Trying to find work in Sydney in January was a difficult mission. It seemed like half of Ireland was over here and all looking for work. January is a quiet month in Australia as everyone takes their summer holidays. Everyone I met was looking for a job and all the recruitment agencies had very little work. The weather in January wasn’t the best either!

Trust me to come to Australia for the wettest summer in 40 years! Eventually, after joining many agencies and pestering a lot of people I got a job in a telecommunications company dealing with online bill enquires. The days flew as it was very busy. There were six of us taken on to try to provide customers with a speedy response to their enquiries. I’m now a billing and credit expert!!

The best thing about working in Sydney is that it has one of the nicest city centres full of famous landmarks and parks.

During your lunch break you can take a stroll through the Botanic Gardens, around the Opera House, to Circular Quay and watch the cruise ships sail under the Harbour Bridge, and wander around Sydney’s oldest district The Rocks; there is so much there to see and do.

The whole city was buzzing on Australia Day on the 26^th January. It was the most crazy day ever, just like St.Patrick’s day back home! Walking around town all you could see was people with flags, tattoos, t-shirts, hats and anything that you could put the Australian flag on! There was entertainment in the Rocks and in Circular Quay.

Sydney really knows how to celebrate an occasion! When the Australian Open was on there were large screens in Circular Quay and in Martin Place so people could just sit and watch the tennis. Thousands of people came flooding into the city to see the QE2 and the Queen Victoria passing each other in the harbour last week. When Aussies come in to see an occasion like that they come equipped with chairs, picnics and cameras!

The Blue Mountains are only a short drive away from Sydney. We headed there for the weekend to get away from the Bondi madness! We stopped in Wentworth Falls first and headed all the way down to the bottom of the falls. The climb down was steep, little did I realise for every step down, there’d be another one up!

The falls were fantastic, after a rest we started the climb up. It took forever to get back up to the top I was so wrecked and hungry at the end of it I thought I was going to faint! Note to self: always take food and water with you when you’re going to be walking for three hours!

Thankfully there were tea rooms near the car park so I ate a feast!!

We headed to Echo Point after lunch to see The Three Sisters, three rock formations that have great significance in Aboriginal culture. I walked down another 900 steps (I counted!) and back up again.

The next day we returned to Echo Point and took the cable car over the valley. It’s amazingly green. We then got a train down the mountain at a 45 degree angle and walked around the rainforest. There was a wooden walkway all around the forest so that the forest doesn’t get damages by tourists! On the way back from the mountains we stopped off at the Olympic Park which was built for the Olympics held in Sydney in 2000. It’s massive.

We’re planning a road trip now up the coast north to Cairns. I’m trying to sell my car before we head off. The only disadvantage to buying a car is trying to sell before you go. That is going to be a little stressful! We’re hoping to get all the way up to Cairns in three weeks which is going to be an achievement! My little bro (he’s not so little though!) is coming with me so am very excited! I’ll let ye know how it goes.

Rois xx