From A‑Levels to Australia: My Life-Changing Gap Year Down Under

Upon arriving at Quest, I met Kathy, who acted as our 'Mother' figure for the entire six months, always assisting us, whether it was connecting us with job opportunities or securing Benson Boone tickets. Shortly after, I continued to meet my flatmates, and we quickly bonded over discussions about our sports and getting to know each other. Our first group outing led us to a big screen at Flinders Street Station, where the AFL final was being shown. However, due to our complete lack of understanding of the game, we were utterly confused by what was unfolding!

Sport Lived placed me at Bentleigh Cricket Club. Unsure what to expect, I arrived at the first training session to a flurry of smiles and immediately fell in love with the club. Very quickly, I also found a best friend for life and am now trying to convince her to fly to the UK! Bentleigh CC hosted many social events during my time there, such as Curry and Poker nights. My personal favourites were the Whisky and Cocktail Tasting Evening, where I volunteered to make a cocktail in front of everyone in a competition, and Trivia Night, where I invited many other Sport Lived members to join.

The cricket season went exceptionally well for my team; as a first team, we faced strong opposition, but ultimately, we won the T30 Grand Final, making all our hard work worthwhile. I adored my cricket club and have made plans to return in the future! Besides cricket, I also participated in a summer social mixed hockey league, which was incredibly fun! I enjoyed it so much that I continued playing hockey with MCC Hockey Club during their preseason and managed to play many matches before I left.

Sport Lived organised numerous enjoyable social activities, including tickets to the Boxing Day Test match, the Australian Open Tennis, the Australian Grand Prix, and many more. These events were tremendously fun and offered a wonderful chance to catch up with everyone from the programme, as well as with Kathy, who often joined us. Outside of the structured programme, there were other events we could purchase tickets for, such as The Big Bash (Australia’s domestic T20 cricket competition) where we regularly attended games at the MCG and Marvel Stadium. Concerts with acts like Coldplay and Benson Boone provided some of my best nights in Melbourne. Additionally, once we had grasped the AFL rules, we watched many games, supporting different teams and buying all the merch!

Over New Year's, two other girls from Sport Lived and I flew to Sydney and cherished every second of it. We packed in various activities, such as sunrise runs from our hostel to the Sydney Opera House and ferry trips to the zoo, as well as visiting a different beach each day (our favourite was Manly!). The New Year's fireworks were spectacular, so I absolutely recommend going to Sydney at that time. At the end of my programme, I travelled up the East Coast, visiting places I had always dreamed of seeing, such as Byron Bay, Brisbane, and Noosa. This was incredibly fun, and I met many other travellers along the way.

I can confidently say that my six months in Melbourne were the best six months of my life. I have made lifelong friends from all over the world and have loved exploring Melbourne with all of them.