H-Trip

The long journey home

2007-03-01T14:35:00.000-08:00

Well, this will be my last post from Australia. I'm all packed and ready to go so just got a final farewell lunch and then I'm off. It's with mixed feelings really. I'm really sad to be leaving because I've had the best time of my life here but am also looking forward to going home now and seeing family and friends and obviously doing a whole load of washing. Hopefully will sleep a bit more on the planes back than I did out here and am fairly shocked that everything still fits in my backpack!

So a HUGE HUGE thanks to Adey & Lara, Lou & Matt, Hughesie, Pommie & Frank, Mary and Denise for the beds, food & drink, chill out time and lots of fun!

In the (slightly amended) words of Arnie : "I'll (definitely) be back"

Emergency tanning

2007-02-23T21:05:00.000-08:00

Said my final farewells to Cairns this morning in, surprisingly, the rain!! Was up in Cairns for 2 weeks this time and spent half in the centre at a hostel and then half with Lou & Matt. So have had mixed bag of going out partying and just chilling out. The hostel in Cairns (YHA Cairns Central) was brilliant - had a pool, jacuzzi, nice big kitchen and good folks. Again, here we didn't really do much just baked in the day by the pool, then went out in the evening. Afraid not too adventurous here either going to P J O'Briens and then the Woolshed every night. Woolshed rocks as you can dance on the tables which is funny and if you're feeling brave (or is that drunk!) you can swing on the beams too which was all god fun. Oh, went to the Mad Cow on the first night but that was a weird place so remembered to steer clear from that one again!
Said bye to Debs on the Wednesday as she went back to Brisbane when the rest of us (me, Hughesie, Denise & Bertie) went up to Cape Tribulation for the day. Gotta say that I honestly wasn't that impressed with it. We did a rainforest trek which was pretty disappointing. The only other sign of life there was 2 people pushing some kind of boardwalk cleaning machines around the place - not the kind of noise I expected to hear in the rainforest. Anyway it's another tick on the list - maybe if we'd ventured further we might have seen some good things but hey ho - back to Cairns we went. Was hard work driving back as it absolutely bucketed it down and was on some really really narrow windy roads before getting the ferry at Daintree so was definitely ready to go out when we got back. Had a really good night (it was Valentine's after all - I expect all my cards are waiting for me at home, right ;-) and had Paul and Pricey come round to our place for drinks before we went out for a big one!
Sunday saw Hughesie fly off to New Zealand which was all very emotional (he'll like to hear that !) - having spent the best part of 6 weeks travelling together was weird not hearing him cracking jokes anymore! Then Denise went off on Monday (again very sad - my crazy Scottish goon-drinking buddy leaving me!!) and I went back to Lou's. Just chilled out a lot here and watched a lot of TV as has been raining so much and Lou's been working really hard.

Finally went out to the reef with Matt yesterday (again Lou had to work) and had such a brilliant time. Definitely picked the best day to go as was sunshine all day and pleased to say got some colour back from lying out on the top deck all day! We went to 3 locations on Opal Reef and I just did snorkelling - was going to be flying the next day so couldn't dive (well, that's the excuse I was using not really because I'm a wuss and scared of seeing something big and hungry down there!). However the snorkelling was fab, saw a huge big friendly fish nicknamed Marvin by the crew who Matt got me to feed with some beef, a huge turtle, some Nemos, parrot fish and loads of other ones that I have no idea what they're called. Most people got to see some sharks but I didn't and was really gutted actually. Matt & Scotty went out to try and find some but visibility wasn't that brilliant and they weren't showing up. The boat was brilliant - all staff really fun and knowledgeable, food really good (loved the anzac slices at the end) so would highly recommend it to anyone heading that way - Calypso. I've got millions of photos from there that Pete the photograher took and will upload them when I can (grr - nowhere lets me use CD here!) to prove that I was actually at the Great Barrier Reef!!

Have now come back to Melbourne for the weekend to see Denise before heading back to Sydney as it's about half the price to get to Sydney this way (including hostel prices) rather than going direct from Cairns. It's sunny again here (yay!) but just so brown everywhere as had forgotten the drought's still on down here compared to so much greenery and colours up in Cairns.

I'M NOT READY TO COME HOME YET ;-(

Missing in action

2007-02-17T04:36:00.000-08:00

One Sony digital camera lost/stolen. Last seen in the Woolshed in Cairns. Please post a comment if you've got it. No reward (remember I don't have a job) just some sincere thanks.

Update....

2007-02-15T02:32:00.000-08:00

Guess who's back?
Yes, I am still alive - is just quite hassly updating blog from internet cafes so I haven't done. But I'm trying to avoid going out tonite so thought I'd update it a little bit! So here's a fairly brief update of what I've been up to since I last wrote anything.

Hunter Valley with Adey & Lara.
Had a great time driving around tasting all the different wines, finding our favourites and then taking them to a restaurant or back to our cabin for long lazy evening. Saw my first big spider too!

Melbourne
Back from Hunter Valley and straight on a plane to Melbourne to meet up with Hughesie who I'd met a couple of times in Winchcombe a few years ago. Stayed with his friend's family and had a great time there just chilling out. Went to the MCG to watch Australia v England in a one-dayer. Obviously we lost the game (although amazing to think now that we actually beat them in the finals of it last weekend!) but was great to go watch. Hired a car and travelled down the Great Ocean Road for the weekend. Was glorious sunshine on the Saturday but cloudy and miserable on Sunday when we went down to see the 12 Apostles which are some famous sea stacks in the sea (although more like 9 apostles really as they keep on falling into the sea). Got back and I went to stay in a hostel on my own to just get used to it and had a great time. Was a fab hostel - huge kitchen, really friendly people and wasn't full of drunken teenagers like I was expecting.
Such a relaxed place - we were staying in Brunswick which has some really cool and funky little bars and restaurants but then the South Bank is a bit smarter with more wine bar type places. The centre was great just to hang out in - little lanes filled with coffee shops and bars and little boutique places - just turn up with a book and I could sit there for hours just people watching! People so friendly there too - LOVED Melbourne basically - could very easily see myself living there!!

Stayed at : Greenhouse Backpackers

Brisbane
Flew to Brisbane on the 17th to go as Mike had a family party to go to on the Friday so we decided to get there a couple of days before and go round the city. Hostel which was OK - bar underneath it but not loud in the evenings. Wandered round the botanical gardens, had lunch, went out for dinner, went to see his family for his cousin's 50th and stayed with Auntie Mary for a few days chilling out. Went to a basketball game which the Brisbane Bullets won! Brisbane was OK but that's kinda about it - maybe needed to spend some more time there to see properly. Hired a car for 3 weeks to go proper travelling and get up to Cairns!

Stayed at : TinBillys

Maroochydore
First stop on the East Coast tour was campsite for 2 nights where we stayed with Mike's cousins friend Kath and her kids, the lovely Shelly, Alex and little Lockie. Totally relaxed there - scorching weather, tent right next to the beach, watched kitesurfing for hours - just great! Played lots of cards and baked on the beach!

Noosa
The celebrity playground - very rich people here! Shame the hostel we stayed in was shocking - had to pay to use everything - crockery, sheets, the lot, filthy and tiny kitchen. The only plus was the bar which had a band on the first night we were there which were pretty good and got us all up boogying away. Met the lovely Deborah, Denise and Bertie there who we've since been travelling with pretty much most of the way. Stayed 3 nights there and had a great time although think I had a bit of sunstroke after spending 6 hours on the beach after our first night there - doh!

Stayed at : Koalas

Hervey Bay/Fraser Island
Straight up here on the Saturday with the aim to get to Fraser Island. Recommended a YHA place by some friends of Deborah so we stayed there and it was a great place - huge communal area with tv, bar, pool, hammocks. Went to Fraser Island (world's biggest sand island) on a guided tour which was amazing - such a beautiful place - freshwater lakes, 75 mile beaches and Alex the tour guide was fab too - "no worries, no dramas, too easy" were the catchphrases! Stayed back in Hervey Bay for a couple of days for a rest before heading on.

Stayed at : YHA

Town 1770
Basically it started raining as soon as we left Hervey Bay. 1770 is a really lovely place but when it rains, there's bugger all to do really so we just chilled out at the hostel which was brilliant. Some guy came round and gave everyone free face masks (obviously trying to sell it but it wasted some time)

Stayed at : Cool Bananas

Rockhampton
Horrible place. Famous for the best steak in Australia which was very good but that's about it. Really rough, hostel rubbish. couldn't wait to leave. can't think of anything good to write about it all. Rained the whole time.

Stayed at : YHA

Mackay
Poured with rain. Hostel fairly crap too - no drinking allowed on site so after being there for an hour just went to the pub. I'd had an alcohol free week after the sunstroke but this place just drove me to it. Met up with Leon and the lovely Russ who we'd met in Noosa too and all just got drunk basically. Nothing much more to say about the place either - slightly better than Rocky but not much.

Stayed at : YHA

Airlie Beach / Whitsunday Islands
Still raining ;-( There's a reason why they call it the wet season up in this part of the world. Also cyclone season and a couple of biggies were out at sea. Great as this is the place to go sailing round the Whitsunday Islands! Great place - full of a lot of the same people from our travels already - stayed in hostel with Denise again and some other great characters. Had a couple of days chill out there and then went on the boat. This has been by far the best thing I've done since being out here. Out on a proper racing yacht called the Southern Cross for 3 days and 2 nights in winds just under 35 knots (they're not allowed to go in over that) with 14 passengers, a skipper and a host/deckhand. It didn't stop raining so spent the whole time in the same clothers and a rainmac as nothing would get dry as it didn't stop! But the wind made the sailing even better. Great bunch of people on the boat too - luckily we all just laughed about it and just drank beers and boxes of wine in the evening. Fab fab fab. Not the picture postcard you expect but a great experience anyway.

Stayed at : Backpackers by the Bay

Cairns
Decided to skip Townsville, Magnetic Island and Mission Beach and just head straight up to Cairns. Took Denise aswell as Debs in the back and should've been about a 6 hour journey. But there was a horrific fatal accident on the highway which shut it for 4 hours so we were completely stuck on the tarmac as no other roads we could go on. Was really really horrible and turned out 4 people killed which made me a bit nervous driving on esp as it was dark by now and was getting tired. But anyhow made it to Cairns about 10 and me and Denise just went straight out to hit the bars - great great times up here so far! There's loads of folks we've met who are up here so is good fun catching up with everyone and of course seeing Lou & Matt again. Will be up here for a while I think!!

Stayed at : YHA Esplanade and YHA Cairns Central

Will write more detailed stuff and put up some photos when got a bit more time.

WOW!!

2007-01-04T06:29:00.000-08:00

Have just come back from doing the Harbour Bridge Climb that I got as my leaving present from E3. It was just AMAZING! Honestly, I'm really not good at heights and even though I knew it was gonna be fab I was just pretty scared about the whole thing. Spoke to one of Adey & Lara's friends on NYE who did it and he told me the worst bit was crossing over from one arch to the other which didn't make me feel any easier. But he couldn't have been more wrong in my opinion - the worst bit was the beginning. I was doing it on my own and everyone else was in 3's or 4's so I sandwiched myself between 2 couples from Fernback, Oz and a family from the US. Luckily for me the guy behind me was as scared as I was and we kept just wittering on to one another in the hope that we'd forget that we actually suspended in mid air with just a harness holding us on to the bridge! I actually got to the point where my feet wouldn't actually move cos I was so scared but I just looked ahead and carried on as there's no turning back (well actually there is as the last guy in our group decided he couldn't do it and had to go back - pah!) .

When we actually got onto the arch of the bridge itself, after climbing up 4 sets of ladders, it was all just absolutely fine and I felt great. Suddenly being able to look out around the whole of Sydney was just fantastic and we were soooooo lucky that we'd had the most perfectly clear day (and I know that cos I spent the day at the beach !) as you could see EVERYTHING - the Blue Mountains were to the left, the opera house, Bondi and Manly were to the right, the CBD behind and Luna Park ahead.

It seemed to go really quickly and I almost felt as if I could run and jump at this point I felt so relaxed! All the way up you stop every now and then for either some photos to be taken or just some general info from the guides. You're not allowed to take anything up with you - I even had to take out my hairgrips - in case it falls down onto the traffic below but they take loads and loads of photos so that's not a problem.

After about 3/4 hour I guess we got to the top and it was timed superbly with the actual sunset so we turned round to watch that which was pretty spectacular. Then had to walk across to the other side, which if you remember me saying, was meant to be pretty scary again but I was so high on adrenalin that I really didn't care at all - just loved every second of it! Across on the other side it was more of watching the city come to life with all its lights. The coathanger light was still up from new years eve which was cool too and cos that's on they don't have the normal bridge lights on which meant it was darker than normal so we had to put on our little headlamps! Felt like I should've been singing a song from my Welsh roots and been going down a mine ha ha (sorry mum !!) There's groups going up and down all the time, one right behind one another and as we watched another group just getting to the top on the side we'd just climbed up we suddenly realised that the couple at the end of the group were getting cheered by everyone in their group and were having a great big hug and kiss so realised there was a little proposal going on there which was quite cute (although very cunning of the guy I guess - no way she could say no up there!)

Going down the bridge was really great too as it was getting really dark and if you looked back to where we'd come down from you could see the massive full moon in the background as it was so clear. The final bit on the really narrow bits directly above the water wasn't too bad this time round and even though I felt quite relieved to be on firm ground again I loved every minute of that whole climb and would recommend it to anyone!!!

Thanks E3 xxxxxxxxx

Next steps

2007-01-02T16:28:00.000-08:00

So I'm sat here resting my ankle that Adey kindly strapped up for me before I do the Harbour Bridge Climb this week

I'm looking out to a very sunny Sydney and thinking that I'll head down to the beach (poor Adey & Lara both now back at work!) .

Also thinking about the next part of my trip as can't believe I've already been here for a month and only got 2 left to go now - boooooooooooo :-( Thinking about heading down to Melbourne as I know a couple of folks there or maybe just drive back up north again. Too many options, too little time to waste thinking about it. P'raps will just go to the pub with my trusted Rough Guide and play Russian Roulette with my options !

Happy New Year

2007-01-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Hope you had a good one - I had an AMAZING time watching the fireworks in Sydney. I've never really been fussed about new years eve as always feel torn about who to spend it with and it just ends up being a bit of anticlimax although always a great party ;-) But being in the sunshine with then the most awesome firework display was something else. The day started off fairly relaxed as we'd been out the night before with some other friends from uni who are over here (George, Rachel & Bex) for a meal at a place called Malaya (was also Rachel's birthday) which was really nice but a fairly civilised affair as everyone gearing up for the next night. Had a bit of a barby for lunch and then cracked open the bubbly before getting ready - always a bad idea getting ready after a couple of glasses as makes me even more indecisive on what to wear! Weather forecast was for clouds and rain (typical) so wasn't really sure how it would actually be cos recently the forecasts say rain but then it's really sunny and hot - don't get it. So we got a cab down to Circular Quay and then found our way to the entrance of the event we were going to only to actually have to queue up for about 3/4 hour while they check tickets, bags etc. Pain in the arse really as our do was only for 1000 people so thought it might have had its own exclusive entrance but what do I know - I just don't like queuing.

We were in the Royal Botanical Gardens at a do called "Midnight at the Oasis" where we'd paid about $230 and for that we got a free drink when we got in (beer or bubbly - after queueing for so long the long cold beer was a much needed option!) , tables and chairs for the whole thing (again, I like to know I can sit down at some point in the evening - guess it's an age thing!) and then a meal. The meal was done buffet style where you went up at alloted times to collect your starter, main and dessert/cheese which was all fairly well organised and didn't have to wait much. Although the quantity of stuff you got was less the later you went up as me, Adey & Lara found out even though the beef we had was gorgeous!

Anyway I can feel myself rambling so will crack on ...
Once the light started fading a little bit a big red question marked appeared on the bridge in the middle which I'd heard on the news was meant to represent the making of new years resolution but I think now that it's actually just meant to keep you guessing about what the fireworks are meant to be like when they eventually go off.

The family fireworks went off at 9 after a big countdown by channel ten presenters on speakers that were right behind us. They were sooooooooo good I was fairly choked up actually as have never seen fireworks that good - and these were only the starting ones!

So then we decided we were far too civilised so far so made a more concerted effort to start getting in the swing of things. Bottles of wine were only $20 (about £12) which was really good as we thought we'd get stung for it as there was nowhere else to get booze from. The music was really good too so we just boogied around the table and then again the midnight fireworks seemed to come around really quickly. There's 3 main sets which go off in : Circular Quay(on and around the bridge) and now I can't remember where the others one are - will check and find out. They're all synchronised to be the same so that no matter where you are you'll see something and then the bridge has the main ones on. They're set to music too which was pretty cool - opened up with Diamonds are Forever as there was a big diamond theme as it was the 75th anniversary and then Diamonds and Pearls - you get the drift? But they did also have the Superman theme in the earlier ones which was quite funny.

I've also now realised that I am RUBBISH at taking photos which is why there's not many here! I have no idea about what the right setting is to use for in the night and when I turn the flash off and put it into night mode they're just awful as I can't hold the camera still enough!! So I just resorted to taking video clips instead which actually turned out ok. Will try and upload those somewhere too.

Some good pics can be seen on some other sites that I just found:

Panoramic Views

My videos :

(Oh sorry for any horrible shouting/singing by me - don'tcha just hate the sound of your own voice)

Early in the day

Family Fireworks - Superman theme music

Midnight Fireworks opening - Diamonds are Forever theme

Midnight Fireworks - CBD Buildings

Midnight Fireworks - BRILLIANT!!

In fact there's quite a few so just go and look at them all!

So all in all a really great night even though I did fall over (wasn't too drunk at that point) and bugger up my ankle. Although when I'd actually had more to drink I don't think I noticed too much - only realised the next day how bad it felt - doh!

So am now thinking that 2007 is going to be a good year - yay!

Truthfully speaking now, 2006 was my least ever favourite year. To be honest I'm pretty glad it's over, although don't get me wrong, there have been some very very good times too - especially when I actually decided to jump on that big plane and run very quickly away from it all! Being away really has made me think a lot and really not trying to sound too overdramatic it's made me realise even more that I've got fantastic friends and family who've looked out for me when I've had the bad times. I know that I've sometimes been selfish, wrapped up in my own rubbish and generally not thought about the consequences of my own stupid actions and probably not shown those people who really care about me as much appreciation, courtesy and support as I should have done. But I'm not going to dwell on the bad Helen and mistakes I've made (and hopefully learnt from) - I think that the smiley, silly, giggly and sometimes just plain daft Helen (that I know is my preferred Gemini twin!) made a few appearances too and it's that one that's taking me into 2007 and beyond !! Amen.

XXXXX

Cool skywriting

2006-12-28T02:33:00.000-08:00

When I got back to Sydney I went straight out to the balcony and looked out and saw something odd in the sky - some skywriting for Sagem. There was already 2 done and they were doing the 3rd as I watched - pretty good advertising as it was a perfectly clear day.

My hols with Lou & Matt

2006-12-27T20:35:00.000-08:00

So I'm back in a very sunny Sydney now with my washing all done and hanging out to dry and thought that I'd better write up what I've been doing otherwise mum & dad will start to worry ;-)

We arrived pretty late on the Monday night (11th) as flight was delayed at Sydney due to a huge electrical storm. Those of you who know me well enough know that a) I don't really like flying and b) I don't really like thunderstorms so you can imagine how I must have felt sat at the airport watching the whole place grind to a halt before finally getting on the plane 2 hours later only to sit on the tarmac for another hour or so before we actually took off. Anyhow, we got up to Cairns about 1:30 am and drove back to the house. When we got to their road, Matt drove really slowly as there's some old bushland at the end of the street and sure enough a couple of wallabies were sat there and then eventually hopped away when we got closer. Have to admit that it was pretty cool to see them - it still hadn't really hit me that I'm in Australia as city life is city life wherever you are in the world but to actually see some real Aussie wildlife was great. The best time to see them just hanging out is about 4 in the aftie down the field or there's a field just off the main road where there seems to be about a hundred of them just sat there waiting for something to happen.

We stayed up chatting outside on the veranda with some beers until we realised the sun was starting to rise. I'm trying to remember now what we did the next day but Matt wasn't working so he stayed at home while Lou went to pick up Oscar from his holiday home and then came back to show me round the place. The area where they live is called Trinity Beach and is one of many places found just off the main road that goes from Cairns all the way up to Port Douglas. My first impressions are that it's very Americanised - in fact now that I think about it, Sydney was quite like that too. I don't know why that's surprised me as the sheer size of the place is more like the States either but I dunno, I guess I thought there'd be more British influence than there actually is. All the houses on the streets are completely different to one another also which I really liked and each village has it's own little shopping centre and of course it's own lifeguarded beach.

[The pool where I spent a lot of time!]

Oscar gets taken for his walks down on the beach but it has to be either first or last thing as it's just too hot for the poor little guy! It's stinger season at the moment so you can't just swim anywhere - there's an area sectioned off with stinger nets which is the only place you can swim safe from having the life stung out of you by a box jellyfish! If you were to get stung though there's stinger solution (I think that's what it's called) on the beach front too which is essentially vinegar which seems a lot nicer to use than the other remedy we're all aware of :-)

And that's pretty much the extent of what I did for most of my time there - Lou works from home so was working a lot of the time while Matt works as a divemaster for the Calypso boats that go out to the outer reef, so I took their car and drove around a bit - mainly going from beach to beach, then coming home and having something to eat (barbecued most times!) . As it was coming up to Christmas Lou showed me where the main shopping centre was and I tried to help her out by going to get supplies as and when she needed them. The main shopping area nearest to them is called Smithfield and has the standard Coles, Woolworths and K-mart. I still can't really get over how cheap it is here. I took the chance to stock up on a few more clothes as the stuff I had in Sydney was now too warm up here and managed to buy 2 tops and 2 skirts for about £15!! I mean, it's no designer labels but it sure does the job and it's not as if I'm going out to razzle dazzle on the town!

The evenings are mostly cook something to eat and then sit around chatting outside and it's just perfect!! However there are few places to eat and we went across to another beach front called Palm Cove which is all pretty smart - lots of spas and posh hotels and had a thai meal at a place called Choc-Dee which was fantastic. The guys hadn't eaten there before while Lou went for a mild option I went hot and Matt went Thai hot! The chef actually came out and asked him if he really wanted Thai hot and he was like "yep, super hot" and sure enough it was mega mega hot. My hot one was bad enough - was craving a huge glass of ice cold milk! We went back again on our last night and all went down a level to make it a bit more bearable! However, it was a top place and think that they've found their new fave takeaway place now! Just thinking about takeaways - apparently you can't get a good curry out there - surely this must be a gap in the market???

[Cutting up Bugs from the fish market]

Another fave place of theirs to eat is an Italian restaurant called Lunico in Trinity Beach which we went to twice, once on the first Saturday night I was there and then again when Adey & Lara came up. Again, it was all really really good and we had a great meal. It's only natural that when you get home you get in the pool as it's sooo warm in there - probably about 28degrees as the sun's been on it all day and at night it's the warmest! I've loved just floating in the pool and looking up at the stars. One thing I'd really like to do is go to an observatory or somewhere and find out all about the stars if I get a clear night cos I can make out some constellations (Orion - my favourite!) but am struggling to find any others.

In the first week there Lou & I drove up to Port Douglas which is the main place to go out to the reef so there's a huge marina and a lovely main street filled with restaurants, bars and shops. We had lunch there and then went onto the Rainforest Retreat where we spent an hour or so wandering around the place. First stop was to see the koalas and we got to pat a little fella called Leo who was so placid sat on his tree nibbling at the eucalyptus - really really cute. Then off through the main gardens where the kangaroos wander around and you can feed them with some stuff that we bought at the entrance. The little grey ones are really cute but the big red ones are pretty scary looking - like big muscle men - and I wasn't too keen on them! We then went to see the crocodiles and these guys are just huge - would not want to come too near to them at all! Was weird to think that when we were little and lived in the States, we were in the Everglades and just happened to see an alligator in the lake we'd stopped by and my sister and dad were getting right up close to it - there's no way I'd do that now! In fact on one of the beaches up there when we took Oscar for a walk we turned round before we got to the end of the beach as there was a patch of mangroves hanging over the sea which is where the crocs like to lie and apparently Clifton Beach (2 beaches along from Lou & Matt's) was closed for swimming completely for a few days as one was spotted in the sea on Christmas Eve. Out of the 10 most deadly species in the world, australia has 7 of them and on the beaches up here you can easily encounter 3 of them so you do really have to have your wits about you even just walking on the sand!

[View from Rex Lookout on the way to Port Douglas]

Adey & Lara got up here on the Friday before Christmas and we were into full Christmas prep mode by then. We'd put up the decorations before they got here but couldn't find a real Christmas tree so we ended up with a palm tree which actually looked really good with baubles, lights and tinsel on although was no place for a fairy on the top! They went off to do a skydive early on the Saturday morning while Lou & I went to do the final shop before Christmas. We even got to the supermarket half an hour before it opened so had to sit out and wait - Lou with one of her many trusted lists ;-) But all was done and dusted in an hour and we picked up the guys from the skydive place. By all accounts it looked absolutely awesome and was very jealous but not sure I'm quite up for doing one just yet!

As it's the summer here, and very busy Matt's been working relentlessly - he only had a couple of days off while I was there and they're long old days so he had to work all over Christmas so Christmas Day was actually just a fairly normal day routine wise except that our walk on the beach was with Santa hats and we ate a lot lot more food but I've written about that separately earlier.

Boxing Day was pretty cool as Adey, Lara and I went to the Cable ski place and went wakeboarding for an hour which was just brilliant. I absolutely loved it and really want to get to do it again but it was exhausting! The next day all 3 of us were aching in places I never knew you could ache and today I'm mostly better but still a little bit achey. Must practice more - great upper body workout hanging onto that rope!!

So in short, I had a fantastic time up in Queensland and am gonna do my utmost to get back up there. Thanks Lou & Matt (and Oscar) for all the hospitality and you are so, so lucky to live in such a great place - I'm hooked and WILL be back!

Merry Christmas

2006-12-25T20:44:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from down under! Hope your day was as good as mine ;-)
Started off with a little bucks fizz between the 4 of us as Matt had to work (the boat's pretty much booked up for the next 2 weeks) .

We'd already agreed that we wouldn't do prezzies until Matt came home from work but we all had a little something that had been sent from back home (Thanks Luce for my foxy prezzie !) . Then it was time for Oscar's treat and a walk on beach. Adey & Lara hadn't been for a proper walk on the beach yet so we went to Kewarra which (for me personally) is the nicest of the northern beaches along here. It's really long so you can see Clifton Beach and Palm Cove to the left and some dodgy looking mangroves which just spell out crocs for me to the right ! So with the aim of completely tiring out Oscar so he's a good boy for the day we were running up and down the beach with him (Santa hats included for us all including Oscar) which to begin with wasn't too bad as even though it was starting to get hot it was cloudy still so not too bad. But then the clouds did start to burn away by the time we'd walked back towards the entrance and where the stinger nets were. So as it was Christmas Day we jumped in the sea and Oscar had the best time of all of us really playing with a couple of other dogs in there too, leaving me to chat in the sea to their tanned, smiley, hunky, Aussie owner (without even needing Adey's offer that he pretends to hit me and I pretend to drown so I can be rescued by him) which was a nice little pressie in itself ;-)

The rest of the day was itself pretty much a usual Christmas (apart from the lounging in the pool with beers and spraying on sun cream) , loads of food, bowls of sweets from the British Lolly Shop, chips, dips, card games, beers, Pimms, drinking games, dips in the pool etc etc etc until Matt got back about 4:30. We then did pressies - I've got a surfing lesson from everyone here which I can't wait to do which I've just gotta sort out at some point - thanks guys xxxxx

Then onto proper food - prawns to start (poor old Matt had eaten about 2kilos worth on the boat in the day but was a good sport and tucked in to the rest !) then steak, sausages and salad for mains. Lots of phone calls home but thankfully not too much homesickness - I really expected to but because it just dóesn't seem like Christmas at all, it really felt like just another day and I was lucky cos I got to speak to my parents, sister, grampy and auntie all at the same time! I don't think I could ever get used to Christmas like this - is just too weird - I mean Santa's dressed up in a big thick suit for gawd''s sake - it's not right that you're sunbaking all day!

All in all a great day and am now pooped so gonna go to bed. Merry Christmas ho ho ho xxxxx

It certainly ain't grim up north

2006-12-20T21:05:00.000-08:00

I'm up staying with Lou & Matt at the mo which is about 20 mins north of Cairns and about 50 mins south of Port Douglas. I haven't written much at all yet basically because I've just been so relaxed, properly on holiday and making the most of the pool and the gorgeous weather to really get my tan started! It's pretty much 30 degrees plus all day and may dip down to about 25 in the evening but so far I haven't worn a jacket or long-sleeved top once and had to go and buy some more clothes (again!)

Their place is absolutely gorgeous and complete with Oscar the 7 month old cocker spaniel is just so relaxing - has been the perfect place for me to unwind, and really begin to chill out as was the aim of this entire trip! I can't manage to download my pics onto Lou's pc yet but will sort them out soon enough and write a proper entry on what I've been up to but to be honest it's been pretty much just getting ready for Christmas so far and wandering around all the different beaches - hard life!

Beers just arrived so will write later...

Horrible, horrible, horrible

2006-12-15T06:24:00.000-08:00

It's hot day and night, sunny, nothing to do but laze around by the pool, fire up the barby with some beers, watch the wild wallabies in the field next door or take the dog for a walk on the endless empty beaches. I really don't know why I came here ...

Farewell to Sydney

2006-12-10T15:33:00.000-08:00

It's my last day in Sydney today for a few weeks and typically it's turned out pretty damn fine weather! Last few days have started out fairly cloudy in the morning but then baking in the afternoon. Hopefully oop north in Cairns won't be too tropical !

So, I met my old friend Fiona from Cleeve on Thursday night which was really good - we were trying to remember the last time we saw each other and it must have been not long after finishing uni so about 10 years ago! Luckily neither of us had changed too much so no need for the "I'll be wearing a pink carnation" line!

Friday I just spent pottering around a bit in the morning and then decided to go for a bit of a wander. Made it down to Darling Harbour, got myself a rice paper roll as recommended by Lara and sat looking out at the boats. Then it was so hot I thought the only way to escape was to go and cool myself down with a beer so found the nearest bar and parked myself there for the afternoon with a few light beers and a paper and waited for Adey to finish work. I'm liking this chilled out Aussie feeling - I can do sightseeing any time - am trying just to soak up (quite literally I guess) the culture here ;-)

So we then met up with Lou & Matt who were down for the weekend going to see Robbie in concert on Sunday night and had a good night with them and some of their mates who work in Baia. Was really great to see Lou & Matt too - their mates were saying they've noticed such a change in them - obviously down to the relaxed way of live up in Cairns so am looking forward to that even more now!

Come Saturday, we were on a mission - to get a paddling pool for the balcony!! But first things first it was time for my first proper barby - the guys went to get some fresh fish from across the road so we had marlin, trout, corn on the cob and veg - lush ! All washed down with a nice cold beer - obviously! So we hit the shops to go and find a paddling pool. Checked online first but Australian websites are just rubbish - their idea of an online catalogue is scanning in the pages of their offline brochure and just uploading it - Myer, Toys 'r' us, K-mart - even Amazon doesn't even have an Australian site - just crazy.

So anyway, we got the pool from Toys 'r' us and then quickly went to K-mart to get a hose (although probably shouldn't mention that as we think there's a hosepipe ban in Sydney). There's a massive water shortage around here which is quite odd seeing as the amount of rain we've had over the last week but apparently the water collection points are in the areas where there isn't any rain so the reservoirs aren't getting filled up. Australians are very environmentally aware which is great - I guess a lot of it is to do with this great big hole in the Ozone above us - but hardly any house rubbish goes into general waste. Pretty much everything is recycled, which makes me feel pretty bad cos I know there's some kind of recycling box I had at home but never really used it - I just let my empty bottles rattle around in the boot of my car intending to take them to the bottle bank (I did eventually though !)

K-mart turned into a bigger trip than we thought and we all walked out with some kind of new shorts, t-shirts or shoes! So back to the ranch and had some salady stuff for tea and watched a dvd. However, about 10:30 friends of theirs called and asked if we were going to meet up with them so we decided to sod it and go for it. They were going to this placed called the Imperial Hotel in Erskinville which has a drag show and is also where the film Priscilla, Queen of the Desert started and finished. The shows are every hour on the hour so we managed to get there for the midnight show and then got to see the final Christmas show too. I completel loved it - it was so funny and the costumes and make-up completely over the top as you would expect. I didn't want to use the flash on my camera in the room so the pics below are pretty ropey but give you an idea - then it turned into a club and we had a good ole boogie at the end - just brilliant!

So Sunday morning was a bit of a write-off although surprisingly I was up bright and early and made a couple of calls back home to hear how freezing cold it was when I was just sat in my bikini ready to get in the pool!! So the pool was blown up (after a couple of divvy efforts by me!) and filled and ready for use! I thought the only way to enjoy it was to have an ice cold beer and when I got out of the pool it was straight into the hammock to relax with my puzzle book (!) and then get lovely and burnt - nice!

We drove over to Manly in the evening for dinner at the Pacific Thai which we found in the Rough Guide and although the food was brilliant the service was pretty shoddy but left very stuffed and a nice touch was instead of having the nasty germ-infested mints at the end we had some watermelon and orange pieces! Was my first experience of going over the Harbour Bridge too which was pretty cool - especially on the way back as everything else lit up. You can see the bits on the bridge where the fireworks are going to be too - the theme this year is the "Coathanger" as the bridge is often called it and you could see the outline of the coathanger fireworks on it already.

Anyhow, off to pack up before flying up to Cairns later with Lou & Matt - gonna meet for lunch later when I've got my bag packed which is not going to be an easy task!!

And a final big, big thankyou to Adrian & Lara for putting me up this last week or so - I've had a really brilliant time (and will see you next week for Christmas anyway!!) xxxx

Things I've learnt (and not from Neighbours or Home & Away)

2006-12-09T16:29:00.000-08:00

Sweets are called lollies
Lollies are called lollipops
Bars are called hotels
Supermarkets don't sell alcohol
Coolbox is called an eskey

And of course I know that flip-flops are thongs but I just can't bring myself to say that yet.

Sunshine at last !!

2006-12-06T19:49:00.000-08:00

Have had a varied few days which has been fab but think my jetlag is catching up with me and am feeling pretty exhausted which is why I've come out of the sunshine to write this today!

Another friend from uni, Terri, came over on Monday for a short but sweet visit while she's visiting friends and family for a month, which was great as I had a playmate for in the daytime while Adey & Lara are at work. We pottered around the Botanical Gardens in the afternoon just chatting and eating ice-creams before meeting the guys for a drink when they finished work. The gardens are pretty spectacular and the bats are definitely a sight, if not a little smelly ;-)
It sounds odd to say but have kinda just gotten used to having the Opera House and Harbour Bridge as a backdrop whenever I'm down in Circular Quay! The best time was just before Terri arrived I sat with a sarnie in a park bit watching the Ashes on a big screen. Was great at the time as we were doing pretty well and was good to hear loads of cheering when we got someone out (don't ask me who it was - I'm a girl, remember??). Although the less said about the cricket now the better - everyone over here REALLY lays into the English team - even the sides on the sides of the buses say things like "Down with the Poms" - pretty harsh really.

So we just got take-out pizzas for tea and sat on the balcony eating and chatting with a few glasses of vino. Am starting to get a little worried about myself though as have been falling \asleep about 10pm every night after only a couple of glasses of wine which is very unlike me - the long nights and days spent at Goldbrick seem a distant past ;-)

Adey had Tuesday off work so we had a really nice day going to the Sydney Fish Market for lunch where we bought a seafood platter and sat out in the park. Luckily the sun finally put his hat on and we then packed up and drove over to Bondi Beach!! There wasn't a cloud in the sky and was just perfect lazing on the beach for a couple of hours. Was a bit of intrigue when a helicopter was hovering over the sea for about 10 minutes - was it a shark??? There was a shark attack over Perth way a few days ago where a kid had his leg bitten off so I was pretty nervous about getting in the sea!!

Not wanting to spend too long frying in the sun (I got pretty burnt walking around the day before - Rudolph springs to mind !) we headed back home to get showered and changed to meet up with Lara for cocktails at the top of the Shangri-La Hotel in the Blu Horizon bar which had some pretty awesome views over the city although not on the harbour side. Had an amazing cocktail with strawberries and lychees which went down VERY easily! After letting the coin decide the next stage for the evening we headed back up home for dinner in the local pub which was lush and we got some very good service (i.e. free nibbles as starters) as Adey & Lara know everyone there ! Back to theirs for some more booze and in my case falling asleep too early!

Next day Terri & I met the guys for lunch at Circular Quay. We got to go up to the top of the building where Lara works and see the views from there - amazing as you can see - the opera house and bridge directly below her every day! For those of you who know I'm not brilliant with heights I wasn't scared at all and got right up to the window!!! Big pat on the back to myself - am still psyching myself up for the bridge climb!! We then got a ferry to Darling Harbour where we then sauntered around for a bit, walking through the gardens, Chinatown and then heading back to the city to meet Adey and to say bye to Terri who was flying off to Adelaide. When I got back, Lara & I put up their Christmas decorations which was very exciting (although did get me a teensy bit homesick but managed to wash that away with a nice cold glass of wine!) with the Christmas CD on in the background and the doors and windows open as it was so hot (still very odd!)

As for today so far, I did the very traveller-style thing and went and had my hair highlighted at TONI&GUY !! Just didn't get the time before I left so got it done here and had my hair blow-dried by a very camp guy wearing shorts, cowboy boots and a scarf - brilliant guy (and did a fantastic job too!!) Had a (surprisingly common) chat with him about the weather and how all messed it up is at the moment. Down in Victoria there's bush fires one day and then snow the next. Here in Sydney it's 24 degrees one day then 35 the next and apparently they've just discovered an ice-cap off of New Zealand - very odd!

So all in all a pretty varied few days and off to meet an old friend from Cleeve School tonight which is going to be pretty surreal seeing as I haven't seen her in about 10 years!

Ciao for now

Rain rain go away

2006-12-03T21:30:00.000-08:00

Well, this isn't quite I expected - it's been hammering down with rain pretty much all weekend !!So any sightseeing was put on hold and it was time instead to sit down in front of the tv and watch England start picking up the pace in the cricket with a couple of beers!

Went out for a fab meal at a restaurant called Baia in Darling Harbour and after a few bottles of wine went on for a couple more drinks and a bit of a boogie followed by a kebab on the way home!. Made a nice change from staying in watching X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing ;-)

After finally getting up on Sunday about lunchtime and having a good hangover breakfast we wandered down to Circular Quay to finally see some sights. Was pretty awesome seeing the Opera House and Harbour Bridge (nice to embarrass Adey & Lara too by making them be all touristy and pose for photos!) .

A bit daunting actually seeing the bridge realising that I'm going to climb to the flipping top of it as my present from leaving E3. Got do a bit of shopping too as my one pair of jeans and one long-sleeved jumper are getting a lot of wear!! Weather meant to start picking up a bit tomorrow so hopefully will get out to some of the beaches soon.

Am now thinking that am definitely going to go to Ayers Rock - it wasn't necessarily at the top of my things to do but after seeing Adey & Lara's photos am now gonna meet up with a friend from home who's out for a year and am gonna do a bit of a road trip with him across to the centre in the new year - any tips much appreciated!!

Made it!

2006-12-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

After 24 hours of flying (not as much sleep as I'd hoped but plenty of food, wine and movies) I finally got to Sydney about 9 on Friday night. Walking out of the terminal was a bit of a shock as it was sooooooooo hot and really humid but when I met Adey & Lara they said that it was quite unusual to be like this. Drove back to their flat and then sat out on the balcony with some champagne cocktails before I was completely flagging. They've got great views of the CBD though which is just like looking out to Canary Wharf. Relieved to hear that they haven't had any creepy crawlies up here too but am still checking things just to get into practice for when I'm not in such civilised surroundings!

Still can't quite believe I'm actually here in Australia !!

Ready to go

2006-11-29T15:48:00.000-08:00

Bags are packed now and ready to go!
In fact, I leave today and in 36 hours time will be having a beer in 32 degree heat!!
To be more precise, I leave my parents house in just over 4 hours in very cold weather to get the coach to the airport!!!

Had forgotten that it's going to be cold still when I travel so am having to resort to taking things on the coach that I can then throw away on plane! Actually have forgotten quite a few things which won't surprise anyone I know - most annoying is my lovely Clinique lip gloss which I only just found again after losing it for a couple of weeks - grrrr ;-(

Still have the completely wired feeling that I've had all week - staying up until stupid o'clock cleaning, packing, sorting out, researching, emailing, chatting, making tea and generally being excited! My method behind the madness was actually to not have much sleep this week so I can sleep on the planes but Adey (my mate in Sydney) now tells me that's a really stupid idea as it'll never happen. Oh well, it's been fun trying !!

Have had a lovely night out with my parents and eaten so much that even 2 seconds after writing that I'm buzzing, I'm actually exhausted so might and try and do the decent thing and turn in for the night. Just gotta sort out some tunes onto my i-pod first though, dammit....