Sydney on St. Patrick's Day

I'm in Sydney again and staying at Railway Square YHA once more. It's St. Patrick's Day and I'm not out celebrating because I'm a grumpy old git and I have to get up in the morning to catch a train to Wangaratta. I met up with Suzen at the Aquarium earlier, but only briefly because I was late getting there and she had to leave to go and meet friends in order to celebrate. She invited me along too, but I wanted to spend more time at the Aquarium. By the time I'd finished there I was shattered and just wanted to crawl back here and get something to eat. I'm now a little rejuvenated after tuna and pasta (good backpacker nosh).

An Israeli man who I met on my last night in Hervey Bay (after Fraser Island) is also staying here. We met in the kitchen in Hervey Bay and met again in the kitchen here. I was eating instant noodles and a tin of tuna last time we met; this time I was eating pasta and tuna. I thought he'd think I never ate anything else, whereas it's the first time I've eaten tuna since then. I've just realised though, in writing that, that it was only last Thursday that I was in Hervey Bay - only eight days ago. That's amazing! I really am losing track of time. It's the result of packing so many activities into a short space of time I suppose.

That reminds me, I met Jo (who was doing a PADI course in Bundy and did a dive with us on the final day of my course) in the street in Byron the other day - outside Woolies in fact. It's a small world! Especially on the backpackers circuit.

I loved Sydney Aquarium. I must have spent almost 2 hours there after Suzen left, going round the bits I missed first time and revisiting the other bits. The Oceanarium displays are great - there are three of them moored in the harbour and you walk through with sharks and rays swimming overhead. One contains the sharks and rays and other ocean fish - and a green sea turtle. Another contains seals and the third has a Great Barrier Reef display. I loved the sharks and rays and the reef display - it reminded me so much of being underwater, diving.

By the way, I wrote a blog about my second dive off Julian Rock on Wednesday, but when I clicked on 'publish', blogger lost it ('oh blogger!' I said in exasperation cos the computers were being really slow that day and it had taken me ages to write and I'd listed all the fish, and everything).

I got the ferry from Circular Quay over to the Aquarium at Darling Harbour, which was a treat in itself. I travelled back by ferry too, although Suzen said it was easy to walk it. The ferry is much more fun. I just love being on the water and getting that different perspective of the land.

Yesterday - my last day in Byron Bay - I went kayaking on the Richmond River up in Ballina. I wasn't sure I'd be up to it after my massage on Wednesday, but I was and I am so glad I did it. I'd forgotten just how good kayaking is. Again, it's so peaceful being out on the water and seeing things from a different perspective.

Sue, who runs Ballina Kayak Tours (see photos on website) picked me up from Belongil Beachouse at about 8.30 a.m., as arranged. She's a lovely person and we got on really well. We drove up to Ballina, chatting all the way, so that Sue almost forgot to do her introductory spiel about the area and the trip. There were three other women on the trip, Jan, Lyn and Jude. They were all 'mature' women and all local to the Ballina, northern rivers area (Lyn is 72 apparently, though you'd mever believe it) and we all got on well. Jan and Lyn have known each other for years and travelled all over together by the sound of it. Sue knew them already. Jude was the wife of someone who Sue goes kayaking with. We went out in three kayaks: Sue in one, Jan and Lyn in another and me and Jude in the third. We paddled down the river in and through the mangrove swamps, spotting lots of birds on the way pelicans (well, ok, they were so much in evidence that you don't have to spot them!), wedge-tailed kites, whistling kites (they have a beautiful whistle), egrets, cormorants, ibis, osprey and snipe. We didn't see any dolphins - I seem destined not to see any dolphins at all on this trip, though everyone else I meet has seen some! We stopped for tea and cookies mid-morning on a little sandy beach, before returning to our starting point. I was getting tired by that time.

Before taking me back to Belongil, Sue took me to her favourite juice bar, Beanz ('natural food with attitude') where we both had a large glass of blended fruit juice with crushed ice. It was yummy! I ended up going back to Sue's house - on the outskirts of Byron - with her as she needed to go home and get changed before a 3 p.m. appointment in Byron and didn't really have time to take me back to Belongil, then go home, then back into Byron. So I had a shower at Sue's and a sandwich, before returning to Belongil.

I gave Sue an open invitation to visit if ever she gets to the north of England.

Photo of Sue (far left) pinched off the Ballina Kayak tours website.













Once back at Belongil, I just dropped off my swimming stuff and got the Belongil Beachouse minibus into Byron, as I had things to do there. I went to Black Dog Surfing and got a gift voucher for a surfing lesson, which Tam was very happy to give me as it meant she didn't have to actually refund any money. I took this round to Sandra at Bamboo Cottage, who then insisted on giving me some money for it. She insisted on giving me half the value of the lesson. I gave her my email address so she could let me know how it goes. I hope she does.

Oh, between going to Black Dog and visiting Sandra I called in at Sharky's Tattoo Parlour on Jonson Street. I'd called in last weekend to enquire about getting a tattoo, asking ridiculous questions like 'does it hurt?' Anyway, I'd decided I wanted a tattoo of a turtle and had identified a possible design. As it happened, in the event I changed my mind and went for a different design. I'd left it until the end of the week, because you're supposed to keep the tattoo reasonably dry whilst it's healing - i.e. not be diving, surfing and kayaking!

I spent an hour (an hour! - when I'd enquired earlier in the week the guy had said '20 minutes') getting a tattoo from Jimmy, who did a good job. It didn't really hurt, though it was starting to sting a bit by the end, with all the swabbing on top of my patch of sunburn from kayaking earlier in the day, but I did get stiff from sitting in one position for so long. I told Jimmy that I'd thought about getting a tattoo when I was fifteen or sixteen. I remember telling my mother that I wanted a tattoo, partly (of course) to wind her up, which it did. [Mum, if you're reading this, I've finally done it!] I pointed out to Jimmy that when I was fifteen tattoos weren't so commonplace as they are now; the only people who had tattoos were sailors or criminals.

So, I now have a very nice tattoo of a turtle on my left shoulder. It's a kind of abstract, 'tribal' design, a bit 'labyrinthine' I thought. Very tasteful!

I was advised by Jimmy and the other tattooist (who was working on the guy sitting next to me) to 'Go and get a few beers, ay. That's the thing to do after you've had a tattoo.'