Billabong Gardens Sydney

Following a pleasant three and a half hour bus journey from Canberra to Sydney, we arrived at the Central Bus Station at around 12.30pm and were lucky enough to get a free transfer to the Billabong Gardens Backpackers Hostel, Newtown, where we spent our first couple of nights in the city. Once our room had been allocated, we decided to waste no time and get straight into the city centre. As the bus pulled in to Circular Quay we were treated to the fantastic sight of the Opera House and Harbou...

Just arrived in Sydney today. I am staying in Billabong Gardens in Newtown which seems like a really cool hostel. Most of the people here have been here a couple of weeks and are working. I think it will be a bit quieter than Jackson's manor (I hope). The dorm is really nice with a balcony onto the street. Had a quick wander around Newtown and on first impressions it feels alot like Brunswick St., or Chapel St. in Melbourne. I have met 2 people whom I met in Jacksons a couple of weeks ago. Go...

Okay, I know it has been quite a while since I have updated this blog. You see I have not really been travelling as such, just been working for the last three months. However, let me tell you a bit about my time here in Sydney. I have been in room 21, Billabong Gardens, Newtown for 3 months now. I have met a lot of cool people and made some friends there (Dan, Nick, Julia, Sarahs, Nick, Richy, James and quite a few more). Billabong Gardens is one of the best hostels I have stayed in and is re...

I arrived back in Billabong gardens on Friday. It is strange to be back here in the same room and the same bed. There are even a couple of people here from that last time I was here. I have really just been spending my last few days meeting friends here and visiting old haunts. Even did one last meet the locals in the Townie with Ross. I went to see Pearl Jam last night. They were great. It was funny to see them again, they were the first band I saw in concert back in 1995. They played the Ac...

Good day from Australia!! :-) Catching up on some free internet access while waiting for the rain to stop. yeah, right, Sydney and rain ... again... it was reall sunny in Auckland this morning. Great! We were up at like 4>30 am since we had to catch the flight at 8:50am, retrun the car and since it was an international flight, be there three hours in advance! Hurray! Arriving in Sydney was somehow like coming home... :-) We caught a shuttle - since it was the cheapest way to get into the c...

The sight of a pisshead chancing his arm in a boozer is something that has sadly been missing from my life since leaving Bonnie Scotland but it took just four or five hours Down Under to remedy this gaping hole in my life. Me and Le Gut were sitting in the pub around the corner from our hostel catching up on a year of pivo banter with Joanne and her sister Yvonne when a dishevelled looking midget approached our table. Going by the name of Scruffy (and not since gargoil impersonator and occasi...

Flickr pics here!

If you lose your passport within half an hour of arriving in a large city 12,000 miles away from home, don't panic. Simply tell the bloke behind the bar - and ask for directions to the nearest police station. Walk to the station (it's better if it's late at night and you've never been to this place before and you've just stepped off a 23 hour flight) report the loss and return back to your hotel room. Reflect on the fact that you've been a **** (surely not!) and try to convince yourself that ...