Thursday 29 December 2011

opening times

Due to the hoilday season we will have limited opening hours
Tuesday 3 January to Friday 6 January we will be open from 10.00am to 12.00 midday.
Have a great Holiday.

Wednesday 21 December 2011

Surf Camp and Christmas Feeling

Hi Everyone!

This week was amazing. To be exact, it was "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious". There is no other word to describe it. 

To get a bit of Christmas feeling we went to the Paddington Night Christmas Market. After we strolled around and tried all the free chocolate, we decided to walk to the Town Hall and St. Mary's Cathedral to see the light show. If you haven't been there yet, hurry, it is worth it. The light shows start at about 8:30pm. I also finished all my Christmas shopping which is great so I don't have to worry about buying anymore presents.

By the way, just a little comparison. This is Christmas in Sydney... 

... and this is Christmas in Germany.



Friday night some of the interns and I took off for a weekend of surfing, sun and fun. On the way we stopped at a burger place. The burgers were so tasty! We arrived at about ten o'clock at the camp. There were a total of 80 people and I made some great new friends from Canada and Iran. Lucky for some of us, we were upgraded into a separate accommodation. To be more precise, a hotel on the camping ground. We enjoyed real beds and our own bathroom, unlike those in the cabins who had to put up with possums scratching on the roof throughout the night. 

Once we had breakfast we put on our wetsuits and headed off to the beach to learn how to surf. 


The first hour we spent on the sand warming up with a little running race and some surf techniques. 


Finally they handed us a board and off we went. Lying on the board was fine, keeping our balance was a slight problem and paddling was unbelievably hard. I swallowed more salt water than any dietary requirement would recommend.

After two hours of trying to surf we went back to the camp to have lunch. Everything was freshly prepared and the kitchen team was ready for any extra demands. Once we'd all had enough to eat, we then put our wetsuits back on and entered the water for part two of our learn to surf mission.


It was amazing how fast time ran by while we were in the water trying to stand up on our boards. The instructors were also on boards in the water and would catch the same waves as us and film as we tried to surf. I spent most of the time falling off the board but eventually I was able to stay upright and even managed to do a difficult right turn. I was so excited about it that I slipped and fell. 

At night we had a BBQ and went up the steep hill to the only pub in the area. It was a pub, restaurant and gaming venue all in one, there was also a one man band for entertainment. The man stopped playing at about midnight and we headed back to the camp to have a tiny bonfire.

The next day I was very stiff and sore. Some of the others, however, had a hard time moving at all and the English guys quit surfing ten minutes into the lesson.


The surf instructors were so funny and crazy. They actually woke up at 5am to go surfing, then taught us till 5:30pm and partied all night. All of them were really nice and assisted all the time. Usually there were two instructors in the water and one on the beach watching out for us. They told us which waves to catch, held our board and pushed us onto the waves. They also checked whether we surfaced after falling. I felt so secure that I forgot all about sharks, jelly fish and other scary things that could happen.

To everyone who is interested in learning to surf, I would recommend to go on this surf camp. The lessons are intense, there is more than one instructor watching out for you and there is a lesson on safety and etiquette which I considered very important. The camp is also a short drive from Sydney which leaves more time for surfing. Aside from all the surfing I enjoyed the time at the camp, the atmosphere, making new friends and hanging out. Food and accommodation were also excellent.

Check out the youtube channel

What are you waiting for? Make sure you sign up for the next trip in the new year!

This is my last blog for 2011. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope to see many of you next year on our trips and at the intern meetings.

Until then...   



Wednesday 14 December 2011

Sold Out Surf Trip

The surf trip for this weekend is now full.
A new trip will be organised in the new year.

Have a great weekend!!

Monday 12 December 2011

Hermitage Walk, Picnic and Blue Mountains

Hi!


With the changeable weather lately it is quite difficult to plan any day trips. It is best to be brave, take the risk and just leave the couch and hope for the best. On Friday I went to do the Hermitage Walk from Rose Bay to Watsons Bay. 


The Walk started at the end of Bay View Hill Road. To get there catch bus 324 or 325 to Kambala School and walk down the road which is quite steep. 

The Hermitage Walk offers a great view of Sydney Harbour and passes Hermit Bay, Strickland House, Nielsen Park and Vaucluse House. If you continue towards Watsons Bay Wharf you will also see Parsley Bay Reserve and a number of hidden harbour beaches.


Harbour Views

Strickland House

The walk is well maintained and sometimes I felt like I was in the middle of a rainforest, and not in a major city.



The one thing I noticed were the countless stairs but these were quickly forgotten by the uninterrupted view.




On Saturday the intern picnic took place at Tamarama Beach. The morning's weather looked a little doubtful but it fined up and we went ahead. It was a lovely afternoon and it was great to get to know some new interns. We were lucky enough to have a BBQ at the beach and sat around chatting. We then made our way along the coastal walk back to Bondi Beach where we heard there was a wine tasting event on at the Beach Rd Hotel. We spent a little time there but I couldn't have a late night as the Blue Mountains trip planned for Sunday was a very early start.

As was the case on Friday, the stairs seemed to appear in front of me again on Sunday on the Blue Mountains Trip. The first walk we did on the Blue Mountain trip on Sunday was walking down to the Scenic Park. The walk was great but it was a bid muddy due to the recent rain. I had a hard time taking pictures as I was too concerned about not slipping on the stairs or in the mud. The Blue Mountains is covered in trees as far as the eye can see. It is amazing and I am definitely going back for another look before I jet back home.



To everyone who hasn't been there yet, make sure you catch the next train or day trip. There is so much to do and see. Remember to be careful as the Blue Mountain National Park is home to some venomous snakes over the Summer and always carry enough water with you.



The surf trip is this weekend!!


Until next time...

Tuesday 6 December 2011

Watsons Bay

G'Day!

As I left for Watson's Bay on Friday morning everyone was telling me that it will rain and I should find something else to do. Honestly, I didn't come to Sydney to stay indoors despite the weather. So I left anyways and it was a beautiful sunny and windy day.

I took the 325 bus from Edgecliff to Watson's Bay Wharf (Single: $2) and started walking. First I climbed up The Gap in Sydney Harbour National Park. The view is amazing.
 

I took the track to my left and followed it all the way up. After a while I got to a parking lot with the first sign of the South Head Heritage Trail that would lead me to the lighthouse. It is not mapped very well so at one point I felt a bit lost but just kept on walking and got to the entrance which looked like this:


The actual track is not very long but worth it. It is a beautiful little walk on the cliff on your left side. On your right side is a fence which cordons off an Australian military base. In fact you find a lot of ancient military remains on the trail since Watson's Bay is the entrance to Sydney Harbour it had the function of protecting the city from enemies.


The lighthouse that marks the entrance is painted in bright red and white so the seaman could distinguish this one from another one that was only 1km further south. At the lighthouse it was so windy that I moved my picnic to the principle lighthouse keeper's cottage.



And then I did the Coastal Walk all the way to Bondi Beach via steep stairs and great cliffs.



Coastal Walks are generally a cheap way to spend a day and you can explore so many beautiful sides of Sydney.


I hope to see many of you on Saturday at our Christmas Picnic and the Blue Mountains Trip on Sunday. Hopefully the weather is kind to us. Further information can be found in the newsletter.


Until then...

Wednesday 30 November 2011

Welcome from Hannah

Hi Everyone!

My name is Hannah and I took over from Nathalie on Monday. If you have any questions I'll do my best to answer them as well as possible. I hope to meet many of you on our trips and events we are organising in and around Sydney. 

My first week in Sydney was a bit strange. I thought I would arrive and it would be HOT summer. Lucky me, it was raining. Still I managed to get sun burnt somehow. Since then I don’t leave the house without sun creme. 

The first thing I noticed about Sydney was that there's so many parks. I had enough picnics to lose count. The Royal Botanic Garden impressed me the most. Everything is blooming and beautiful.

The Royal Botanic Garden


Hundreds of bats sleep in the trees there during the day which is a great spectacle. They fly off to the suburbs at night.


Aside from the beauty of the park, it is also the location of the Government House which is a great place to go to learn about Australia’s history. Entry is free.




This weekend a friend of mine and I went to Darling Harbour for the Santa Water Spectacle. There was a Santa Clause on water-skis, on jet skis and boats. A great event ending with the lighting of the Christmas tree and an amazing firework display. I am sorry I couldn’t take any nice pictures. My camera isn’t that good.

The next day we went hiking in Bundeena Royal National Park which is an hour south of the City. A trip I can highly recommend. We took the train to Cronulla ($8.20 return) then from Cronulla we caught a little ferry to Bundeena ($11.60 return) and started our bushwalk until our mud forced us to turn around.

Muddy Track
The Jibbon Head Trail took us along the coast as well as through the bush.



The view from the cliffs was amazing and we saw a few crazy surfers.


We have arranged the next month's calendar of activities which can be viewed in this week's newsletter
I will also post information about this on the blog in the coming days, so make sure you check back soon.

Until then...
 
 

Wednesday 23 November 2011

Surf Trip Details

We have another surf trip booked and would love for you to join us!!


Date: 16th December - 18th December
Website: Surf Camp
How to book:
Step 1:  select "The Weekender Surf Camp (2011) - $345"
Step 2: select "December 2011 Friday, 16 Dec 2011"

Step 3: enter how many people you are booking for
Step 4: enter promotion code internsurf
*On the following page you will see that the price has reduced from $345 all the way down to $265


Please contact intern@sydneyinternships.com.au or +61 2 9386 5441 if you have any queries. 
This trip will book out fast!!!

Tuesday 22 November 2011

Mixed Emotions

Unfortunately this will be my last post on the blog. Hannah will take over the blog and keep you informed about her adventures.
On Friday I will leave to Cairns and travel down the coast to Sydney. I am already very excited about the trip but also I am sad to leave Sydney and all of my friends.



My last weekend was very good. Thursday night was a fun night out at the Ivy. Thursday is free entry which is always nice.
The next day a friend visited me and we went together to Bondi Beach to do the coastal walk and to see the sculptures by the sea. The sun was out and and we rested at the end of the exhibition on Tamarama Beach. The sculptures were beautiful but the paths were very crowded.
Sculpture by the sea

Sculptures by the sea

In the evening I went out with some friends to a restaurant in the backstreets of Paddington. It is a very nice area to eat and relax but the resaraunts can get very busy, even during the week. I highyl recommend you either book a table or turn up early.


We loved Paddington so much that we went there again the next morning to sit outside at a cafe to have breakfast. 
Paddington
After that we walked through Paddington Market and tried to catch a bus to Bondi Beach and go for a swim. Unfortunately there were too many people who had the same idea. The buses were packed and didn't even stop to let people on.... I have learnt to be very patient here in Australia. 
Paddington Market
When we finally reached the beach we were so glad just to relax and to jump into the refreshing sea. 


In the evening we had a farewell party for both my friend and I. It was an extraordinary night with highly mixed emotions.


Sunday was a recovery day, the weather was bad so we didn't go out for too many adventures only short walk to the beach and back. 


The new intern, Hannah and I are already very excited to meet many of you tonight at the intern meeting at Grill'd. She will take over the blog and the newsletter next week.


Looking forward to tonight. I wish all of you who can't join tonight a great time in Australia. For me it was awesome and I will never forget all the unique experience I have had. 


Until then...

Monday 14 November 2011

Melbourne Roadtrip & Learn to Surf Weekend

Long time no see via the blog... I've been a little bit busy the last two weeks which means there is too much to update you all on.


The week before last I went on a road trip to Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road with some friends for a couple of days. It was simply awesome!! It was the second time I have visited this lovely city but there was still plenty of exciting things to see and do. 
We hired a car in Sydney and drove all the way down to Geelong to the beginning of the Great Ocean Road. It was the first time I have driven on the left hand side of the road. The first couple of minutes/ hours it was a little weird as I always wanted to grab the hand break on my right side out of habit. Luckily, in the end we arrived safely at our destination. If you think about doing a road trip to Melbourne I highly recommend to take breaks every two hours. It is very dangerous to carry on driving too long as the Highways are very straight, boring and tiring.
We saw loads of kangaroos and koalas (not always alive). We stopped anywhere and everywhere we wanted to. Unlike a tour bus it was great to have no restrictions.

Great Ocean Road


The Great Ocean Road was amazing to drive and the beaches and rock formations are breathtaking. The sea water is a little bit colder than in Sydney but people in our group jumped into the sea without thinking twice.

Twelve Apostles
Apollo Bay
When we arrived in Melbourne we had a bit of trouble at the beginning with the traffic and the famous 'hook turn'. You need to move into the left lane if you want to turn right...very strange! Parking in Melbourne is horrible which is why we parked our car a little outside to save money. At night we went to the casino and had a couple of drinks. Unfortunately we didn't win the 'big money'...
Melbourne at night
We also went to St. Kilda at night and watched a lightening storm over the bay while in the back there were some people with a guitar. It was very nice.


As we started our drive back to Sydney I really felt like we were on our way 'home' (even though my real home is a 24 hour flight away). 15 hours later we arrive back in Bondi.


Last weekend I joined the learn to surf weekend with Surf Camp Australia which traveled to Seven Mile Beach on the South Coast. It was an amazing experience. We arrived Friday evening in the camp after a 2 hour drive and were told instructions how about the weekend. Everyday we woke up at 7am and dressed up in our wet suites and headed to the beach. After some instructions on the beach and with the help of the instructors in the water, it was great to be able to stand up and successfully SURF! By the last day we could catch the waves on our own and ride them all the way to the shore. What a marvelous feeling!!
The pain in our muscles wasn't so marvelous as we couldn't move for the next day. It was probably from the surfing but it also could have been because we went out for some drinks with the group on Saturday night...

Surf Camp before the lessons
Surfcamp Australia

Surfing with dolphins at 7 Mile Beach

The next surf weekend has already been organised!!
When:16th December
How to book: click here
Discount promo code: internsurf


I highly recommend it!!!




I also want to let you guys know that the venue for our next intern meeting has changed. The new details are:


Date:     Tuesday, 22nd November
Time:     7pm
Where:  Grill'd
Venue:  141 Crown St, Darlinghurst (short walk from Oxford street)
What to expect: delicious burgers!!


I'm already excited to see many of you at the meeting!


Until then...

Monday 7 November 2011

Collection

We have put together a collection a video of our favourite snaps from the social meetings and weekend trips.
So many good times and fantastic memories........

Wednesday 2 November 2011

Halloween and a horse race

Well, unfortunately I was sick last week so there won't be as much to talk about in this blog... but even though I was feeling bad I forced myself out of bed so that I didn't miss too much.


Sadly I also went to some farewell parties last week. I said goodbye to some really good friends of mine but it was also very good to see them again and wish them all the best. I never thought that I could make such good friends in a relatively short period of time. I will definitely miss them.


Saying goodbye to good friends is something you need to deal when living abroad but on the other side it's fantastic to welcome new friends. There are always people coming and going.


After resting in bed with tea, lemon & honey the entire Saturday (because of my cold), I forced myself out of bed in the evening. I met some friends and we had a couple of drinks (or as for me Aspirin) at their place. We played Halloween games, which I had no idea existed... For example, there was a pot of water with apples in it and you needed to get them out of the with your mouth. It was very funny! Not sure why it related to Halloween but it was good fun anyway.
After the games we dressed up for Halloween and went out to Kings Cross. Everybody wore fancy clothes which reminded me of carnival in Germany. It was a fun & fancy night!
Kings Cross
Sunday morning I was feeling much better...I went to the lovely Queen Street for lunch with some friends and after that to the beach. I lounged there for the rest of the day watching Bondi Beach life. What else could make you feel better if not that!!
Afternoon at Bondi Beach
Yesterday was the Horse Race that stops a nation. Such a crazy day for Australians! The important race was at 3pm and I felt as if the work life in  Sydney stopped for about half an hour to watch the race, and of course, to place the last bets...I also went to a pub with my colleagues to watch the race and to bet. Unfortunately I didn't win anything but it was fun anyway. In the evening you could see all of the women wearing the beautiful hats or just a feather decoration and they also dressed up which was very interesting to watch. 

I have seen that some of you have signed in for the Surf Weekend on 11th November. I'm so so so excited for that weekend and look forward to seeing you guys there!!


Until then.....

Monday 24 October 2011

Jervis Bay - really fascinating!

Last week we had our intern meeting in the Fringe Bar. I really was surprised but also glad to see so many of you there. It was a nice evening with a pretty good steak for dinner. It's always good to meet new people and talk with them about their experiences in Sydney. After the meeting in the Fringe Bar some interns and I went together to the Bondi Road Hotel in Bondi Beach. We had a few drinks and danced to the sounds of some live bands who were performing. All in all it was a perfect Wednesday evening in my opinion. 
Intern Meeting in Fringe Bar
Friday was a beautiful sunny day and that's why a friend and I decided to go to the beach. We packed all of our stuff and took the nice walk from Bellevue Hill to Bondi Beach. The midday sun is very aggressive and hot, so we sat under one of the many shelters on the grass behind the beach and had a yummy lunch. With a full belly we continued our way to the sand and looked for a good place to rest. Even though it was during the week, the beach was packed because of the perfect weather. Finally I dared to get in the sea for the first time in Sydney... It was very refreshing and once my head was under the water it didn't feel that cold anymore.
Bondi Beach on Friday midday
The evening we had a delicious BBQ at my friend's place with an after party there. Later on we all went together to the Ivy. It was a fun night again.


The next day I met up with some friends at Tamarama Beach. This beach is a lot smaller then Bondi and not that packed. The beach has a completely different character than Bondi Beach. It's interesting to see how different the Beaches are. On our way home we also passed Bronte and it was different again than Tamarama. There were masses of young people making BBQs, playing games and just enjoying them selves. It almost looked like on a youth festival.


Yesterday we made our trip to Jervis Bay with Colourful Trips. It was amazing! The three hours drive from Sydney were definitely worth it. Our first stop was at Fitzroy Falls where we had a magnificent view of the rain forest and the river that ended in this beautiful waterfall. 
Fitzroy Fall


The next stop was Jervis Bay and it was fantastic. First the weather was as good as it could be and then we had this gorgeous view of Jervis Bay. 
Jervis Bay
We went on board a boat and enjoyed ourselves on the top deck with some 'compulsory' biscuits and coffee. Suddenly the captain said that we were about to see some whales and that was exactly what happened... There was a mother whale with her calf playing in the water. We saw them jumping, splashing and waving with their fins. It was really fascinating and also rare to see them acting like that, as our captain told us. 
Whale's fin
After the long boat trip we had some lunch in the small town where our bus stopped. We then drove to a really beautiful beach. It wasn't crowded at all at that beach which was very surprising for us as we are used to the packed beaches in Bondi. The sand was so soft that it even made squeaky noises when we walked. The very bright sand was surrounded by the quiet sea which had a comfortable warm temperature probably because of the bay. The beach formed a little lagoon where you could just watch the beautiful scenery and enjoy the sunny afternoon. Unfortunately we needed to leave this place too soon which was sad as we have liked to spend longer there. We couldn't be late for the bus. The tour guide told us in a joke that he actually preferred Germans as customers because they were always on time. Trying to break this rule he always brings them to this place because it's so magnificent and nobody wants to leave...even the punctual Germans were always late. 
Beautiful beach at Jervis Bay

one of the lagoons
I really can recommend the visit to Jervis Bay to all of you who couldn't join the trip. And I guess all of you who made the trip would agree with me???

Until then...