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...

 

 

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!!!

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...

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...

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........

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.....