Melbourne, Australia - Footy, Folk and Tram Inspectors

As mentioned previously, Australians in general, and Melbourne natives in particular, love their sport. Whether its rugby, cricket, tennis, horse racing or Internet checkers, the people will hop on board and support their local team. Add English or Kiwi opposition into the equation and that passion increases tenfold. However there is one sport that triumphs over all else, and that is Australian Rules Football, known commonly as AFL, the name of the highest professional league in the country, the Australian Football League.

This peculiar game is similar in many ways to Ireland's national game, Gaelic Football, and indeed it is from this sport that Aussie Rules derived. As a result Irish people are quite familiar with Australia's national pastime. However to those people from any of the other 200 plus countries on this globe, AFL may come across as a tad confusing, to put things very mildly indeed.

About a month ago I acquired a ticket to the big rival game between Carlton and Essendon, held at Melbourne's iconic MCG. A large crowd of 78,000 were in attendance to witness a classic clash between two historic clubs with the game ending in a draw, something of a rarity in this sport. The atmosphere was hopping, and I personally enjoyed the experience a lot, allowing me to witness first hand how obsessive and passionate the people of Melbourne are about this game.

However it helped that I had a reasonable understanding of the basics of the sport. For somebody from the Netherlands, Mexico or Japan for example, the experience would more than likely be one of brain teasing confusion. The first time anybody sits down and watches this game it comes across as nothing but organised chaos. Basically it is a game played between two teams of 18 players, using an oval ball, on an enormous oval shaped cricket pitch. At each end there are four goal posts; two tall inner ones, with two smaller outer ones to accompany them. 6 points are awarded for booting the ball between the two middle posts, a score which is referred to as a goal. Should one be a little inaccurate, a "Behind" can still be scored as long as the ball goes between one of the inner posts and the outer post, to which a fairly useless consolation of 1 point is awarded. Players tend to tackle each other by doing whatever they see fit, and quite often there is about 10-12 players in a sort of make shift huddle trying to reclaim the football from underneath a sea of bodies. It sounds confusing enough right? You get the general idea so I won't go too much further into the rules . However if one gives it enough of an investment in time, it is not difficult to be won over by the drama, excitement and passion of "footy" as the locals like to call it.

Melbourne is the spiritual home of the game and boasts 9 of the 17 AFL teams (10 if you include nearby Geelong). The game is also extremely popular in South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and Northern Territory. However Queensland and New South Wales remain unconvinced and the natives of these two states are still very much Rugby League fans first and foremost. It is also worth noting that the AFL has the second largest average attendance for a league in world sport, behind only the NFL in the USA, and ahead of football leagues in Europe such as England's Premier League and Spain's La Liga. When living in Melbourne, there certainly is no getting away from the popularity of this game. It is just a shame it is not marketed to short term tourists more. Many backpackers from Europe who I have met over the last few months have never heard of AFL!

Yesterday provided me with another unique Australian experience, and that was the iconic Australian country/ folk singer John Williamson in concert with the Victoria Symphony Orchestra at the intimate Palms at Crown Casino. I am not exaggerating one bit when I say it was one of the best musical performances I have witnessed in the flesh. To put things into an Irish context, Mr Williamson would be the Australian equivalent of Christy Moore or Ronnie Drew. All his songs are written about his homeland, and range from emotional to entertaining and utterly ridiculous. For example, there is his legendary musical gag "Old Man Emu", a tune written about the glory of Australia's long necked large non-flying bird who he claims can "Run the pants off a Kangaroo". Then there is the unofficial national anthem of Australia "Waltzing Matilda", a song about a swagman camping in the loneliness of the Australian Bush, with his only companion being his swag (a waterproof bedroll for camping) which he deliriously named "Matilda". Listening to the lyrics of all these songs gave me a warm sense of pleasure that I am living in this wonderful country, with such a diverse landscape, friendly people, and unique, only-to-be-found-here, wildlife. The stories he told in between songs were no less entertaining, and I cannot recommend his music highly enough. A real Aussie experience that most foreigners will never witness, due to a lack of knowledge of this artist's existence. To cap things off nicely I got a quick photo (see below) with the man himself afterwards as he was signing copies of his recent albums.

However, there is one aspect of Melbourne which I do not like one bit, and that relates to the city's trams. Now there is nothing wrong with the actual trams themselves. They do a fairly decent job getting one around the city in an efficient manner, and I would actually go so far to say that Melbourne's transport system in general is in fact excellent. No the problem actually relates to the egotistical police cop like figures known officially as "Revenue Protection Officers", but to the general population as miserable tram inspectors.

These people basically scan the tram network "providing customer service", i.e. checking to ensure passengers hold a valid ticket for their journey. It is not so much what they do that is the problem, but in fact how they go about doing it. It is not unusual to see, at the one time, six inspectors hop onto an empty tram of no more than six or seven passengers, and approach customers in an arrogant manner in the hope of busting somebody. When such an event occurs, they all congregate around the offender, like sheep in an Irish field, all no doubt delighted that their ego-boosting journey has had some success. Quite often these officers will act in a condescending manner towards the people they have caught, who quite often genuinely forgot to validate a ticket that they had pre-purchased. Once they have caught somebody they make their exit from the vehicle, all together, and join the next tram simultaneously. Why six people are needed to monitor a tram of as many passengers is beyond anyone's comprehension. A pure sign that the recession has not hit the land down under with any sort of vigor.

Oh but it only gets worse. A fine for not holding a valid ticket on the Melbourne trams is a deflating $172. However should a passenger have his or her feet on any of the cheaply manufactured seats, then an identical fine is issued. Crazy I hear you say? Well it is about to get more shocking. A drink driving offense in Victoria is a mere $119. Yes, in this country, it is seen as a greater offence to add a few specs of dirt to a seat than it is to put somebody's life at risk. There is something seriously messed up about that, and I want answers to such lunacy!

I'll be back again with more stories. Until then, take it easy.

Melbourne, Australia - Running around in circles

What follows is an article I wrote for an online running magazine about a month or so ago. As it relates very much to my time here in Melbourne I have decided to put it on this travel blog as well.

There are very few things that Australians don’t do well it seems (their very un-festive Christmas Day on the beach being one of them of course!). While the rest of the world suffers from a never ending recession and falling currencies this proud nation has withstood most of what the Global Economic Crisis has thrown at it and has become the number one emigration destination for Europeans desperate to avoid the farcical levels of unemployment that are plaguing the European Union, and Ireland in particular.

Notwithstanding the recent detrimental floods to hit Queensland this country more often than not is baked in burning sunshine providing an ideal climate for surfing, beach volleyball and indeed any type of outdoor activity. Australians certainly love their sport and their lifestyle is very much exercise driven as a result. In addition the land down under is also one of the world’s great holiday destinations with an abundance of unique wildlife, buzzing cities, and astonishing coastal and bushland scenery.

Track and field is another area where this country is currently excelling with numerous athletes claiming Olympic and World Championship medals over the last few years. In particular Steve Hooker has shown himself to be almost unbeatable in the Pole Vault and has his sights set on Sergei Bubka’s iconic world record, and Sally Pearson is shaping up to be one of the prime contenders for sprint hurdles gold at the London Olympics next year.

However this strength extends far beyond the elite level of the sport. Throughout Melbourne and the rest of Victoria the governing body Athletics Victoria runs a state wide inter-club track and field competition called the AV Shield. The championship is divided into 6 regions and incorporates 13 track meets from October to February with the top clubs qualifying for the AV Shield final.

Each athlete can compete in as many different events as he or she wishes with many people attempting as much as possible in order to score more points for their respective clubs. It is not unusual to see somebody warming up for a Javelin competition just minutes after running a lung-bursting 1500m. The idea behind the AV Shield is to get as many people of all ages, abilities, shapes and sizes competing in track and field. There is of course a strong competitive element to it with every club aiming to qualify for the Grand Final but the main emphasis is on getting people to actually enjoy competing in this great sport and not being afraid to give a new event a try.

Through the kindness of Richmond Harriers AC I got the opportunity to participate in a couple of these meets as a trial member giving me the chance to experience this great competition first hand. One of the big concerns people have (myself included) when joining running clubs and signing up for competitions is that everybody else will be much faster. The questions “will I be quick enough?”, “will there be other people there who run to my level?” etc. crop up time and time again. The AV Shield banishes any such worries. Each event is graded with the fastest people running together and the slowest doing likewise. If 65 seconds is as fast as you can sprint 400m then not to worry, you will simply be paired with other runners with similar personal bests. This gives everybody a proper sense of actual competition and a chance to win a race rather than simply running against the clock. Of course you always get the odd person who will enter a slower race just to claim a victory but thankfully this is a rare occurrence.

Athletics Victoria and the local clubs have really fostered a great culture of grassroots athletics and after seeing such a well organised event that caters to absolutely everybody it makes me feel quite sad that such a setup does not exist in Ireland.

There has been a huge running boom throughout the Western World in general and Ireland in particular over the last few years with more and more people signing up for road races such as 10Ks, Marathons and Ultra Marathons. Record numbers ran in last year’s Dublin Marathon and it appears that ploughing through the muscle aching torture of the iconic distance is becoming more and more popular among recreational runners.

Getting specific about my own country though this mass participation success does not tell the full story about the state of the sport. While the popularity of road running is at an all-time high track and field is suffering from low participation numbers. The reason for this is simple; there is no structure in place to develop a grassroots culture in the sport. In Dublin there are graded meets which is the closest thing we have to Victoria’s AV Shield. However such an event still attracts mainly runners who are of a high level and a 2:30 runner for 800m would be very quickly dropping off the pace in even the slowest race. In Ireland there very much exists an elite culture when it comes to track and field. If you are a 55 second runner for 400m there is no future for you in the sport which is why so many give up and end up running marathons or other road races.

Maybe if we took a leaf out of Athletics Victoria’s book and got more of the average Joes running 400m, 800m etc. rather than just road running events then perhaps our country would have a much greater interest in the sport of Athletics. Just a thought Athletics Ireland if you’re reading!

For good measure, here are some pictures from the recent Melbourne Track Classic at Olympic Park.

With Sally Pearson of Australia, Olympic Silver medallist in the 100m Hurdles in Beijing.

With Bernard Lagat of the USA (formerly of Kenya), the second fastest runner of all time over 1500m, twice a World Champion and twice an Olympic medallist.

With Craig Mottram of Australia, World Championship bronze medallist over 5000m in 2005

With David Rudisha of Kenya, the fastest man in history over 800m. 1:41.01! Enough said!

Melbourne, Australia - Standing up to the Bullies

For the most part Australians are very friendly and welcoming people. They are usually always up for a bit of craic and are quite similar to the Irish in terms of their sense of humour and liking for a night in the bar. However this is not to say that everybody I have met in this wonderful country have provided pleasant encounters. What follows are two examples of how certain people down here try to con backpackers. But unfortunately for such people this particular traveller was not one to be fooled. Out of respect for the other parties involved I will not be mentioning their names here, not that they actually deserve such consideration.

First up, the landlords. Within a few days of arriving in Melbourne I found a place that I was happy to move into. The rent wasn't too expensive, I had my own room, all bills and Internet included, and situated very close to the trains and trams. However it didn't take me long to realise that the two landlords were not experts in the field of property management and were clearly on a get rich quick scheme. Anytime something broke in the house (a very regular occurrence) they were usually pretty slow about getting such problems rectified and would usually try to fob us off with some sort of nonsense. However regardless of the extremely poor maintenance I was starting to get nicely settled into my new accommodation and was prepared to put up with a lot of the landlords annoying habits. However, then disaster struck. During one February evening, out of absolutely nowhere, came severe flash floods which reduced Melbourne to chaos. Ok, it was nothing in comparison to the horrible scenes from Queensland that we have witnessed on our television screens, but at the same time it was the worst I had ever encountered personally. Three and a half hours were spent travelling home from work as a result of trams breaking down and after such a torturous journey I was greeted upon arrival with the most unwelcome gift of all - my room had got soaked!

Yes, while I was on my way home from work my room got flooded due to the heavy rain breaking through the extremely dodgy roof, soaking my bed and about 40% of the carpet in the process. The next morning I eventually got through to one of the landlords and proceeded to give him an earful and he quickly arranged for somebody to come around and fix the roof. However no consideration was given towards the wet carpet which was ever so quickly providing an ideal habitat for mould and bacteria to thrive. I made a request to have the carpet either cleaned or replaced, to which the landlord rather arrogantly stated that he fully intends to let the carpet dry naturally. Despite my many references to the room being unhealthy to live in under such conditions he stood firm and fully intended to do nothing about the problem whatsoever.

Enough was enough and I made the journey into Consumer Affairs Victoria to find out my rights with regards repairs. The very helpful lady informed me that I needed to fill out a non-urgent repairs request and if the problem wasn't attended to within 14 days then the landlord would be in serious trouble. I also found out that the deposit I had paid at the start of my lease had never been lodged with the Bond Authority, which is a serious offence under the Residential Tenancy Act. After I communicated this information to the landlord, he then proceeded to tell me that I would have to leave the premises within 28 days. He was basically trying to evict me simply because I was stating my rights. Something didn't seem quite right about all of this as a minimum of 60 days notice needs to be provided to a tenant when giving a notice to vacate for a lease of less than 6 months. Again I consulted Consumer Affairs, who informed me that everything they were trying to do was illegal. When I told the landlord this he then tried to evict me immediately "for my own safety" as the room was "not fit for human inhabitation". Unbelievable. This chancer kept changing his story every time I slapped him in the face with a piece of legislation.

At this stage I was well and truly sick of all the rubbish he was throwing at me and so I spoke with a representative in the complaints department. After informing him about the details of the case he then phoned the landlord regarding the various issues. According to the representative, the landlord was absolutely petrified and started to panic over the phone. He admitted that he knew that his reasons and methods for trying to evict me were completely illegal but that he was angry at the time and so wasn't thinking logically. To cut a long story short, within the space of a few days, I managed to turn an immediate notice to vacate into a brand new carpet and got my deposit lodged safely with the bond authority. Too many backpackers down here just accept what landlords tell them and are too afraid to state their rights and so settle for any sort of rubbish as a result. But in reality if people just stand up for themselves and use the law to their advantage, then chancers like these two guys do not have a leg to stand on.

If you think these guys were bad then wait for the next story. Upon arriving in Melbourne I was shocked at how expensive everything was here. The Euro was struggling badly against the Australian Dollar and so I needed to start earning local currency as soon as I possibly could. For this reason I accepted a poorly paid call centre job so I could stop living off the Euro and in the meantime look for a proper form of employment. I ended up lasting 5 weeks in this place (much to my own amazement). The rate of pay was 17 dollars an hour, but even stranger was the fact that instead of being paid as an employee under a Tax File Number (TFN), I was actually hired as a contractor on an Australian Business Number (ABN). Something seemed odd about this but for awhile I didn't bother questioning it. However after a few weeks my patience started growing thin with how dishonest everybody who worked within the organisation seemed to be, with most of the sales representatives, who are based in India, full on lying to customers in a pathetic attempt to make sales. The whole operation was nothing but a scam and after 5 weeks I was happy to leave.

The following week, myself and a friend from home, who was also working in this organisation, took a journey into the Fair Work Ombudsman to make enquiries about the work practices that were being adopted by this business. After discussions with two representatives we were informed that we should never have been hired as contractors but rather casual employees. To be a contractor you usually are required to dictate the hours of work, the rate of pay, write up invoices and provide your own materials to the place of work. None of this happened during my 5 weeks. I was trained to do a job that I was supposedly being contracted to do, I was told when to go on lunch, where to sit, when I could leave, if I needed to stay longer, and provided no materials to my place of work except for my brain.

We gathered all sorts of complex information from the Ombudsman for Fair Work. As a casual employee I should have been entitled to a base wage (16.58 per hour in this instance) plus 25% casual loading for a casual employee + 15% shift loading when a shift finishes between 7pm and midnight (which was about 90% of my shifts), along with 9% superannuation added on top of all this for good measure. Including superannuation my hourly rate should have been $25.30, a far cry from the $17 dollars I was being paid. Once all the information was gathered, myself and my friend carefully drafted a professional looking email stating all the facts behind this "sham contract" and attached a spreadsheet calculating the total amount we were each underpaid. Over the course of just 5 weeks I was underpaid by $1,157 and my friend was shafted over 8 weeks by an amount just under $2,000. In the email we gave them 7 days to provide us with a satisfactory response and to credit our bank accounts, otherwise it would be necessary for the Ombudsman for Fair Work to intervene on our behalf and investigate work practices within their organisation further. Lets just say the money was sitting in my account within 48 hours!!

It is known fact that backpackers get dreadfully underpaid in Australia but for some reason people just seem to accept this treatment and not bother to do anything about such injustice. Again people are too afraid to state their rights and easily get scared away when such employers mention that they will get their lawyers involved. The fact of the matter is that what these guys were doing to the two of us was highly illegal and like the landlords above had no leg to stand on at all. Now I have $1,157 extra in my bank account which will go along way towards my trip around the West Coast later in the year. More people should do the same.

I hope that by writing this blog that people who are thinking of moving to Australia over the coming months and years will be made aware of some of scam artists that exist and to not be afraid to exercise the law for ones own protection. It is there for a reason.

That's all for now.

Melbourne, Australia - Metropolitan Paradise

As previously mentioned Melbourne is possibly the most sports-orientated city on the entire planet. However this city provides so much more and whether you are just on holiday or indeed living here for an extended period of time there is no shortage of things to see and do.

I have certainly been one to complain about modern buildings being far uglier than their predecessors and in my previous blogs the cities of Santiago and Montevideo got a verbal trashing with regards to this. As a general rule; the older the city, the more beautiful it is. However Melbourne is an example of a modern metropolis which can provide an exception to such general guidelines. The city is simply stunning with a countless number of large urban parks, giving one the feel that you are a million miles away from an area that houses almost 4 million people. There is simply no shortage of places in Melbourne where one can escape for a picnic or a kick around, with Fitzroy Gardens, Carlton Gardens, Albert Park and the most beautiful of all, the Royal Botanic Gardens being among the most popular.

Situated very close to the centre of the city, the Royal Botanic Gardens provides 38 hectares of landscaped gardens consisting of a mix of native and non-native vegetation including over 10,000 individual species. Heaven for nature lovers. For me however, the Gardens provide a different attraction: the world famous Tan Track, more affectionately known to Melbourne natives as "The Tan". This is a 3.827 kilometre tan coloured stone surfaced marked running trail which circumnavigates the Royal Botanic Gardens. Easily the most popular part of Melbourne for runners and joggers, this trail attracts hundreds of people a day, of all shapes and sizes. It is not just the average Joe who uses this fantastic facility however. Many running legends such as Steve Ovett, Hicham El Guerrouj and Sonia O'Sullivan have rubbed shoulders with the general public on The Tan. To date my personal best for the course is 16 minutes 44 seconds, a time I expect to improve upon come the winter road running season.

There are two specific areas which provide a stunning view of Melbourne. The first being from the top of the Shrine of Remembrance, an attractive building dedicated to all Australians who lost their lives in World Wars I and II. From here you get the most perfect perspective of just how green Melbourne is with its many parks visible well into the distance. The other area that brings me personal viewing pleasure is on the bridge crossing over the Yarra river from the Royal Botanic Gardens to the various sports stadiums and arenas in Richmond. On a sunny day there are very few urban places that can compare to this: the amazing Gardens on the left, the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground on the right, the Yarra meandering ahead, and the city's modern skyscrapers watching over all this from a distance. It is the perfect combination of nature and modern infrastructure, a fusion of old and new.

Although the city is less than 200 years old, it still boasts some impressive architecture. Now of course it is never going to rival anything Cusco, Stockholm or Edinburgh have to offer but considering the lack of history in Australia this is hardly surprising. Among the most picturesque is Flinders Street Station. This flashy yellow bricked building has long been the meeting point for Melbournians who congregate "under the clocks", referring to the row of clocks above the main entrance. Other attractive buildings include St Paul's Cathedral, the Parliament of Victoria, and the Royal Exhibition Building, the last of which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

However, as previously mentioned, what this city does better than most is its ability to mix old with new, and right across the street from this century old railway station is Federation Square, the futuristic and artsy civic centre of Melbourne. This area plays host to many concerts that celebrate the mix of cultures in Australia and also has a big screen, allowing sports mad people to congregate to watch the big events together. In my humble opinion Federation Square forms a perfect contrast to nearby Flinders Street Station and St Paul's Cathedral, and this mix of ancient and modern works very well.

Another highlight of Melbourne is the sports district as I like to call it, situated in Richmond. Within this area you will find most of the city's big sports stadia and arenas. The Melbourne Cricket Ground takes centre stage of course, but there is also the Melbourne Park tennis grounds, Rod Laver Arena, Hisense Arena, Olympic Park, AAMI Arena along with some smaller sports and training grounds, all within a couple of hundred metres of the Yarra River and the numerous park lands nearby. As a sports fanatic this is obviously my favourite part of the city. Melbourne simply couldn't have picked a better setting for its favourite past time.

This city also provides a vibrant bar scene with Brunswick Street, Acland Street, Fitzroy Street and Chapel Street being the most popular, providing so much choice for one's drinking and live music needs. It's just a shame that the price of alcohol is so expensive and I would recommend anybody travelling here for a holiday to get their ticker checked out before arriving, as 10 dollars for a pint of Carlton Draught in certain places could bring on severe palpitations for the unprepared and unwarned tourist.

Melbourne is not particularly known for its beaches and the hugely touristy St Kilda Beach is one of the most unremarkable parts of the city I have seen to date. Perhaps the reason why more Irish people flock to Sydney rather than its younger and brighter brother (in my opinion) is due to that city having much more so called better beaches. However Brighton Beach, located just 30 minutes by train from the city centre, provides Melbourne with a hidden gem, one which rivals Sydney's Manly Beach in terms of beauty, and which wipes the floor with Bondi Beach, one of the world's most overrated places. Brighton Beach is not particularly touristy with very few bars and restaurants within walking distance from the shore, but rather is a place where the locals like to chill with their family after a hard working week. What makes this rather upmarket beach so special however is the numerous multi-coloured beach huts which run parallel to the shore. This is an area which would bring the photographer out in even the most unenthusiastic person.

Last weekend I journeyed out to the suburb of Sandringham where I accidentally encountered the stunning Red Bluff, a steep cliff filled with fascinating rock formations. There was literally not a tourist in sight and indeed my housemate who has lived in Melbourne for years said to me that he has never even heard of the place. It is little gems like this that I will continue to search for over my remaining time in this magnificent city.

Bye for now.

Great Ocean Road & Grampians National Park, Australia

After two months living in Melbourne I felt a break from the busy city was needed and so myself and a friend from home undertook a 3 day trip with Adventure Tours Australia to the Grampians National Park and the world famous Great Ocean Road. It has to be noted that this was not my first trip to rural Australia. Two years ago I spent 10 days discovering the harsh Outback of South Australia and Northern Territory travelling from Adelaide through the Red Centre to Alice Springs, encountering the most spectacular scenery along the way, with Uluru, Kata Tjuta, Kings Canyon and Wilpena Pound being particular highlights. This trip through the best of what Victoria has to offer had a lot to live up to as a result, but it sure did not disappoint.

First up was the Grampians National Park, a series of impressive sandstone mountain ranges. Unfortunately all of the original planned itinerary had to be scraped due to the recent widespread flooding throughout the region. This meant no Pinnacle, no Jaws of Death, no MacKenzie Falls or any of the other spectacular sites that tourists visit in their thousands every year. This was incredibly disappointing but you cant control mother nature! Thankfully Adventure Tours thought outside the box and brought us to Hollow Mountain, something which is not usually one of the more visited parts of the National Park. However after climbing to the top and admiring the stunning views of the surrounding areas you would wonder why it is not included in the original itinerary. This was no ordinary hike however and towards the end we were required to scramble over some reasonably steep rocks to reach the summit, providing a very decent work out.

With the exception of Hollow Mountain the Grampians were a bit of a let down. There really wasn't very many places that avoided the flooding and so the tour guide was at a bit of a loss as to where else to bring us. Its not the company's fault of course, it's just one of those unfortunate things that we have no control over. On the plus side we did get to witness numerous grey kangaroos in the wild.

After the Grampians we set off to Warrnambool to begin our journey along the Great Ocean Road, a 243 kilometre drive along the coast eastwards to Torquay. Throughout this stretch one can witness some of the most beautiful features of sea erosion the world has to offer. There is the Bay of Islands, home of some stunning sea stacks and the Bay of Martyrs which provides spectacular scenery and a nice view of the Bay of Islands in the distance. Then there is London Arch, a natural sea arch separated from the coastline. Up until 1990 it was a double span natural bridge attached to the coast, known as London Bridge (and is still referred to as such by most people) due to its similarity to its namesake. However on 15th January of that year the arch closest to the shoreline collapsed into the sea leaving four tourists stuck on the remaining arch for hours waiting for a rescue helicopter. Our tour guide informed us that the media, in a disgusting attempt to try cash in on the situation, made up a story that two of these unfortunate souls were having an affair. The reality was that none of the people had ever met before and it was the cause of great embarrassment for all concerned. Its clear that the media over here are no better than their counterparts back home! For years people actually were ludicrously allowed to drive their cars over London Bridge, so it is really no surprise that it collapsed to its knees!

Next up was the Twelve Apostles, a collection of limestone sea stacks, all in close proximity to each other. Despite its name there are actually only eight stacks that still stand, with the most recent victim of sea erosion being a 50 metre stack which collapsed in 2005. However, some of the locals would have you believe that over twice that amount currently stand proudly. They must think that we cant count! It really is a stunning site and is a prime example of the wonderful features created by the sea. The Apostles are known to be extra special at sunset, however an unfortunate appearance of thick cloud cover just as the sun was coming down spoilt this particular viewing pleasure. Indeed the weather throughout the entire trip was a little on the disappointing side. It was forever changing with the sunshine rarely making an appearance for longer than 30 minutes at a time. However the views were incredible nonetheless and the walk down Gibson Steps to the beach provided an alternate angle to view some of the 12 Apostles, offering a different perspective of the area with the high cliffs towering above.

Another big highlight was the Loch Ard Gorge, home of numerous sea stacks, caves, blowholes and others features of coastal erosion along with hugely powerful waves crashing against the coastline cliffs. The site got its name due to the infamous sinking of the Loch Ard ship, an event which occurred along these very shores on 1st June 1878. Just two of the 50 passengers and crew members on board survived, both of whom were Irish: Tom Pearce, and Eva Carmichael. Tom after surviving this disaster famously risked his life and swam back out to the wreckage to save Eva, a woman he had never met. Over time they developed a bit of a romance but eventually Eva decided to return home to Ireland. Not giving up so easily Tom proposed to her through the snail mail to which he received a devastating rejection. The reason? Despite the fact that she loved him, she didn't feel he was wealthy enough to provide her with the lifestyle she was accustomed to. So after this man completely disregarding his own safety to rescue this woman she basically turned him down because he didn't have enough money, something which led to our tour guide declaring Eva to be a B**TH! Its very hard to disagree with such sentiments to be honest.

Towards the conclusion of the journey along the Victorian coast we stopped briefly to view some Koalas in the wild. These creatures bring a whole new meaning to the word "lazy" and they do certainly enjoy their sleep. In total they are awake for just 5 hours a day on average. Thankfully we actually got to see them during their waking hours, not that they do a whole lot then either. They tend to just sit their content high up in the trees feeding off eucalyptus leaves. They don't have a very stressful life that's for sure!

In total there were 23 people in our group for the three day trip. The group contained for the most part very nice people. However an element of banter was seriously lacking among the group and very few people seemed interested in having a few beers in the evening which was slightly disappointing, given how fun my group was two years ago, the last time I travelled with Adventure Tours, from Adelaide to Alice Springs.

However our tour guide Jen was certainly not lacking in any enthusiasm and one evening when driving back to our hostel from the sunset at the 12 Apostles she proceeded to stop the bus and start dancing in front of everybody. When my friend demanded another song she revved up the engine, turned on Elton John's hit Crocodile Rock and ventured towards a roundabout, driving around it on about 6 or 7 occasions, much to the confusion of the onlooking pedestrians. She finished things off with a ridiculous dancing demonstration to the tune of The Chicken Dance. Her crazy antics were certainly appreciated.

This short three day journey has whetted my appetite for some further trips later in the year and I fully intend to embark on an adventure up the West Coast from Perth to Darwin! I better start saving those dollars!

Bye for now

Melbourne, Australia - A Sporting Heaven

It has been quite some time since I have updated this blog. I have been in Melbourne for almost two months and it is every bit as impressive as I anticipated. I am not going to use this blog as an update of everything that has happened since I have arrived in Victoria's capital. Writing a diary about buying groceries, job hunting and accommodation seeking is not terribly interesting to the reader and so I will spare everybody of such mundane material. I am here for a much longer time than everywhere else that I visited previously and so it is a lot more chilled out and less action-packed than it was in South America and New Zealand where I tended to have three days to see everything before moving onwards. So the best way to approach my Melbourne blogging is to divide them up into various themes. So to get the ball rolling this first entry will be about one of Melbourne's great passions - sport.


It is no secret that the reason I chose to settle in Melbourne over other Australian cities is because of its reputation of being a sports mad city. This is not in any way over exaggerated and it doesn't matter if it is AFL, cricket, rugby, tennis or tiddly-winks the people will come out in large numbers to support. Sport is very much something that is in the blood of Melbournians and this aspect of the city has helped me to feel at home very easily. I fully intend to attend as many sporting events held in this city over the coming months.


First up for me was cricket, a game I have learned to appreciate and enjoy much more in recent years. Among the uneducated it is seen as a monotonous sport played by snobby upper class men. However once the basics are understood it becomes much more enjoyable. On the 27th December I attended the second day of the 4th Ashes test between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the iconic stadium that played host to the 1956 Olympic Games. The ground was filled to two thirds of the total capacity with an impressive 67,000 people in attendance. However the large local contingent had very little to cheer about as the English proceeded to absolutely humiliate Ricky Ponting's troops. Although the Melbourne natives were virtually mute all day this did not spoil the atmosphere one bit thanks to a fantastic group of English supporters nicknamed the Barmy Army. This vocal group of people are very similar to English football fans in how they support their team. They spent the entire 8 hours of cricket shouting and roaring, chanting at the opposition players, and just being all round lunatics, drunk on an excessive amount of overpriced watered down beer. However there is one difference and that is the lack of the scum and violence element that has given football supporters from England such a terrible name around the world. By contrast the antics of the Barmy Army was merely good natured banter and nothing more.


If the cricket was good then the tennis was even better.For two weeks every January Melbourne Park plays host to the Australian Open, the first grand slam championship of the year. I dedicated an entire weekend to witnessing some of the best players on earth. On the Saturday I purchased a ground pass for a very reasonable price of 29 dollars which gave me access to all but the two main show courts: Rod Laver Arena and Hisense Arena. The grounds of Melbourne Park were packed and a 90 minute queue was needed to gain access to Margaret Court Arena where Marc Wilford Tsonga was playing his 3rd round encounter with Alexandr Dolgopolov. Such was the Frenchman's popularity that it was not until midway through the third set that I was able to take my place among the 6000 enthusiasts in this intimate arena named after the great Australian who holds the record for the most grand slam wins for a woman with 24 titles to her name. Unfortunately Tsonga picked up an injury when leading by two sets to one and swiftly faded away and was defeated in a one sided final set.


However the main course of the day was still to come as American John Isner and Croatian Marin Cilic played out a four and a half hour epic. Isner, one of the heroes of last year's Wimbledon Championships when winning the longest tennis match in history (11 hours and 5 minutes, 70-68 in the final set against Nicolas Mahut), was the subject of numerous hilarious football style chants by a group of louty yet banterful Irish people. My personal favorite was certainly "IF...YOU...LOVE JOHNNY ISNER CLAP YOUR HANDS! IF YOU LOVE JOHNNY ISNER CLAP YOUR HANDS, IF YOU LOVE JOHNNY ISNER AND YOU REALLY WANNA SHOW IT IF YOU LOVE JOHNNY ISNER CLAP YOUR HANDS!". There was plenty of other ridiculous tunes and the local crowd were absolutely loving it. So much so that when the security guards forced the Irish lads to vacate Margaret Court Arena the entire 6000 capacity crowd started booing at the tops of their lungs followed by a standing ovation for these banterheads as they made their exit. One of the guys somehow managed to survive the boot and remained for the conclusion of a thrilling game of tennis. What made the antics of these guys so funny was that they gave the impression that they actually cared that John Isner won when in reality they were just taking the mick. The lines "This would put years on ya" and "Come on John, keep the head, forget about that last point" when Isner was struggling deep in the 5th set are among the finest quotes I've heard in a while. You'd wonder what Isner must have been thinking at such random support. Alas it was not to be for the American as Marin Cilic took the spoils winning a tense final set by 9 games to 7 much to the delight of the small but vocal Croatian contingent. The atmosphere was certainly up there with the best I have witnessed at a live sporting event.

The next day had a lot to live up to but it certainly did not disappoint. Firstly I managed to catch Roger Federer warming up on the practice courts. It was a pleasant and unexpected surprise to catch a glimpse of the finest tennis player in history. I wasn't the only one there however and it certainly was mayhem trying to get towards the front to secure the best view possible. Afterwards I witnessed Andy Murray going through a similar routine in the burning midday Melbourne sunshine. I didn't stay long to watch the grumpy Scotsman however as it was time to take my seat in Hisense Arena to see the eventual championship winner Novak Djokavic absolutely annihilate his opponent Nicolas Almagro. He certainly put on an impressive demonstration but the atmosphere was very muted as a result of the one sided match.


Next up was the women's 4th round match between Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova and Italian Francesca Schiavone, two former grand slam winners. The contest began slowly and the crowd didn't seem too bothered getting involved. There was even one chap in the corporate section in front of me who was reading the paper much to my own disgust. He ended up leaving early and missed out on what was to unfold. The final set took three hours and the entire match lasted for 4 hours 44 minutes, the longest women's singles grand slam match in history with numerous twists and turns throughout. The Italian eventually claimed the victory by 16 games to 14 in the marathon final set but only after saving about a dozen match points. The game was every bit as exciting as the events the day before and once again the atmosphere reached deafening tones.


I certainly got my money's worth and I now have a burning desire to go to the other three grand slams: Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open at Flushing Meadows. Live tennis is certainly up there with the best that sport has to offer, for atmosphere and drama.


There is plenty more sport to come over the coming months. The Formula One Grand Prix takes place in Albert Park in a few weeks time and the Melbourne Track Classic in Olympic Park in early March will see David Rudisha, world record holder for 800m among others compete. The AFL season is not far away with 9 of the 16 teams being from Melbourne and there is also the Melbourne Cup later in the year. This is only some of the great sporting action that the people of Melbourne have the privilege of witnessing and I intend to see as many of these events as possible over the coming months. But for now I have to go pack for a weekend travelling through the Grampians National Park and the Great Ocean Road.


Bye for now.

Dunedin, Lake Tekapo, Christchurch, New Zealand

After a high paced few days in Queenstown I joined up with the Magic Bus once more to continue my journey around New Zealand with the next stop being Dunedin. The day got off to a crazy start when one of my fellow backpackers, a lad from the Netherlands did not show up for the bus at 8am that morning. After a heavy night on the sauce he failed to hear his alarm clock in the morning and the bus driver had no intention of waiting. Unperturbed he decided that he wasn't going to be left behind and proceeded to hitch-hike his way from Queenstown to Dunedin, completing the journey with four different drivers, an admirable effort. Words can't describe the look of amazement on everybody's faces as he arrived at our destination just one hour after the Magic Bus. This in fact wasn't the first time this happened. Earlier in the week an Irish guy did the exact same thing, only this time he managed to catch up with the Magic Bus before it even reached its destination. Very impressive hitch-hiking it must be said.

The city of Dunedin is a place with a large Scottish influence and is nicknamed "Edinburgh of the South". However despite the fact that there are some beautiful Scottish style buildings including the spectacular railway station the city in general is quite drab and does very little to deserve being mentioned in the same breath as Edinburgh, one of the world's most beautiful cities. There were however some highlights. Located inside the railway station is the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame, an interesting museum dedicated to the greatest sports people the country has produced over the last century. Interestingly enough it was not the All Blacks rugby union team that received the most attention in this establishment but rather the country's greatest track and field athletes (in particular the legendary milers Peter Snell and John Walker) that got the most recognition, much to my own personal satisfaction.

Another great site which Dunedin has to offer is Baldwin Street the world's steepest street. 350 metres in length this road reaches a lung puncturing maximum gradient of 35% . Walking up Baldwin Street wasn't enough for me however, I needed to attempt running to the top and so myself and two others set off on a journey filled with insanity. The first 100 metres were fine with only a gentle slope. However it then got very ugly altogether with the gradient increasing rapidly reducing me to a pathetic looking shuffle. My legs felt weak and realising that I was barely moving quicker than walking pace I stopped running and decided on the method of transport that most normal people chose. Once the slope eased a bit I began to run once more and reached the top eventually completing the full distance in 3 minutes 7 seconds. Regardless of the sense (or lack there of) of running up such a steep hill it does not compare to the stupidity of one chap's decision to run down this street in bare feet. How he managed to stay on his feet is beyond me!

The next stop on our journey around the South Island was Lake Tekapo. Here I undertook a short 1 hour hike to the top of Mount John where I enjoyed a stunning panoramic view of this beautiful turquoise coloured lake. It certainly is right up there with Abel Tasman National Park and Milford Sound in being one of the most picturesque places I have seen in the country. After a relaxing couple of days here we continued northwards to Christchurch, the largest city on the South Island, a place with a very large English influence. The bus driver remarked that this city "is more English than England itself". While such a comment is completely false and nothing more than a pathetic tourist gimmick I was nonetheless pleasantly surprised at the beauty of this city. After being to Dunedin I was expecting another ugly city but to be fair to Christchurch it has a lot of beautiful old  English style grey bricked buildings, with the majority of these being churches. Walking around the town admiring these old buildings was a pleasant experience. It is just a shame that so many of them are surrounded by the not so spectacular skyscrapers which have ruined so many cities around the world.

The final few days of the Magic Bus tour were not quite so exciting and after taking the Interislander ferry back to Wellington on the North Island we proceeded to head towards Auckland in almost an exact reverse of the route we had travelled three weeks earlier when starting our trip, something which seemed completely pointless. The weather didn't help and since Christchurch it rained constantly making the final few days of my time in the country feel like I have been just sitting around waiting for my flight to Melbourne.

This leads me on to my opinion of the Magic Bus. There is no doubt that there are many positives to travelling with this hop-on hop-off bus company. Throughout this journey I have met many brilliant people and have had the pleasure of being able to travel with them for an extended period of time, something which rarely happens when you travel independently. During my time in South America I regularly had to say goodbye to lots of great people who I only got to know for two or three days but in New Zealand I was with many of the same crew for as long as two weeks.

Another benefit to travelling with Magic Bus is that they literally do everything for you. They bring you from location to location and book all your hostels and activities on your behalf. The only responsibility you have is to be able to drag yourself out of bed at the appropriate time. All of this combines to make travelling around New Zealand very easy. Too easy however in my opinion. What made my trip around South America so rewarding was that I did absolutely everything for myself, and 99% of it in my limited knowledge of a foreign language. This made making my way around such a large land mass quite a challenge at times, but that's what makes travelling so much fun in the first place. In New Zealand I felt like I haven't needed to think at all.

At times I have been quite unimpressed with the Magic Bus. Along with the fact that they wasted a couple of days bringing us back to where we had already been during the start of our trip there are also too many stops at random cafes which the company blatantly have alliances with. I want to be brought to nice scenic parts of New Zealand, not some rubbish establishment which charges 5.50 dollars for a scrawny sandwich. Also as the Magic Bus only travels from each place four times a week quite often we were given the choice of having to stay either one or three nights in each location when two nights was what was required. This is something which almost everybody was annoyed about.

Culturally New Zealand is not very different from Ireland and the UK and so my recent blog entries have been lacking the sort of crazy stories that made such regular appearances in my South American blogs. However there are a few slight oddities that I have come across:

1) For those who enjoy a game or two of pool you will be familiar with the "2 shot rule". If somebody fouls then his/her competitor is entitled to two shots as a punishment for his/her poor play. Not in New Zealand however. As long as the foul was an "honest mistake" and not deliberate then the unfortunate competitor has to continue on with just one shot. Pure madness but as it was not my country I had no say. I still managed to beat this local who explained the rules of "Kiwi Pool" to me anyway so no harm done!

2) Anybody who has been to the USA will be well aware of how strict bars and liquor stores are when selling alcohol and ID is almost always required to be shown before the transaction is complete. The drinking age there is 21 so this kind of makes some sense. In New Zealand the age at which somebody can consume alcohol is 18. Despite this the Kiwis are far stricter than the Americans. Yes it can be taken as a compliment if somebody thinks you look younger than you really are but there is no chance whatsoever that I look 17 years of age! What is worse is that they don't even feel stupid and embarrassed when they find out how far off they were in predicting how old a customer is. The shock on the face of a Dutch backpacker in my Magic Bus group when he was asked for ID was quite a sight. This man was 28 years old!

3) Christmas is fast approaching around the world with businesses and schools about to close in time for the festive period. In New Zealand however you would hardly know that it is the season to be jolly. There are very few decorations on the streets, very little Christmas music being played inside the shops and even less carol singing on the streets. I have tried hard to get into the festive spirit but it really just does not feel like Christmas down here. It is almost as if the New Zealanders are bitter that they will never have the white Christmas portrayed in the Hollywood movies and so decide to not fully embrace it as a result. I'm sure this is not the case and that the people down here enjoy this time of the year in their own way but it does at times come across like that.

Overall my time in New Zealand has been very enjoyable. I have seen some spectacular scenery such as Abel Tasman, Milford Sound and Lake Tekapo and I have met some fantastic people and had an enormous amount of craic. It has to be noted though that much of New Zealand's landscape is almost identical to that of Ireland. While this may be appealing to many tourists it is difficult for an Irish person to get excited about green hills and fields filled with hundreds of sheep and personally I found a lot of the scenery quite boring as a result. However there is no doubt that the South Island is far more impressive than the North and this is where you will find most of the country's stunning lakes, fjords, mountains and beaches.

So my time of travelling has come to an end for now and tomorrow I fly out to Melbourne where I intend to work for awhile. The last 14 weeks have been a wonderful experience. I have met so many great people (with the English and the Dutch being comfortably the most banter), seen so much incredible scenery and different cultures. It certainly has been a time I won't easily forget and I look forward to much more travelling over the coming year.

Thanks for reading up to now and Merry Christmas.