Backpacker Student: Back to Brisbane

The past few weeks have been more slowly paced and less exciting since I returned from Auckland. Chris and I spent four days in Melbourne staying at a YHA; it felt strange to be in what I consider my home city in Australia but to be staying in a hostel amongst tourists and other such commoners (joking!...). Nonetheless it was great to be staying in the CBD, and especially in North Melbourne, which is a part of the city I like a lot but don't often go to. We were right next to the Queen Vic markets and I enjoyed visiting the lively shopping hub every day for a cheap lunch, to shop for essentials or to catch up with friends at the famous Wednesday night markets. As happy as I was to be back in my favourite city, the Victorian winter was starting to chill us and Chris' thoughts were always with returning to Brisbane, something he has looked forward to for most of our time living in Melbourne. Regrettably I didn't make the most of my last few days in the city; I think I was worn out from three weeks of constant movement and put off by the less-than-appealing temperature outside. Of course I regret it now, missing my favourite city and thinking of it longingly every time we can't find a decent restaurant or order a rubbish coffee here in Brissy.

Nonetheless, I'm in no position to complain and I am certainly enjoying the twenty degrees weather of a Brisbane winter. Things have been slow-paced here for me as Chris has mostly been out working on a construction site every day and I have often found myself lacking the motivation to go out and do things. But I've seen some of the city's museums, including the fabulous Queensland Art Gallery on the South Bank, and volunteered for a day doing some conservation work on a wasteland in the suburbs- hard graft under the sun but I think that's what I needed after a week of laziness! The weekends are more fun as Chris is around; last weekend we visited Mount Coot-tha in the suburbs and enjoyed the botanical gardens and the great views of the city.

We don't yet know how long we'll be staying here; Chris needs to save up money before we can hit the road again. But the plan is to chase the sun and travel up north to tropical Cairns, taking in Northern Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef. Then we would both love to visit Darwin and the neighbouring Kakadu National Park. I have six weeks left until I return to the UK, which is plenty of time to see more of Australia, but I hope we can be on our way again before too long. I do like Brisbane very much- its great weather, its stylish South Bank and its free ferry trips up and down the river- but my feet are itching to move, to see new places and get rid of this feeling of limbo.