NZ. MILFORD SOUNDS
February 1, 2010
10th January 2010
A second highlight of the trip was a visit to the fiords of Milford Sounds.
The drive towards it is impressive, and the actual Milford Sounds are beautiful even when you can hardly see them due to the fog!
NZ. ROUND QUEENSTOWN
February 1, 2010
9-11th January 2010
The surroundings of Queenstown are just impressive! We drove all round it, north and south various times.
NZ. GLACIERS
January 31, 2010
7&8th January 2010
One of the best parts of the trip was going to visit the Franz Jospeh and Fox Glaciers along the west coast.
We visited the first on foot, walking up to the bottom of it. It was raining, and the boys hadn’t brought raincoats with them… so they decided to improvise…
We visited the second on the next morning from a helicopter!! It was the first time we all rode on a helicopter. It was so much fun! And of course, the views were spectacular, especially from the top of the mountain where the helicopter landed to let us off to take a couple of photos before going back down!
NEW ZEALAND
January 31, 2010
6-13th January 2010
I had some spare time in between my trip down the East Coast and Mum and Laura coming to visit, so I decided to do something with it… why not go to New Zealand?! And my friends Pablo and Emilio were going to be there, so it was someone to travel with, and an opportunity to spend some last time together before they flew back to Spain!
We hired a camper van and spent a week driving round the south island. There is little I can say. The sceneries are just impressive. The photos don’t really justify the reality, but here is a try.
NEW YEARS CELEBRATION
January 30, 2010
The end of the year, and the end of lots of memories shared with all the people I’ve met this semester (as most of them were returning back to Europe in these days).
The few of us exchange students that were remaining decided to meet up at 9:30am on the 31st of December, to queue up and find a good spot in the Botanical Gardens of Sydney where we spent the day eating, chatting, playing cards, and basically enjoying each other’s company for the last time in Australia.
The night ended with the countdown and the beautiful firework display over the Syndey Opera House and the rest of the Harbour. I even took grapes to introduce a bit of Spanish culture in our gathering! (one grape per chime during the countdown)
On the 2nd of January 2010 I returned to Melbourne, ending this amazing trip down the East Coast! Not at home for long though…
SUMMER IN MITTAGONG
January 30, 2010
Didn’t do too much sightseeing in Sydney. I have to admit it was partly because I was too entertained spending time with the Erskines.
A walk round Fitzroy Falls.
Catching up with Christmas in the UK Skyping with Mum, Laura, and meeting all the new babies of our family!
And learning about Cricket. Having the rules explained to me didn’t really work very well… and watching it is a bit boring if you don’t know what is going on. So I had to learn by practise!
SYDNEY
January 30, 2010
A day doing tourism with Robert in Sydney, the best tour guide.
And lunch with Rebecka and Joni.
CHRISTMAS
January 30, 2010
I spent Christmas with family. Andrew, Helen, Robert and James. The easiest way to explain the connexion between us: my grandfather and Robert&James’ grandmother were cousins.
It is amazing how comfortable you can feel with people so soon after meeting them, especially when they are distant relatives, because it feels as if you’ve know them forever.
A lovely Christmas meal of goose, and a walk up Mount Alexander dressed with the characteristic elements of the old explorers.
PORT MAQUARIE
January 30, 2010
23rd December 2009
Day 2. We arrived early into Port Maquarie, luckily not as early as into Coffs Harbour. We sat beside the port till the hostels opened, and then we made a deal with one to leave our luggage for the day and have a sofa to rest on in the evening till our next bus picked us up at 4am next morning.
We spent the day visiting the museum, walking along the coast, and visiting the Koala hospital (where Joni got a job volunteering for February!).
COFFS HARBOUR
January 30, 2010
22nd December 2009
Day 1. We arrived very very late at night, so we thought it wasn’t worth paying for a whole night at a hostel. Instead, used to sleeping in parks now (seeing as we gained experience with Becky and Chris), we decided to attempt it alone, and found a hidden corner in a very quiet residential park. Well… quiet until 8am, when a tractor came by to cut the grass!
We spent the day seeing the tourist attractions of this little town: the oceanarium, where we were able to touch dolphins and got kissed by a seal, and the Big Banana! where after reading about bananas and seeing the tiny plantation they have, we enjoyed a delicious and very cheap Banana Split! 
