So I got excited and....

Started looking at things to do in Sydney and Melbourne!! I can not wait!! So while I'm on this buzz I'm gonna indulge myself!!
So Sydney.... Excite me!!
Found a couple of websites of things to do in Sydney, sydney100, 365sydneyguide, viator, sydney things to do. Feel free to check them out at your leisure!! :)


But for me the things on these lists that are appealing are...
Bondi Beach.. Obviously! My little brother watches Bondi Rescue on Sky that follows the lifeguards on Bondi beach and has requested I get a photo, not with the lifeguards however. No that would be far too normal for him. He wants a photo with the in-water cameramen as he thinks it is hilarious when they end up rescuing people when the lifeguards can't get there in time. I kid you not!


Also on the list, A tour of the Blue Mountains, Seeing Sydney Opera House, The Botanic Gardens, The Wildlife and Koala parks, Sydney Tower and a harbour cruise. Only! Of course when we get there this may change completely!! Ha ha!


Oooh and as Conor is oddly fond of the soap Home and Away (Nothing to do with the beautiful cast I'm sure)I think we'll have to take a trip to Palm Beach, where is it filmed. It's only just a two hour drive from Sydney.


Melbourne...
So Conor is baadd with amusement parks, but all he needs is a little encouragement! After the first one or two amusement rides he'll be grand but the coaxing to get him on those is unnatural! so Melbourne has the wonderful Luna Park, or so it seems from the website.. Reviews to follow!! :)


Also NEED to do the Great Ocean Road!! My cousin recommended it highly and her photos from it are fab to say the least. I just know seeing it all in person will surpass my expectations!! There's so many things to see along the route like the the Twelve Apostles, London bridge and Otway National Park. Eugh and so many others.. This excites me the most so far!! 


So now I'm excited for my trip.. To say the least... Only 21 days to go!!! Eeeppp!!


Amy :)

Finally did it and booked our flights! Woot!! February 14th we are outta here and on our way to Sydney!! I'm not sure I've stopped smiling yet!! Think we spent ten minutes just staring at the confirmation of booking!!


So our journey is 24 hours 35 mins with Etihad and goes from Dublin to Abu Dhabi, and after a two hour stop-over, Abu Dhabi to Sydney!! And we got a night time flight which we're pretty happy with because the majority of other flights were early mornings which would probably have meant we wouldn't have slept much!! Or at least I wouldn't, he could sleep on a bed of nails!!!!


So that's the biggest thing checked off our list, now just to sort bank accounts and travel insurance. The latter of which we have started looking into. My cousin, who is already on her working holiday, has warned me to check with the insurer that you don't need a medicare card as well as your policy as they do not give them to people from the Republic of Ireland and your insurance is invalid over there without it! The main culprit for this is Multitrip.com, as they are an English company they do not mention this problem for Irish people as English people can get these cards. Consider yourselves warned! So I reckon I shall be calling companies after checking out the quotes online, just to be sure!


Also a friend of mine recommended Nab bank, as they do accounts for people on working holiday visas so gonna have a look at that tonight. I'm sure I'll have to sort this for Conor too though so may as well wait until I have his passport to do them both together... Typical young fella!!


Then that's pretty much everything sorted, besides our going away nights, which are turning out to be more hassle than I thought!! I DO NOT want a going away party! I am not the first person to leave the country, nor will I be the last so don't fancy making a big deal, but, I do want to see my friends and family before I go. And Conor has to have a night for his friends and for his family too so we'll have to coordinate in some way or other, around a couple of other things, like his last gig, another friends going away night and a christening in my family!! Fun!! It's going to be a busy few weeks!!


Can not wait now.. Did I mention it's only 36 days?? Oh god that's so soon.. Need to get my ass in gear!!
Eeepp hope you're ready for us Australia!!

Amy :)

Soooo....

Planning is officially starting... As usual my wonderfully organised boyfriend is taking a step back and leaving me to it so I presume to get stuff done I may get my head down!! :)
We're going to fly into Sydney, as some of his family live there who he's mad to see again, and it would be nice to see some friendly faces when we land! (The comfortable bed to get over the jet-lag doesn't sound too shabby either!) The plan is to stay there for the first while then perhaps head down to Melbourne for a bit to do the Great Ocean drive! It's meant to be beautiful!!
Another couple that we know are going to be there from February as well so I'm sure we'll spend some time with them too. Two or three of my cousins are going over in February/March but they are all going to different places so we'll have to do the tours around to see them in Brisbane and Darwin! As if we need excuses to travel around! (So much to see so little time!!)

So on my check list for the moment is price travel insurance and try to sort out bank accounts before we get over there! Still can't book flights though as the bf has booked his driving test for his bike and he hasn't got the date for it back yet,typically. As soon as he does however we'll be booking straight away!! Not too sure about what stop offs to do yet either so it's probably not a bad thing!! Will be picking people's brains about that one!!
So yes that's where I'm at! Very little done, but there is a plan in action... Which is pretty much the fastest summary of what I've just said!! See ye next time and feel free to leave any advice, as always!
Amy :)