WEEK 44, 45: TIME OFF - AUSTRALIA #34

Airline Prep

I did not waste much time before disappearing off to Australia. I caught a bus from Hamilton to Aukland and stayed the night in a cheap hotel near the airport. The next morning I set off to Melbourne on a Jetstar A320. An old friend of mine who I worked with for a few months met me from the airport and kindly allowed me to stay at his house for a couple of nights. He gave me a scenic tour of the general area then after experiencing a traditional, world famous Melbourne brunch and coffee I joined him at his cricket clubs training session.

Couldn't have a blog without a plane

A taste of Melbourne

Typical trams

Beautiful sunset over Melbourne

Melbourne city centre

Tragically, earlier that day Australian cricketer Phil Hughes had just died after being struck on the back of the head by a bouncer during a game for his domestic side. It's needless to say that everyone was very emotional and totally shocked. It was a very sad day for cricket. Training was called off yet people still showed up and trained hard. A group then went down to the pub and just chatted sport all evening. I absolutely love the Australians mentality towards sport. Everyone at the table was passionate about it and knew exactly what they were talking about. It's great exchanging views with fellow cricketers as passionate as myself!

Lovely place to have a drink

The next day I took a tour of the MCG which was so much fun. The place is vast! There's so much history there and it's so cool setting foot on ground where so many greats of the game have previously stepped. I then went to the sea life centre where I saw plenty of sharks, penguins, a gigantic crocodile and more of course. I also went to this massive Asian food market that evening which is so cool. It's every night during November and the place is just buzzing. There's some good food, a few cold beers and just a very relaxed atmosphere with a lovely view.

MCG

Me with the massive MCG in the background (over 100,000 seats!)

Big shark

Melbourne Sea Life Centre

Night noodle market

I ended up being picked for my friends cricket club at the weekend which means I've now played in 6 countries. It was only 5th eleven but I was amazed at how high the standard was. The pitch was astonishingly good too! I didn't get a bowl but I fielded well, getting 1 run and 1 catch with lots of good stops. I also got 45 runs and I will admit that the heat got the better of me and my concentration. It was really fun though. It made me laugh when I was fielding on the boundary, there was a sign that said, "beware of snakes!" I thought to myself how typical.

not bad for 5th XI!

I checked myself into a hostel on a pretty lively street for a couple of nights which was fun. Everyone there was very nice and we had a good night together. The next day was spent on the beach which was so nice! Who would've thought I'd be baking on the beach in December!

St Kilda beach - Melbourne

My final day in Melbourne was a busy one. I went to the zoo and finally saw a kangaroo and koala. I didn't get to ride a kangaroo like I had planned sadly but it was still cool. There was a large selection of cool animals and even though I was on my own it was still fun! I then took a tour of the tennis arena where the Australian open is hosted. Again the place is pretty big and there's so many courts in the area. The place was being set up for a Katy Perry concert so I didn't actually see the main court, just the stands but it was still good. Lastly, I went up the tallest tower in Melbourne to see the sunset. It was a cloudy evening which was a shame because I didn't get the beautiful red sky like the previous nights but I still got a good view of the city.

First time seeing Kangaroo's

Melbourne zoo

One of the Australian open courts

Home of the Australian open

Melbourne

Melbourne sports park

My friend dropped me off at the airport the next morning and it was off to Perth with me where I was reunited with part of the family I hadn't seen in 12 years! It was so nice spending time with them. Perth itself is very different to Melbourne, everything's much more spread out so it's difficult to get around and do all the touristy things unless you have a car. Because of this I didn't get much sightseeing done but still managed to see the WACA, even though the scheduled match was delayed due to the funeral of Phil Hughes. I did get into go to the beach which was seriously nice but it's Sod's law that it was the one cloudy and coldish day so I didn't get a full Perth beach experience. It was so great spending time with family.

The WACA

The famous WACA scoreboard 

Dinner with Fremantle port in the backdrop 

Sunset in Fremantle

Family re-united

I am now starting the next phase of training - IFR (instrument flight rules) which I'm excited about. I'm looking forward to a new aircraft, new techniques and new challenges!