My First Week in Australia

I have said in the past that I am an extremely fortunate person and now I consider myself a lucky one too. Having sorted out my Aussie phone, bank account and tax number fairly easily I find myself in the fortunate position of finding work within my first week of arriving in Sydney. Even more fortunately they are providing accommodation saving me a good deal of money for the three weeks I shall be with them.  Having found work so quickly I started to plan ahead a little. I had decided that after my three weeks working I would either head up the east coast on a hop on hop off greyhound ticket, look for harvesting work or head to Melbourne and look for work there. However I have just been offered an interview this Friday for a four month position at a ski resort. If I am successful there then I shall definitely take the time to explore the east coast from Sydney to Cairns before it starts. All fingers and toes are firmly crossed!

Unfortunately this happy news does not fill me with the joy it normally would as I heard early this morning that my beloved little hamster Sawdust had to be taken to the vets to be put down yesterday. He was a happy little thing and had a good life but despite this and despite the fact I am on the other side of the world I am sad that he has gone. He brought such happiness in to my life at a time when I really needed it and I know he was much loved by many others in my life as well. RIP little Sawdust.

As much as I have been sorting myself out I have given myself time off to be a tourist too, after all I didn’t come half way across the globe to sit in a hostel online all day. In the last week I have visited Hyde park and the botanical gardens a few times when the weather has been glorious. I have also visited the Art Gallery of NSW and the Australian museum.

The Art Gallery was full of interesting exhibitions including a Sydney Nolan exhibition. For me this was one of the more interesting exhibitions because he shows a great range of styles, I would never have guessed that they were all by the same artist. I was pleased to be introduced to Russell Drysdale and James Gleeson whose works were striking, seeming to capture how alien the land can be in the inner desert regions. Other artists showcased the greener side of Australia so there was also a really feeling for the climate diversity across the continent.  The other highlight of the gallery was the student exhibitions which were stunning in their quality and insights especially considering the age of the artists.

The museum was interesting though it seemed small compared to the Natural History Museum in London and the Smithsonian in Washington. I had great fun positioning Zack with the animals of bygone times and taking his photo. I found the aboriginal exhibition extremely interesting as it was the most comprehensive exhibit of its kind that I have seen.  The museum also houses a comprehensive display of past and present native flora and fauna. There were many bugs and spiders to be swiftly perused before moving on to the less terrifying snakes and crocs then on to the friendlier and much cuter looking marsupials. Amongst these displays I came across a memorial wall. They have these all over the place in America and I always find them quiet moving but this one was different, this was a memorial to the Australian species which had become extinct due to direct or indirect human actions. It had the definitions of extinct and levels of endangerment engraved on it and under these pictures of extinct species and how their demise came about. It was sad yet I was incredibly moved to think that someone cared enough to make sure these species would not be forgotten.

I suspect that the indoor activities are designed not to take too long as the weather here is so fabulous. In London I was more than happy to spend a whole day indoors out of the rain but here I was delighted to explore the gallery or museum for a few hours before returning to the glorious sunshine outside, even if it did mean putting on my silly hat! Stil there are more places to go and things to do so maybe they will take longer. I shall endeavour to explore as many of tham as possible next week and let you know.

Russell Drysdale: Walls of Cina

 

Sawdust: Best Hamster Ever