Wednesday: we travelled on the ferry over to Manly. Knew the route because of my previous trip with Rosie but was lovely to take the parents over the Harbour to the other side. Manly was lovely as usual despite a spot of rain. We sat on the beach and ventured a swim in the area designated by the friendly lifeguards. We returned via the chocolate shop and took a ferry across to Darling Harbour which stopped at lots of little suburbs on the way. It must be great to be able to commute across Sydney Harbour into the city every day. In Darling Harbour we went to the acquarium which was amazing. It had a tunnel with sharks, turltes, rays and wobbegongs in it that we stood in for quite some time with lots of other people too. They also seemed to be maximising the benefts of Finding Nemo and there were Nemo exhibitions every where. I particularly liked the Great Barrier Reef exhibition as it reminded me of my diving. The other exhibition I enjoyed was the seahorse section where we got to see loads including the River Dragon which I'd never seen before and looked like something out of the dinosaur era. Only pretty small!
Thursday: Hunter Valley. We joined a tour up to the Hunter Valley where we got to go to different wineries and had a chocolate and cheese tasting. The latter two being quite stingy. The wines were good though, I particularly liked the whites and the guide was a chatty old guy who told us lots of history about the area and his ancestors. This history included taking a walk down an old convict path, built by those who'd come over from England. In fact the guide himself was descended from convicts too, he was pretty happy about it. To be fair, I've often wondered how much of a punishment it would be to be sent over to such a beautiful country with stunning scenery and a laid back way of life but I suppose it was a little bit different in those days.
Friday: Sorted out admin such as my insurance claim for my stolen items in Argentina. Then hit the Sydney fish market which was quite near Darling Harbour. Being big fans of sea food (my 1.5yr old niece tucks into prawns with gay abandon), we were in heaven. It was enormous and had lots of little stalls and eating places where you could order very fresh, pretty cheap platters of every kind of seafood. I liked the king prawns as always, my parents liked the oysters. Fished up, we head into the centre of Sydney and went to the Sky tower to look down over the city and then into some kind of experience part of it, where you had to sit in vibrating chairs and watch an imax style film about Australia. Most bizarre and quite tacky. After wondering about a bit we felt we had seen the city, head back to the appartment to pack up our stuff and get ready for our early flight to Melbourne where we would start on the Great Ocean Road.
Tuesday 26 February 2008
Sunday 20 January 2008
THE PARENTAL UNIT ARRIVES DOWN UNDER!
The next morning after checking out, downloading photos and lugging my backpack across town I arrived at the Goldsborough Appartments in Darling Harbour. Happy to be in a rather less sordid area of town, I was very excited about seeing my parents. Come 1pm they arrived, jet lagged after 3 days of travelling by plane via Dubai. It was really strange to meet them in Sydney after such a long time but so awesome. Em arrived after mega download session and we hit Darling Harbour for lunch. Hadn't been to Darling Harbour before and so it was interesting to see. It reminded me of Port Solent in the south of England, with lots of bars and restaurants, an Imax cinema, aquarium and zoo. After lunch, we went back to the appartment, moved our stuff in, got supplies, Dad had a nap and we went out into the city for dinner. Having tried the 360 bar and been turned away because Em and I had 'thongs' on, we went off in disgust to Circular Quay to show my parents the Opera House. Here we tucked into a mega sea food platter with a view of the harbour and the opera house. We all decided that the O.H. was decidedly smaller than we had imagined but still quite impressive, if yes, a little stained by pollution. Well stuffed, we went back to the appartment, parents passed out and Em and I had a swim in the appartment block pool.
Unfortunately on the Sunday, the time had come to say goodbye to Emma who was flying to Hong Kong for her last few days before returning to Blighty for Christmas. It was very weird saying goodbye to her as she boarded the shuttle bus after so many good times. Sure we'll have many fun times at A&O ahead of us! Heading out to the city, my parents and I walked around the botanical gardens and Macquarie's Chair before lunch at the harbour and the afternoon Sunday markets at the Rocks. Unfortunately it was shutting and raining but the market area had lots of interesting crafty aussie things to see. Returning to the appartment, Dad went to sleep, still majorly jetlagged, Mum and I head out for some Moroccan food which was lovely.
Monday consisted of a trip to Manly on the ferry, had a swim in the v cold sea, sat on the beach, had some exciting chocolate frappe concoction at the Max Bremner Chocolate Shop place which is a chocoholic's heaven, unlike anything I'd seen, even beat Bar Chocolat in Bristol and that's saying something. We returned to Darling Harbour by ferry and went to the acquarium. Even after seeing the real deal at the Great Barrier Reef, this acquarium was stunning. We were particularly wowed by the sea horses and water dragons which I've never seen anything like before in my life and the shark tunnel which had massive stingrays (poor Steve Irwin) and turtles swimming overhead. Everyone in the tunnels were mesmerised and rightly so. WOW.
We finished off a fantastic day with steak and wine.
Tuesday: the Blue Mountains. After a 2 hour train journey out of Sydney we arrived at this beautiful national park and got a bus ticket for the Explorer Bus where you can get on and off at different stops wherever you like. The Explorer Bus was an old London red bus and had comedy drivers giving commentaries, sadly unlike the grumpy UK bus drivers. After hairy train journeys down valley slopes to the tune of Indiana Jones, little walks around and beautiful blueish panoramas we had a scary Devonshire cream tea in a shop full of teapots, not unlike something out of Little Britain and we caught the train back to Sydney, pleased and bemused.
Unfortunately on the Sunday, the time had come to say goodbye to Emma who was flying to Hong Kong for her last few days before returning to Blighty for Christmas. It was very weird saying goodbye to her as she boarded the shuttle bus after so many good times. Sure we'll have many fun times at A&O ahead of us! Heading out to the city, my parents and I walked around the botanical gardens and Macquarie's Chair before lunch at the harbour and the afternoon Sunday markets at the Rocks. Unfortunately it was shutting and raining but the market area had lots of interesting crafty aussie things to see. Returning to the appartment, Dad went to sleep, still majorly jetlagged, Mum and I head out for some Moroccan food which was lovely.
Monday consisted of a trip to Manly on the ferry, had a swim in the v cold sea, sat on the beach, had some exciting chocolate frappe concoction at the Max Bremner Chocolate Shop place which is a chocoholic's heaven, unlike anything I'd seen, even beat Bar Chocolat in Bristol and that's saying something. We returned to Darling Harbour by ferry and went to the acquarium. Even after seeing the real deal at the Great Barrier Reef, this acquarium was stunning. We were particularly wowed by the sea horses and water dragons which I've never seen anything like before in my life and the shark tunnel which had massive stingrays (poor Steve Irwin) and turtles swimming overhead. Everyone in the tunnels were mesmerised and rightly so. WOW.
We finished off a fantastic day with steak and wine.
Tuesday: the Blue Mountains. After a 2 hour train journey out of Sydney we arrived at this beautiful national park and got a bus ticket for the Explorer Bus where you can get on and off at different stops wherever you like. The Explorer Bus was an old London red bus and had comedy drivers giving commentaries, sadly unlike the grumpy UK bus drivers. After hairy train journeys down valley slopes to the tune of Indiana Jones, little walks around and beautiful blueish panoramas we had a scary Devonshire cream tea in a shop full of teapots, not unlike something out of Little Britain and we caught the train back to Sydney, pleased and bemused.
Saturday 12 January 2008
Adieu to Emma
So after an early morning Greyhound bus trip to Noosa, we arrived at this quiet and relaxed seaside town/resort with beautiful national park beaches. Here we did laundry, had some lunch and then fell asleep on the beach and then had a swim, eyes alert for sharks. The evening brought a quick dinner and then Elizabeth the Golden Age, great Cate but a bit too Hollywood.
The next day we grabbed another Greyhound to Byron Bay where we checked into the YHA and wandered around the town. Really cool place, hippyish with lots of jewelery and surf shops. That afternoon we hung out at the beach people watching. I think this was probably my favourite hang out beach in East Australia, big and beautiful with white sand. The following day we went to a local shop owned by a Brit who has been in Australia for ages. Here he sold us blank didgeridoos which we then spent 3 hours painting on his patio with our own aboriginal designs. Not that authentic but a hell of a lot of fun. Quite relaxing. The guy seemed v enthusiastic about the fact we were British and kept offering us tea and telling people who came into the shop.
That afternoon we got some food, went to the beach and had a swim. Byron Bay had lots of stories in its newspapers about an unusual infestation of sharks so we stood there, uneasy and watching the waves carefully. Weirdest swimming experience, no one was in the sea beyond their thighs. Anyway, that evening we had a great dinner and wandered around yet again. Planning to up and leave the next day again, we discovered the greyhound to Sydney wasn't until the evening so we gained an extra day of sleep and hanging out. We again explored the shops and beach with a fruit platter (bag of fruit from grocery store) and our goon we had left over from Fraser Island in a plastic bottle. We are nothing if not classy. Oh goon for those who don't know is like the box wine you get in the UK. The Aussies like to goon it up quite cheaply and quite regularly.
So we got on the greyhound and set off for Sydney, really the buses in Australia are nowhere near as cool as the Bingo, tv, meal abundant Argentine buses but we attempted to sleep and arrived in Port Jackson at 7am. Checked into the Pink House hostel, bit skanky and pretty much decided to move then and there the following morning. Wandered around Sydney, went through the domain to Circular Quay and then to the Rocks where we pottered around the galleries and shops there after an Italian lunch. In the afternoon we went to the Opera House where we had a couple of glasses of Sauvignon Blanc at the Opera Bar. A really cool bar, reminiscent of the South Bank in London and with the most spectacular view. The Opera House is stunning but slightly more yellow than I thought it would be!
That evening we went back for a snack and caught the end of the Thomas Crown Affair, quite tired by that point it was a perfect end to the day. The next day we caught the ferry to Manly where there is a beautiful friendly family beach and not as crowded as Bondi. Really the Sydneysiders are so lucky to have a beautifully situated city with stunning beaches so nearby. My friend Rosie, my French Horn playing bud from school, is currently there being a doctor so she came to meet us and we spent the day catching up on the beach. In the evening Rohan, from Narrabeen north of Sydney, who we met in Wellington, came to meet us and showed us around Manly.
Being a local, he took us to unknown places like North Head where there was a beautiful view of Sydney harbour and is a site for sordid love affairs (think we scared off one or two by making loud remarks about their cheating and lying scoundrelness ha ha). Then we went to another tucked away cove and hung out there and then head back to Manly where Rohan left us and we had a curry (damn good one at that). Leaving Rosie, not knowing when I would see her again as she's staying for another 18 months probably, we headed back to Sydney.
The next day we wandered around the centre of town, the Queen Victoria Building, the shops, Chinatown, Paddy's Market, the Spanish quarter (more like eighth, pretty tiny) and then went to meet Johnny for a drink at the opera house, another A&Oer passing through on his travels. That evening we had a lovely Italian meal in the Rocks and went back.
So, Friday, the final day with Emma, we wandered around, had a great chocolate snack at the Lindt cafe, of which there are 3 in Sydney and none elsewhere in the world and then after such a strenuous start to the day we went for a lie down in the Botanical Gardens. Generally we had begun to slow down and just enjoy our last days together travelling in Sydney. That evening, we bought a bottle of wine back in Kings Cross, Red light district of Sydney and location of the new hostel, Eva's, and we made our last meal of veggie slop to eat on the roof terrace. After that we went out for a glass of wine in Kings Cross and people watched as prostitutes and women dressed like prostitutes wandered around. Interesting night out. Back at the hostel, after a chat with a German lady about her travels, we had our last cup of tea before bed.
Unfortunately sleeping wasn't often on the cards at Eva's as the 6bed dorm had some Brits who obviously had been there a while, working probably, who came in and out throughout the early hours, one woman with a different chap each night and she wasn't exactly quiet(!). But without wanting to sound like a grandma, it was all good fun (for them anyway) and that but Em and I were relieved that it would probably be our last night in a dorm as we were to move to the appartment with my parents in Darling Harbour the following day. We fell asleep, Emma considering Hong Kong, her final stage and me excited about seeing the parental unit after 6 months.
The next day we grabbed another Greyhound to Byron Bay where we checked into the YHA and wandered around the town. Really cool place, hippyish with lots of jewelery and surf shops. That afternoon we hung out at the beach people watching. I think this was probably my favourite hang out beach in East Australia, big and beautiful with white sand. The following day we went to a local shop owned by a Brit who has been in Australia for ages. Here he sold us blank didgeridoos which we then spent 3 hours painting on his patio with our own aboriginal designs. Not that authentic but a hell of a lot of fun. Quite relaxing. The guy seemed v enthusiastic about the fact we were British and kept offering us tea and telling people who came into the shop.
That afternoon we got some food, went to the beach and had a swim. Byron Bay had lots of stories in its newspapers about an unusual infestation of sharks so we stood there, uneasy and watching the waves carefully. Weirdest swimming experience, no one was in the sea beyond their thighs. Anyway, that evening we had a great dinner and wandered around yet again. Planning to up and leave the next day again, we discovered the greyhound to Sydney wasn't until the evening so we gained an extra day of sleep and hanging out. We again explored the shops and beach with a fruit platter (bag of fruit from grocery store) and our goon we had left over from Fraser Island in a plastic bottle. We are nothing if not classy. Oh goon for those who don't know is like the box wine you get in the UK. The Aussies like to goon it up quite cheaply and quite regularly.
So we got on the greyhound and set off for Sydney, really the buses in Australia are nowhere near as cool as the Bingo, tv, meal abundant Argentine buses but we attempted to sleep and arrived in Port Jackson at 7am. Checked into the Pink House hostel, bit skanky and pretty much decided to move then and there the following morning. Wandered around Sydney, went through the domain to Circular Quay and then to the Rocks where we pottered around the galleries and shops there after an Italian lunch. In the afternoon we went to the Opera House where we had a couple of glasses of Sauvignon Blanc at the Opera Bar. A really cool bar, reminiscent of the South Bank in London and with the most spectacular view. The Opera House is stunning but slightly more yellow than I thought it would be!
That evening we went back for a snack and caught the end of the Thomas Crown Affair, quite tired by that point it was a perfect end to the day. The next day we caught the ferry to Manly where there is a beautiful friendly family beach and not as crowded as Bondi. Really the Sydneysiders are so lucky to have a beautifully situated city with stunning beaches so nearby. My friend Rosie, my French Horn playing bud from school, is currently there being a doctor so she came to meet us and we spent the day catching up on the beach. In the evening Rohan, from Narrabeen north of Sydney, who we met in Wellington, came to meet us and showed us around Manly.
Being a local, he took us to unknown places like North Head where there was a beautiful view of Sydney harbour and is a site for sordid love affairs (think we scared off one or two by making loud remarks about their cheating and lying scoundrelness ha ha). Then we went to another tucked away cove and hung out there and then head back to Manly where Rohan left us and we had a curry (damn good one at that). Leaving Rosie, not knowing when I would see her again as she's staying for another 18 months probably, we headed back to Sydney.
The next day we wandered around the centre of town, the Queen Victoria Building, the shops, Chinatown, Paddy's Market, the Spanish quarter (more like eighth, pretty tiny) and then went to meet Johnny for a drink at the opera house, another A&Oer passing through on his travels. That evening we had a lovely Italian meal in the Rocks and went back.
So, Friday, the final day with Emma, we wandered around, had a great chocolate snack at the Lindt cafe, of which there are 3 in Sydney and none elsewhere in the world and then after such a strenuous start to the day we went for a lie down in the Botanical Gardens. Generally we had begun to slow down and just enjoy our last days together travelling in Sydney. That evening, we bought a bottle of wine back in Kings Cross, Red light district of Sydney and location of the new hostel, Eva's, and we made our last meal of veggie slop to eat on the roof terrace. After that we went out for a glass of wine in Kings Cross and people watched as prostitutes and women dressed like prostitutes wandered around. Interesting night out. Back at the hostel, after a chat with a German lady about her travels, we had our last cup of tea before bed.
Unfortunately sleeping wasn't often on the cards at Eva's as the 6bed dorm had some Brits who obviously had been there a while, working probably, who came in and out throughout the early hours, one woman with a different chap each night and she wasn't exactly quiet(!). But without wanting to sound like a grandma, it was all good fun (for them anyway) and that but Em and I were relieved that it would probably be our last night in a dorm as we were to move to the appartment with my parents in Darling Harbour the following day. We fell asleep, Emma considering Hong Kong, her final stage and me excited about seeing the parental unit after 6 months.
Friday 14 December 2007
THE SAFARI
Arriving in Hervey Bay early in the morning, we were transported by Colin the typical friendly Aussie driver to Koalas Resort Hervey Bay. Koalas is renowned down the East Coast for providing nasty hostels (we discovered after booking our Whitsundays and Fraser Island with them) but this one was surprisingly ok with nice staff. We found this mainly because they upgraded us to a twin room at no extra cost which after months of dorm rooms was bliss.
After a kip we met our Fraser Island group at 3pm and had to sign lots of forms and go and buy supplies for the next three days. We also watched a DVD on the dangers of Fraser Island for those who are crazy enough to do self-hire safaris around the biggest sand dune island in the world. The next day at 6.45am we all met to load up the jeep with our meat, supplies, alcohol and camping equipment. Had a brief explanation on how to drive 4wd and then head off for the 10am barge to lead us onto the island. We had 3 Irish, 1 Canadian, 1 Scot (all of whom knew each other), 2 British girls and us. It looked like it would be fun. To start we saw Lake Birabeen, then drove up the big beach and found somewhere to camp being limited by the tides. After finding somewhere fine, Dave decided we should move somewhere else and in the process got in an argument with his best buddy Paddy and drove v fast through a wash out causing one of the back tyres to come off the rim and puncture. After a swift change of tyre and tension a little bit higher than before due to fear of losing the bonds we paid we finally camped back at the original place. Had some food, enjoyed the beautiful long beach and made some pasta dinner while having a few beers, the lads having considerably more than the rest of us being Irish and all.
The next day, some of us subdued, some of us hung over, we head off in the jeep again only to get a puncture in the only strip of beach where planes land. Apparently there are only 3 beaches in the world where planes can actually land and we broke down right in the middle of one of them. The Canadian and Paddy went off to find a new tyre, our spare already being in use, and we sat baking on the beach, unable to go into the sea because of jelly stingers and tiger shark breeding. 3.5 hours later, they reemerged having been unable to catch a lift back up the beach to us, we changed the tyre and head off up to India Head to admire the stunning scenery via a massive shipwreck on the beach. We arrived back at the campsite on the beach and the lads cooked up a massive bbq of the meat which was brilliant. Considerably happier we settled in for a night of socialising with the other groups also camped there and admiring first the amazing sunset and then the Southern Cross...
Next morning we head off to Lake Wabby where a massive sand dune runs into the water, then we went to get the tyres swapped back at the mechanic who'd fixed our 2nd damaged tyre and then we hit the beautiful Lake Mackenzie. This lake full of pale blue water and the whitest sand you've ever seen, was a beautiful fresh water place to swim. Really stunning and a great finale to the beautiful scenery we'd seen on the island. Sadly this meant time to catch the ferry back to Koalas, unpack the van and face the music with the Koalas mechanics. Fortunately, Dave, honorably stumped up for the tyre and we all got our bonds back. A chinese all you can eat dinner as a group completed the Fraser Island jeep safari.
After a kip we met our Fraser Island group at 3pm and had to sign lots of forms and go and buy supplies for the next three days. We also watched a DVD on the dangers of Fraser Island for those who are crazy enough to do self-hire safaris around the biggest sand dune island in the world. The next day at 6.45am we all met to load up the jeep with our meat, supplies, alcohol and camping equipment. Had a brief explanation on how to drive 4wd and then head off for the 10am barge to lead us onto the island. We had 3 Irish, 1 Canadian, 1 Scot (all of whom knew each other), 2 British girls and us. It looked like it would be fun. To start we saw Lake Birabeen, then drove up the big beach and found somewhere to camp being limited by the tides. After finding somewhere fine, Dave decided we should move somewhere else and in the process got in an argument with his best buddy Paddy and drove v fast through a wash out causing one of the back tyres to come off the rim and puncture. After a swift change of tyre and tension a little bit higher than before due to fear of losing the bonds we paid we finally camped back at the original place. Had some food, enjoyed the beautiful long beach and made some pasta dinner while having a few beers, the lads having considerably more than the rest of us being Irish and all.
The next day, some of us subdued, some of us hung over, we head off in the jeep again only to get a puncture in the only strip of beach where planes land. Apparently there are only 3 beaches in the world where planes can actually land and we broke down right in the middle of one of them. The Canadian and Paddy went off to find a new tyre, our spare already being in use, and we sat baking on the beach, unable to go into the sea because of jelly stingers and tiger shark breeding. 3.5 hours later, they reemerged having been unable to catch a lift back up the beach to us, we changed the tyre and head off up to India Head to admire the stunning scenery via a massive shipwreck on the beach. We arrived back at the campsite on the beach and the lads cooked up a massive bbq of the meat which was brilliant. Considerably happier we settled in for a night of socialising with the other groups also camped there and admiring first the amazing sunset and then the Southern Cross...
Next morning we head off to Lake Wabby where a massive sand dune runs into the water, then we went to get the tyres swapped back at the mechanic who'd fixed our 2nd damaged tyre and then we hit the beautiful Lake Mackenzie. This lake full of pale blue water and the whitest sand you've ever seen, was a beautiful fresh water place to swim. Really stunning and a great finale to the beautiful scenery we'd seen on the island. Sadly this meant time to catch the ferry back to Koalas, unpack the van and face the music with the Koalas mechanics. Fortunately, Dave, honorably stumped up for the tyre and we all got our bonds back. A chinese all you can eat dinner as a group completed the Fraser Island jeep safari.
Saturday 8 December 2007
THE ISLANDS
The day after the dive course ended, after a lie-in till 10am (wow) we hit the shuttle bus up to Port Douglas, a pretty little sailing village with a lovely beach. After a chilled day here we returned to Cairns and got ready to head to Magnetic Island. After our first greyhound trip down we caught a ferry out to the island to our Base Backpackers right on the beach. After a stressful couple of hours sorting out our Whitsundays sailing trip and Fraser Island sand dune trip we went in the pool, cooked dinner and had a well earned wine and pool playing relaxation session, ha ha, kind of well earned anyway.
The next day we got the bus to Bungalow Bay, a resort where we shared a little thatched hut and went to the koala sanctuary next door where we got to hold a crocodile, lizard, koala and snake. Great photo opps had there. After another trip to the beach where there was no swimming allowed due to jelly fish stingers, we came back to the resort for some thai food. The next day we caught a bus, then a ferry, then a greyhound down to Airlie Beach. After arriving in Airlie Beach and waiting for an hour and a half before some bimbo from the backpackers came to pick us up (sorry to slate female kind but she didn't even apologise) we arrived at the hostel, cooked dinner, bumped into the Swedes again and then packed again.
The following morning we boarded The Card. Supposedly one of the fastest sailboats in the Whitsundays, it was big and impressive. 23 of us crammed into the boat in rather cosy bunks down below and got ready for a good 3 days sailing. The first day passed with lunch, some snorkelling, a trip to Whitehaven beach (a stunning white sanded spit of sand) and lookout, some dinner on the boat and some amazing southern hemisphere star gazing with a goon in hand (aussie word for wine in a cardboard box - we adapted it to call it our wine baby).
The second day we spent snorkelling and chilling out and doing some sailing, everyone chipped in, it was great to whip across the sea at a vast rate of knots. That evening we disembarked onto South Molle Island where we swam in their pool and spar with the help of a chocolate cocktail and then went for dinner and drinks in a bar/shack with 150 other passengers on other boats from the same company. It was great fun until a dutch girl from our group started drinking her own alcohol she had brought into the bar and our entire group got thrown out due to the license rules. Back on the boat we continued the party with some awesome on-deck dancing and then we did a night sail without any lights which was thrilling.
The next day, we snorkelled again, spent some time on another golden beach exploring the reef around it, had lunch and did some more sailing through an unexpected hail storm and then arrived back in Airlie Beach, tired but very satisfied about 5pm. This was just in time to shower, eat and say goodbye to our buds and catch the overnight Greyhound for Hervey Bay.
The next day we got the bus to Bungalow Bay, a resort where we shared a little thatched hut and went to the koala sanctuary next door where we got to hold a crocodile, lizard, koala and snake. Great photo opps had there. After another trip to the beach where there was no swimming allowed due to jelly fish stingers, we came back to the resort for some thai food. The next day we caught a bus, then a ferry, then a greyhound down to Airlie Beach. After arriving in Airlie Beach and waiting for an hour and a half before some bimbo from the backpackers came to pick us up (sorry to slate female kind but she didn't even apologise) we arrived at the hostel, cooked dinner, bumped into the Swedes again and then packed again.
The following morning we boarded The Card. Supposedly one of the fastest sailboats in the Whitsundays, it was big and impressive. 23 of us crammed into the boat in rather cosy bunks down below and got ready for a good 3 days sailing. The first day passed with lunch, some snorkelling, a trip to Whitehaven beach (a stunning white sanded spit of sand) and lookout, some dinner on the boat and some amazing southern hemisphere star gazing with a goon in hand (aussie word for wine in a cardboard box - we adapted it to call it our wine baby).
The second day we spent snorkelling and chilling out and doing some sailing, everyone chipped in, it was great to whip across the sea at a vast rate of knots. That evening we disembarked onto South Molle Island where we swam in their pool and spar with the help of a chocolate cocktail and then went for dinner and drinks in a bar/shack with 150 other passengers on other boats from the same company. It was great fun until a dutch girl from our group started drinking her own alcohol she had brought into the bar and our entire group got thrown out due to the license rules. Back on the boat we continued the party with some awesome on-deck dancing and then we did a night sail without any lights which was thrilling.
The next day, we snorkelled again, spent some time on another golden beach exploring the reef around it, had lunch and did some more sailing through an unexpected hail storm and then arrived back in Airlie Beach, tired but very satisfied about 5pm. This was just in time to shower, eat and say goodbye to our buds and catch the overnight Greyhound for Hervey Bay.
Monday 3 December 2007
THE REEF
Started our SSI open water dive course at Cairns Dive Centre. Transported to their classroom and pool centre on Day 1 and started the theory. Spent the day watching a couple of DVDs, learning about the equipment and how to set it up and then we went into the water. Having done a couple of fun dives before, it wasn't all completely new to me but it was great to go through it all thoroughly particularly as it's been 8 years since my last one! After practising taking out regulators and taking off masks underwater and a bit of buoyancy we ended the day. Met up with Sophie Tomlinson (another A&O lady)and her mate Kate for a big fat ice cream that evening after we had bumped into Sophie by yet another coincidence at the dive centre!
Day 2 more theory and swimming stuff, this time learning what it felt like to have run out of air as our instructor Ruth turned off the air supply. Thankfully we also learnt what to do if that happens. Em and I had great fun being each other's buddy and inventing our own set of hand signals in addition to the official ones. The second pool session ended with us practising our skills again and then a 50 question exam designed for 14yrs and above so not too hardcore.
That night Em and I bought new swimwear, much needed in this bikini clad land, and then headed off to Reef Teach for a 2 hr session and some chocolate TimTam biscuits to learn about all the fish on the Reef and what to touch and not to touch. Golden rule seemed to be if it is yellow, black and white: stay clear. Buzzing with new found marine biological knowledge we hit The Woolshed, a slightly cattle marketesque bar (delightful) with the 2 swedish lads we'd met in Uluru who had just arrived in Cairns and whom we had bumped into in the street. It's truly off the beaten track this East Coast lark. Ha.
Day 3 we arrived bright and early to get on our boat to take us out to the Great Barrier Reef. When we reached our boat we unpacked, lunched and then donned our stinger suits (major jelly fish season right now) and got in for our first snorkel and then dive. It was brilliant to see the reef for the first time, was quite a short dive as everyone was huffing away quickly on the air being first timers down there. The second dive was just as good and I got over-excited and decided to do the night dive as well that evening. The rest of the group doing it the next day on the 5 day course and Em's ears playing up, Ruth and I headed down into the dark depths.
Seeing the Reef by night felt even more like we were invading the underwater world. Red eyes gleam out at you and although the torches you carry are quite bright, I still jumped (or rather jiggled in the water) every time a fish swam past, it's quite creepy not being able to see all around you. Sadly we didn't get to see any Reef sharks, had hoped to but it was still ace nonetheless.
On Day 4, we were up bright and early for a 6am dive and then an 8am dive. The 6am dive went ok until 3 of us had just swam through a coral tunnel and the other 2 didn't appear behind us. One of them had got down to 20 bar on his air (i.e. practically none) and had shot up to the surface with his buddy too fast and without telling any of the rest of us. In the process of looking for Dustin (said airless one) we missed a shark swimming over our heads. He nearly failed the course, Ruth was not pleased, not surprisingly and we were gutted to miss the shark.
The 8am dive was brilliant however and was filmed for our certification dvd. We got to see a turtle and scratch its back, it likes it apparently because it scrapes the algae off its back on the coral so it feels the same as our fingers scratching. It was unbelievable anyway. After that Em and I hopped in for my 7th dive of the weekend and our first dive as certified divers. It was a little scary at first but amazing and we got to see a couple of giant clams which were enormous and stunningly purple.
Really pleased the course had gone so well and I'd found a new activity to love and explore for the future, we headed back to Cairns and for the after-course party with the dive instructors and all the other divers from the boats. Great end to a great course. Well pleased.
Day 2 more theory and swimming stuff, this time learning what it felt like to have run out of air as our instructor Ruth turned off the air supply. Thankfully we also learnt what to do if that happens. Em and I had great fun being each other's buddy and inventing our own set of hand signals in addition to the official ones. The second pool session ended with us practising our skills again and then a 50 question exam designed for 14yrs and above so not too hardcore.
That night Em and I bought new swimwear, much needed in this bikini clad land, and then headed off to Reef Teach for a 2 hr session and some chocolate TimTam biscuits to learn about all the fish on the Reef and what to touch and not to touch. Golden rule seemed to be if it is yellow, black and white: stay clear. Buzzing with new found marine biological knowledge we hit The Woolshed, a slightly cattle marketesque bar (delightful) with the 2 swedish lads we'd met in Uluru who had just arrived in Cairns and whom we had bumped into in the street. It's truly off the beaten track this East Coast lark. Ha.
Day 3 we arrived bright and early to get on our boat to take us out to the Great Barrier Reef. When we reached our boat we unpacked, lunched and then donned our stinger suits (major jelly fish season right now) and got in for our first snorkel and then dive. It was brilliant to see the reef for the first time, was quite a short dive as everyone was huffing away quickly on the air being first timers down there. The second dive was just as good and I got over-excited and decided to do the night dive as well that evening. The rest of the group doing it the next day on the 5 day course and Em's ears playing up, Ruth and I headed down into the dark depths.
Seeing the Reef by night felt even more like we were invading the underwater world. Red eyes gleam out at you and although the torches you carry are quite bright, I still jumped (or rather jiggled in the water) every time a fish swam past, it's quite creepy not being able to see all around you. Sadly we didn't get to see any Reef sharks, had hoped to but it was still ace nonetheless.
On Day 4, we were up bright and early for a 6am dive and then an 8am dive. The 6am dive went ok until 3 of us had just swam through a coral tunnel and the other 2 didn't appear behind us. One of them had got down to 20 bar on his air (i.e. practically none) and had shot up to the surface with his buddy too fast and without telling any of the rest of us. In the process of looking for Dustin (said airless one) we missed a shark swimming over our heads. He nearly failed the course, Ruth was not pleased, not surprisingly and we were gutted to miss the shark.
The 8am dive was brilliant however and was filmed for our certification dvd. We got to see a turtle and scratch its back, it likes it apparently because it scrapes the algae off its back on the coral so it feels the same as our fingers scratching. It was unbelievable anyway. After that Em and I hopped in for my 7th dive of the weekend and our first dive as certified divers. It was a little scary at first but amazing and we got to see a couple of giant clams which were enormous and stunningly purple.
Really pleased the course had gone so well and I'd found a new activity to love and explore for the future, we headed back to Cairns and for the after-course party with the dive instructors and all the other divers from the boats. Great end to a great course. Well pleased.
Tuesday 27 November 2007
THE ROCK
So, we left Melbourne at 6am on a flight via Sydney to Ayers Rock Resort. Here, after Quantas decided to lose my roll mat and thermarest, we arrived baking hot at the hostel rendez-vous point ready to meet our group. At midday, Dom our tour guide appeared, sporting a Mexican style moustache for 'Mouvember', prostate cancer awareness month, and we got on our jeep bus with the rest of the group.
We had great European representation travelling around the aboriginal outback, 3 French, 4 Italian, 2 German, 2 Swedes, 4 Brits (including us) and 2 Aussies. All good, great mixture of translations going on the whole time, loved it. The first day we had lunch and then headed to Uluru or as it should properly be known The Rock. We spent an hour in the cultural centre reading about Arangu culture and the thoughts and history behind the Rock and then we did an hour and a half tour where Dom explained different spiritual sites around the base. We decided not to walk up it because a) it's offensive to their aboriginal culture, b) it was shut off because of the 38 degrees temperature and winds and c) 35 people have died doing it and the sheer sandstone rock face either side of it with a feeble looking chain didn't appeal.
We settled for the 9km walk around the base which was stunning and then we headed off for dinner and sunset over The Rock. Beautiful, it didn't glow in quite the right way because it was cloudy but it was great nonetheless especially with a cold beer. We then headed to camp, had some more beers and got in our swags to sleep under the stars.
The next day at 4.30am we got up to catch the sunrish over the Rock after a hot night and fear of scorpions, dingos and other such nasties getting in my Swag. After The Rock we headed off to Kata Tjuta or the Olgas, another set of red sandstone rocks and did a 3 hour walk up and around them, really beautiful and really hot, this lesser known (at least for me) natural beauty was really awesome. That afternoon we looked for witchety grubs, had lunch in the bush, got some fire wood and then hit the pool at the next campsite. Here one of our Italian members of the group decided to start up a water gymnastic routine for our entire group, we didn't look stupid really in front of all the other happy campers. Hilarious. That night we cooked up some food on a big open fire, Em and I were in charge of Rice, washing up and generally making everyone else laugh as we squealed at the heat of the open fire. We hit the sack 4 hours before we were due to get up again after some more beers and a bit of guitar playing and campfire singing. Beautiful Mate.
The next day we walked Kings Canyon, a little bit like I imagine the Grand Canyon to be but an aussie version and probably smaller but great nonetheless. We had a good swim in a natural pool in the valley tucked into the canyon getting out promptly when we saw some unidentified animal swimming about under the water...
After lunch we had a long drive to Alice Springs where I visited the opticians due to 1.5 inflamed puffy eyes because of some mossie allergic reaction, looked like I'd been punched and then we headed out for a buffet dinner, pub quiz and yes some more beers particularly after our team won the quiz, get in. Great end to a great tour. We didn't actually didn't actually drink all that much beer though it sounds like it!
The next day we departed on the plane to Cairns and arrived in the evening at Gilligans hostel (not to be recommended, big monolithic, badly managed unfriendly resort). Sorted our stuff out and got ready for our open water dive course the next day...
We had great European representation travelling around the aboriginal outback, 3 French, 4 Italian, 2 German, 2 Swedes, 4 Brits (including us) and 2 Aussies. All good, great mixture of translations going on the whole time, loved it. The first day we had lunch and then headed to Uluru or as it should properly be known The Rock. We spent an hour in the cultural centre reading about Arangu culture and the thoughts and history behind the Rock and then we did an hour and a half tour where Dom explained different spiritual sites around the base. We decided not to walk up it because a) it's offensive to their aboriginal culture, b) it was shut off because of the 38 degrees temperature and winds and c) 35 people have died doing it and the sheer sandstone rock face either side of it with a feeble looking chain didn't appeal.
We settled for the 9km walk around the base which was stunning and then we headed off for dinner and sunset over The Rock. Beautiful, it didn't glow in quite the right way because it was cloudy but it was great nonetheless especially with a cold beer. We then headed to camp, had some more beers and got in our swags to sleep under the stars.
The next day at 4.30am we got up to catch the sunrish over the Rock after a hot night and fear of scorpions, dingos and other such nasties getting in my Swag. After The Rock we headed off to Kata Tjuta or the Olgas, another set of red sandstone rocks and did a 3 hour walk up and around them, really beautiful and really hot, this lesser known (at least for me) natural beauty was really awesome. That afternoon we looked for witchety grubs, had lunch in the bush, got some fire wood and then hit the pool at the next campsite. Here one of our Italian members of the group decided to start up a water gymnastic routine for our entire group, we didn't look stupid really in front of all the other happy campers. Hilarious. That night we cooked up some food on a big open fire, Em and I were in charge of Rice, washing up and generally making everyone else laugh as we squealed at the heat of the open fire. We hit the sack 4 hours before we were due to get up again after some more beers and a bit of guitar playing and campfire singing. Beautiful Mate.
The next day we walked Kings Canyon, a little bit like I imagine the Grand Canyon to be but an aussie version and probably smaller but great nonetheless. We had a good swim in a natural pool in the valley tucked into the canyon getting out promptly when we saw some unidentified animal swimming about under the water...
After lunch we had a long drive to Alice Springs where I visited the opticians due to 1.5 inflamed puffy eyes because of some mossie allergic reaction, looked like I'd been punched and then we headed out for a buffet dinner, pub quiz and yes some more beers particularly after our team won the quiz, get in. Great end to a great tour. We didn't actually didn't actually drink all that much beer though it sounds like it!
The next day we departed on the plane to Cairns and arrived in the evening at Gilligans hostel (not to be recommended, big monolithic, badly managed unfriendly resort). Sorted our stuff out and got ready for our open water dive course the next day...
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