In between Xmas and New Year’s we moved back into a hostel and it has quickly reminded us how bad these places can be. If it wasn’t for the fact we knew it was only an eight day stint and in amongst those eight days was New Years I probably would have walked after only a few hours in our pokey little room. Looking on the bright side, it had air con, a comfy bed and a powerful hot shower and that’s more than can be said for the campervan we had just spent a month in.
Top Deck NYE
The days proceeding new years we only really talked and thought about two things; New Years Eve and New Years Day. New Years eve was one of the main reasons we came to Australia, after seeing the fireworks on TV we had always talked about seeing them for ourselves and this year was to be our chance. New Years day we had been talked into going to a dance festival called ‘field day’ by our adopted family. It seemed like a good idea at the time of booking but in hindsight possibly a little hasty as the day started at 11am.
New Year’s lived up to everything we had dreamed of. The Boat was decorated with enough helium balloons for us all to do our own rendition of ‘night fever’ by the Bee Gees and there was enough food and drink on board to cater for all of the boats on the water that evening. It was faultless in every way, the bottom on my glass never went dry, and by the end of the evening I was turning down platefuls of oysters, sushi and smoked salmon – I know even I had to pinch myself.
Our Spot for the fireworks
We watched the fireworks in a way which we will never forget and it lived up to every bit of the way we’d dreamed it. I stood on the top deck, glass of champagne in hand, the opera house to my left lit up like a Christmas tree and the harbour bridge just in front of me. The thought of fighting my way through the thousands and thousands of people all squeezed in, wrestling to get their own little piece of priceless real estate only confirmed to us that our money was well spent. The only way in which we could have bettered that was to have our friends and family with us.
Late in the evening and enjoying a dance off
New Years day despite our initial reservation was good fun. Ok – the thought of alcohol at 11am wasn’t to appealing, especially when my mouth was dryer than a camels sphincter but luckily for us our adopted family didn’t want to meet until 1.30. We eventually arrived just after 2 as the Bondi crew where running a little late due to unforeseen circumstances….less said the better. They finally turned up not after one of the group, a Mexican lad who will remain nameless was arrested, fingered and taken to the local cop shop after a sniffer dog didn’t like the scent his tightly nipped arsehole was exuding. The dog was right, it was an illegal substance but what it was remains a mystery as word of antihistamine was circulated due to its lack of pungency. The said Mexican later appeared, tail between his legs telling stories of having his details taken along with his picture, in hindsight his choice of clothing for the day was a little ironic – an orange t-shirt with Guantanamo bay jail written on the front and back!! It was quite clear that some revellers had got hold of the good stuff as certain groups of lads appeared to be entering into some sort of gurning competition. Alcohol is more than enough for me, in fact you could argue I shouldn’t be allowed that and the organisers of ‘Field Day’ did their upmost to prevent me from having it charging $10 for a tiny can of lager. Where there is a will there is a way and a short walk from the festival was a bottle shop selling beer and wine at a sensible price.
Myself and three others bought in abundance to ensure our dancing legs were fuelled right until the end.
Few drinks out of a brown paper bag on the streets - lovely
It did however mean we had to sit outside the gates and drink every last drop complete with brown paper bag just like a tramp…how did my life come to this?! The night finished on a massive high (no pun intended) with 2many Dj’s topping the bill. Some of the most random mixes of music I have ever experienced, Vivaldi, Dizzy Rascal, Nirvana, they were all in there and all met with a the same frantic bounce by the thousands surrounding the main stage.
What’s next? Not a lot, two more days and then home but these last few days have to be stored in the now bursting at the seams memory bank of ‘Pretty damn awesome’.
