December: Adios and not Goodbye!

I don't know how it happened, but somehow my last week in Sydney came around and I became a whirlwind of activity trying to do everything I needed to do and see everyone I needed to see before I left.

My family in Oz really has been my trapeze crew at Circus Arts. And the day before I flew I had one final training session with them all. Words can't describe, so here are the best pictures of the day:

I definitely consider this to be an 'extended leave of absence' rather than a final farewell! I can't imagine that I won't ever be playing and circus-ing with these wonderful people ever again....it will just be a matter of time. If there's anything I've learnt this year, it's to keep doing what you want to do; keep following your passion and you will succeed and make great friends along the way.

December: An attempt at Cairns & The Great Barrier Reef...

In December I made my long-anticipated trip up to Cairns to dive on the Great Barrier Reef, having stored my PADI card safely all year long, it was finally time to use it.... But alas it was not to be as I got tonsillitis just four days after arriving and couldn't go! :(

But I did manage to squeeze in a few fun adventures and sights! Including an awesome snorkelling trip to the Outer Reef on day one.

I was there with my Tassie friends Gayl and Ryan, with whom I was able to brave one night in our Wicked Campervan before getting sick!

We moved from Cairns up to Port Douglas, visiting most of the beaches along the way. All of which are very beautiful and tempting, aside from the jellyfish! 

...and crocodiles!

October: Tassie Travels

After finishing my time at Circ's'Cool I took a couple of weeks to go and explore Tasmania. Everyone raves about how beautiful it is and now I can too! There really are some magical places.

I started off in Hobart, staying with the cousin and family of a friend – despite the tenuous link ;) I was overwhelmed by the hospitality of my hosts who made my stay incredibly special and fun. Hobart is a beautiful city, with the sparkling waterfront and Mount Wellington overlooking the city.

It is home to MONA, the much reputed Museum of Old and New Art, owned by an eccentric millionaire who once bought a wooden door in Ghana because he had too much cash on him to otherwise leave the country. Brilliant.

From Hobart I joined a tour down to Port Arthur (where the convicts were!), which took us down the Tasman peninsula, home to some stunning sections of coastline. We stopped at a Tassie Devils park on the way because I couldn't leave Tassie without seeing one! Plus the obligatory kangaroo pat :)

Following on from Hobart I went to Freycinet National Park where I was once again spoilt by my hosts – the owners of Freycinet Marine Farm where I had my fill of fresh oysters and mussels! Turns out they're pretty tasty with a dash of lemon and pepper. I then spent a couple of days exploring the park: the amazing Wineglass Bay, Hazards and view from Mt Amos.

 

And my reward afterwards at Freycinet Lodge. Perfect.

Before leaving Tassie I headed back up north in order to visit Cradle Mountain. Not the best day for a view weather-wise, but worth the cold and wet to wake up to a foot of perfect crisp white snow the next day! 

Anyone would think that might mean it was too cold for canyoning....but it didn't deter the ginger ninja Ryan who expertly led myself, Gayl and Ben down Machinery Creek - an incredible course of six waterfalls and river beds that we had to navigate through and abseil down - amazing!

Overall an incredible couple of months in Tassie, with some fabulous adventures and great friends made along the way :) I was, however, excited to get back to the sunshine and summer of Sydney...

October: Tribute to SURCAS

Whilst officially 'away' in Tasmania I snuck back to Sydney for my birthday weekend mid October to see friends, go to trapeze – and see DUSK, the Sydney University Circus show. I have been going to SURCAS (Sydney University Recreational Circus Arts Society) practices since June and want to pay tribute to yet another fabulous bunch of circus folk I have met here in Sydney. We meet in the unlikely place of the University rock climbing gym and rig up what we can in the middle of the room, usually a couple of silks and a trapeze.

It's been great to learn a few more tricks on silks – and I have to in particular thank Joe and Odette who taught me enough to convince some students of mine at Suzie Q's Pole Studio that I was an adept silks performer when I covered a lesson there!

I was originally going to be in DUSK with my fellow silks girls, Rose and Odette, and had lots of fun training and practicing with them and coming up with ideas. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to stay in Sydney for rehearsals because of the opportunity I was offered in Tasmania, but here are some pics of the act when it was originally conceived of as a trio not duo!

The girls did a fab job on the night – as did all the other SURCAS folk. I'm so glad I got to see it. Bravo! :)

September: Strawberries & Circ's'Cool

Before we move on to all things Tasmania, I don't feel that my blog would be complete without paying tribute to the job I had for the majority of my time in Sydney: selling strawberries. Finally, I have sold my last punnet! I've said that before (and gone crawling back to it) but I really, really have this time as I move on to Tassy and my crazy Irishman boss Baz takes his venture over to New Zealand in October. Sydney is now as saturated with strawberries as it is possible to be; the market is flooded, it's the end of the season and no one wants to buy them anymore!

Despite my protestations (long hard days picking strawberries up at Flemington market, then walking several kilometres going door to door carrying 15kg worth of punnets at a time) the job has had its moments. Aside from being surprisingly lucrative ('red gold' Baz calls it) it has also taken me to almost every single suburb of Sydney and beyond, giving me a much greater appreciation for the city and its diversity. I feel like I know it better than many locals, and definitely better than the tourists who only ever see the harbour, the CBD and the beaches.

I must also do a shout-out to my fellow sellers who went through it all with me (the blood, the sweat, the tears...being chased by the council, or being completely ignored, and the days when the strawberries were a bit mouldy but we had to sell them anyway). In particular, my two lovely Italians, Cesare and Mattia who made the whole thing not only bearable but fun!

 Also a thank you to the anonymous hundreds of people who would make the job worthwhile: who would actually stop and talk to me, give me a smile, or ask me how I was doing that day. You will never know just how grateful this poor English girl was on those days to have a sympathetic word and be treated as a fellow human being! Getting to know particular people, knowing that I would be received warmly, and knowing where to go to sell and keep my morale up (thanks go to the office blocks of Parramatta!) kept me on the job. Through you, I re-discovered the value and pleasure in basic human interaction and friendliness.

And so to Tasmania! Leaving Sydney was harder than I thought, despite knowing I'll be going back to enjoy my last month or so there. I had a fantastic house and a bunch of great friends, in particular at Circus Arts, and I was sad to say goodbye!

So now I am in Launceston, and have just finished helping out over the two weeks of school holidays at Circ's'Cool. We've had the kids from 9-3 every day and it has been quite intense, but also good fun. The school itself is in an old church, and has the space for an indoor flying rig and rock-climbing wall.

I am staying with the family who run the school, and it has been quite a change to my Sydney lifestyle! However, I have been made to feel very welcome here and met (yet another) bunch of lovely people. Their house sits outside Launceston in Swan Bay on 80 acres of land. Beautiful scenery but somewhat isolated (and no wifi!). This is the view from my bedroom window...

August: Poletastic!

August was all about pole...shiny not Chinese! At the very end of July I was lucky enough to get involved in a music video for Melbourne band Halycon Drive. Every year, radio station Triple J teams up with NIDA (Sydney's National Institute for Dramatic Arts) to give bands and creatives the chance to get together and produce a music video – the winning band gets a record deal and the creative team a lot of exposure to the industry, so the stakes are high!

One of my circus friends, Zeb, is studying at NIDA and put out an advert for any circus folk willing to get involved and showcase their talent. No pay, just a fun day out and free pizza - anyone who knows me knows that's enough ;). And given my flexible work and lifestyle over here, I was able to commit to filming one Thursday, at the Colombian Hotel/Bar on Oxford Street.

The theme was bright and brash, verging on the grotesque, so we all had great fun choosing outfits and getting make-up done. As well as myself, there was another pole dancer, David, and Bailey, who did hoop and contortion. Then there were a number of actors and extras hired to dance!

The storyline was dreamlike (turned nightmare!) so I also had a bit-part in a gas mask and hoodie....!

The rest of my month was spent gearing up for an acrobatic pole performance at The Victoria Room in Kings Cross on 24^th August. They run a 'carnival' night every Sunday and have a number of different acts perform each week, from aerial, pole and hoop to burlesque and jazz duets. I went there very early on in my year in Sydney, imagined how cool it would be to perform there....and, well, it only took me 6 months to pluck up the courage to approach the manager!

I created two routines, both for spinning pole, one slow and the other more dynamic. Both are up on my website. I am happy with how they went, and remembered how much fun it is to perform! And I'm thankful to all my lovely friends who came to support – and film!

July: My six month anniversary in Oz

This month I'm writing more of a reflective piece: not so much what I'm doing right now, or have done this last month, but how I feel about the last six months, and what I'm thinking about the future. So much has happened since I arrived, it feels both like I've been here a very long time, and hardly any time at all. Being six months in is a strange feeling, because it's been enough time to really miss the things and people I love back home, but also enough time to begin to feel very settled, and to be able to envisage what a future here might be like. Ultimately, however, the former have won me over. For many reasons. Some trivial. And some fundamental.

Circus is always going to be fundamental to my life and my happiness: it isn't something I am 'exorcising' from my system by doing as much of it as possible over here – it is a part of me. But living over here doesn't seem specifically advantageous over living in the UK or Europe for following that dream. Admittedly - you can do flying trapeze in the Winter! - but aside from that, I don't think it has been any easier to create networks and find jobs. Whereas for skydivers and divers the Australian climate means that there are more jobs in those sectors, sunshine and circus don't necessarily equate! Plus, on a practical level, I am having to assess that whilst I have been able to find good work with flying trapeze, it has not been enough to live on, (hence taking ridiculous jobs such as selling strawberries) and a high percentage of that work hasn't been what I came for (two words: children's parties....aaargh!).

More trivially, Australia HAS A WINTER AFTER ALL. Yes, dear British readers, it really does. I have never been so cold. True, it may still be nice and warm outside, but come home at night to a house that is designed to keep the heat out, and has never heard of central heating...and it is VERY chilly.

It's amazing how quickly you can become so accustomed to a new and exciting place, that you forget just how exciting it is. Sometimes I'm on the train going over the harbour, and have to remind myself how spectacular the view is, and how much I wanted it and how hard I worked to get here and have it. And reminding myself of how special and unique this experience is is something I intend to do every day until I leave.

I am so privileged to have had, and be having such an incredible time out here. It has been so good for me in so many ways. People can so easily get stuck in a routine, shut doors and wear blinkers. Being here is reminding me how to live: the rewards to be gained from putting yourself out there beyond your comfort zone; the joy in opening yourself to new and totally different friendships and experiences; the humility you learn from the kindness of strangers to new people in new countries.

So, here's to everyone I have met along my journey so far, with thanks, and to the next half of the year, with great anticipation... :)