Sian’s Aussie Adventures

I’m sitting on the Greyhound leaving Coff’s Harbour and heading to Yamba. I’ve loved every minute here. It’s completely an underrated place and there is so much to do, despite what everyone else says. So the day after the Big Banana, we spent the morning on the beach just chilling out and sunbathing. We then headed out to Emerald Beach. A beautiful spot on the coast which is also a nature reserve. Loads of protected kangaroos and wallabies live there aswell as other wildlife. The guy who took us - Gary - was so knowledgeable. There wasn’t anything about nature that he didn’t know, and I asked him every question under the sun for him to prove it too!! I enjoyed my time here so much I extended it through to today (Monday). And although I spent nearly a week here, I’m truly still gutted I’m leaving Coff’s. The hostel - Aussitel - was fantastic. It had a chilled family vibe to it. The owners knew your name, ask you how you are, put on activities each day - what is there not to like? L...

I’ve been quiet for the last few days as I have been at Spot X - a surf camp based on Arrawarra beach, run by Mojo surf school. I had an absolute BLAST. I had 5 days of sun, surf, and good mates. I went from a complete beginner to being able to stand up, speed up, slow down and turn. I also have the knowledge on how to catch the massive green waves but didn’t get any practice at this as the conditions were very rough after a storm. But, saying that, I did catch one greenwave. And it was the best feeling in the world. In the evenings we would chill out watching a film or sat  around the campfire, with a drink and some good food. The atmosphere was so chilled out. The instructors were approachable and very knowledgable. Wildlife everywhere! Naughty kookaburras who would steal your food straight out of your hands, reptiles who would just appear under your feet, alongside the usual spiders and snakes. I would honestly recommend for people to give Spot X a go. It’s something I don’t r...

Today I’m leaving Canberra. I’m a little sad to be leaving as I’ve totallg fallen in love with the city, but I feel I have seen most of it now so time to move on. I’m sad leaving El too - it’s been great seeing her and I’m looking forward to her next visit to the UK! A little apprehensive about the next few weeks. Since I’ve been here I’ve had a safety net - Joy and Frank, El, Intro Travel - now I’m by myself. I’ve organised everything so it should all go to plan and I’m sure I’ll be okay once I get into it!! So the last couple of days have been really chilled. I spent about 4 hours yesterday organising the next 4 weeks so it was good to get time and a computer to do that with. There are TONNES of Crossfit boxes in Canberra. I was spoilt for choice. However, the downside to Canberra is that you need a car to get anywhere. It’s very spread out and unfortunately, I just couldn’t get to the boxes. My shoulder has been particularly painful the last couple of days too and I have no ide...

I’ve had an awesome day. Really busy and I’m completely knackered but I’ve experienced most of what Canberra has to offer! So another 5km run this morning (she’s trying to kill me haha) followed by some core work and alt lunges. We then went to Lake Burley Griffin and done it’s 5km walk. Whilst there we saw the National Carillion - an instrument given by the UK to Canberra in the 60s. It’s a giant tower with bells which is apparently is played by two keyboards. Luckily we heard it being played which was great! We also saw the National Gallery - full of odd stuff but saw some Pollock and Monet’s Waterlillies which was cool. We finished the loop then went to the Library - a massive building which was very beautiful. Grabbed some lunch there before heading to Parliament House. A very lovely building slap bang in the middle of Canberra on a hill. We went inside and luckily they had their Parliament sitting today so we got to watch some debates which just felt like a modern day House of Co...

Hu guys! I’m sorry I’ve been quiet - I’ve been doing LOADS and thought I better write it all down before I got sidetracked. So after the CF Invitationals I had an easy couple of days. Tbh, I felt like I needed it. It’s been so busy since I’ve been here, it was good to get a couple of quiet days in. I helped Joy and Frank (Simone’s Mum and husband) move some furniture and watched the famous Melbourne Cup. This race literally stops Melbourne and many people take the day off for the cup. The weather was miserable (bloody Melbourne) but we still ran a sweepstake and got involved. Wednesday I headed into the City with Frank for some sight seeing. We headed to Docklands - a very beautiful part of Melbourne not too dissimilar to Ipswich Waterfront, and caught the Free Tram around to Fitzroy Gardens, passing Parliament House on the way. There was a JFK memorial there aswell as a ‘Pixie Tree’ (basically a tree with a load of drawings on it) and Cook’s Cottage. Cook basically mapped Australia...

So NOW I can spill all the fun and hard work I’ve done over the last few days now the event is all over. I had a blast volunteering at the Crossfit Invitationals. I’ve made some awesome friends and contacts, watched some amazing affiliate athletes and incredible international athletes. I got to cheer on these people from the closest point on the actual floor. I met some of my heroes.  But my goodness, I had to work hard for it.  I started on Thursday as a small group of volunteers in an empty Margaret Court arena. Everything had to be set up, and as I was part of the signage team all weekend, this was our job. So we laid floor. Lots and lots of floor. And then we assembled some worms. With 300lbs+ in these things, you completely underestimate how heavy these are.  Day 2 was a longer and harder day. We set up the court outside. These rolls of flooring and tracks were SO heavy, to the point my shoulder started playing up a bit. I bear crawled up and down the Aren...

So I say hello from Melbourne. And it turns out not everywhere in Australia is warm. Actually, out of all the major cities today, Melbourne was the coldest. And man, it’s cold. I don’t know if it’s because I had a beautiful week in Sydney and came to cold but the temperature is around 15 degrees... good bye all hope of a tan! I arrived on Tuesday and was picked up by Simone’s Mum and step dad. They have been SO nice to me and are looking after me - it feels like a home from home. Yesterday was spent trying to find work and trying to figure out my bearings. Today, I got to volunteer at the Crossfit Invitationals set up. I’m unsure how much I can put online before the competition so I’ll wait until Sunday to update you all on the fun I’ve been up to! Melbourne itself is beautiful. Hopefully next week I’ll get to explore the actual city a little more! Xx