Moving On

After 34 days and almost as many 30 cent McDonald's ice creams, it was time to leave Cronulla.  It was a great time and I could have happily stayed longer, but I had already spent a fifth of my Australian days here, so I needed to move on to maximise the adventure factor.

On Sunday I will be arriving in Melbourne to watch The Australian Open, and as I braced myself for the 12 hour through-the-night bus journey I thought about how good Cronulla had been to me:

First and foremost, it had been fun, largely thanks to the crowd at the Cronulla Beach YHA hostel. My fellow backpackers were friendly and lively, and I will look back fondly on drinking goon with them in the kitchen. From a physical standpoint, my Cronulla days were mighty. My labour jobs more often than not doubled up as a long workout and I left stronger than I was a month ago. I had also been on several glorious seaside runs and spent a considerable amount of time unwinding with an evening (and sometimes night) stretch on the beach.  Although often exhausting, Cronulla had also been a great place to relax, with many hours whiled away perched on sea view benches with a book and some sunny tunes. As a solo traveller, I had been a little concerned about Christmas and New Year's being lonely affairs, but Cronulla had delivered with its Christmas feast and by providing a base from which to experience the Sydney fireworks. Finally, and crucially, Cronulla had been kind to me financially. I had worked bloody hard and my wages combined with disciplined spending ensured that I left around $1,300 (£700) richer than when I arrived in Australia. Not bad!

A brilliant hostel.

Coming soon on Putting the Ali in Australia:

- I will be overdosing on tennis by attending the first five days of the Australian Open.

- I will be spending a week and celebrating Australia Day with an Australian family in the town of Bendigo.

- I will be getting to grips with 200 cows during a stay at a farm in Northern Victoria.

Stay tuned!