It should now be easier to comment on our posts as I have fiddled with the access settings. Test it out and let us know how things are going over there. Also, check out the new posts below.
Cheers
Mat
Saturday 12 November 2011
Rain and Rocks
Guess what? We're in Melbourne! Sorry it's taken us so long to post but we thought that now we're here we should update you on what we've been up to in the last week.
When we last wrote we were in Perth and it was raining. Well the weather didn't improve much whilst we were there! We were hoping for a week of sunshine and beach life but intermittent showers and strong winds meant that we were in jumpers for a lot of the time. Cottesloe beach resort (where we were staying) was about 45mins from the city centre leaving us with little to do but fight the winds and walk along the coast. We did stumble across The Naked Fig cafe though where we were served nice coffee and even nicer cakes! (See pic - it was good enough to draw us back on another wet day). When we did make it into the city we sorted out our bank accounts before taking ourselves for a walking tour around the Western Australia capital. Whilst there wasn't much in the way of things to do on a tight budget, a definite highlight was King's Park. This gave brilliant views of the city as well as being an open air botanical garden complete with a 'tree-top walk'. We were even lucky enough to spot a Kookaburra in the wild!
From Perth we flew to Alice Springs for a flying visit to the Outback. We weren't expecting much from the city itself and thought that 2 nights would give us plenty of time to visit Uluru (Ayers Rock), however we were met with friendly, accommodating locals as well as pleasantly hot temperatures (32-36ยบ). The landscape was surprisingly green (owing to unusually high levels of rainfall in the last 18 months) which provided a striking contrast to the vibrant red/orange of the rock and blue of the sky. It turns out that we left wishing that we'd had longer to explore more of the area and soak up the uniquely Australian setting. Our only full day was spent partaking in an 18 hour tour (billed as Australia's longest single-day tour) which took us to the famous Uluru and neighbouring Kata Tjuta (a striking rock formation of deep valleys and steep sided gorges otherwise known as the Olgas). This was undoubtedly the best day that we've had so far, despite the early start and high cost we were rewarded with a rich cultural experience, fantastic views and a champagne dinner at sunset! We discovered so much more about Uluru than it is possible to see from the front of a post-card, from the aboriginal teachings shared by our guides to the magnificent intricacies and undulations that simply have to be seen by the naked eye. 
When we last wrote we were in Perth and it was raining. Well the weather didn't improve much whilst we were there! We were hoping for a week of sunshine and beach life but intermittent showers and strong winds meant that we were in jumpers for a lot of the time. Cottesloe beach resort (where we were staying) was about 45mins from the city centre leaving us with little to do but fight the winds and walk along the coast. We did stumble across The Naked Fig cafe though where we were served nice coffee and even nicer cakes! (See pic - it was good enough to draw us back on another wet day). When we did make it into the city we sorted out our bank accounts before taking ourselves for a walking tour around the Western Australia capital. Whilst there wasn't much in the way of things to do on a tight budget, a definite highlight was King's Park. This gave brilliant views of the city as well as being an open air botanical garden complete with a 'tree-top walk'. We were even lucky enough to spot a Kookaburra in the wild! 
From Perth we flew to Alice Springs for a flying visit to the Outback. We weren't expecting much from the city itself and thought that 2 nights would give us plenty of time to visit Uluru (Ayers Rock), however we were met with friendly, accommodating locals as well as pleasantly hot temperatures (32-36ยบ). The landscape was surprisingly green (owing to unusually high levels of rainfall in the last 18 months) which provided a striking contrast to the vibrant red/orange of the rock and blue of the sky. It turns out that we left wishing that we'd had longer to explore more of the area and soak up the uniquely Australian setting. Our only full day was spent partaking in an 18 hour tour (billed as Australia's longest single-day tour) which took us to the famous Uluru and neighbouring Kata Tjuta (a striking rock formation of deep valleys and steep sided gorges otherwise known as the Olgas). This was undoubtedly the best day that we've had so far, despite the early start and high cost we were rewarded with a rich cultural experience, fantastic views and a champagne dinner at sunset! We discovered so much more about Uluru than it is possible to see from the front of a post-card, from the aboriginal teachings shared by our guides to the magnificent intricacies and undulations that simply have to be seen by the naked eye. 
Anyway, that's enough for now. We'll keep you posted on how the job/flat hunting goes and remember to let us know how you're doing and what's going on back in the UK.
Lots of love
Leah and Mat
P.s. We're now 11 hours ahead of the UK in case you wanted to chat (e-mail us if you want our Aussie numbers).
Saturday 5 November 2011
So Long Singapore
We've made it down under! We're currently sat in our room (hiding from the
rain of all things!) at Cottesloe beach, Perth. Haven't seen much of the area yet, after only arriving last night and suffering from severe jetlag!Singapore was very different to our expectations. Far from being a little Asian city thriving with eastern culture our general impression was of a great affluence giving rise to great extravagance. It wasn't until we got the metro to Chinatown and "little India" that we saw anything other than high-rise hote
ls/banks (our 20 storey hotel was smaller than average) and massive glass-fronted shopping-malls. Still, nothing was more impressive than the marina bay sands development, a hotel/shopping complex featuring designer stores, an ice-rink and an indoor river (complete with waterfall and rowing boats), flanked by the 'skypark' topped hotel towers 
and the floating Louis Vuitton glass pyramid. From here we went on to Raffles hotel, part of the old British influence and home of the long bar where the original Singapore Sling was created. The building was grand, cocktails brilliant but fish and chips disappointingly sweet!Whirlwind tour of Singapore over, hopefully the Perth weather will improve as the beach here looks gorgeous. Hope all's well in the northern hemisphere, Leah and Mat x
Thursday 3 November 2011
Another Quick Airport Message
Hey everyone. Sorry for no earlier update but we've struggled to find internet in Singapore. We're now at the airport en-route to Perth so should be there by this afternoon! We'll let you know when we're there and we'll also post about our time in Singapore.
Hope everyone's doing ok.
Leah & Mat
X
Hope everyone's doing ok.
Leah & Mat
X
Tuesday 1 November 2011
Airport Living
Heya, just incase anyone's seen the news about Quantas over the weekend I thought I'd update you. We did have our flight cancelled but subsequently it has been reinstated and as such we are due to depart for Singapore in the next few hours. We have been warned that delays are probable but ther is no news yet so we are all checked in and are just playing the waiting game... If all goes to plan then we will be up in the air just after 11.00am.
Will let you know when we get there!!!
Mat
X
p.s. If anyone tried to contact Leah yesterday after about 11am, then your message hasn't reached her as that phone number is now out of action. If you'd like to speak to her then feel free to contact my phone and I'll pass you over.
Will let you know when we get there!!!
Mat
X
p.s. If anyone tried to contact Leah yesterday after about 11am, then your message hasn't reached her as that phone number is now out of action. If you'd like to speak to her then feel free to contact my phone and I'll pass you over.
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