Home » Australia » Guido's Down Under Experiences: January 2004

Down Under: my experiences in South-East Asia, Australia & New Zealand.

Guido's Down Under Experiences: January 2004

FlyingDutchman
2006-03-17 19:46:02

Displayed times (last time: )

Tue 27 January 2004
Australia Day
Melbourne, VIC

Yesterday was Australia Day, celebrating the discovery of Australia. In the morning I went to City Hall to hear the Governor's speech, to see the raising of the flag and to watch the march pass by. In the afternoon Anke (a Dutch girl) and I went to Government House, which is only open on Australia Day, creating a long queue to get in and walk through. But it was pretty interesting to see. Afterwards we watched a few buskers and other activities along the river. In the evening there was music at Federation Square and lots of fireworks above the city, so we watched that before getting a few beers in a pub.

Today I checked out the jobs in Melbourne in the morning, but I could not find anything really interesting. In the afternoon Mark called that he found a job for me in Ballarat, something we talked about when I was there. So the rest of the afternoon I read a book in the park and in the evening I sorted out my photos in an internet cafe. The most interesting photos of Victoria are online now.
Go check them out!

Sun 25 January 2004
Gold Rush
Melbourne, VIC

On Thursday evening there was a campfire at the hostel. In most places in Australia campfires are restricted because of the high risk of bushfires, so I was glad there was one here. I had a great time chatting with the other guests and just looking at the sky full of stars. Because Halls Gap is in a valley far from any industrial zone there is very little light polution, and it was possible to see a lot of stars. I even saw a shooting star (finally, I am usually just too late to see them).

On Friday I relaxed at the hostel until I was picked up by the tour that was dropping me off in Ballarat, Australia's largest inland city (about 70.000 inhabitants). During the Port Arthur tour in Tasmania I met Mark and Margy, an Australian couple living in Ballarat. ...