of the water. It was amazing. We eventually arrived back on land and headed on back to Sydney. It was definitely more exciting than the typical orientation - DIS needs to step up their game.
This week is orientation - or “O-Week” - and I have signed up for a Mardi Gras harbour tour on Friday. I can’t wait for another awesome week in my new home!