Koalas, Wallabies and roaring Lions, 2001
Part of the trip -
Australia
A two week trip to Oz following the British and Irish Lions
Having had my boyfriend slowly brainwash me with the merits of rugby over 3 years, I finally persuaded him that we should join the 2001 Lions tour to Australia to follow their fortunes for 2 weeks of test rugby; the thought being that if we planned it independently we could also spend 2 weeks travelling around Australia....
Back then, we were lucky enough to get match and flight tickets at not too much of an inflated price. This was to be our first trip planned independently – our only restrictions being where we had to be on match days. Our flight tickets came with 2 complementary internal flights, which would be used to get between the cities where the matches were to be held, but on questioning this didn’t have to be the case – we could be far more imaginative than that!
The first stop was Brisbane, where we arrived on a beautifully sunny Friday morning, 2 days after leaving the UK. Heavily jet lagged and incapable of anything much, we were so excited to find ourselves in this wonderfully clean and easy to wander around city. The day was spent getting our bearings and working out how to spend our 2 free days when our brains had finally worked out whether it was day or night!
Match day was hot and sunny, and Brisbane was a sea of red shirts brimming with anticipation of the up and coming game, an atmosphere significantly heightened by our win. This holiday was off to a wonderful start.
Trips to Surfers Paradise and Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary were a wonderful introduction to the natural beauty of Australia, and our next flight saw us arrive at the iconic Ayers Rock, Uluru. The Uluru and Kata Tjuta National Park were everything I had hoped they would be and seeing the colour of the rock change as the sun rose in the morning and crept back over the horizon was worth every penny spent at the one and only resort! A comraderie brought by sharing outdoor eating tables and barbeques, to the early unintended wakeup call by our cabin bed mates (chosen in a bid to save a little money and who so desperately tried to be quiet, and failed, when having to deal with frozen socks whilst getting ready in the dark) only made the experience more enjoyable – somehow what you would expect in Australia.
We had gone with the expectation of climbing Uluru, but after seeing the rock and listening to our Aborigine guides, we changed our mind and decided to do the base walk instead. The afternoon saw us travel to the Olgas, Kata Tjuta, for the Valley of the Winds walk and again the bizarre structures of rock standing tall in the middle of the desert are a great place to explore.
Our return flight to Melbourne had a 6 hour stop at Alice Springs to see the dry Todd River and the spring itself – not much to look at, but still glad we saw it!
Melbourne was the city of the second of our rugby matches, and what a city. This was the place to indulge a love of outdoor gear and a fun afternoon was spent searching out suitable sleeping bags and down jackets for our next big trip to Nepal. Not so fun was our hotel, and after not too much debate we decided that we really couldn’t bring ourselves to sleep in such a dive and alternative accommodation was sought in the massive backpackers in town. We decided to forgo the temptation of a trip to see the Neighbours set and instead booked an overnight backpackers trip to the Grampians and back along the Great Ocean Road. The Grampians were stunning, full of waterfalls and massive vistas. It was weird being part of an organised trip – something we don’t often tend to do, preferring to do things for ourselves, but we soon learnt to get over our Britishness, let our hair down and enjoy the company of our fellow travellers. The overnight stay saw us in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, in single sex dorms. Our guide left us to it with instructions to meet him down the local pub at 9pm. Dinner arrived in a wheel barrow, brought by the owner of the cabin. Meatloaf, peas and gravy – not everyone’s cup of tea, but somehow it felt right. With everything washed and reloaded into the wheelbarrow, we made it into town and the local for a couple of beers. The following morning, with a slight grogginess, (?due more to the early start rather than the beers?), saw us at the ocean and looking for whales. One of those typical tales where whales have been spotted right up to the morning when we are there, freezing cold, but not wanting to leave – just in case.....
The Great Ocean Road really is spectacular. We didn’t see whales, but it didn’t matter. The scenery is stunning and the sun sparkled on the beautiful blue sea and coastline. We stopped often for such sights as the Grotto, London Bridge, the Shipwreck Coast and the Twelve Apostles. Each as worthy of its tourist status as the last. A final stop off at the Otway National Park, an area of temperate Rainforest, and we were back in Melbourne – tired but thrilled with our impromptu trip.
Having already used our complimentary flights, we booked a coach to take us from Melbourne to Sydney, again through stunning scenery (this time the Blue Mountains) and with a promise made to ourselves that we’d come back to explore, which we did, seeing such sights as the Wentworth Falls and the Three Sisters.
Sydney was everything I expected, but on a much smaller scale – it was easy to walk between our hostel in the dodgy Kings Cross area (with a daily proposition of seediness) to the sights down by the harbour. Indulging in the seafood delights of Darling Harbour and buying the obligatory tourist fare such as musical rain sticks and unbreakable boomerangs (which our friend proved was in fact breakable – ours was just lost by some terrible throwing by my boyfriend Mark!). Still I have my Aborigine lizard painting and some fantastic memories – not least the cuddle of a Koala, and of course the thrill of seeing the British Lions up close and personal!
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