DAY 7 - BANKING, BONDI, BEACHES and BACKPACKING

Yesterday, Adam and I were on our own, so we ventured back towards the city centre to arrange bank accounts and mobile phones for the both of us. The weather again being beautiful, we took the train from West Ryde to Wynyard station arriving in the bustling city centre.

Through research the previous night we had already discovered Westpac provided the best bank account. In Australia, bank accounts have a monthly fee associated with them much like that before Midland Bank started the revolution of free banking in the UK. One big difference was that debit cards had only started to arrive in Aus a few months ago, and that not all banks offer them. This helped us narrow down the choice to Westpac.

After setting up, the next job was mobile phones. We quickly established that the internet would provide cheaper/better options and thus decided to leave that till later that day. We wondered down Georges Street towards “Wake Up!”, a modern and relatively expensive hostel at the other end of town. It had an amazing buzz about the place and pretty much confirmed that Adam and I would like to move into hostels after Mick and Alison’s. They provide information towards jobs, excursions, and just about anything else you could think your local backpacker would require…. We’re considering trying it out for a night or two just to get a feel. Mick and Alison are really letting us use the most of them and their house, which is great.

We then caught the bus to Circular Quay and then a ferry to Watsons bay. The view from the ferry of the Opera House and Harbour bridge being its usual amazing spectacle. All down the river banks, as you might expect, millionaire houses will motor and sailing boats sitting idly in the water. In Watsons Bay Adam and I bought some take-away fish and chips from the world renowned Doyle’s and then after absorbing in the local surroundings caught another bus to Bondi Beach 10 mins away. The cost of public transport being so cheap, the entire day’s travel cost $15 (about a fiver).

Bondi beach was stunning and with school on holiday incredibly busy. With surfs and swimmers in the water, and your usual collection of sun “worshippers”, it was everything I expected. Later Adam and I discussed the location of hostels again, Bondi due to today now being our top choice.

We finally returned home by first collecting a bus through Bondi Junction to Town Hall, and then a train back to West Ryde where Alison met us at the station. This backpacking year out seems to be a bit cushy at the moment but I’m sure it will change soon. We better enjoy the luxurious life while we can.