Beautiful (expensive) Perth

So let me tell you what I've been up to since my last update! Originally I posted that I was heading to Innisfail to attempt to do my farm work - shockingly, that didn't happen. Nothing ever really goes to plan when you're travelling (or in general, I guess). So rather than spending 3 months doing boring, difficult work in sweaty Far North Queensland I escaped to the other side of the country and ended up working in a country pub in rural Western Australia.

When I first landed in WA I decided to spend 2 weeks in Perth to check out the city and what it had to offer. It's a really lovely city and I much preferred it to Sydney. Although it's a decent sized city it doesn't have the loneliness or lost feeling that I associated with Sydney (which in fairness can probably be attributed to homesickness) and I just think it's super cute. Lot's of culture, a good nightlife and just really pretty.

Because I didn't have a lot of time to spend in Perth I decided to pack in as many tourist-y things as possible such as:

• SciTech, which is a really cool science museum - but it is very much a children's museum, something  I didn't realise until I got there - bit awkward! 
• Western Australian Museum, I love a good museum and there were two excellent exhibitions while I was there - a cute, slightly frivolous one on the history of wedding dresses and a thought provoking one on the history of the Western Australian Aborigines population (some info if you're interested).
• Perth Mint, admittedly my least favourite stop, but worth a trip to see a gold bar smelted and then re-moulded. 
• King's Park, really nice place to chill out, with amazing views of the Perth harbour plus home to the DNA tower (a lookout point shaped like a strand of DNA).   
• Fremantle Prison, undoubtedly my favourite place - the prison is a world heritage building built by convicts in the 1800s and served as a working prison until the 1990s. Really interesting history.

A random hodge-splodge of photos from my fortnight in Perth and Fremantle:

 If you are going to Australia then I would definitely recommend going to Perth (although I will worn you, it's a pricey city!) - if I'd had more time I would have definitely visited Rottnest Island and also tried to see more of the West Coast. If I end up returning to Australia (and I hope I do!) seeing more of Australia would be my first priority.

The next chapter of my journey brought me about an hour away from Perth to the town of Grass Valley where I worked as a barmaid for 8 weeks. But more on that in my next post!

2013 already.

NEW YEAR'S!!

New Year's Eve was spent getting very drunk at various bars, and I got to do it in 20's costume again because that was PJ O'Briens theme of the day. I knew that Halloween Costume wasn't a waste of money!

January has mainly been spent working and maybe going out to eat a couple of times. Jennifer and I are a little over the club scene here. It's so quiet here now for wet season that it almost doesn't seem worth it!

So here I am nearing the end of January and potentially nearing the end of my time in Cairns. Next month I should be in Innisfail doing farm work!

Here's hoping!

Christmas and The End of the World

December meant a) the end of the world and b) Christmas. I got to dress up as a zombie at work for the 21st of December (end of the Mayan Calender) and as a green t-shirted reindeer for Christmas.

Just before Christmas Jennifer (my roomate) and I decided to go with Nelli and her cousin Eric to Fitzroy Island. Like Green Island it's an Island just off the coast of Cairns, but it's a little more fun. It has kayaking and a trampoline in the ocean. 

I spent Christmas day having a BBQ on the rooftop of my hostel - it ended very messily with a food fight and many people (including myself) being thrown into the pool fully clothed.

Birthdays and Broken Ankles

November was a cool month, I can tell you. Originally it was going to be the month that I finally left Cairns and started my farm work for my second year visa. That didn't really work out though, since I went out for my birthday on the 14th, got ridiculously drunk, started dancing on a table - and fell off, breaking my ankle. Oops!

Gillian left for her Asian adventure as well, which made me very sad! She's back at home now which is a little surreal considering I'm still here in Cairns! I couldn't waitress anymore with a broken ankle so unfortunately I had to give up working at Ala Turka! On the plus side, I started working as a receptionist at my hostel for better hours and better wages so every cloud has a silver lining I guess!

Even with a broken ankle I managed to get quite a few nights out!

Island Hopping and Halloween

In October Gillian and I decided to visit Green Island - a cool chilled out island just 45 mins boat ride from Cairns. When you visit Green Island there are options for snorkelling, a submarine ride, lying on the beach and visiting the wildlife reserve which houses the (second) largest crocodile in Australia.

We also decided on a road trip to Port Douglas and Mossman Gorge for funzies. 

 October is, of course, also HALLOWEEN month! I love Halloween - any excuse to dress up, I'll take it!

I decided to dress up 20s style, Nelli went as a devil and Gillian dressed up as a Hawaiian Hulu Girl. 

Kuranda

Gillian and I went to Kuranda this month, the cute tourist town north of Cairns. I've found so much of Cairns is cute and touristy, if you're into that kind of thing.

The village is accessible by cable car and train. We only went on the sky rail and decided to just get the shuttle bus back. Not only is the town super cute with it's markets - including a Scottish shop (short bread, yay!) they have 3 wildlife reserves - one for butterflies, one for birds and one for Australian animals such as Koalas, Wallabies, and crocodiles!

Obviously no month in Cairns is complete without a few messy nights!

The First Month

August. My first full month in Australia. Spent in Cairns, Queensland. I got a job in a Turkish Restaurant called Ala Turka, located on the Cairns Esplanade. I work with two lovely ladies called Nelli (German) and Satomi (Japanese). I love it here, the work is fun, the people are lovely and the food was delicious.

I also visited  Palm Cove, It's one of a stretch of beaches about 20 minutes outside of Cairns. All of the beaches are beautiful, but palm cove is perhaps the most touristy one - lots of cute shops and cafes.

Paronella Park which is a Spanish-style Castle that was built in the 20th century but fell to ruin after the original owner died. The current owners are revitalising it for a new generation and it was the cutest place ever.

and Mission Beach in this month.

Obviously I went out drinking and dancing a lot too, since that is almost obligatory in Cairns life!