Australia

Since I was around the age of eight, I have had a fascination with Australia. It all started when my grandma introduced me to a TV programme called Neighbours. Ever since I first saw Kylie and Jason Donovan playing in Ramsey Street I thought to myself… Yes, this is somewhere I want to be! I had a dream.

Fourteen years later that dream became my reality, when one cold November night I headed for Heathrow Airport with three friends in tow (Melissa, Natalie and Katie… but more from them later on!). We flew to Singapore for a few days and then we landed in Sydney and I immediately felt at home.

Melissa’s sister, Joanna was living in Manly at the time and so that is where we headed. En route to her flat I saw the Sydney Opera House for the first time and felt like I had entered a postcard. I had never felt like that before, not even when I visited the Eiffel Tower.

Once we were settled in, we decided that Manly was the place for us. With its beautiful beaches and friendly local atmosphere, we knew that Manly would make the perfect home for us, for the next few months.

And we were right.

Now I could go on and on about our time in Sydney, but to be honest there just isn’t enough time in the day to write everything down. There are so many different stories and memories from my time in Australia (and I’ve been back twice since my first trip), so, over time my blog will fill out more with all of my stories.

For now, enjoy the adventures of “Extreme Blonde” which took place in Queensland, seven months into my year in Oz.