Backpacker Student: April 2015

Much has happened since my trip to Sydney a month ago, and as the university semester has got under way I've found myself in the usual hectic schedule of term-time in which there's always something I need to do and life is a balancing act between uni work and having fun- in which blogs often get neglected... I have had several assignment deadlines recently which are not interesting enough to write about, but I've also been enjoying Melbourne and trying to make the most of the rapidly-passing time I have here. I went on a cycling tour of the city with some friends one weekend, and on another one a group of friends and I finally redeemed the voucher for a free Mexican meal we'd won at the Amazing Race weeks and weeks ago. Significantly, Chris arrived in Melbourne at last, getting here in the early hours of a Saturday morning after a day at work in Canberra on the Friday followed by a seven-hour drive. It's really nice to have him here and we are enjoying living together for the first time. He is almost entirely domesticated and is occasionally very useful around the house, although I haven't yet weeded out his worst habits, such as loud burping when watching TV and- most infuriating of all- leaving his wet towel on the bed after taking a shower. We have also been enjoying the company of our flatmates Carlos and Fernanda, and have had fun with them going out to dinner, doing some late-night bowling and having a BBQ on the roof of the apartment.

Cycling tour with exchange friends: (L-R) Claudia, Yoram, me, Viviane

The biggest news of the month has been our trip to Tasmania, which we took during the Easter break when I had a week off from uni. It was a six day campervanning trip; we started at Hobart and travelled around a fair portion of the island- which is significantly bigger than everyone imagines it to be. We devised an itinerary that turned out to be pretty ambitious and involved quite a lot of driving every day. Amazingly, the campervan rental company allowed me to drive the van despite my limited driving experience (an Australian with my experience wouldn't have been able to drive as their licenses are provisional for the first four years), so I 'helped' Chris out with the driving, which was full of winding mountainous roads and was pretty difficult with a clunky gearstick and a steering wheel that pulled to the left. Nevertheless, we survived unscathed and also managed to avoid hitting any wildlife- the roads were dotted with dead Tasmanian devils and kangaroos. On the few occasions we drove after dark we had to keep our eyes closely peeled for wallabies hopping out in front of the van or, in one instance, a big wombat appearing from nowhere.

The first few days were spent on the East coast, where we saw Wineglass Bay and some remote villages, and stayed in a lovely secluded campsite on the beach at Tomahawk, right in the north of the island and reached by a so-called 'B-road' that looked like it was leading to the middle of nowhere. We visited Launceston for an afternoon, which wasn't that exciting besides a pretty walk along the gorge just out of the town centre. The highlight, however, was the Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair National Park in the West which we reached towards the end of our trip and didn't have nearly enough time to appreciate fully. This is the site of the Overland Track, a five-day hike from one end of the national park to the other, which is supposedly a sort of rite-of-passage for Australians. We only did a three hour walk though, but the mountain peaks and deep lakes made for truly spectacular scenery. Chris said it was probably the best thing he has seen in Australia, which is high praise indeed from someone who has seen so much. And I would certainly say the same myself. It was surprising how few tourists there were too, which made the experience even more special. As we descended, we even had the chance to watch a grazing wombat a few feet ahead of us, who was completely unperturbed by our presence. That night we stayed in a campsite by Lake St. Clair, but arrived in darkness and only had a brief moment to see the lake the following morning before we set off back to Hobart. The lake was blue but as clear as glass, and there was a wonderful haze over the water from the morning air. We didn't want to leave. Our final day was spent at Port Arthur, an incredibly significant historical site as one of the first British settlements in Australia, and a notorious penal colony. It was also the site of one of the world's deadliest massacres when in 1996, gunman Martin Bryant killed 35 people in a horrific attack. Considering the terrible history of the place, the site itself was remarkably serene, even beautiful. I expected to feel a certain weight in the air, knowing the blood that had been shed on its soil, but I didn't get this impression in the slightest, and this surprised and unnerved me somewhat.

Overlooking Wineglass Bay, on the East coast

Beautiful red rocks at Wineglass Bay

On the beach at Tomahawk

Finally he listens to me

At Georgetown, on the northern tip

Driving towards the Cradle Mountain National Park

Cradle Mountain

A low sun as we come to the end of our walk

Wildlife spotting #1

Wildlife spotting #2

A long road ahead and a quickly setting sun as we head to Lake St Clair

...And the views the following morning made the drive all worth it

Amazingly clear water

A photo taken by a friendly Jersey couple who shared the view with us

A grey sky at Port Arthur

We returned to Melbourne- Chris to FIFA, which he was pining for after a week in a campervan, and me to a stack of deadlines for assignments I hadn't yet started. After what has been a pretty stressful and boring week for me, we had a nice weekend to make up for it; yesterday we went out for brunch with my friend Cathy and a French guy called Arnaud, who is a friend of a friend for Cathy and I, and whom Cathy had promised to take around Melbourne. After a 45 minute wait, we brunched at Operator 25, currently Melbourne's hippest brunch spot- or so I'm told. The food was really nice but on the dear side; nonetheless, it was good to experience a true Melbourne institution. The portions weren't that huge either and Arnaud- who had been slowly perishing with hunger during the wait for a table- was still hungry after his Eggs Benedict, so Cathy took us to a doughnut place to fill up. After this, none of us had particular plans for the day so Cathy ended up taking us all on a wonderful tour of the city's cultural spots, including the graffiti laneways and her best food recommendations- although I was almost too stuffed to think about food by now. We ended our afternoon with drinks at Goldilocks- an friendly and intimate rooftop bar with an astroturf floor and herbs growing on top of the walls. After a grey morning, it had become a lovely bright day. I hadn't come into the city since I came back from Tassie and it felt noticeably different since autumn turned here. Now leaves swept along the pavements and the sun-dappled trees along Swanston Street were between green and yellow- beautiful. I fell in love with Melbourne even more.