Blue Mountains

Before coming to Sydney I had never heard of the Blue Mountains so it was never on my 'Must See List'. But I thought, while I was here I might as well check it out and see what it's all about.

We booked a tour, got given the wrong tour and ended up trailing about the Blue Mountains with a big group of people from Honduras who were loud, old and over weight which meant that our 40 minute hike literally took an hour and a half. I'm not sure who was more annoyed by this, us or our tour guide but nonetheless the mountains were beautiful. We saw 2 water falls during our hikes and managed to each ruin our shoes (we were not warned to wear appropriate footwear but thought we'd be clever anyway and wear trainers...there's no saving them now!).

As well as seeing the stunning views we also got to walk through the forest which was lovely and learnt a bit about the Mountains themselves. All I can really remember now is that they are called the Blue Mountains because most of the trees are Eucalyptus tress which give off an oil. The sun then reflects off the oils and therefore give a blue hue around the Mountains. I was slightly disappointed that the actual trees weren't blue themselves but can confirm that the sight was just absolutely beautiful and I couldv'e spent a very long time just standing there taking it all in had in not been freezing cold winds. It was the type of view that they would put in a movie with thought provoking music in the background while someone contemplated the meaning of life. 

The camera really doesn't do justice to how beautiful it was there but hopefully they'll give a hint of the views and maybe even tempt some more people to add it to their 'Must See List'. 

You can also watch some clips over on my YoutTube channel by following this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOLXIHl1uT4

Iona x

The Three Sisters

Lucky Number 148

Having been in Sydney for around 3 months now I have managed to apply for 149 jobs. That's right, I read through over 149 jobs, completed 149 job applications and got rejected 148 times. I got a call last Sunday from job application number 148 and got invited in for a 'face-to-face' chat in which they offered me a trial and said if I liked it I'll be put on the rota. 

I was extremely happy to be offered a job as you can imagine how little money I have after a few months of no income. A couple of weeks ago I took a look at my bank accounts, glanced into my purse and found out I had less than $5 to my name. Times were extremely tough for a while and motivation was lacking having received such little feedback from previous applications. However, through not going up luck finally came round and I have my trail at a dog cafe tomorrow. 

Not only does this mean I can stop eating 63cents (about 35p) noodles all the time but it also means that I might be able to make it to New Zealand after all. I was starting to give up on the hope of being able to travel there and I was very disappointed in myself that I'd allowed that to happen. I'd always planned to go there during my year in Australia but as my year is quickly coming to the end and money being extremely low I was starting to give up on the dream of visiting New Zealand but hopefully, through careful saving, I might still be able to make it to the land of the Hobits!

Iona x