Poseidon Down Under!

Blog 7

1st  January 2024

Poseidon Goes To Bondi! 

Hi guys, how are we all? 

This is a special edition blog as Brendan and I visited Bondi Beach on New Years Day. Unfortunately the weather was not as sunny as we would have hoped, and Maxi was actually on annual leave. We will just have to visit again in the future.

Thankfully I did get to meet Corey and Hoppo. Corey was very chatty, friendly, and bubbly. Hoppo was also lovely. Of course I had to ask if the shark alarm was used recently, and it actually had been! Only a few days before our visit, they had to set the alarm as a shark was spotted off the shore. Thankfully nobody was hurt, and the shark went on about its business. They were also filming a new series of Bondi Rescue. Mad to believe that it is still being recorded as I remember watching it when I was really small, convincing myself that I would be the first female beach lifeguard on the show.

Brendan and I both agreed that Bondi is actually a lot smaller than it appears on TV. The tower also seems a lot smaller too. The TV is obviously playing tricks on our perception of things. We had a mooch around the shops where I bought a Bondi Beach towel. We then decided to walk to Bronte along the sea walk. We had intended to walk to Coogee but it was further down than we anticipated.  

I am glad that I can tick off Bondi beach now. I would recommend it to anyone who comes to Australia as it is cool to see somewhere in person when you’ve only ever seen it on TV. I would advise though seeing it when the weather is a little nicer. 

Lots of love, 

Ciara 

Hey everyone, how are we all?

4 months here already and July was definitely a jam packed month. At the start of the month, Melbourne Shamrocks (my camogie team) played in the Championship final, and I am proud to say we won against GarryOwen. For some of the girls, this is their 3^rd Championship win in a row, obviously it is my first. It’s fantastic to play senior camogie out here as it is a higher standard than I was playing at home. It is very competitive (i.e. fighting for a jersey) and very physical. My teammates are from all over Ireland and were extremely welcoming when I attended my first training session back when I landed. I am delighted to say I am the proud owner of an Australian camogie medal. The season is over now but will restart January/February time as we play in the 7s and 9s tournaments. Apparently, they are loads of fun so looking forward to them. Unsure if I will enjoy playing matches in the Australian summer heat…

Towards the end of the month, Brendan and I flew to Perth and Brisbane to watch Ireland in the Women’s World Cup. We watched them play Canada in Perth and Nigeria in Brisbane. What an experience that was! The number of Irish who turned up to support the ladies. The atmosphere at the Canada game was electric. We were constantly singing and chanting. The highlight was seeing McCabe’s corner goal as we were standing right behind the goal. The stadiums were mainly green for both matches (especially against Nigeria as Nigeria are also green). 1 of the photos I have attached is with Tazuni, the official mascot of the 2023 Women’s World Cup. She loved striking a pose.

When we were in Perth, we went to visit the quokkas, the happiest animal in the world. We saw these cheeky chappies on Rottnest Island, just off the coast of Perth. They are extremely inquisitive and are happy to walk around your feet and pay no attention to you. They are native to the island, roughly 10,000 inhabit the island, and they have no predators. Living the life, I think. We even saw a little joey peeping his nose out of his mother’s pouch. It was extremely cute. Rottnest Island is only 24km and you can cycle around it, get a tour bus, and even go swimming off the beaches. I definitely want to go back.

The final photo is Tangalooma, a resort island where Brendan and I did sand tobogganing down a 70m high sand dune (that’s an 8 storey building that you do have to walk back up after sliding down!). It was such an adrenaline rush. We managed to fit in 5 slides down before we had to go home. Sand got everywhere and I mean everywhere. It was extremely funny afterwards to see each other. We also did a quad tour around a sand adventure park where we took high corners, circles, and a ride along the beach (we picked a late time to watch the sunset). Finally, just before the 7pm ferry we sat and watched the dolphins come in for a feed. That was a cute experience to see the dolphins swim around and again, catch the sunset while being fed.

Think I have managed to fill you in on everything that happened in July. This newsletter was a long one so thank you for reading it if you’re still here. We are now looking forward to our big trip to Singapore, Kuala Lumpar, and Bali in September. I will explain more in that newsletter.

Best of luck to all club members receiving both Junior and Leaving Cert results. I am sure you all absolutely smashed it and we are so proud of you. If anyone is wishing to study in UCD, I am happy to offer any help regarding orientation/general knowledge and if you want a job on pool deck as a lifeguard, let me know.

Love,

Ciara